Original Meaning
THE DISCIPLES STILL have much to learn from Jesus. Nothing makes this more evident than the failure of nine disciples to heal a demon-possessed boy while Peter, James, and John are on the mountain with a transfigured Jesus, hearing God’s voice. Their impotence in working by their own means surfaces vividly here.1 This is also the first of a series of passages, extending to 9:56, where the disciples need serious correction. As the voice in the cloud said, disciples must listen to Jesus.
Jesus encounters a man who has an only child in desperate straits.2 He is possessed by an evil spirit that causes convulsions and leaves him bruised. Many see epilepsy here, especially since Matthew 17:15 says the boy “has seizures,” which describes the disease by its effect. This condition was viewed with great fear in Judaism.3
Jesus’ reply to the man’s request for healing indicates that something is wrong, for he describes the current generation as “unbelieving and perverse.” A portion of humanity is walking a crooked path, forcing God to bear with them (Isa. 46:4). The spirit suddenly casts the boy down, and Jesus issues a command for it to come out. The rebuke works. Not only does the demon depart, but the boy is left unharmed. Jesus’ protection is total. The crowd is left to ponder God’s majesty (1:49) and power, which can overcome terrifying conditions.
In the midst of the crowd’s marveling, Jesus must remind his followers that such admiration is short-lived. He then makes a second prediction of his coming passion,4 reiterating the coming betrayal of the Son of Man. Only Luke notes that the disciples do not understand Jesus’ meaning, because the meaning has been hidden from them. Neither do they have the nerve to ask him about it. The fact that they fear asking shows that they do understand his words. What they do not understand is how betrayal can happen to a figure whom they have just confessed as Messiah. How can such a popular person of God’s choice suffer? Can God’s work be rejected? Yet, as Jesus has just noted, the generation of humanity can be crooked and blind.
The text is also vague on who has “hidden” the truth from them (v. 45). Is it God in the context of his plan of salvation? Or is Satan at work? In God’s sovereignty, whatever is needed for them to hurdle this lack of understanding is not yet in place; though by the end of the Gospel, the blinders will be removed. God certainly is most active in that removal, as the Emmaus scene in 24:13–35 shows.
Two brief incidents close Luke’s report on the Galilean ministry.5 In the first, the disciples are haggling over who has the greatest position in the disciples’ Hall of Fame. Jesus knows of their petty dispute, so he takes a child and points out to them the value of receiving such a child (who is culturally viewed as powerless and irrelevant). The one who receives this child also receives the one who sent him. Stature is not a matter of popular perception, but of simply being human. Even a normally disregarded child has stature. To make the least the greatest is to make all great. There are no unimportant people.
Second, neither is ministry a copyrighted monopoly. The disciples have seen someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Since this person is not one of the elite, they have tried to stop him. Jesus tells the disciples that they are wrong. Whoever is not against them is on their side. Ministry should not be limited to a select few. Unlike the Marines, who want a few good men, Jesus wants all to serve and encourages all to do so. His remark that “whoever is not against you is for you” reflects proverbial wisdom in Jewish culture,6 such as the attitude of Moses toward Eldad and Medad (Num. 11:26–30). Moses was glad others were being led by the Lord to do his work. Ministry should not be not limited to one group, one denomination, or one theological tradition. All who serve the Lord faithfully deserve our support.
Bridging Contexts
LESSONS FOR MINISTRY about dependence, faith, rejection, the value of humanness, and elitism in ministry are fundamental themes of a walk with God, and each is taught in this section. Though the issues today may not be the ability to perform an exorcism, the need to trust God and be confident that evil can be overcome is as great today as ever. Whenever evil is defeated, we can admire the greatness of God. Dependence and faith stand up to the spiritual opposition that comes in life. It does so by drawing on the powerful resources God provides to meet the cosmic forces of darkness face to face. Ephesians 6:10–18 turns such a battle into a developed image of the armor of God, which symbolizes ethical righteousness, integrity, unity, the Spirit, God’s Word, and prayer. Through such resources we can be faithful in the battle. The current discussion of spiritual disciplines attempts to renew the church’s focus on such issues.7
But more than merely standing and marveling at God’s word of power, we must stand up for him. Some people will not like that. Thus, just as Jesus was handed over in rejection, so his followers can expect the same. Sometimes traveling that difficult road does not make sense to us, and we cannot see why God does things the way he does. But just as the disciples learn that they must trust God’s plan for Jesus, so we can learn to trust his path for us. Sometimes the path of rejection turns the corner in a surprising way, in the same way as the cross turned into resurrection.
Though we may think that ancient people are different from us, a look at the tendency of the disciples to compete and to try to build an elite ministry shows just how like us they are. Our own culture loves to compete and loves to restrict access to ministry. Jesus makes it clear that such an emphasis distorts the call of God. All are important, and ministry is open to all who embrace Christ. We must see people as God sees them and respond to them accordingly. As Jesus approaches his rejection, he knows that the complex reality of future ministry requires that the disciples appreciate the need for many laborers in the field.
Contemporary Significance
SIN IS A powerful force in our lives. Satan is a strong adversary, and the opponents of righteousness in the world are formidable. When Jesus rebukes the “unbelieving and perverse generation,” he is declaring war on attitudes that refuse to consider the destructiveness of evil and how it blinds us from the will of God.
But sometimes the power of the forces of evil is exaggerated, and we see ourselves as lacking resources needed to combat the damage they can do. We too quickly excuse our sin with phrases such as “The devil made me do it” or “I am just human.” Feeling helpless in evil’s hand, we emerge battered and bruised in the Christian life, just like the epileptic boy. Jesus is against righteous wimps who think Satan and evil are unbeatable Goliaths. Greater is the One in us than he who is in the world. That is what this miracle is designed to reveal. Jesus calls for a faith that is certain that righteousness is stronger than evil. No sin should go undefeated, nor should Satan be given more credit than he is due.
With all the resources available in Christ, there is no reason for sin to prevail, for our humanness to lead to failure, nor for demonic forces to remain in control (Eph. 1:15–23). When we fail, it is because we have not used what God has made available. To fail to draw on such resources is spiritual neglect, like trying to use a bicycle to go across the country when a jet plane is available. When the crowd at this exorcism marveled at the majesty of God, it was because his superior power became so evident.
God does not hoard his resources; he dispenses them. To draw on them is to experience the reality of exorcising the presence of evil without being bruised. This may mean nothing more than going resolutely in the direction God is leading, even if it means risk and uncertainty. It also involves applying the spiritual gifts he makes available and walking in the light he bestows. We can also draw encouragement from other saints who share our task.
One of the times we struggle in our Christian walk is when God takes us on a journey using a path marked “unknown.” Jesus is here taking his disciples on such a journey when he notes his upcoming suffering (v. 44). They listen to his words and have questions. They have no idea where he is taking them or why, but they are afraid to ask. Disciples are often required to take unknown paths. Sometimes God gives us a ministry assignment within the church that on the surface makes no sense, and yet after time we see that he uses it to teach us new things. I have often heard as an elder that some person did not feel called to teach youth, only to find that after the assignment was accepted, he or she was left with the feeling, “Why have I not done this before?” We may feel unprepared and untrained, but God is saying, “Just trust me for the direction I am taking you.” He takes us to our destination and wants us to trust him that walking with him does not always mean we understand him. He has his reasons, though it may be that the only result we discover is that we know him better.
The disciples continue to walk with Jesus, even though they have questions. This is the essence of faith. If faith were safe, would it be faith? I recall hearing about the inaugural speech of Richard Mouw of Fuller Seminary, where he spoke about being a “restless Christian.” The phrase seems like an oxymoron, but, in fact, it is not. The Christian is in process, under renovation by God, discovering with each day just how much refashioning God is committed to performing in the Christian’s life.
We feel tension living in the world while being citizens of heaven. We feel tension in wanting to be righteous and holy, while recognizing that we are not yet in glorified bodies and purified from sin. We live as aliens in a strange land, at least if we are sensitive to our call. Faith walks knowing that his hands are beneath our feet. Faith risks going down a path not because we always understand why life has turned in this direction, but because he has said, “Turn here.” The disciples are called to make such a journey as Jesus prepares them for Jerusalem. Even in their fear to ask him about his rejection, they follow him. Even though it is difficult, they do not lack faith (cf. 22:28–30).
Regarding each disciple’s desire to be the greatest, we often like to make distinctions, such as between the lovely and the unlovely, between gifted and the problem people, between important people and the rest of humanity. To think this way is a travesty on the image of God in every person to think this way. While there are dangers in using the word “humanist,” insofar as it frequently means relativist, one can argue that the Bible calls on Christians to be the most humanist of all. After all, what gives more dignity to a human than to say he or she is fashioned in God’s image and is designed to be God’s vicegerent on earth? What connects us to the cosmos in a more significant way than to be connected to its Creator and Sustainer? What gives more value to every human life than to see in every person a merit they possess inherently because they have been made by the God of the universe? Even Paul told a pagan audience that we are all God’s children (Acts 17:24–28). Jesus detested the kind of competition and merit rating to which the disciples seem committed.
By highlighting the value of a child, Jesus raises everyone’s stature. If the lowly are to be welcomed in Jesus’ name, all are to be welcomed. We are all important to our Lord. If he died for our sin, then he has elevated the potential stature of every person who serves him, since forgiveness and full restoration are grounded in faith in him. To welcome a child is to welcome Jesus, which in turn is to welcome the God who sent them both. When the least is the greatest, all are great and the search for greatness becomes unnecessary.
Finally, a disease that plagues ministry is the belief that we are indispensable, that only we can perform it. But ministry is not a franchise with an exclusive license. The disciples must learn that in order to blanket the world, many laborers are needed, and Jesus enlists many into the ranks of ministry. Efforts to elevate some ministries over others or some areas of service as more important than others deny the variety that is the beauty of the body of Christ. When Paul discusses this topic in 1 Corinthians 12, he refers to giving greater honor to the less honorable parts, so that all may sense the acceptance of their role in the body (1 Cor. 12:21–26). Jesus wants his disciples to appreciate the right others have to minister. No one performs in the church as a lone ranger. The one who is not against us is for us; and we need all the allies we can use.