MARK 9:14-29

Lesson 22

DEALING WITH FAILURE

I. Greetings:

II. Introduction: Last week we spoke of “religious experiences”. Such times are marvelous. What we can learn there, if we listen, is tremendous. We can learn on the Mountain-Top by attending a great service, experience a deep time of prayer involving a spiritual encounter, going to an excellent retreat, or a wonderful camp experience, but learning can take place down in the Valley too. The learning that takes place down in the Valley often comes from failure.
Let us see how this happened to the disciples.

III. Learning in the Valley: Mark 9:14-29
A. Coming Down to Defeated Disciples: Mark 9:14-19
>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:14-19
Q Who had failed here?
An = the disciples that were left in the valley. Three of the disciples were seeing glorious visions of Jesus, Moses and Elijah, while the other nine were hard at work in the demon-filled Valley trying to help a child possessed by an evil spirit.
Q How do you think the disciples felt?
Q How would you feel? Have you ever failed spiritually in trying to help someone else?
>>>> You re-read Mark 9:19.
Q This is shocking. Why was Jesus so rough? Why was Jesus so rough, especially in front of the crowds? Why did He do this?
An = A lot of us would be mortified if our leader said publicly this to us. However, they knew Jesus, and perhaps they were a little tougher than some of us today. They also knew they had failed. Whom the Lord loves, He corrects (Job 5:17, Psalms 94:12, 119:75, Hebrews 12:5-6 and Revelations 3:19).
Notice, the text does not tell us their feelings. It quickly moves on to the unfolding drama before them. Sometimes our feelings need to take a back seat to what is happening around us.

B. Dealing With Dad: Mark 9:20-24.
>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:20-24.
Q Why did Jesus ask the question of verse 21? Didn’t He know everything?
An = God often feigns ignorance for our sake. There is a reason for this.
Q Is it an important question?
An = It is an easy question; but it got the dad talking so that soon his deepest pain was expressed and out in the open. (As teachers, counselors, youth workers, parents talking with children, it is wise to start with easy questions; sometimes it gets them gently into the act of thinking. Questions that are harder, more personal and delicate can follow later.)
Q Was the dad panicking in the end of verse 22?
An = It almost appears that as the father was describing the boy’s condition his sense of worry over the boy’s needs heightened, and he broke into a desperate plea for help.
Q How sensitive was Jesus’ response in 9:23?
An = It is OK to be puzzled by some of Jesus’ behavior. He is quite well aware of how His dealing with our life puzzles us today. It would help us to grow spiritually if we openly pondered what His actions meant, so as to learn how to understand them today. The way Jesus acted then is how He acts now. He does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Note: First, it is important to understand that love is demonstrated in different ways. In this situation, Jesus was forceful and demanding, almost pushing this poor man over the edge. In verse 23, you can almost hear Jesus scowling in a demanding tone. The father had expressed his deep pain at his son’s condition and asked for help, yet Jesus seemed a bit offended and called the suffering man on it.
Q What was the father’s response?
An = I do believe, but help me with my unbelief, i.e. He had faith but he lacked much as well. He was a mixture. This man was much like the disciples. This man is where most of us are today.
Q What did Jesus do for this parent in a time of deep anxiety?
An = He did not give him a spiritual formula or ask for money. He drove the man to confess two things: his faith and his lack of faith. When we finally are driven to see ourselves, we become better people. Given that fact that most of us here are a mixture of belief and unbelief, it is good to be aware of that.

C. Dealing With the Devil: Mark 9:25-27.
>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:25-27.
Q Did Jesus struggle hard to heal the boy? Did Jesus struggle hard with the devil?
An = No. When Jesus and the Devil met head-to-head there was never a struggle. The Almighty One is unmitigated, undiluted, unbeatable power. Jesus merely commanded. The key is to get Jesus into the picture.
Q Whose power healed? Did the father help?
An = It was Jesus and Jesus alone who healed the boy without any help from the father. The only thing the father did was to realize that he had some faith but also lacked faith.
Q If it was all Jesus’ power that accomplished the healing, why did He hassle the father?
An = Jesus knew He could easily heal the boy. He knew the boy would then be going home, and the boy needed more. The child would need a spiritually strong father. Young boys need strong dads. God can heal our bodies, or deliver us from the devil, but the Lord will also stress people, or else the gift would do us little good. The persons around the healed person need to be stronger. Their experience of stress could strengthen them for those physically healed.
God always has more in mind than we do.
D. Dealing with Failure among the Disciples: Mark 9:28-29
>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:28-29.
Q Did the disciples feel they could approach Him?
An = Those of us in leadership positions may need to be tough and corrective at times, but those we correct should believe we are approachable after rebuke. We should be approachable if they have the courage to do so.
Note: The disciples screw up publicly and so get a public rebuke (9:19). This is not a nice thing, it would be so much nicer if Jesus would have covered for them and then privately rebuked them. We notice Jesus was tough on the father. Jesus’ toughness with the dad helped the father gain awareness of his lack of faith.
Q How is this public rebuke of the disciples a good thing? What possible good could it accomplish?
An = Among other things, it is an example of fairness. How often leaders get public praise for public successes, but do not want public rebuke for public failures. Public rebuke can bring them down to the level we all truly live on. We all make mistakes and all need correction. It does not invalidate a leader if he makes mistakes. He is invalid when he cannot learn from them.
Q What was the cure for failure in tough spiritual cases, like this exorcism?
An = Prayer. Something we as leaders need to invest much time in. What is prayer? Prayer is spending time with the Lord and talking to Him. What the father of the boy was doing was talking with Jesus and Jesus is God. Talking to God = prayer. The father was praying and the disciples in asking questions about their failure were too.
Note: The disciples were wise to ask Jesus why they failed.
Note: If the disciples dialogue and talk with Jesus (as the father did), they too will learn the lessons the father learned in 9:21-24. They too, if they ask questions, will learn they also have faith and yet need to realize they need more. It is the facing of our mixed nature or lack of faith that begins the growth of our spiritual power, so we can help others. To refuse to face our lack of faith keeps us an “unbelieving generation” (9:19). The way to change is to ask questions, to talk to God about our failures.[:]