Mark 9,17-27. 17. Trinity

Mark 9,17-27 4723

17. Trinitatis 64 

Remigius, Bishop of Reims, France. Apostle of Frankish Empire & Franconia, Bavaria ✠ 533 

1. Oktober 2023

1. ℣ Righteous art Thou, O Yahweh: 

℟ And, upright, are Thy judgments (Psalm 119,137). 

O Yahweh, our Almighty God; You have chosen us for Your heritage and keep us in the Christian faith, so that we looking only to Christ for salvation have His mercy and righteousness.  Amen. (Psalm 33,12.6 Gradual) 

2. »And someone from the crowd answered Him: „Teacher, I brought my son to You, for 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. So I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they did not have the strength to do so.“ 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.“ And they brought the boy to Him. And when the spirit saw Him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father: „How long has this been happening to him?“ And he said: „From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if You able in some way, have compassion on us and come to our aid.“ And Jesus said to him: „‘If you able?!’ All things are possible to/for the one who believes.“ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said: „I believe; help my unbelief!“ And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: „You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.“ And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said: „He is dead.“ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.« 

3. Unbelief is the basic situation of every human being. (Martens ¶ 6). Martin Luther teaches us in his Small Catechism: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. Unbelief manifests from sin, and one of the wicked fruits of sinfulness is demonic oppression. In Mark 9 a boy is tormented by an evil spirit that not only made him mute, but at times it threw him into seizures. This young man was suffering, greatly, to say the least.  

4. Try as they might, Jesus’ disciples were unable to relieve the suffering of this father and son. In Mark 3, Jesus had appointed the Twelve to preach and gave them authority to cast out demons (3,14-15). In Mark 6, Jesus sent them out to preach and exorcise (6,7); they called people to repent, cast out many demons and healed those who were sick (6,13).

5. The spiritual world is not an afterthought in the biblical worldview; rather it is foundational to all that occurs in the world as we know it (Voelz 162). „This tells us two things. First, once again, the spiritual realm is both key and foundational. The initial problem, confronted with both Jews (1,4-5; 23-27) and Gentiles (5,1-20) is that of being under the wrong spiritual lordship. Second, it tells us that each people group has the same difficulty, standing before God in the same condition“ (Voelz 351). 

6. There is a war of worlds going on in the Gospels between the realm of Satan and the realm of Yahweh. Satan has his worldly kingdoms; he even offered them to Jesus in one of his temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4,8-9). God has Israel and its temple. Jesus is the heir to this kingdom as the heir of David and also as the Son of God. In Mark 9 these kingdoms violently clash. Jesus is both Israel reduced to one, and He is the Temple that will be where all sin is forgiven. 

7. Satan’s kingdoms exhibit their wickedness and pure evil. This poor boy is firmly bound to the satanic kingdoms: he is mute; he is dashed to the ground; he foams at the moth, grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; he is thrown into both fire and water in order to destroy him. This mute spirit has this boy in a vise-like grip, and he will not release him; he will live and die in spiritual torment. Even the apostles are helpless against it. 

8. Many people feel this helplessness. We confess such by saying we are poor, miserable sinners who justly deserve temporal and eternal punishment (lsb 184). The father in Mark 9  recognized his desperate state. Nothing he did alleviated his son’s suffering. His only recourse is the Messiah. He went to Jesus’ disciples but could not cast out this mute spirit. So when Jesus returns from the mountain, he petitions Jesus: if You able in some way, then have compassion on us and come to our aid. He knows that God is merciful and steadfast in His love; he knows that Jesus is merciful; he thus pleads for mercy. These are the same words we speak to God: we pray You of Your boundless mercy … to be gracious and merciful to us (lsb 184). 

9. In Christ Jesus we see our Heavenly Father’s compassion, mercy and absolute authority. The mute spirit and Jesus engage in a struggle for the health of this son. It is a wrestling match, and God does enjoy a good wrestling match, as He once, long ago, wrestled Jacob. The mute spirit fights back: the son cries out and thrashes about in convulsions. The crowd thinks the son has died as a result of the violence of it all. But Jesus throws out the mute spirit and raised up the man’s son whole and healthy. 

10. What happens immediately after this event? Jesus predicts His crucifixion and resurrection again (8,31; 9,31; 10,33-34). Although this is the second time Jesus tells His disciples this, Mark emphasizes for us that Jesus was continually teaching them this as they are walking through Galilee. 

11. The reason Jesus has authority over the strong mute spirit is not merely because He is the Son of God, but that as the Divine Son of His Father Jesus’ victory over the kingdoms of Satan was achieved on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Satan’s kingdoms must fall; Satan’s minions must be thrown out; it can be no other way for Messiah triumphs over them by His death and rising anew. 

12. Faith holds onto the death and resurrection of Jesus with a vice-like grip because this is the cornerstone of faith: Christ and Him crucified. It is the gospel and upon it is built all that Jesus accomplishes in His ministry, through His apostles and by His Church. The proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus has power and authority to break Satan’s kingdoms and release those he holds captive. 

13. The cross and resurrection are the center of all spiritual, theological and temporal history. Creation looks toward the cross. Judgment Day looks back to the cross. Different points in history before and after the cross look to/back to the cross. When the Son of God became man, our entire timeline is changed/reordered: it effects both the past and the present forward. Therefore, »all things are possible to/for the one who believes.« And thus we respond just as the distraught father did: I believe; help my unbelief! Jesus is a compassionate Savior whose merciful steadfast love is given to us each time we study His Word, remember our Baptism, receive Absolution for our sins and receive the Lord’s Supper. 

14. Lord, strengthen my faith;

For Satan seeks night and day,

How he may this jewel stealeth 

And deprive me of my salvation.

If thy hand lead me,

I will go safely;

If thy spirit rule me,

I shall live blessedly.

My trust is blessed

And remains united with me;

So I will not be afraid 

And fear no enemy.

 (Ich weiß, an wen ich glaube selk 549,2 2021 Erdmann Neumeister 1718)

This is most certainly true. 

15. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

16. Let us pray. O Almighty God, who after the creation of the world didst rest from all Thy works and as an image of Thine own didst sanctify a day of rest for Thy creatures, grant us that, putting away all earthly cares and anxieties, we may be duly prepared for the services of Thy sanctuary and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal Sabbath promised to Thy people in heaven. Amen. (17. Trinity, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

Martens, Gottfried. Mark 9,17-27. 16. October 2011.

Voelz, James. Mark 1:1–8:26. Copyright © 2013 Concordia Publishing House.