Jesus is the Savior. He is not a coach, not a great example or teacher, and not a dispenser of spiritual favors in exchange and in proportion to the purity and abundance of one’s faith.
Jesus’ first words in the Gospel of Mark are, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.”
What does it mean to repent? In a post-Christian context, the culture might think of the fanatic zealot holding the handmade sign outside a baseball game on the street corner in one hand and shouting into a bullhorn in the other: Repent! Someone who grew up in the Church might associate repentance with saying sorry or feeling guilty.
I love how Article XII of the Augsburg Confession captures the two-fold essence of repentance: “Now, properly speaking, repentance consists of two parts: One is contrition or the terrors that strike the conscience when sin is recognized; the other is faith, which is brought to life by the Gospel or Absolution” (Kolb/Wengert, 45).
Sometimes we repent as we are terrorized by the ugliness of sin within. We recognize our personal sin and how it separates us from God and justly deserves His present and eternal punishment. God works through such terror to turn us toward Jesus in faith, as the Savior who was sacrificed in our place so we would no longer be God’s enemies but His beloved children. This is also known as Christus Vicar.
Other times, we repent as we are terrorized by the ugliness of sin from without. We recognize the brokenness of the world and our utter helplessness apart from a strong Savior who would show up to rescue us. God works through such terror to turn us toward Jesus in faith, as the mighty Deliverer who destroys God’s enemies in order to set His children free. This is referred to as Christus Victor.
The kind of repentance we see in Mark 9 is of the latter kind (much like what we read in Luke 13:1-5).
Mark 9 is terrifying. It is a nightmarish scene. A boy is suffering, and his father suffers too. As awful as it is for the boy to be afflicted, this must be a living nightmare for the dad. A spirit makes the boy mute. It seizes him. It throws him down to the ground. The boy foams and grinds his teeth. He becomes rigid. This spirit will drive the boy into an open flame or a body of water. It wants to destroy him. This happens regularly. “Whenever” the spirit seizes him, this happens. And you get the sense that the spirit can do this whenever it wants. The boy is helpless. The father is helpless. What a terrifying reality! Evil is real and it is overpoweringly strong. Even the disciples of Jesus are helpless and unable to alleviate this suffering.
What is more, the spirit is able to cause such terrifying affliction even in the presence of Jesus Himself! They bring the boy to Jesus, and the spirit does its worst once it sees Him. It convulsed the boy. He is thrown down, rolling about, thrashing on the ground, and all the while foaming at the mouth.
God works through such terror to turn us toward Jesus in faith, as the mighty Deliverer who destroys God’s enemies in order to set His children free.
“Someone help! Someone do something! Is there no one who can do anything to stop this?” I imagine the father’s inner monologue, or maybe he speaks to his boy through his own sobs, “I’m sorry, son. I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry, son. I can’t help. I love you, son. I’m so sorry. Please, God! Please, God! Help him! Help me! Help us!”
The father and the boy may or may not feel any personal guilt over the situation, but they absolutely experience repentance, in the sense that evil is recognized, and they are terrorized by their helplessness.
The father’s helplessness even extends to faith. In order for his boy to be freed from this constant terrorizing, all he has to do is believe, and he is not even able to do that... and he knows it. The spirit is too strong. His own unbelief is too strong.
But Jesus is stronger still!
Jesus gifts the father with a promise. Jesus also gifts the father with the faith needed to cling to that promise. And Jesus gifts the boy with deliverance.
“Repentance consists of two parts: One is contrition or the terrors that strike the conscience when sin is recognized; the other is faith, which is brought to life by the gospel or absolution.” Faith is brought to life by the Gospel.
The father’s belief is not something he has to muster up from within himself. Faith is brought to life by the Gospel, by the word and work of Jesus. Jesus is the strong one. Jesus is stronger than the unclean spirit. Jesus is stronger than the boy thrashing about on the ground. Jesus is stronger than the father’s fear. Jesus is stronger even than the father’s love. And Jesus is stronger than the father’s unbelief.
Jesus is the Savior. He is not a coach, not a great example or teacher, and not a dispenser of spiritual favors in exchange and in proportion to the purity and abundance of one’s faith. Jesus is the Savior, who with a word rebukes the spirit and frees this father and his son from the terrors of their helplessness.
They are still helpless at the end of the episode. Jesus does not encourage them to find the strength within and do better the next time. The good news is not that they are no longer helpless. The good news is they have a Helper, a Savior, a Deliverer!
The preacher might wrap up this sermon by applying the father’s confession of faith as a proverb into various situations today: “I believe; help my unbelief!” What does that look like in light of the terrors your people feel when their helplessness is recognized? What does it look like for your people to cry out to Jesus in faith, even as they need Jesus to give them faith? What are some of the ways God responds to such a cry of faith?
Jesus is not a genie or a vending machine dispensing miracles or spiritual favors. He is our strong Savior. He is strong enough to suffer for us, strong enough to suffer with us, strong enough to save us from evil, strong enough to save us through evil, and strong enough to save us even in the midst of evil. His power is often made perfect in weakness, even as he speaks peace through His Word of promise.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Mark 9:14-29.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Mark 9:14-29.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Mark 9:14-29
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. David Scaer of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Mark 9:14-29.
