Do I or Don't I?

He was a father. He loved his son. But the young boy was severely disabled. The boy was afflicted, thwarted—from growing up normally, from having friends, from just having fun like other kids—because he was tormented, overtaken, and dominated in his entire person by an alien spirit (vv 17–18). This demon robbed the boy of his speech. The condition only worsened. The boy’s father was desperate. “Who can help us?” “What are we going to do?” Neighbors and friends witnessed this family’s pain, the anguish, but they kept distant, quite helpless. Meanwhile, at intervals the demon would convulse the boy’s body terribly, throw him to the ground and try to kill him, or hurl him into the lake and drown him.

We have the Mayo Clinic, but no such help was available anywhere in the ancient world for this family, and even if it had been, this was no matter for technology and medicine. The father heard that our Lord healed many with various diseases, and he drove out many demons (Mk 1:34; cf. 3:22–27; 7:37). So he asked himself, “Do I believe?”

Jesus was away in the mountains. But a contingent of his disciples remained in that village. The man brought his son to them, but they could not drive out the demon (9:18). Frustrated and disappointed, this father was losing hope, losing his faith. He and his wife could not comprehend what was happening to their son. All was out of their control. Doctors, specialists, anyone? No help! Their son would never be normal. There was nowhere to turn. How can they continue to believe in God? By the time Jesus and three of the disciples returned to that village, the man was spent. He could only heave an agonizing sigh and cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (v 24). Such desperation, if not answered, can lead to unbelief.

Unbelief takes many forms. Explanations abound, but few if any are good excuses for lack of faith, unbelief. In fact, God is clear in his judgment. The psalmist deplores the wicked who pursue their evil ways and in their thoughts have no room for God (Ps 10:4). Unbelief is no respecter of persons. It plays no favorites. It plagues all kinds and sorts of people. We should be alert and aware. Didn’t one of the disciples, Judas, entertain skepticism about the very Lord he pledged to follow? There is even a story about a pastor who, after 30 years in the ministry, confided to a fellow pastor and friend on his deathbed, “I never believed; I never believed any of it.” While these may be shocking examples of unbelief, unbelief may also take the form of apathy.

Many of our country’s leaders in politics and business claim to be Christians, but in their actions and through the causes they support, it seems that their Christian identities don’t really impact what they do. For such persons it can be very true: God remains something irrelevant or, practically speaking, nonexistent. This kind of apathy about God is also unbelief.

These examples underscore the idea that unbelief is a taunting temptation for ALL people—even those who are sincere and do believe. Burdened Christians, carrying heavy crosses, desire sincerely to believe. But they struggle to believe because they have grown weary of believing when the illness, the challenge, or the painful relationship only seems to be getting worse. Unbelief attacks us when we are spent, out of sorts, out of patience, and frustrated. So is there help for such believers who understandably experience the temptation toward unbelief as an overwhelming sense of futility?

When our Lord returned from the mountains and approached the village, His disciples were engaged in a heated discussion with some scribes (v 14). In fact, these disciples were under attack because they could not deliver this young boy from the demon. Our Lord had empowered them to cast out demons (6:7–13). But they could not get it done. Jesus arrives. Cheers fill the air. Everyone expectantly looked to Jesus. He inquires: what is all the fuss about? From the crowd, the poor man, father of the boy, calls out, “I asked your disciples to cast [the demon] out, and they were not able” (v 18). “O faithless generation,” Jesus exclaimed (v 19), probably chastising His disciples, who may have slipped into thinking that such powers were their own, and such false thinking was their failure. Then Jesus looks for the boy. “Bring him to me.” The father asked himself, “Do I believe?” and we should ask the same question.

For those stuck in unbelief, the scene that follows Jesus’ command to bring the boy to Him is the greatest help. Jesus takes command. In whatever dire circumstances, no matter how desperate or frustrated we may be, this healing by Jesus shows us that we are never out of reach of our Lord—never beyond His presence. Where Christ is present, He takes command.

By the time Jesus takes over, the crowd has begun to doubt the abilities of Jesus’ disciples to perform the miracles their master could. It is even possible that the disciples themselves have begun moving toward unbelief as they failed to deliver the child from his anguish. The situation is tense. The text describes a “crowd … running together,” and it appears that there will be an incident unfolding on the streets. Jesus takes command and directs His stern and loud words to the demon: “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again” (v 25). What happened then caused the crowd to be aghast.

The demon thrashed the boy violently, so that the lad lay on the ground. Some shouted, “He is dead” (v 26). “But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose” (v 27). And the father lunged forward and reached for the boy and began carrying him to their home.

Quietly, the crowd dispersed and conflict was avoided. When Jesus entered the house nearby, He addressed the disciples and said, “This kind [of demon] cannot be driven out by anything but prayer,” meaning complete dependence on God and His power (v 29).

And this is the meaning of BELIEF. We don’t believe in our puny powers, but we trust in and depend upon our Lord who is believable—who gets done for His people all the great works, also the highest and most sweeping work, even our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, by the cross.

Unbelief so busy challenging the Lord and His authority over all of creation with petty criticisms and scoffing that it misses the victory of faith. When we doubt or even reject Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil on the cross, we will always be vulnerable to the temptation of unbelief. But as sinful Christians, we will always go from moments of faith to moments of unbelief, caught in that miserable tension. But when we look to the cross of Jesus’ triumph, we know that help is at always at hand. The help is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who takes command, who is believable, and who acts for us powerfully in mercy and love. Does Jesus help you in your unbelief today? You bet He does. And with new encouragement from the hearing and digesting of the Good News of Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, the Father has again given you assurance of faith. We can all say, “I believe, Lord. Continue to bless me with belief.” Amen.