084. Chapter 25 - The Miracle in the Valley

Chapter 25 - The Miracle in the Valley Matthew 17:14-20;Mark 9:14-29;Luke 9:37-43 Miracles of the Apostles Is there any other instance in the Scripture where persons endowed by God with miraculous power failed to work a miracle they attempted? Balaam failed to carry out the evil purposes of Balak and curse Israel (Numbers 22:1-41; Numbers 23:1-30; Numbers 24:1-25). Every time he sought to curse, it turned out to be a blessing. But this is hardly parallel. He was seeking for commercial profit to curse Israel, but failed in his wicked plan. He actually did bless Israel each time. The apostles had been given miraculous power at the time they were sent forth two by two on the great missionary endeavor in Galilee. They brought back glowing reports of their success. Mark reports especially their casting out demons (Mark 6:13). But there are no accounts of any further miracles worked by them during the ministry of Jesus.

Seventy disciples were later sent out to preach in Judaea, where they performed many mighty works. Notable among them again was the ability to cast out demons (Luke 10:17). Like the twelve, they were especially commissioned. There is no record of any other miracles performed by them after that time. When the apostles returned from their mission, they, who had been the leaders in their campaigns, became subject to the leadership of Jesus. Anyone who wanted instruction or miraculous help went straight to Jesus. The Apostles and the Scribes The multitude had finally discovered the camp of the nine apostles at the foot of the mountain. We are not told how long the crowd had been with them. Mark shows that the scribes were present carrying on their heckling opposition (Mark 9:14). Both Mark and Luke say that the crowd was large (Mark 9:14; Luke 9:37). The man who was seeking to rescue his son from demon possession had appealed to the nine apostles to cast the demon out. How long they had waited in vain for the return of Jesus from the mountain we cannot tell. The disciples were evidently hard pressed by the situation. Since they had formerly performed such miracles, they attempted it now. Whether in their attempt there was something of frustration at being left behind we do not know. Mark records that the scribes were making the most out of the embarrassing situation in which the apostles were placed by their failure. Undoubtedly there had been many confrontations between the scribes and the apostles. But this was an hour of triumph for the scribes, and they were pressing their victory to the utmost. The Rescue

There is something thrilling beyond words about the arrival of Jesus at exactly the split second to rescue His disciples. The excitement over the appeal of the man, the condition of the son, the effort of the apostles, the fierce attack of the scribes on the apostles, had been so intense that no one had thought to continue their anxious watch on the mountain trail to see whether Jesus was returning. He came suddenly into the midst; the crowd rushed out to salute Him; He came forward and stepped between the apostles and the scribes. As He faced the scribes, eye to eye, his back was to the apostles like a general to his army. What stern wrath must Jesus have shown to the scribes as He demanded, “What question ye with them” (Mark 9:16). Mark says that the crowd was “greatly amazed” when they saw Jesus. The fact which amazed the crowd was that Jesus returned at the very moment of complete defeat and discomfiture of His disciples at the hands of the scribes. The scribes evidently shrank back from the stormy presence before them, for they did not attempt to answer His challenge to say to Him now what they had just been saying to the apostles. The arrival of Jesus at exactly this crucial moment naturally causes us to retrace our steps through the events of the week and to feel that here is additional ground for concluding Jesus had foreseen and planned His course, including the transfiguration. The Father The father of the demon-possessed child spoke up to answer Jesus’ question. Although he was not directly responsible for the ridicule the scribes were hurling at the apostles, he had brought about the whole exciting situation. Mark gives the most detailed description of the pitiful condition of the boy, as it was now related by the father. Jesus did not need to be told, but for the information of the crowd and further basis for our faith, He probed the man with a further question as to how long the boy had been in this condition. But first Jesus gave forth a cry of deep distress. It was as if a sudden surge of homesickness for heaven assailed Him. He had just been on the mountaintop talking with Moses and Elijah come from Paradise to greet Him. This renewal of heavenly association was immediately followed by doubt, unbelief, failure, opposition in the valley: “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me (Mark 9:19). His majestic command to bring the child to Him furnished the dramatic contrast to the failure of the apostles and to the tragic outcry of Jesus. The Boy The description the father gave of the child indicates that the demon had caused epilepsy. One wonders whether the demon had also caused feeblemindedness. Matthew 17:15 uses seleniadzomai, which can mean insanity or epilepsy. “Those which were lunatick” (a.v.) are especially mentioned by Matthew as healed by Jesus (Matthew 4:24). The a.s.v. translates this an epileptic. The ancients may have regarded epilepsy as a sort of insanity. The Greek verb seleniadzomai means literally “moon struck.” The ancients believed the moon had an influence on those who were demented. Note the Latin word luna for moon in our word lunatic. It is noteworthy that Matthew 4:24 clearly distinguishes those who were possessed by demons from those who were lunatic or who were epileptic. Demons sometimes caused various afflictions in those they possessed, but there is not the slightest suggestion that they always caused physical ailments. Still farther from the Gospel accounts is the effort to say that they represent all disease to be the result of demon possession. Casting out demons is clearly set apart from the healing of various diseases, and the healing of insane people (Matthew 4:24).

Jesus’ Rebuke

Gould insists that the rebuke of Jesus (Mark 9:19) was only for the disciples who had failed and not for the man. But the man when questioned expressed doubt and was specifically rebuked and commanded to believe. Jesus seems to have included all in his exclamation “O faithless generation” — the baffled disciples, the relentless scribes, the man, and the multitude. O faithless generation means “O unbelieving generation,” rather than faithless or perfidious. The despair of Jesus over the blind stupidity of the people reminds one of Isaiah 6:1-13. The patience of Jesus was meeting a situation which was almost intolerable. The high emotional tension of the scene is evident throughout; the sudden, dramatic confrontation with the scribes, the poignant outcry of Jesus where the man had stated the failure of the apostles; the stern, blunt rebuke of the man as he made his appeal. When they brought the child to Jesus, the demon showed his malicious spirit toward Jesus by tormenting the child violently. When Jesus questioned the father, He did it as an expression of His sympathy and for the purpose of bringing before the witnesses all the details of the case. Mark reveals how pitiful the condition of the child was when he called the demon “a dumb spirit” (Mark 9:17) and made clear that this meant the demon had caused the boy to be both deaf and dumb (Mark 9:25). Deaf and dumb, violently epileptic, and perhaps insane, the child seemed to offer an insuperable obstacle to the man’s search for help, especially after the failure of the apostles.

Faith The father expressed his doubt and despair in a final appeal: “But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us” (Mark 9:22). In an explosion of rebuke which must have been dramatic beyond words, Jesus cast these words of doubt right back into the man’s face: “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). But the Greek is dune, “If thou art able!” The a.s.v. shows a fine insight into the drama of the moment. The exclamation point used by the a.s.v. is particularly effective in bringing this out. The facial expression, the tone, the gesture of Jesus must have been stern as He gave the man this ringing rebuke. The only possible lack now was in the faith of the man. The father realized that the sweeping declaration, “All things are possible to him that believeth,” was directed at him. He accepted the rebuke humbly. The father “cried out” in an agony of contrition, showing the desperate struggle in his heart between faith and doubt. His confession and appeal furnish a model for all prayer: “I believe; help thou mine unbelief” He expressed the universal failure of man to reach perfection. He frankly confessed the common experience of man struggling for righteousness and faith, and yet sinking in a measure into doubt and wickedness. “Lord, I am struggling to believe with all my might, but if I do not believe as much as I should, forgive me, have mercy upon me, and help me to a stronger faith.” He claimed to possess faith, but did not rest his case on his own merit. He pleaded for the mercy of Jesus. He unconsciously revealed a genuine trust in Jesus in this last appeal — a faith both in Jesus’ mercy and His power. The person who does not feel the need of a larger faith does not possess much faith. Notice here the clear proof that faith was necessary on the part of a person asking miraculous aid. The child was so afflicted he could not respond to any sort of challenge for faith. The father was the one who was seeking miraculous aid and from whom faith was required. The Demon The majestic command by which Jesus demanded that the evil spirit leave the boy caused the spirit to obey, but there was one final vicious paroxysm. The people even thought the child was dead, the final spasm had been so dreadful. The gentleness and sympathy of Jesus as well as His power were shown by taking the hand of the boy and assisting him to his feet. The command of Jesus had included a stern prohibition not to enter into the boy again. This brings to mind the parable Jesus spoke concerning the demon’s returning to find his old habitation still empty. Whereupon the evil spirit with seven other evil spirits entered into the man to make the last state worse than before (Matthew 12:43-45). The Son of God

Luke records the enormous impression made upon the crowd. The absence of Jesus, the failure of the apostles, the capital the scribes had made out of the situation, the sudden arrival of Christ, and His majestic handling of the entire crisis combined to assert the deity of Christ: “And they were all astonished at the majesty of God” (Luke 9:43). Jesus stood in most vivid contrast with all men in light of the failure of His own disciples. The glory of the Messiah had been revealed to three apostles on the mountain; “the majesty of God” is shown to all in the valley.

Frustrated Disciples

Matthew and Mark tell of the troubled question which the crestfallen disciples asked in private after they had entered into the house of some disciple. Jesus did not condemn them for having attempted the miracle in His absence without any specific commission. He explained to them that their failure was due to lack of faith (Matthew 17:20); back of their lack of faith was lack of prayer. God was not lacking in power or profound concern for them; they had lost that close contact with God which comes from constant communion. Their week of misery must have caused the Messianic dream to fade into distant outline, and the absence of Jesus for two days must have increased the pressure of doubt and gloom. Jesus had also condemned the man for lack of faith; but, if the disciples had possessed more faith, they would have been able to stir the man to a larger faith. Jesus urged them to a more complete consecration. Prayer is the essence of faith and dependence upon God; it is the highway to spiritual power.

Fasting The a.s.v. omits the and fasting which is found in the a.v. The better manuscripts omit it. The growth of asceticism and monasticism in the churches evidently led to the insertion. Jesus taught that fasting was not an exercise to be commanded by external authority, but an experience to rise out of internal need. This is true of both physical need (in case of high fever) and spiritual need (in case of the death of a loved one, where sorrow overwhelms any desire to eat). In the darkness of the early Middle Ages fasting was glorified along with the isolation and deprivations of monks and hermits.

Further Discussion

Gould maintains that Mark 9:29 means “this kind of thing,” i.e., any kind of miracle lies beyond man’s unaided effort and must have the power of faith from the contact with God. While this general proposition is quite true, it seems that Jesus means here “this kind of demon” — a particularly vicious kind of demon — because the entire narrative emphasizes the desperate character of the demon. What a session of excited discussion the apostles must have had when they had opportunity to live over again the dramatic events of the day. How the chagrin and frustration of the nine apostles must have been increased when they discovered that the three would tell them nothing of what had happened on the mountain.