Jesus Asks a Question: “How much longer do I have to put up with you?”
Jesus Asks a Question: “How much longer do I have to put up with you?”
The Grand Inquisitor. Messiah Jesus was a Master of asking questions: some were open-ended, others were very pointed; some were out of curiosity, others were challenging; some seemed rhetorical, others seemed painfully obvious; some were to reveal Himself, others were to guide the other into self-understanding; some were intentionally provocative, others were to kick-start a conversation; some questions were asked to explore a topic to deepen understanding and stretch toward the truth; some were leading questions that He designed to suggest a particular answer, and others were questions in response to questions asked of Him; some were hypotheticals to stimulate the imagination, other questions were used by Him as stepping stones to think logically from one point to the next. Jesus used questions to dignify the listener, letting that person know that He is taking that person seriously and listening carefully. Many of His questions were acts of friendship and used to pursue a more profound intimacy with someone. Jesus asked very few yes-no questions, and since time was usually irrelevant for Him when He was with people, He rarely asked a “when” question. Several biblical scholars have studied the gospels with Christ’s questions in mind, and they have literally counted a total of 307 questions in His various conversations and teachings. It seems that a worthy spiritual exercise when considering the many questions of Jesus is that we ask ourselves… should I take His questions personally, as if He was asking us that question right now?
The Questions. “O perverted people without any trust (”apistis”), how much longer do I have to put up with you? How long can I endure (“anecho”) you?” (Matt. 17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41).
“Apistis” = The Greek term that means without trust; without faith; unbelieving; untrustworthy; no reliance upon God or confidence in Him.
“Anecho” = The Greek term that means to tolerate, bear with, endure, have patience with.
Context. Peter, James, John (and Jesus) were coming down the mountain immediately after the momentous Transfiguration. The hearts of the disciples were on fire after this once in a lifetime experience. They were eyewitnesses to the uncreated light in Jesus, the eternal voice of the Father, the ethereal presence of Moses and Elijah. This was a spiritual experience like no other, and their heads were spinning after this historical act of purity, holiness and awe. But they faced the brutal reality of evil fast enough. At the bottom of the mountain, they found the rest of the disciples looking flustered and embarrassed, in the midst of a crowd. In Mark’s version, the disciples seem to be arguing with a crowd of people that included some of the Temple religious scholars. What is causing all this hubbub? What was everybody arguing about? We find out soon enough.
“Jesus came down from the mountain with them, and suddenly a man from the crowd shouted out, ‘Master, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child! A spirit seizes him and suddenly he screams out and it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth! It mauls him and will scarcely leave him!’ Jesus answered, ‘O perverted people without any trust, how long must I remain with you? How long can I endure you? Bring your son here to me.’ And even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him down to the ground and completely convulsed him. But Jesus severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child, and then restored the boy to his father. And all were completely astounded (“ekplesso”) at the evidence of God’s mighty power, His majesty and His magnificence. While they were all marveling (“thaumazo”) at everything Jesus was doing…” (Luke 9:38-43).
Astounded: “ekplesso”; a strong Greek word for astonished; amazed; dumfounded; awestruck; overwhelmed at something extraordinary; struck out of one’s senses; takes your breath away, even to the point of panic. There were at least fifteen gospel events in which the Greek superlative “ekplesso” was used to communicate a radical amazement, astonishment, wonder at Jesus. Jesus was met with overwhelming astonishment after His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:28); by His hometown friends as they rejected Him (Matt. 13:54); after His teaching on the inadequacy of wealth (Matt. 19:25); after His conversation with the Sadducees about heaven and the resurrection (Matt. 22:33); at His synagogue exorcism (Mark 1:22, 27); after His healing of the deaf and mute man (Mark 7:37); after He whipped the moneychangers in the Temple (Mark 11:18); at His brilliant level of understanding with the rabbis at just 12 years of age (Luke 2:48); after casting out a demon with just a word (Luke 4:32, 36); at the exorcism of a demon-possessed boy (Luke 9:43).
MARVELED: “thaumazo”; another strong Greek word that means… marveled at, astonished by; amazed at; filled with wonder to the point of being bewildered; being awestruck in admiration. There were forty-four passages in the gospels in which people were greatly amazed by Jesus, astonished to the point of awed by Him. Included in the group of people who were completely amazed, “thaumazo’d” by Christ: the shepherds, Mary and Joesph, the disciples, the Pharisees, various crowds during His ministry, and even Pilate himself was astonished by Jesus and marveled at Him. People were amazed by everything from the angelic baby announcement, to various prophecies in Jesus’ young life, to the calming of the storm and the withering of the fig tree; from His miraculous exorcisms and healings to His teachings that always were on point and what were needed at the time.
“… The father said to Jesus, ‘Just now I asked your disciples to expel the demon and cure my son, but they were unable to do so’… When Jesus arrived back at the house, His disciples began to ask Him privately, ‘Why is it that we could not cast out the demon?’ Jesus told them, ‘This kind you can drive out only by prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:18, 28-29).
Experienced? This story occurs after the disciples have already had a wealth of experience with Jesus. The disciples have seen many healings and miracles, and heard many teachings. They have seen Jesus feed 5,000 people in the middle of nowhere, walk on the water, calm the storm, and cast out the evil spirits of a deranged demoniac into a herd of pigs. These are all experiences that they would never forget, of course. They have also been sent out earlier by Jesus into neighboring villages, two by two, to cast out demons and heal diseases. One would think they have seen and done it all, but they are not even close to completing their graduate-level courses in ministry with Jesus. At first glance, the youthful demoniac before them seems like a rerun of the Gadarene exorcism. They know that Jesus has the power to cast out this boy’s evil spirit, and the disciples assumed they could cast out the demon as well. The disciples’ consternation is that they had failed to do so.
Why Did the Disciples Fail? The disciples were undoubtedly embarrassed and frustrated by their failure to expel the demon from the young boy. They were also perplexed. After all, they had already been sent out by the Lord to the villages, and they seemed to have no problem casting out demons and healing diseases. (Mark 6:13). They were so pleased then that Jesus gave them all that spiritual power time and again throughout their journey. What happened this time with the boy? When they asked Jesus this question after Jesus healed the boy, Jesus told them straight… You didn’t pray enough. You had more faith in your own powers than in the Lord’s, so you didn’t approach this situation fully immersed in prayer. You were still living off the fumes of your earlier success, and became less dependent on God in the process. You trusted in your past victories, and your faith was inadequate as a result. The disciples couldn’t cast out this stubborn demon, they couldn’t heal this epilepsy, because they didn’t faithfully grow in their dependence on God’s power. This access to spiritual power comes through prayer and fasting and intentional, focused discipleship. The disciples were living in the past, so they were limiting their future. They thought they could use God’s power whenever they wanted, as if they were in control.
“ Jesus said to his frustrated disciples, ‘I assure you, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20).
Mustard Seed. In the midst of Jesus’ admonishment to His disciples, He mentioned a mystery of the faith… One only needs a microscopic amount of faith to accomplish great things. The mustard seed was seen as the tiniest thing imaginable in those days, so we would assume an amount of faith that small would prove to be negligible. Perhaps now we might say one only needs faith the size of an electron or proton. But Jesus said it’s not necessarily the amount of faith that makes a difference, but who your faith is in. In a metaphor suggested by pastor Stuart Briscoe, an ice skater on a frozen lake may have just a little bit of faith as she haltingly goes onto the ice. But the deciding factor is not the skater’s faith, but the thickness of the ice. A little bit of faith on a thick layer of ice is all that’s needed to go skating. A little bit of faith in the sure character of God is all that’s needed to start believing. The thickness of the ice is not dependent on the amount of faith from the skater. As the skater begins to realize the thickness of the ice, she will grow in her faith. With God, His thickness will always be skateable, no matter the amount of faith. Also, we mustn’t forget that seeds grow. Our faith isn’t intended to remain small. That’s just a starting point. Faith is supposed to grow in the fertile soil of God’s Word and the nurturing rainfall of Christ. Even a mustard seed eventually grows to a bush that can reach ten feet tall.
An Exorcism or a Healing? Consider the unfortunate catalogue of symptoms experienced by this suffering boy. He couldn’t speak. He was deaf. He had violent seizures during which he foamed at the mouth, grinded his teeth, and became fully rigid. These convulsions often seemed to virtually throw him into the cooking fire or the nearby river. The demon was making the poor boy hopelessly self-destructive. The father was frantic for a healing. We might wonder, was this a demonic possession, or was it a severe case of epilepsy? Was there in fact an evil spirit that was causing the epilepsy? In those pre-scientific days, many diseases that involved uncontrollable behavior was understood to be caused by demonic possession. Can this still be the case in our modern world? A final question: When Jesus healed this boy, did He cast out the demon, or did He miraculously heal the boy of epilepsy? There is of course a deep mystery to the unseen world which harbors evil spirits. So, demonic possession remains a distinct possibility here and now, even if seemingly rare. But the ancient world didn’t have access to scientific truths that we now enjoy. I wonder if we now attribute natural causes to something that is in fact demonic. Little do we know, despite our sophistication. The bottom line in this story is that Jesus indeed healed this boy, and the eye witnesses were in awe of Jesus’ power.
I Believe, Help My Unbelief! The father’s heartfelt and candid statement of faith has stood the test of time (Mark 9:24). It is a cry from the heart, a cry of imperfect faith. And it is the common refrain on every believer’s mind if we are honest with ourselves. There is always, always, a shred of unbelief in a Christian’s faith, no matter the level of spiritual maturity. There are constant challenges to one’s faith. Sometimes during a bout of suffering, doubts threaten to make a mockery of belief, and God doesn’t seem particularly trustworthy. Sometimes the presence of sin in and around us bring us moments of legitimate self-suspicion and questions of God’s sovereignty. Sometimes there are questions that only God can answer, and He seems to be quiet, so we seem to be walking in the dark. Doubts can be redemptive, however. A person with no questions or doubts just may not be engaging in the type of thinking that is needed to build a strong faith.
Ants in the Pants. As novelist Frederick Buechner once put it, doubts can be ants in the pants of faith…. They keep it alive and moving. In this story, the father, reflecting his apprehensive doubts, said to Jesus, “If you can do anything...” Jesus replied quickly to the father with “If? What do you mean if? Of course I can do something! All kinds of things are possible to anyone who truly believes.” The father’s honest, realistic statement grounds us in the type of transparency Jesus loves. I trust in you, Lord. Help me where I struggle with that trust. Help me use my doubts to strengthen my faith. Help me when I am weak and my faith seems small and inadequate. Help me when I don’t fully cling to you or rely on you. Help me during my weak moments, when I have experiences that challenge my faith. Help me in my unbelief. But I only come to you, Lord, because the bottom line is I truly trust in your character and goodness.
Divine Healing in the Midst of a Human Pique. After getting some background information on the boy from the father, Jesus looks at the father, His disciples, and the crowd around them all, and expresses frustration with everyone’s inability to trust God and His power to heal. He wonders in his pique how many times He has to cover the same ground, and how much longer he has to put up with the general lack of trust that surrounds Him wherever he goes. He appears baffled that the whole generation have such a distorted understanding of who He really is. Jesus finally turned to the unfortunate boy, commanded the evil spirit to depart, and so cured that boy of his epilepsy. The boy had one more convulsion as the evil spirit left him, and Jesus simply took the boy by the hand and he rose from the ground, fully healed. In this episode, Jesus demonstrates once again something George MacDonald once observed, that “God is easy to please but hard to satisfy.” Jesus is pleased with all the baby steps the disciples are taking in learning to trust in Him, but He will keep challenging and prodding them to further growth in the faith.
The Divine Exorcist. The demonic realm seemed to have free reign during the time of Jesus. Every time Jesus turned around, it seemed like He had to perform an exorcism. Many scholars have noted that Jesus conducted more exorcisms than any historical figure on record. In the first three Gospels alone, there are over 60 references to demons, demon possession, and exorcism. Physical healing and spiritual healing through exorcism seemed to take up an equal amount of time in His ministry. Casting out demons seemed was just a prevalent as physical healings, and in fact, His ministry usually included both forms of healings together. “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons…” (Mark 1:32-34). Jesus publicly revealed His authority over both physical ailments and spiritual possession. In the spiritual realm, not one demon ever successfully resisted the commands of Jesus. As soon as the demons saw it was Jesus, they accepted the spiritual reality of being overpowered.
The Aggressive Devil. Why was there such heightened dark spiritual forces active during this time? One scholar suggested that God allowed an unusual amount of demonic activity during the time of Jesus so that Jesus could show the world, and the dark side, His power and authority over Satan’s realm. Perhaps Satan knew his days were numbered after Jesus defeated him in the duel in the wilderness. (Luke 4). Perhaps Satan, in his insatiable hunger to defeat Jesus, went off on a full-force offensive to try to prove to the world that he would prevail in the end. At any rate, Jesus fully embraced this important part of His ministry. It is recorded in Mark that Jesus first became famous because of His exorcisms (Mark 1:28). And His exorcising work was not ended until His Passion and resurrection, when He drove out “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). Jesus started His ministry by driving out demons, and He ended it by driving out the ultimate power of Satan himself, in effect giving the world a complete exorcism. The Apostle John, who had an insider’s view of Christ and his ministry, summed it up when he said later, ‘”For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8). Isn’t it heartening to see that Jesus fully accepted and engaged in the spiritual world as powerfully and effectively as the physical world?
The River and Its Tributaries. Most people, mistakenly or not, believed that demons were the cause of many physical ailments. And practically everybody thought that demons were behind mental instability. So sickness and demons were closely associated during the time of Jesus. There are a few examples in the Gospels of physical impairments being attributed to demons: the man who was mute (Matt. 9:32); the man who was both blind and mute (Matt. 12:22); epileptic seizures (Matt. 17:14); the crippled woman (Luke 13:10). Can someone say with certainty that a physical condition was caused by Satan? We know better than to underestimate the wiles of the devil and the effects of spiritual warfare, and so certainly his strategy could include the physical side of reality. Perhaps we could also look at in this way… Ever since Satan lured Adam and Eve into rebellion against God, to sin against God the Creator, nature has been a part of the Fall. Nature, natural life, is now tainted with fallenness, cursed by sin, and will be so until the new creation is brought into being. There was no disease or sickness or disability before the Fall of man. Our physical nature is fallen, and is vulnerable to all manners of problems, to unnatural intruders like injury, sickness and disease. There may indeed be many immediate causes of a physical condition, but everything broken and unnatural can be traced back to the source of sin and fallenness, the devil. It’s like tracing tributaries back to the original river. We know so much more now of physical health and ailments, and so we may not necessarily attribute a disability or disease to an evil spirit, but we can with certainty point to the ultimate source of the brokenness, to Satan and his devils. However one looks at this, we end up knowing that Satan is the culprit, whether directly or indirectly.