Scripture Daily

Context No. 996 of 4322 · Mark

Context · Reflection

Mark 9:17-21: in context

17One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit; 18and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.” 19He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth. 21He asked his father, “How long has it been since this has been happening to him?” He said, “From childhood.

A desperate father has brought his son to Jesus' disciples, but they could not help. The boy is seized by a spirit that throws him down, makes him foam and grind his teeth, and leaves him rigid. When the disciples fail, the crowd argues, and Jesus arrives to a scene of confusion. He responds with a weary lament, O unbelieving generation, how long must I be with you and bear with you. Bring him to me. When the boy is brought, the spirit convulses him at once. Jesus, unhurried, asks the father a strangely pastoral question: how long has this been happening to him? Since childhood, the father answers.

In the middle of a chaotic, frightening scene, notice what Jesus does. He does not rush. He stops and asks the father a question about the history of the suffering, how long has it been like this, and lets the man tell him, from childhood. He is not gathering information he lacks; he already knows. He is drawing the father out, inviting him to name the long years of anguish, to be heard. There is deep tenderness in a Savior who, amid the convulsions and the crowd, pauses to ask a hurting parent how long he has carried this. It dignifies the father's exhaustion; the burden he has borne since the boy was small is seen and spoken. And it sets up what comes next, the father's raw and honest cry, I believe, help my unbelief. Jesus is not too busy or too hurried to hear the story of a long suffering. He asks, and he waits for the answer, before he acts.

Do I believe Jesus is willing to hear the long history of my suffering, to ask how long and wait for my answer, before he acts, and will I actually tell him?

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