Hard Passages

Numbers 30; Numbers 31; Mark 9
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Scripture

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

Mark 9

14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.

Observation

Is this a hard passage for you? It is for me. First a young boy that has been possessed by a demon…does that bother you? He had been possessed since he was a little boy… does that bother you? The disciples could not cast out the evil spirit and the response by Jesus as to why they couldn’t was because of a lack of prayer. I do believe that the demonic world will become more and more active in our country as the influence of Christ-followers is diminished. Demon possession and evil spirits are common in countries where there are few Christians.

Application

I am praying today for someone that needs to be freed from either demon possession or mental illness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, the demonic and evil spirits are just as real as your angelic army. There is a spiritual war being fought for the lives of those around me. From what I get from this passage is that the only hope for those around me is prayer. So I will continue to pray for them. This one that is on my heart today that needs to be set free from demonic control I ask that you cast out all evil influence from her life. Set her free today. Lord, I also pray for our church today. I pray that today will be a day of true worship. Help us focus on you today and not anything smaller than you. In Jesus Name…Amen.

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