Mark 9:16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
Jesus had a tremendous talent for stepping into the midst of controversy and crisis. Here He is rejoining the majority of His disciples after having undergone the experience of being transfigured on the mountain top with His three seemingly lead disciples. However, this situation demonstrates the consistency of focus that was present in the life of Christ. He is not reveling in the moment past, nor seeking to demonstrate to the rest of the crowd the power and majesty of who He is. It is clear by Jesus’ reaction to His own glorification in front of the three that this was not an experience that took Jesus by surprise as if the Father was showing Him something He didn’t already know. This experience was clearly for the sake of His disciples. Ph’p. 2:5-10 makes it very clear that Jesus knew who He was and yet willingly restrained Himself to the limitations of mankind except by divine directive. And it is with the composure of one who has not been greatly impacted by the revelation of their own Son-ship that Jesus greets the crowd and immediately gets busy focusing on the current conflict at hand.
In this first portion of the story of this miracle of deliverance there is much that we can learn. The first lesson is in regard to the nature and impact of the demonic. The description of the manifestations of this boys demonic oppression provide great insight into what kinds of impact a demon can have on the human body and mind. The chronic condition of this boy is simply that he is robbed of speech. And yet when the demon inhibiting him is aggravated the boy is gripped with such force that he may be thrown to the ground, become rigid, foam at the mouth and gnash his teeth. From these symptoms it is clear that a person truly bound by demonic interference may demonstrate a wide range of physical symptoms even though the problem is clearly spiritual.
The second lesson regarding deliverance ministry is found in fact that the disciples were not able to cast this spirit out. By Jesus’ reaction there is no indication that they shouldn’t be able to cast this spirit out. He makes it very clear from His response that He is having to put up with less than ideal conditions in the hearts of His audience and that this is perplexing to Him. There is no progressive diagnosis. There is no further inquiry, but rather an immediate response of expectancy that He will be able to cast out this demon. He then says something thought provoking. His response to this situation is “how long will I stay with you…?” This response implies His goal in a rather subtle way. Under the surface lies the statement, “I am preparing you for ministry after I am gone and this is a lesson you should have learned by now!!!!” And so Jesus calls for the boy to be brought to Him and it is back to the work of training His team to carry on the ministry of the Kingdom after His departure to heaven! Now that is a focused life!
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