Mark 9:19 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Mark 9:19

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Now Christ then says these words and these words trouble people a little. ‘He answereth him and saith, Oh faithless generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me.’ In what way does he say those words? We can imagine that he says them softly, and in a distressed way. Here was the perfect, holy Son of God, equal with the Father, the second person of the triune Godhead, come into this fallen sin-sick world, and the whole environment was to him something painful, because of his purity. The scribes, the clergy of the day, have been taunting the disciples. They are against him. How painful was that! It is entirely reasonable that men should exercise faith in God. Not to do so is a key sin (John 16:9). This effected Christ personally: to be living in the world surrounded by unbelief, even in the nation which had been trained to believe in God. There was, as Hendriksen says, faithlessness on the part of the father, the disciples, and the scribes. The scribes could not account for him but they will not believe in him. The best they can do is ridicule the disciples. They had no real interest in the healing of the boy. If only faith and trust could have led the people. It was painful for him to be in a world where unbelief in God is so common, and guides the behaviour of so many so much of the time. It dishonoured his heavenly Father, it dishonoured the Son also. It was a constant trial to him, and he longed to be back with the Father where he had come from, but his commitment to his commission and his trust that the plan of God would ultimately bring victory over the world made him resolute. That generation was particularly unbelieving. Christ had come, he worked his mighty miracles. The crowds wanted the healings and the miracles, but they didn’t want him. The clergy of the day, reject him out of hand. Everybody except his disciples is against him, and they too are failing to exercise faith (Matthew 17:20). But in spite of this faithlessness, he is going to act, and he says, ‘bring him to me.’ The word means carry, which may suggest he could not come himself.

Application

Think of our generation. This is a conspicuously unbelieving generation, the present society. It has not always been as bad as this, where the vast majority of people, and even our leaders, our politicians believe nothing, never pray, never worship, hold in scorn the things of God and the soul and eternity. It's a conspicuously unbelieving evil generation. Does this verse not hint, that at such a time, in such a generation, difficulties upon earth of a purely physical temporal kind will grow worse? ‘Oh faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?’ Is that not saying that because this is a particularly unbelieving rejecting generation, things are bound to be worse for you? We should not be surprised. Faithless people will not pray; they will not look to God, will not bow the knee to him. And because of that, society has no power at all to deal with such things. It cannot pray, it cannot call upon God for help. ‘Oh faithless generation!’

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Mark 9:19 Commentary and Bible Study