Everything is possible for him who believes.–Jesus
Mark 9:23
Faith is the greatest power a human being can exercise; not faith in faith, not faith in mankind, and not faith in our abilities, but faith in God. Jesus made this clear in Mark 11:22,
Have faith in God.
Faith is more than just “power.” It is a vital spiritual resource that connects us to God; the finite with the infinite, the temporary with the eternal, the powerless to the omnipotent. Faith is a gift from God to everyone who believes in Him, and faith is how God relates to us.
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3b)
We often talk about faith in God. We often talk about faith that can move mountains. But we rarely talk about faith born of desperation, or a desperate faith. We rarely think of a desperate circumstance as being the catalyst for a demonstration of faith’s power. However, the strengthening of our faith comes when we are forced to use it. But using faith begins with a choice: Will we trust that God will help me in this? Will I chose the path the Holy Spirit has chosen for me?
Some Christians operate under the assumption that every Christian has faith and knows blindly how to use it. They assume that if a person shows doubt or desperation they don’t really have faith. However, faith born in the fires of desperation is no less faith than when it develops in more positive circumstances. Some Christians get themselves into trouble and they mistake a desperate desire to escape for genuine faith. Real faith believes in the power of God to bring the impossible to pass, even if that never happens.
1. Faith and authority, Matthew 8:5-13
This event is recorded in Matthew and Luke, but not Mark. There is similar and completely different event in John, but there the story revolves around a royal officer’s son, but here it the centurion’s servant.
The first thing about this story is striking: the one who approaches Jesus for help is not only a Gentile, but a soldier in the employ of Herod Antipas. According to Luke, this officer had heard about all that Jesus had done for others, and so now he comes pleading for the same mercy on behalf of his servant, whom he refers to as “my boy.” This is a term of endearment and shows how concerned this man was for this servant.
The second thing of note is the absence of a question mark.
“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” (verse 6)
Even though Matthew says the centurion came “asking for help,” he really did not. In fact, what the soldier said in verse six was a statement, not a question. This man came and described the condition of the young servant, leaving it in the Lord’s hands.
Jesus replied to the centurion with a definite statement, but notice what our Lord did not say: “What would you like me to do?” Nor did He ask, “Why did you wait so long?” And Jesus did not say, “I’ll think about it and see what I can do.” Jesus answered in a definite statement, not a question as in the TNIV. Literally, Jesus said this:
`I, myself, having come, will heal him.’ (verse 7b)
Jesus was more than willing to put Himself out for this man and his servant. But then this official makes an astute observation, one that many of Christ’s most ardent followers today fail to take into account when they pray.
“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (verse 8)
The centurion recognizes that Jesus was living under God’s authority, just as he worked under Herod’s authority. In other words, this Gentile was giving place to God’s will and at the same time he was recognizing that Jesus didn’t belong in his house. Just as John the Baptist felt that he was not worthy to baptize Jesus, so this man felt unworthy to have Jesus come all the way into his home. Jesus marveled at this; He marveled at the man’s faith and at that moment, the servant was healed.
2. An honest doubt is no obstacle, Mark 9:14-29 (also Matthew 17:14-21)
Doubt can be a double-edged sword. Doubt may lead us to ask questions and gain understanding of things we previously did not understand. Doubt, though, may also lead us to places we don’t want to go because sometimes doubt can be a tool Satan uses to lead us away from faith in God, as he did with Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3).
In this portion of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus and His inner circle (Peter, James, and John) had just been up on the mountain where these three disciples witnessed a most amazing thing: the Transfiguration of Christ. As they came down from the mountain to join the other disciples, it became obvious that a “situation” had developed.
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” (verses 17-18)
The response of the people upon seeing Jesus is interesting:
As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. (verse 15)
Why were they “overwhelmed?” The Greek can also be translated “greatly amazed” or “overcome with awe.” Some commentators, as well as the Amplified Bible, suggest that Jesus’ face was still beaming from His Transfiguration. This seems unlikely to me, given what Jesus told His friends in verse 9:
Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
It seems more likely to me that the crowd was taken simply taken aback or amazed that this “miracle worker” happened to show up at just the right time, at the precise moment this desperate father showed up with his son.
Jesus then says something I find curious:
“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” (verse 19)
To whom was Jesus speaking? To the disciples? To the Jewish nation as a whole? To the scribes? To the crowd? Though this is debated among scholars, it seems logical that Jesus has His disciples in view; He was bitterly disappointed with them because of their very apparent lack of faith. Imagine how Jesus felt when His closest followers failed at the most crucial moment of their ministry because of their lack of faith! One scholar wrote this:
It is not too bold to presume that during the absence of Jesus and His three intimates, a spirit of unbelief and laxity had overcome the disciples, perhaps partly as a result of conversations between them, leading to their impotence. (Van der Loos)
But then, we read of this exchange between Jesus and the boy’s father:
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (verses 21-24)
Why did Jesus berate the disciples for their lack of faith, yet Jesus responded to the father’s unbelief by healing his son? Notice that Jesus actually engaged this man in a conversation; a conversation intended by Jesus to awaken faith within the man. Despite the man’s self-confessed doubts, he was desperate enough to step out in faith to seek help. Jesus seized upon the phrase “If you can” and turned the doubt around into a teaching about faith: everything is possible for him who believes.
The man’s doubt, unlike that of the disciples, did not stop him from trusting that Jesus would do the right thing. What was the difference? The man was pushed to the brink of desperation and even though he had his doubts and was humble enough to admit them for all to hear, he was willing to lay them on the line and trust in Jesus.
His desperate faith was reward; his son was completely healed.
3. Persistent and desperate faith, Matthew 15:22-28
In this final incident of desperate faith, we see Jesus entering into a highly unusual situation. An introductory word goes untranslated in the NIV; idou, literally means “behold,” and points to the truly extraordinary nature of what is about to take place. We might use the term, “Lo and behold!!” What was so extraordinary? Notice the object of Jesus’ attention:
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” (verse 21)
Mark, in his account of the story, refers to her as a “Greek, born in Syrian Phonecia.” Why did Matthew choose to use a term that was outdated even in the time of Jesus? This woman, a Greek, is referred to as a “Canannite” because she cannot forget her ancestry; she was a descendant of one of Israel’s most ancient of enemies, and she is coming to Jesus, a Jew, for help. She was desperate. The phrase exelthousa, “from that vicinity” does not refer to a place on a map, but indicates she was “coming out” of her ancestry to approach Jesus. In other words, she had to leave all her old beliefs behind to come near to Jesus to ask for help.
Jesus appear to ignore her pleas for help, so she apparently turns to the disciples for help, and in turn Jesus said this:
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (verse 24)
But his woman–this mother–would not be put off. She persisted until she got what she needed for Christ. For His part, Jesus was not being mean or racist. Every miracle wrought in Scripture was intended to teach people something, in addition to helping those in need. Like the incident of the Samaratin woman, this was a teachable moment for Jesus; both the woman of the story and the disciples needed to learn some details about Jesus’ mission. They needed to learn that, in terms of His earthly ministry, His mission was to Israel. And in healing this woman’s daughter, both the woman and the disciples needed to be made aware of the historical significance of the moment: Jesus came first for the Jews, but then for all mankind.
The woman did not give up asking, and her prayer was answered. She was both desperate and persistent. Despite the seeming indifference of Jesus, despite how long it took to get an answer, and despite the problems this woman faced, her diligence was rewarded.
“Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” (verse 28)
Conclusion
In the first instance, we learn that though the faith within us allows us to tap into God’s unlimited power, we ourselves need to be humble enough to know that we are unworthy, and that it is by God’s authority and not our merits that we may experience divine intervention and our faith honored. We also learn that true faith does not depend on ritual or magic and does not operate by a set formula. When we ask for help in faith, we receive it, whether we have to pray a long prayer or whether the pastor can anoint us with oil or whether we have an altar to kneel before. Faith trusts in God’s abilities, not our liturgies nor our fancy words.
In the second instance, we learn that doubt can be bad, as in the case of the disciples, or it can be a good thing, as in the case of the desperate father. Honest doubt can lead to deep faith if one’s heart is right and honest before God. We have no record of the disciples asking Jesus for help in exorcizing the demon; they simply couldn’t do it. The desperate father, on the other hand, owned up to his unbelief, and asked for help to overcome it. Apparently two prayers were answered that day. The man was given faith to believe, and his son was healed.
In the final story, we learn that faith is for everybody, regardless of where they came from. The important thing is not a person’s past, but their relationship Jesus today. This incident is summed up well by G. Campbell Morgan, who wrote:
Against prejudice she came, against silence she persevered, against exclusion she proceeded, against rebuff she won.
