Culver Community Church
Pastor Chris Sweeney
Sermon Notes
July 22, 2018
Matthew 17:14 – 21 Little Faith!
{vs 14-16} It is the next day when Jesus is coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John and they are met by the remaining disciples, the scribes ‘questioning’ (arguing with) them and the multitude (Mark 9:14). The scribes seized upon the failure of the nine to cast the demon out – remember, if they couldn’t attack Jesus (and win) then they would go after His followers (just as the devil does with us today). No doubt, the nine were very glad to see Jesus and Mark’s gospel also tells us that the crowd ran to Jesus as soon as they saw Him. Have you ever walked in the door and there was someone or even a group waiting to pounce on you the second you arrive? It’s often frustrating and it can be hard not to have a knee-jerk reaction, but not Jesus. Jesus asks calmly “What are you arguing with them about?” (Mark 9:16) This is when the man (the father) steps forward and presents his request. Notice his attitude – he kneels before Jesus and calls Him Lord (now we don’t know if He meant little ‘L’ Lord, capital ‘L’ Lord or LORD, all capitals – that’s God Almighty). This is a desperate man and yet he comes humbly, with respect for Jesus as at least a renowned healer, but at most a Devine representative (teacher/prophet or maybe even Messiah). To understand the full measure of his desperation, we need to piece together his situation. Luke tells us that he begged Jesus to look at his son, for he is my only child. The NIV translates the Greek word for ‘lunatic’ as having seizures here in Matthew but the picture is someone out of their mind (the ancient world believed the moon, especially full moons had an effect on mental illness). Mark and Luke describe the episodes similar to what we would call Grand Mal Seizures. (Mark 9:18 & Luke 9:39)
Mark also notes that the demon has stolen his ability to speak (rendered him dumb) – so the only intelligent sounds that come from the boy are the demons screams! What we know is that the boy is suffering greatly – he’s terribly afflicted (there is no such thing as a ‘good demon possession’ but this lad had it bad!). The spirit kept throwing him into pools of water and open fires (both were common and there were no child safe pool gates or protected fire pits). These were attempts to harm/kill the son! He could not function in normal society and there had to be a constant watch on him for his own protection! Not only that, but this son had been in this condition since he was a child. We are all born into sin but it’s not as if the child had been a practicing idolater, using drugs, committing murder or other vile sins (somehow, we find it more acceptable if a person does something to invite evil into their life). That is just not how it works though – as an unbeliever, you don't have to do anything to get like this, because you're ruled by the prince of the power of the air who can allow or send his demons to do anything to you that they want! Which is why the father was so desperate! He had heard of Jesus the healer, and brought the boy (can you imagine how hard it would be to travel with him?) to Galilee where Jesus was reported to be. Upon arriving, Jesus is gone! So he pleads with the nine disciples for mercy (for them to show compassion) but they could not accomplish the exorcism.
Before we get too far from this I want to reassure you that believers cannot be possessed because we have been delivered from the domain (realm, control) of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and 1 John 5:18 says that God keeps “anyone born of God” safe and the Evil One cannot harm them. The Holy Spirit (Jesus) will not ‘time share’ with evil spirits, the overwhelming power and holiness would drive them out! Second Corinthians 6:15-16 reminds us that there is no harmony between Christ and Belial (the Devil) – in this case opposites do not attract! This powerful assurance does not however mean that we can drop our guards – while we cannot be possessed or controlled, demons can harass, tempt and whisper ugly things into our ears (throwing them into our minds). It is our job to take advantage of the Full Armor of God, to suit up with the protection provided by our loving Father and keep them from affecting our spiritual walk. Sadly, far too many believers go willingly after temptations when presented and leave their armor off because it’s too much effort to maintain it. (For more detail on this get the series on Ephesians, especially the 6th chapter!)
{vs 17a} This seems harsh, but that is only because they should have been able to do this. “How long shall I put up with you?” can also be translated “How long will I be here to hold you up?” Which helps us understand that Jesus knew the time was short (only six months). What we see, and what Jesus will tell them is that they had a power outage or more specifically a faith outage! They had the promise or authority to do this, but this strong demon, who presented in such a showy, over-the-top way while Jesus was on the mountaintop caused them to doubt! This was no sweet looking little boy, daddy’s pride and joy – no, it was a drooling, foaming at the mouth, screaming obscenities, vulgar demoniac! I believe they were intimidated and when they tried to cast the spirit out in Jesus’ name they were focused on the evil spirit’s power and control over the boy and not God’s sovereignty! They might have even tried a second time – but after the first try, what little faith they had dwindled even more quickly! In their unbelief, they became warped, twisted or perverse – unable to function as God intended. This is why faith is so important, without faith we cannot please God, we cannot serve as He intends – literally, we are ruined!
This is not just a comment on the disciples lack of faith however, the father was also weak. In Mark’s account Jesus gently rebukes the father for asking with doubt –
" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" - Mark 9:23-24 NIV
In spite of this deficiency, Jesus helped them. And He helps us, often have I repeated that phrase “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” As long as we hold onto Jesus, even the smallest bit of faith (even the size of a mustard seed) God can cause it to grow! The problem we see with the nine disciples is that they had let go – seeing that it didn’t work, they gave up and stopped trying, only to waste their time arguing with the scribes! How often do we let go of our faith, give up and stop praying only to focus on the problem (causing our fear and doubt to grow)? We must keep (continuously) our eyes fixed on Jesus!
{vs 17b-18} What was impossible for the weak faith disciples took no effort at all for Jesus! At that moment (instantly), the demon obeyed! Not only did the spirit come out of the boy, but Mark tells us that Jesus also commanded that it never return again! We should also notice that he was healed at that moment. Imagine for a moment, the amount of damage inflicted upon that boy’s body – this healing would have been as incredible as the exorcism! In fact, Luke’s gospel concludes this incident with “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.” (9:43)
{vs 19-21} Verse 21 is in dispute – it does not appear in some of the oldest Manuscripts (2/3 of the fourth century copies). I won’t argue this point for you because it is enough for us to know that Mark’s gospel has a similar ending to this incident which is not in dispute (there some manuscripts say by prayer and others add and fasting). What we should examine is the important message that Jesus gives them. They want to know why they couldn’t do this? You see the disciples had been sent out two by two to proclaim the Kingdom, to heal and yes, to cast out demons as we’ve already said! (Matthew 10)
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. - Luke 9:1-2 NIV
This was part of their job description, so they were right to wonder what went wrong. In fact, this was very recent – in Luke’s gospel both the sending of the twelve and the account of this demoniac are in the same chapter! The frustrated and embarrassed disciples come to Jesus when they could get Him alone and ask about it.
Jesus uses this incident to teach the twelve about faith. One of Jesus’ most common commentaries on their progress was what “O ye of little faith” – they were the little faith club! Sadly, many of us have at least part-time memberships as well! Faith is the key! With faith, “Nothing will be impossible for you”, you can move mountains (do things that seem impossible, it’s an expression in Jesus’ day and ours! – I don’t know of any believer who literally needed to move a mountain). It doesn’t take a lot of faith either – simply a consistent faith, one that doesn’t quit! I don’t (and Jesus doesn’t) mean this in the same way as the faith healers or name it and claim it preachers. It is not enough to have faith in faith. Faith is also not a way of making God do whatever we want Him to – we must have faith in what God has already promised!
Notice Jesus once again uses the mustard seed (smallest of the garden herbs) – why? There were other tiny things to compare faith with - why this seed? Because seeds grow! A mustard seed grows into a big (huge) tree-like bush with what – time and nurturing! When we stand in faith on the promises of God we have to endure (time) and we have to nourish our faith through Hearing the Word (faith comes by hearing the Word), through time in prayer (connects us to God) and through fasting (disconnects us from the flesh and the things of this world). The disciples had to trust and rely on God to do for them what didn’t immediately happen and what seemed scary or even impossible. If they had had that kind of faith, they wouldn’t have stopped commanding the spirit to leave, they would have been continuing in prayer and waiting for the answer. You see having faith means holding on – believing in what is not yet seen. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)
Having faith also does not guarantee that our request will be granted instantly! Many of the great saints have prayed and prayed and waited for years for an answer. Some have heard ‘not now’ or even “No” (My grace is sufficient for you). Faith is the consistent, persistent, even relentless trust that allows us to keep on – even when it takes days, months, years or even a lifetime! David waited more than fifteen years to be King, Abraham waited twenty-five for Isaac and Joseph worked for years as a slave, in the prison and the palace before he saw the fulfillment of God’s dream! And they all waited in faith . . . until God delivered what He promised.