Mark 9:38

Mark 9:38 says, And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.  John came to Jesus telling Him about someone casting out devils in the name of Jesus.  John said the man did not follow the disciples, so they forbade him from continuing to cast out devils.  We need to acknowledge two things.  First, the man was being successful in casting out devils, and second, the man was doing it in Jesus's name.  Just because he wasn't following the disciples didn't mean he was not putting his faith in Jesus, because by his own power he would have been unsuccessful.  We may not always be a part of the same fellowship of believers, but we should never believe that we alone are doing the work of Christ today.  Verse thirty-nine adds, But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.  As Jesus said to John, those who do miracles in His name cannot at the same time lightly speak evil of Him.  At this point, even the disciples did not understand Who Jesus really was, so they were not any more empowered than anyone else. They were only successful when they acted by faith in Jesus, just as we are today. The only difference is that we have the Holy Spirit with us to empower us at all times. Verse forty continues, For he that is not against us is on our part.  Then, Jesus said that those who were not against the disciples and Him were a part of them.  Not all of Jesus's disciples were physically following Him, but they were all putting their faith in Him spiritually.  As followers of Christ, we need to realize that we are no better than any other follower of Christ, and we should all support and uplift anyone who is being successful in doing God's work. 

Mark 9:31

Mark 9:31 says, For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.  Like the disciples, there are many people today who still do not understand what Jesus was saying.  They see Him as a good man and prophet but fail to understand that He died for the sins of all mankind, and do not believe that He rose again the third day, claiming victory over death, which is the penalty of sin.  Verse thirty-two adds, But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. Like the disciples, people are often afraid or just unwilling to ask Him by faith what He means. Verse thirty-three states, And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, Verse thirty-four adds, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. When they got to Capernaum, Jesus asked the disciples what they had been disputing about along the way, but they didn't tell Him, because they had been arguing about who would be greatest in His kingdom.   We are never going to be able to hide anything from Jesus, so if we feel that He is asking us about something that we are disputing with other Christians about, we simply need to confess what it is.  Of course, we should never set out to be the greatest, based on our own merit.  We will always be but a sinner saved by grace.  Verse thirty-five states, And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.  Jesus sat down with the disciples and told them that whoever wanted to be the greatest would be the servant to all.  If we want to great in God's kingdom, we need to serve others and not look for them to praise us as great.  Verse thirty-six adds, And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Verse thirty-seven continues, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.;  Jesus then took a child in His arms, and said to the disciples that anyone who received one such child received Him, and anyone who received Him received the One Who sent Him.  I believe that God still expects us to receive, or help, all the children in the world today, especially those who are in need, no matter where they are from or who they are. 

 

Mark 9:14

Mark 9:14 says, And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.  When Jesus returned to His disciples, there was a great multitude around them.  It would be nice if great multitudes came to us as His disciples today when they are seeking answers or having problems.  Verse fifteen adds, And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.  When the people saw Jesus, they were greatly amazed and ran and saluted Him.  It would also be wonderful if people did the same thing today when Jesus reveals Himself to them.  Verse sixteen states, And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?  Jesus asked the scribes why they were questioning His disciples.  We really don't need to question those who are Jesus's disciples today, even if we believe that they are failing in doing something for Him.  Instead, I believe we need to lift them up in prayer.   Verse seventeen adds, And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; Verse eighteen continues, And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.  One of the multitude told Jesus that he had brought his son who was very badly demon possessed to the disciples, and they were unable to cast the demon out.  This is a problem that Jesus Himself never had, and He told us we will be able to do even greater things.  Verse nineteen declares, He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.  Jesus called them, His disciples included, a faithless generation and asked how long would He be with them.  If we are having problems overcoming the evil in the world today, I believe it is because we haven't truly put our faith in God's power.  Jesus then told them to bring the boy to Him, and this is our task in the world today, to bring the lost to Jesus.  Verse twenty continues, And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. The father who had come to the disciples to have them cast a demon out of his son and they had failed now brought his son to Jesus.  We as parents need to be concerned about the spiritual life of our children, and even though bringing them to church is a good thing, it cannot save them. Neither can any particular preacher or teacher.  If we want them to be made whole spiritually, we must bring them to Jesus.  Of course, they then have to accept Him themself, because we cannot do that for them.  Jesus saw quickly that the demon was harming the boy, just as He will quickly see our spiritual condition today.  Verse twenty-one says, And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.  Jesus asked the father how long his son had been this way, and he said since he was a child.  As soon as our children are old enough to know right from wrong, they are guilty of sinning if they chose to do wrong.  Verse twenty-two adds, And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.  The father also said the demon caused his son to do things that would harm him. Though in most cases our children may not harm themselves physically, though some do, spiritually they are harming themselves if they do not come to Jesus for forgiveness of their sins.  They might even be high performing, productive individuals, but they are spiritually no better off than this demon possessed boy.  Verse twenty-three continues, Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Jesus told the man if he could believe, that all things are possible.  In order to bring our children to Jesus, we must first believe that He can save them.  This is all that we can do, and then it is up to them and Jesus whether they will be saved.  Though Jesus has already died for their sins and rose again to keep death from being the victor, it is still up to every person, even our children, to accept by faith that Jesus is the only way to everlasting life.  Verse twenty-four concludes, And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.  The father, through tears, cried out that he believed and then asked Jesus to heal his unbelief.  Verse twenty-five declares, When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.  Jesus had yet to cast them demon out of the boy when He saw the people running toward Him.  They were coming out of curiosity as to whether or not Jesus would be more powerful than His disciples, who had failed in casting out the demon.  We may have people running to Christians today, not because they want to be saved, but to see if we are going to fail in doing what God has called us to do.  Jesus then commanded the dumb and deaf spirit to come out of the boy.  The spirit had made the boy dumb and deaf, or as we would say today, unable to speak or hear, and now Jesus was making the demon the same way.  We can be made unable to speak God's word and hear His voice today if we allow sinful things to control us, but God will always have the ability to defeat any demon in our life if we come to Him by faith and ask Him for forgiveness.  Verse twenty-six adds, And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. The demon came out but left the boy looking dead.  I have said before that Jesus never had a battle with the demons, and He didn't in this case, though the demon caused the boy a lot of harm.  This demon had possessed the boy all his life and had grown to be a powerful influence over him, and he did not go quietly.  We may have long established habits that keep us away from God, and it may cause us to physically suffer if we give them up, but if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, He will always be more powerful than any habit we have, no matter how long it may have controlled us.  Verse twenty-seven continues, But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.  Jesus then took the boy by the hand and had him rise up, and he was completely restored.  When we spiritually take Jesus by the hand, He will completely restore us spiritually.  Verse twenty-eight says, And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?  Verse twenty-nine adds, And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. When the disciples asked why they couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus said that this type demon could only be cast out by prayer and fasting.  We cannot expect to overcome any demon, habit, or simply sin itself by our own power, but must ask God to give us the ability to do so.  Verse thirty continues, And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. Then, the disciples and Jesus passed through Galilee, and once more He told them to not tell anyone about what had happened.