Day 294 – Matthew 17, Mark 9

Talking Points

• When John said, in his gospel account, that they “saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth,” can’t you imagine he was remembering this astounding event on the mountain (John 1:14)?
• Jesus has been telling and confirming the truth that He is the promised Messiah. Here, He began to reveal what that would entail. Jesus spoke of His coming death and resurrection (Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:31). The disciples were grieved and confused. Imagine hearing that the long-awaited Messiah would die — an unfathomable idea, and then hearing that He will “be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:23). The Bible records that, “They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant” (Mark 9:10). Picture that conversation!
• A mustard seed is roughly 1-2 millimeters in diameter — a very small seed. Jesus said that faith of even that stature is enough to move mountains. This statement is in the middle of a reprimand for the “littleness” of the disciples’ faith (Matthew 17:20). The idea is not to try and muster up brag-worthy amounts of faith or even to move mountains. The point is to actually trust God — from the day-to-day pieces of life to the monumental thing of salvation for all eternity, actually trust God.
• Since He is the Son of God, Jesus is exempt from the tax to support the temple. But, so as not to offend, He pays it anyway.

Thoughts

“I do believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) There’s so much to be gleaned from these simple words. So much to be applied.

In a desperate place, a father brought his son to Jesus. Imagine how long he’d watched helplessly as his boy was thrown into life-threatening convulsions again and again. Think of the panic he must have felt anytime the boy was out of his sight for a minute, and how he must have been weary of having to “often” save him from the fire and the water (9:22). Now, he’d heard of the Miracle-Worker, the One who could heal the sick and deliver those who are possessed. So, he came; he brought Him his son. “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (9:22)

Jesus heard the desperation and the doubt in the man’s plea, and He responded to both: As to your question of if I can…”all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). In this statement, Jesus tells all of us in our doubt and our desperation where the answer lies — it’s in believing in Jesus.

The father’s immediate cry “I do believe; help my unbelief!” has to be our response as well. Once we see our helpless state and our need only Jesus can fill, we must look to Him in faith and trust Him to help us with any failings in our faith. Simply, He is to be the sole object of our faith and the only place we look to be grown in that faith. Let us, like this father, “[fix] our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2).