Something not shared with us by Matthew is that the man and the lunatic boy were not the only people with the disciples at the foot of Transfiguration Mountain. Mark introduces the healing of this possessed boy by saying – “When he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. and straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit.” I would not be surprised to learn that everywhere Jesus went there was a multitude following Him. He sought refuge in Syria because He couldn’t go anywhere in Galilee without the paparazzi dogging His every step. He secretly went into Gethsemane in the middle of the night, because it was nearly impossible for Him to have any “alone time” with His heavenly Father while in Jerusalem. And He climbed to the top of Mount Hermon for the same reason. I don’t know how He got away from the crowd in order to get to the peak, but He did. And down below, the rest of the disciples were left to deal with the needy, the inquisitive and the wicked.
It was while the glory of God was shining out from within Christ, that the problem of the child was first playing out down below. First, there was the failure of the disciples to drive out the demon, perhaps after healing other people with other problems. And then there were the questions and the ridicule of the scribes against them. I have no trouble imagining the taunting with which the disciples were attacked.
“It came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.” As an aside – I have often wondered if Jesus’ face continued to shine to some degree. And if it didn’t, why didn’t it? I wonder if Mark hints at this when he reported “and straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.” We remember that when Moses spent some time immersed in the glory of God, he had to cover his face with a veil before the people of Israel could look at him. Why wasn’t it same with the Son of God Himself? More unanswered questions.
As I have often said, each of the synoptic evangelists – Matthew, Mark and Luke – Each of the three gospel writers give us information that the others were not led to reveal. In this case Luke, gives us the simplest account, with few details about the father or the disciples. Then Mark shares with us information about the boy’s father which the others don’t reveal. And a part of that is important, often preached material. “And (Jesus) asked (the) father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” I might address this verse next week, but because it’s not in Matthew, I may not.
It is Matthew alone who reveals the extent of the Master’s lesson to the disciples. “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” I feel obligated to preach from this scripture, because there it is in front of us. But I have to confess to feeling more than my usual inadequacy. I’m not sure that I understand it well enough to boldly share it with you. And I am absolutely sure that I’m not a good example of the Lord’s exhortation. I think that I can begin to expound the highlights, but it’s not from a position of experience or expertise. I need you to pray for me in this regard, and I’m reasonably sure that you need prayer as well.
Let’s allegorize or spiritualize the situation for just a moment, in order to get our thoughts running properly. Here was a lost soul who desperately needed the Saviour. Here was a church going through the motions and emotions of serving the Lord, but not showing very much “success.” On that day, twenty-five percent of the membership was absent, as it often the case in the average church – on a good day. And although the Holy Spirit was present, He was not displaying His omnipotent power. There were inquisitive and needy lost people in the service, but then there were some disbelievers – some who actively questioned and opposed that little congregation.
What we are seeing at the foot of Hermon was a better than average, but struggling, little Baptist church. Why doesn’t the Lord’s church prosper? Why aren’t there soul’s being saved on a regular basis? Doesn’t the Lord tell us? “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Christ highlights three things lacking in the disciples on this occasion, and they are still lacking.
The first that He mentions is a lack of FAITH.
I thought about spending the next five minutes talking about all the things that Christ didn’t mention. But what’s the point in that? He didn’t talk about doctrine, scriptural baptism, divine authority or a dozen other things. He got right to the point – He said, “you lack faith.”
But wait a minute here – you and I do not lack faith. Perhaps the disciples’ faith wasn’t as sharp as it will be after the resurrection, but our faith is perfect. We believe in the three O’s of God – His omnipotence, His omniscience and His omnipresence. We believe that He who created the universe out of nothing so many thousand years ago is not hindered in any way from doing whatsoever He chooses to do today. And we believe that Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God – that Christ is not limited in the divine omnipotence. We believe Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” We believe that “they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” We believe that “God is able to make all grace abound toward (us); that (we), always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” We believe that “If (we) have faith as a grain of mustard seed, (we) shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto (us).” (Well, we believe everything up to that last point.) Is there a difference between intellectual or theological faith and practical faith? Is there a difference between believing that God can do anything, and believing that God will actually do it?
I was not present that morning at the foot of the mountain, so I don’t know all the details. I picture the man bringing his son to the disciples, and they began to confidently address the problem. But on this occasion, the demon involved may be a little further up the diabolical chain of command. It may resist the commands of the disciples just as Satan and other demons resisted Michael, Gabriel and other angels of the Lord. Perhaps when the disciples found a spiritual opponent greater than any they had faced before, their confidence and their faith began to crumble. They knew theologically and perhaps instinctively that they should be victorious, but instead of pressing on in faith, they resorted to the flesh. They didn’t turn to cutting themselves to make the blood pour, like the old prophets of Baal, but they may have raised their voices; they may have blustered; they may have verbally demanded. As the situation escalated – as the demon screamed at them and the scribes’ ridicule intensified, they began to spiritually wilt. (Would our faith have even gotten high enough to wilt, if we had been there?)
When you came to the service this morning, did you come early in the expectation of finding a family of first time visitors? Did you wake up this morning with faith enough to anticipate the salvation of someone on your prayer list? Yes, you are a person of faith, but did you exercise that intellectual faith of yours?
Our Lord said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain (Hermon), Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The non-believer and the dis-believer reads those words and laugh in scorn. “When has any so-called saint of God, removed a mountain? Never! When has any Christian commanded that a tree be plucked up by the roots and cast into the sea? Never. This is utter foolishness.” But wait a minute, is there anyone among us an expert in faith-weighing? Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed…” Has there ever been even one saint of God with faith like that? Honestly, I don’t know. Some commentaries apply that statement to the tiny size of the mustard seed. A few others think that it applies to the powerful smell or favor of the mustard. I lean toward the first idea. Only the Lord knows whether or not there has ever been a sesame seed faith – or a poppy seed faith – or mustard seed faith. Was Elisha an example of such a man? Sure he didn’t remove any mountains, but he did raise an axe head from the bottom of a river. He did raise the dead; He did extend the meager food source of a few impoverished people. I tend to think that there have been such people, but none of them needed to pluck up trees or level hills.
The problem is not with what the Saviour says here; the problem is my lack of faith – our lack of faith. Then we all have peripheral problems which complicate the issue – things like sin. We know that we have no right to ask God to do the impossible on our behalf – we have the intellectual faith, but we lack the spiritual confidence. But still, the root of our ineffectiveness, as it was with the nine, is our unbelief.
The second thing that Jesus mentions is our lack of PRAYER.
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them ….this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” How often do we have not because we ask not, or we ask the wrong person – we ask amiss?
Again in my imagination, I am watching the disciples on this occasion. They have successfully cast out demons before, so they are expecting success once again. Perhaps when the boy is presented to them, one of them says something like: “I command you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to come out of this child.” But instead of obeying, the demon throws the boy down, inflicting great pain upon him. Then a couple more disciples come over surrounding the child, linking hands or something like that. Maybe they put their hands on the boy’s head and again in unison command the demon to leave. But even as group they get nowhere. “Lord, why could not we cast him out?” Was it because they were confidently commanding when they should have been humbly praying?
Why hasn’t my child been saved? Is it because we are counting on the reading of the Word of God or the preaching of the Word? Perhaps we a relying on good things rather than trusting the Lord.
Do I need to read a dozen scriptures enjoining us to pray? Do I need to read a dozen other scriptures reminding us of God’s promises to answer our prayers? I could follow those up a dozen scriptures where the Lord has miraculously and graciously answered the prayers of the saints. “I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Down in the depths of our hearts, we know that “we have not because we ask not.” as often, as earnestly, as sincerely as we should.
Finally, the Lord points to a third factor in the disciples’ failure – a lack of FASTING.
I have preached a couple of times on the subject of fasting – and at least once from the Book of Matthew. I don’t think that I’ll do it again. This time let me just point to the principle underlying fasting. To fast is to stop eating – we might do that for some medical reason. And we might also do that for a spiritual or religious reason.
Eating is something which most of us enjoy – at least I know that I do. I eat regularly; I eat habitually; I eat joyfully. For me not to eat, requires a fight – not between my wife and me, but between my heart and my belly. Fasting is all about self-denial.
And I think the Lord, too, is talking about self-denial, when He refers to fasting on this occasion. How much stronger would we be as individuals, and us as a church, if we practiced more self-denial? Why aren’t we all reading the New Testament in the Greek language? Because we don’t know Greek. What if we denied ourselves our recreational reading and applied ourselves to Greek, could we learn it? Believe it or not, I think that we could. How many missionaries could we support if we denied ourselves our special treat and gave that money to the work of missions? Or if we gave up a couple hours of recreational time a week, do you think that we could invite enough people that some of them would actually attend our services once in a while? The key to Biblical fasting is not giving up food or certain foods. It’s giving things up in order to spend that time with the Lord.
Was the Lord telling the disciples that if they had stopped attacking this stubborn demon and turned around to seek the face of God, they could have been victorious? That seems to be the suggestion. And what are WE missing in our lives because we insist on plowing ahead instead of waiting upon God? “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”