The Gospel of Mark — Chapter 9, Part 3
“Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief”
In Mark 9:14-27, Jesus comes down from the Mount of Transfiguration and finds a great multitude gathered around His disciples while the scribes are disputing with them.
A desperate father explains the problem:
He had brought his suffering son to the disciples, but they could not help him.
The boy was afflicted by a spirit that caused terrible convulsions. The father had come seeking help, but the disciples had been unable to cast it out.
This encounter leads us into an important study of faith, unbelief, healing, prayer, and the sovereignty of God.
The Disciples Could Not Cast It Out
Mark 9:16-18
The father tells Jesus that he brought his son because the boy had a mute spirit. The spirit would seize him, throw him down, cause him to foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth, and become rigid.
He then tells Jesus:
“I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
Matthew’s account adds that the father approached Jesus, knelt before Him, and pleaded:
“Lord, have mercy on my son.”
The disciples had encountered a situation they could not resolve.
What Were the Scribes Arguing About?
Scripture tells us the scribes were disputing with the disciples but does not record their exact words.
One possibility is that the religious leaders were using the disciples’ inability to cast out the spirit as an opportunity to challenge them.
This is an interpretation rather than something Scripture explicitly states.
Earlier, the scribes had accused Jesus of casting out demons through Beelzebub.
Jesus answered that accusation by asking:
“How can Satan cast out Satan?”
A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
“O Faithless Generation”
Mark 9:19
Jesus responds:
“O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
Who was Jesus rebuking?
The statement occurs in the presence of the father, the multitude, the scribes, and His disciples.
Hebrews warns us about the danger of unbelief:
“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Unbelief can harden the heart and cause people to turn away from the living God.
But this passage also raises another important question:
Does Healing Depend on Having Enough Faith?
Some people have been taught that if someone is not healed, the problem must be that they did not have enough faith.
That teaching can place an enormous burden of guilt on someone who is already suffering.
Mark 9 gives us an important example to consider.
“If You Can Do Anything…”
Mark 9:20-22
The boy is brought to Jesus.
Immediately the spirit convulses him, and he falls to the ground.
Jesus asks the father:
“How long has this been happening to him?”
The father answers:
“From childhood.”
He explains that the spirit had repeatedly thrown the boy into fire and water in an attempt to destroy him.
Then the desperate father says:
“But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Notice the father’s words:
“If You can…”
His faith was not perfect.
His understanding was not perfect.
He was desperate.
And he came to Jesus.
“Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief!”
Jesus responds:
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Then the father cries out with tears:
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
What an honest prayer.
He believes.
Yet he recognizes weakness in his faith.
He does not pretend.
He does not claim perfect confidence.
He brings his faith—and his unbelief—to Jesus.
And what does Jesus do?
Jesus helps him.
Jesus Casts Out the Spirit
Mark 9:25-27
Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit:
“Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
The spirit cries out and convulses the boy greatly before coming out.
The boy appears so lifeless that many believe he is dead.
Then Jesus reaches down.
He takes the boy by the hand.
He lifts him up.
And the boy arises.
The father’s admitted weakness of faith did not prevent Jesus from delivering his son.
Faith Is Not a Tool for Controlling God
Our faith does not make us sovereign.
God is sovereign.
We pray because we trust Him.
We ask because He invites us to ask.
We believe that He is able.
But our confidence is ultimately placed in God Himself, not in our ability to produce a certain quantity of faith.
Sometimes we pray and God brings physical healing.
We rejoice and thank Him.
Sometimes we pray desperately for someone we love, yet God does not answer our prayer in the way we wanted.
That does not automatically mean someone failed to have enough faith.
Our hope remains in the goodness, wisdom, love, and sovereignty of God.
Jesus in the Garden
There may be no clearer example of submission to the Father’s will than Jesus praying in Gethsemane.
Mark 14:36
Jesus prayed:
“Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Jesus knew the Father was able.
Yet His prayer ended in submission:
“Not what I will, but what You will.”
Luke tells us Jesus was in tremendous agony.
He prayed earnestly.
An angel appeared and strengthened Him.
Yet the cup was not removed.
Jesus went to the cross.
Faith does not mean forcing our preferred outcome upon God.
Faith means trusting the Father—even when His will is difficult.
The Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray
Romans 8:26
There are times when we do not even know what we should pray.
Scripture gives us tremendous comfort:
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.
He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We do not need perfectly constructed prayers.
We do not need perfect understanding.
We need to bring ourselves honestly before God.
Sometimes our prayer may simply be:
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
God Works According to His Purpose
Romans 8 reminds believers:
“All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
That does not mean everything that happens is pleasant.
It does not mean believers will never suffer.
It means that our sovereign God remains at work even in circumstances we do not understand.
Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of Christ
Romans 8 asks:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
Tribulation?
Distress?
Persecution?
Famine?
Danger?
Death?
No.
Paul concludes that neither death nor life, angels nor principalities, things present nor things to come, height nor depth, nor any other created thing can separate believers from:
“The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That is where our confidence rests.
Not in the strength of our faith.
In the strength of our Savior.
Key Takeaways From Mark Chapter 9 Part 3
- Jesus has authority over unclean spirits.
- The father came to Jesus with both faith and doubt.
- “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” is an honest prayer.
- Weak faith does not mean Jesus is weak.
- We should be careful about blaming suffering people for supposedly lacking enough faith.
- Prayer expresses dependence upon God rather than control over God.
- God remains sovereign over healing and every circumstance.
- Jesus Himself prayed, “Not what I will, but what You will.”
- The Holy Spirit helps us when we do not know how to pray.
- God remains at work even when we do not understand His purposes.
- Nothing can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Lord, Help My Unbelief
The father in Mark 9 did not approach Jesus pretending to have perfect faith.
He came honestly.
He cried:
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
And Jesus did not turn him away.
When our faith feels strong, we can come to Jesus.
When our faith feels weak, we can come to Jesus.
When God answers exactly as we hoped, we can trust Jesus.
And when we do not understand His answer, we can still trust Jesus.
Our confidence is not in our ability to manufacture enough faith.
Our confidence is in the sovereign, loving, all-powerful God to whom our faith is directed.
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