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Scripture Reading: Mark 9:14-50
In the foregoing message we saw that in 8:27—9:13 we have a revelation of Christ with His death and resurrection as the universal replacement for everything that is not God Himself. In this message we shall go on to consider 9:14-50.
It is not easy to understand what is revealed in 9:14-50. What is the main subject of this portion of the Gospel of Mark? If we divide this section into small pieces, we may have some understanding of particular points. But what do we see when all of the verses are put together?
This portion of thirty-seven verses begins with the case of casting a dumb spirit out of a man’s son (9:14-29). This took place immediately after the Lord and three of His disciples came down from the mount of transfiguration. “And coming to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes disputing with them. And immediately all the crowd seeing Him were amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him” (vv. 14-15). When the Lord Jesus questioned them about the dispute, “one of the crowd answered Him, Teacher, I brought my son to You, having a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth, and he is wasting away; and I told Your disciples that they might cast it out, and they were not able” (vv. 17-18).
Here we see that the case involved a dumb spirit; it was not a matter of the entire person needing to be healed. In verse 25 we see that it was a dumb and deaf spirit that was cast out of the child. Therefore, once again there was the need for a particular dealing with the hearing and speaking organs.
The father of the child had asked the Lord’s disciples to cast out the demon, but they were not able to do so. As learners, they should have been able to cast out this demon. But because they were not able to do it, there was a serious dispute. When the Lord came down from the mountain of transfiguration, He came into that situation. He then proceeded to cast out the dumb and deaf spirit.
Mark 9:28 says, “And when He entered into a house, His disciples questioned Him privately, Why were we not able to cast it out?” The disciples seemed to be saying to the Lord, “We have been following You and learning of You for a long period of time. It was easy for You to cast out the demon. But why were we not able to do it?”
In verse 29 we have the Lord’s answer to the disciples’ question: “This kind cannot come out by anything, except by prayer.” The Lord’s word here indicates that the disciples failed to pray, and that was the reason they could not cast out the demon.
Do you know what it means to pray? To pray means that we realize that we are nothing and that we can do nothing. This implies that prayer is the real denial of the self. To pray, therefore, is to deny ourselves, knowing that we are nothing and are not able to do anything. Furthermore, to pray is actually to declare, “Not I, but Christ.”
Instead of praying, the disciples tried to cast out the demon. Perhaps they said to themselves, “We have been watching the Lord cast out demons for more than two years, and we have learned of Him. We should be able to cast the demon out of this child.” But although they attempted to cast out the demon, they were not successful. We may say that they tried to cast out the demon without the necessary power, energy, divine electricity.
I wish to emphasize the fact that the word “prayer” in 9:29 actually indicates “no longer I, but Christ.” Concerning this matter, we need to understand why this case immediately follows the revelation of Christ as our replacement and the Lord’s word about denying ourselves. We need to deny ourselves so that Christ may be our replacement and become everything to us. Although the disciples saw this revelation, they did not practice it or live according to it. To see the revelation is one thing; but to live it is another.
Mark 9:14-50 is actually a practicing of the revelation of Christ as our replacement. It had been revealed to the disciples that Christ is the entire replacement through His death and resurrection. Death terminates us, and resurrection brings Christ to us. The result is “no longer I, but Christ.” But how can this revelation be applied? According to the case of the casting of the dumb spirit out of the man’s son, this vision is applied by prayer.
As human beings, we all have a problem with our temper. Thus, we may use the matter of temper, especially in married life, as an illustration of the fact that certain “demons” can be cast out only through prayer. In married life it is easy for a husband or wife to have a problem with temper. Surely every husband has a problem with his temper, and every wife has trouble with her temper. Temper is a serious problem in married life and is a cause of separation and divorce. If a husband and wife never exchange words and are never troubled by their temper, most problems in married life would be eliminated. But temper is a problem. Therefore, we certainly need Christ in our married life. I would say in no aspect of our human living do we need Him more than in our married life.
Do you know how to have the best married life? The way is to practice “not I, but Christ.” But how can we practice this? The way to practice is to pray. For example, you should not try to subdue your temper. If you try in yourself to subdue your temper, you will eventually have a more serious problem with it. The more you strive to subdue your temper, the more you will make a “deposit” in the “temper bank.” Sooner or later, you will lose your temper in a more serious way. This is to try to cast out the “demon” of temper by your self-effort instead of by prayer.
Instead of trying to subdue your temper, you should pray. If you ask the Lord why you are not able to cast out the demon of your temper, He may say, “This kind cannot be cast out except by prayer. You need to pray.”
Actually, we do not need to pray in a lengthy way. It is sufficient simply to call, “O Lord Jesus!” Even such a short prayer indicates “no longer I, but Christ.” Your prayer testifies that you do not exercise your self-effort to deal with the situation. Instead, you apply Christ. This is to practice the vision concerning Christ with His death and resurrection being our replacement.
You should not try to cast out demons by your self-effort. In order to cast out demons, you need to pray. As we have pointed out, prayer means “no longer I, but Christ.” Hence, the case in 9:14-29 points out that if we would be replaced by Christ, we need to pray instead of trying in ourselves to cast out demons.
In 9:30-32 the Lord Jesus unveils His death and resurrection the second time. Verse 31 says, “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days, He will rise.” However, as verse 32 says, the disciples “did not understand what He was saying, and they were afraid to question Him.” Literally, the phrase “what He was saying” is “the word” (Gk., rhema).
The disciples may have had some understanding after their failure to cast out the demon that prayer is a matter of “not I but Christ,” that prayer implies that we deny ourselves and realize that we are nothing, that we can do nothing, and that we need to be replaced by Christ. In order to be replaced by Him, we need to pray that the Lord will come in and be everything to us. However, we cannot be trained to practice this only by one instance, for a particular case is limited in what it can accomplish. Therefore, in 9:33-37 we have another case — the teaching concerning humility — in which the same point is emphasized.
Mark 9:33 and 34 say, “And they came into Capernaum. And when He was in the house, He questioned them, What were you reasoning about on the road? And they were silent, for they had argued with one another on the road who was greater.” None of the disciples dared to say anything. But the Lord already knew that they had been disputing concerning who among them was greater. Then the Lord went on to teach concerning humility. “He called the twelve and said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (v. 35). Then He took a young child, set him in their midst, took him in His arms, and said to them, “Whoever receives one of such young children in My name, receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me, but Him who sent Me” (vv. 36-37). By taking the young child in His arms the Lord expressed His humanity in His tender love toward the little ones.
Do you realize what humility is? Like prayer, humility means that we are nothing. Humility means “no longer I, but Christ.”
Here the Lord is teaching the disciples the same lesson as in the case that involved the casting out of the dumb spirit. The disciples had seen the vision concerning Christ’s Person, His death to terminate them, and His resurrection to bring Him in as their replacement. But even though this vision had been revealed to them, they still needed to practice it. In the matter of casting out demons, they needed to practice the vision by praying. To pray is to testify that it is “no longer I, but Christ.” Regarding the matter of greatness, the disciples needed to practice the vision by learning humility. When they were debating concerning who was greater, they were neglecting the vision of Christ as their replacement and the vision of His death annulling them and His resurrection supplying them. Therefore, it was necessary for the Lord to train them to practice the vision concerning Himself as their replacement.
In 9:38 John, one of the sons of thunder, suddenly said to the Lord, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name who does not follow us, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” This was John’s impetuous act as a son of thunder. This act was against the virtue of the Slave-Savior whom he accompanied. John’s attitude was like that of Joshua in Numbers 11:28.
It may have been John’s intention to change the subject. The debate about who was greater may have been instigated by the two sons of thunder, James and John. I believe that they played a leading role in this argument.
Instead of rebuking John, the Lord Jesus responded in a very wise manner. The remainder of the verses in this chapter (vv. 39-50) are devoted to the Lord’s response to what John said in verse 38.
In verse 39 the Lord Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for there is no one who shall do a work of power in My name and be able soon to speak evil of Me.” This is the Slave-Savior’s tolerance, in the practice of the gospel service, toward His believers who were different from those closer to Him. In this aspect the Apostle Paul’s attitude in Philippians 1:16-18 and that of Moses in Numbers 11:26-29 are like His, but not that of the impetuous John.
It is very meaningful that this section, from verse 38 through verse 50, continues the section of verses 33 through 37, where the Slave-Savior taught His disciples humility because they argued with one another concerning who was greater. In that argument the two sons of thunder, James and John, probably played the leading roles (see 10:35-45). It was the same John who would not tolerate a differing believer. This impetuous action was probably related to his ambition to be great. It may have been this ambition that caused his intolerance toward the different practice of other believers. This is a basic divisive factor among Christians. The Slave-Savior surely would not go along with John in this matter.
