Anchor My Faith

The Faithless Generation

Scripture: Matthew 17:14, 16; Mk 9:14-19; Lk 9:37-40

We ended the previous lesson with Jesus, Peter, James and John coming down the mountain after experiencing the transfiguring of Jesus, the conversation he had with Moses and Elijah, and the statement from the Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

^{Lk 9:37} “On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, ^{Mk 9:14} they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.”

Apparently on day one, Jesus and the three disciples went up the mountain and then returned on day two to where they left the remaining disciples and a great crowd that had gathered around them and some scribes who were arguing with them about something.

^{Mk 9:15} “And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”’

What was there about Jesus that the crowd immediately picked him out and were greatly amazed about? Remember “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29 ESV). Is it not possible that a perceivable amount of light still radiated from his face causing the crowd to be greatly amazed? We are not told what took place or was said during the greeting. The only thing reported to us is the question from Jesus about what the disagreement was about. As we shall see it probably had something to do with the disciple’s inability to heal while Jesus and the three were away.

^{Lk 9:38} [Then] a man from the crowd ^{Mt 7:14} came up to him and, kneeling before him, ^{Lk 9:38} cried out, ^{Mk 9:17} “Teacher, I brought my son to you. ^{Lk 9:38} I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ^{Mk 9:17} He has a spirit that makes him mute. ¹⁸ And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid ^{Lk 9:39} and shatters him and will hardly leave him. ^{Mt 17:16} And I brought him to your disciples, ^{Lk 9:40} and I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

In response to the question Jesus asked about why they were arguing, a man from the crowd steps up to Jesus and kneels before him and cries out to him saying, “Teacher, I brought my son to you” to be healed, but you were not here. I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they were unable. Now that you are back from your time on the mountain, “I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. He has a spirit that makes him mute.  And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid and shatters him and will hardly leave him.”

^{Mk 9:19} “And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”’

This “faithless generation” that Jesus is speaking of, consists of the opponents of Jesus, the spiritually oppressed, and even the disciples who are learning to represent Jesus. Of these people, Jesus is asking how long he must bear with them? How long is it necessary to show such patience and forbearance with your unbelief and perversity to the truth? Jesus is not necessarily expressing impatience or complaint as much as he is reproof for their being so slow to believe that he was the Messiah as demonstrated by his miracles.

Conclusion

We learned of the disciple’s inability to cast out the unclean spirit, heard Jesus speak of the faithlessness of his opponents, the spiritually oppressed, and even the disciples who are learning to represent Jesus. Now Jesus asks the father to bring the child to him.