If You Can!
Reflective Reading: Mark 9
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in Mark chapter 9. Here we find the unusual story of a desperate father who is searching for help for his seriously ill and demon-possessed son. As an unbelieving crowd gathers along with a group of faithless disciples and hypocritical leaders, the father’s plea for help becomes more desperate. To add to the gravity of the father’s desire for help, his son had often tried to kill himself by either drowning or jumping into a fire. Thankfully, this father is not willing to give up on his son. He will do anything to help this nightmare come to an end. Before we go too much further into the story, let’s take a look at the backdrop.
Jesus and three of his disciples are coming down from a nearby mountain. As they draw near, they hear the sound of an intensely angry crowd. There, a group of Jewish leaders is arguing why the disciples were unable to cast out the demon in the boy.
Immediately, Jesus steps into the scene, “Oh, faithless generation,” he cries out. “How long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him unto me.”
As soon as he is brought to Jesus, the boy immediately falls to the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. In the midst of this intense scene, Jesus turns to the father and asks, “How long has this been happening to him?”
Wait, hold on! Stop the presses! Am I missing something? The boy is on the ground, being viciously attacked by a demon, and Jesus is asking for a timeline? Seriously? Can you imagine being the boy’s father? You come, begging for help, and all you get is a question of origin?! This sounds more like the kind of question you’d receive at a hospital emergency room. You’re “dying,” and they want to know your date of birth, social security number, and insurance carrier!
The father answers, “This has been happening since he was a child.” You can almost hear the desperation in his voice as he goes on to say, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us!” Now we’re getting somewhere. With such a grief-stricken, heartfelt plea, there’s no question in my mind about what I expect Jesus to do next! Yet my expectations are dashed to pieces. Rather than healing the child, He begins to speak to the father with a three-word statement: “If you can!”
In light of all the arguing, questions, and confusion, Jesus is making the father think—“If you can!” If you can…what? Can you imagine being this father and hearing this? This may be one of the most intense, dramatic, and emotional scenes in the Bible!
Can you imagine being one of the crowd members or one of the disciples? Everyone is listening, watching, and wondering. Jesus could have snapped his fingers or spoken a word to heal the boy, but no! Jesus is making an important point: the healing of this son is not about what He can do. Obviously, Jesus can do anything. The question is rather, what can the father do?
Listen to what Jesus says next: “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” Or, in other words, “If you can believe, I can do anything!” What an amazing truth! A truth that is needed for fathers today. How does the father respond?
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Finally, after all these years of suffering and struggle, the father gets it! I can hear this father saying: “Ah, I get it! Why didn’t I understand this sooner? In order for God to help my family, I need to be helped first—I need to believe that Jesus can do anything!”
Picture this father with a tear-stained face, on his knees with open arms, crying out—“I believe, help my unbelief.” This is what Jesus was waiting to hear. He could have just healed the boy and been done with it, but that would not have changed the father’s lack of faith. That would not have changed the family dynamic. Now, both father and son have been made whole.
On this Father’s Day, may I challenge all of us fathers with the question of “How long?” How long have we waited for a miracle to take place in our family? Wait no longer. “If you can believe, Jesus can do anything!”
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M.Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Recommended Father’s Day Reading!
The Parable of the Two Millstones (Ages 9+)
Basket of Flowers book/audio drama (Ages 9+)
Words Fitly Spoken (Ages 9+)
Sir Knight of the Splendid Way (Ages 12+)
The Captain of the Flyaway (Ages 12+)
