ABSTRACT
How about we start by listing out a number of impossible
missions that have been successfully accomplished by seeming losers under the
most impossible circumstances since the start of time till this day and age,
this very second, even this exact moment. You really mean to say that the
Egyptian wizard of a Pharaoh issued an order to Israeli midwives to slaughter every
newborn male child of Israel, yet Moses’ mother dared to flout that edict
simply because “she saw that the child was exceeding beautiful?” (Exodus 2:2).
Or that Moses at age 80 dared to confront Pharaoh with nothing but a mere rod—to
demand a release of the Israelites after having betrayed Egypt’s trust by
biting the finger that fed him (killing a native Egyptian to save an Egyptian slave)?
What about Enoch? the man whose testament is that of walking
in such habitual fellowship with God to the point where God couldn’t bear to
watch him die at a good old age…but rather snatched him off the face of the
earth at just 375 years of age (during a time when people lived up to nearly a
thousand years). The depth of fellowship in which Enoch walked with God can be
said to have been too divine for the earth realm. For that reason, an untimely
rapture of the righteous man to the heavenly city became inevitable…as will be
the case one of these days when that long expected sound of the trumpet comes
echoing in from the sky. Blessed is the man whose garment is white as snow in
that day…who is not found wanting…like the five foolish virgins.
The very beautiful thing is that—while there is yet time,
the God of Enoch will not turn His face away from any who may need to return to
Him in order not to miss out on that trumpet call…all thanks to Christ who had
loved us and given Himself for us. If Enoch’s extraordinary fellowship with God
and his consequent untimely rapture were to be a mission, it would be
considered mission impossible. But how impossible was it for him to walk in
such profound communion with God? And how impossible was it for God to respond by
affording him an end-time experience in the very beginning of time? Better
still, how impossible would it be for you and I to emulate Enoch? especially in
these days of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit; which rests and abides with us…now and
forevermore?
Should we even make mention of Abraham and Sarah his wife
whose procreative tendencies, according to Hebrews 11:12, were as good as dead
when their promised child finally came through after tarrying for 25 long years?
not to mention that they went ahead to have other children and are today renown
as the parents of many nations? That may have been centuries ago. But centuries
ago, it was equally medically impossible for a 100-year-old man to have a child
with a 90-year-old woman. What makes it mission impossible today???
Let’s go back to Moses parting the red sea. The proverb,
“caught between the devil and the deep blue sea” was probably coined out of the
Israelites’ experience upon their exodus from Egypt. Coming to a face-off with
the red sea; and the Egyptian army furiously closing in behind them, it was
very reasonably logical for the former Egyptian slaves to behold their new
leader and label him a prophet of doom; who had managed to cajole them into welcoming
the prospect of absconding from Egypt to a fantasy land that flows with milk
and honey…a mission impossible that they should have known from the start. Now
it was time for them to perish by the hands of the Egyptians on account of
their lack of knowledge and ignorance. But guess who perished???
For the red sea to have split in two at the blast of God’s
nostrils—must have been the height of impossibility unimaginable. As in, that
wasn’t even something to consider…whether possible or impossible. It was simply
beyond the mind. So, when Moses stretched forth his rod towards the sea at
God’s command, the event that followed was nothing short of a wonder, is still
nothing short of a wonder, and will forever be nothing short of a wonder. Hence,
when you are laden with seeming impossible missions, quickly call to mind that
invoking the wonder-working power of God is all it will take to break gates of
bars and cut bars of iron asunder.
Need I draw it to a climax with the death and resurrection
of Jesus the Son of God? What other mission could be more impossible than dying
and coming back to life of His own accord? I’ve learnt from sermons that it
takes a man of higher authority to call back the spirit of a man with lesser
authority from the realm of the dead. So Jesus could call back Lazarus’ spirit
into his body after four days of lifelessness…just as will be the case with the
Lazaruses of our time (friends of Jesus…dead/alive) upon the second coming of
the Lord. To such, Rev. 2:17 promises: “…to him who overcomes, I will give some
of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone
a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
But as for Jesus, who could have raised Him from death
except Himself? He kept saying: “destroy this temple, and in three days I’ll
raise it up” (John 2:19) …and it was exactly so. But didn’t that statement provoke
many outrages? Didn’t similar speeches by Jesus cause for Him to almost be
stoned? to almost be thrown down a cliff? deserted by thousands He fed with
divinely multiplied bread and fish? considered demon-possessed? labelled a
glutton? and eventually killed? All for what? Because His declarations were
deemed impossible! Mission impossible! But now, what’s more possible than every
word to have proceeded out of Jesus’ mouth?
Even in the Hollywood blockbuster; “Mission Impossible,” the
millions of dollars and resources channeled into producing that movie—were only
aimed at proving just one point: the possibility of the mission. So why title
it “Mission Impossible” when the single notion it squarely communicates is the
indisputable possibility of the mission? Perhaps the best way of answering that
question to the appeal of logical minds is to draw attention to the figure of
speech; “irony.” But this is no appeal to logic. It is no call to reason.
Instance might have been drawn from that impressive work of art which richly embodies
a caustic remark. That was only to prep the mind for the main thing: a biblical
case study of an obvious impossible mission 2,000+ years ago which turned out a
workover via the agency of the Messiah. Ever really studied the account of Mark
9:17-29? Let’s explore!
INTRODUCTION
Prior to the event of Mark 9:17-29, Jesus had been on the
mount of transfiguration where he afforded Peter, James, and John a glimpse of
the kingdom of God. His garment became whiter than snow as He mysteriously conversed
with Moses and Elijah in view of the astonished Peter, James and John.
Meanwhile, there was a near-uproar down the mountain between the rest of His
disciples and a man who had ladened them with an impossible mission. Though the
disciples had come recounting joyously to Jesus in Luke 10:17 how demons became
subject to them (in His name) after having been endued with power and sent out
to preach the gospel, a situation now confronted them that was nothing in the
likeness of anything they had encountered thus far.
A distressingly desperate father presented them his devilishly
demonized son, requiring them to cast their usual anointed touch on him and see
to his deliverance. For those whose testimony was that of demons having become
subject to them, salvaging the situation at hand should have only been an
opportunity to add to their resume. But the reverse turned out the case, as—for
the first time in their experience, they encountered an extremely cruel and
evil resistance. In all the time they walked with Jesus, never for once did
Jesus meet any such resistance. More so, they had reproduced the same result
upon being endued with power and sent out to preach the gospel. Hence, the
least they could possibly expect was to be met with such demonic resistance.
But it happened, and they couldn’t understand why. Mission
impossible, I guess…until Jesus showed up on the scene and exhibited His
authority as the Messiah for the umpteen time. Puzzled by the development, the
disciples, as was their manner, enquired to learn the reason behind their inability
to salvage the situation, hence the birthing of the famous scripture: “this
kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Mat 17:21). We’ll get to a fair
exposition of the mystery of prayer and fasting in the course of this piece. First,
let’s explore the event of Mark 9:17-29…how a dogged impossible situation got
trivially remedied in an instant!
MARK
9:17-29
The situation with the demon-possessed youngster in this scripture
is not uncommon in today’s world. The boy’s father had explained to Jesus that
right from his childhood, he had been suffering fierce demonic torment that was
intended to kill him. How the demon came to have such stronghold on the boy is
not in the records. But as recounted by the boy’s father to Jesus, the demon
had been in the habit of seizing him at least expected moments and slamming him
to the ground as he foams at the mouth, gnashing his teeth. All through the
gospels, Jesus associates “gnashing of teeth” to rebellious souls who would end
up in hell on account of their rejection of Him as the Messiah. It is a fate of
the damned. But here was this innocent boy, subjected to a fate of the damned …by
a damned creature (the demon). And it’d been that way for how long? since childhood?
No doubt, the boy’s father, just like the woman with the
issue of blood, must have sought remedy for his son’s situation from all the
nooks and crannies of nations. And just like the woman with the issue of blood,
he couldn’t find any. It won’t be out of place to assume that in the course of
his solution-finding, he had come across charlatans and swindlers who
capitalized on his vulnerability to milk him of his hard-earned resources and
whatever else they could rip off him, just as was the case with the woman with
issue of blood. Isn’t this a familiar experience with many fiercely challenged
fellows today who are out there seeking help or assistance?
Neither knowing what to do with their problems nor how to
get rid of them, they only hoped that someone somewhere showed up to be that
good Samaritan for them. But it gets frustrating when it begins to seem like
the world has run short of good Samaritans. And when good Samaritans are stumbled
upon, they hardly wield the desired answer. In the case of the woman with the
issue of blood, it is written in Mark 5:27-28 that “when she heard about Jesus,
she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, if only
I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” In that same light, the father
of the demon-possessed boy must have heard of the great and mighty works that
Jesus and His disciples were doing. So he, like the woman with the issue of
blood, had resolved that if he managed to drag the boy to Jesus, it would be
the end of his ugly plight.
His experience with the disciples of Jesus possibly broke
his spirit for the umpteen time. After having gone through hell a thousand times
in search of heaven, how could he now have come so close to heaven’s gate and
not as much as get a glimpse of paradise? not to mention entering in?
Thankfully, the time for the salvation of his son had come. Therefore, neither
his unbelief nor the prayerlessness of Jesus’ disciples could stand in the way
of it. As though divinely orchestrated, (and it most likely was), Jesus showed
up with Peter, James, and John from the mount of transfiguration to meet a
great multitude having a dispute with His disciples. On enquiring to know the
reason for the near-uproar, the boy’s father desperately analyzed the situation
to Him.
“Teacher,” he lamented to Jesus, “I brought You my son, who
has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at
the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples,
that they should cast it out, but they could not.” While the man may have
thought that he had judiciously tabled the matter to the Messiah in a manner
that would evoke sympathy and foster remedy, what he didn’t know was that he
only succeeded in revealing his faithlessness, as Jesus’ response to him was:
“O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear
with you? Bring him to Me.” As mentioned above, the good in all these was that
the time for the boy’s salvation had come…and not even his father’s
faithlessness and indeed generational faithlessness could stand in the way of
his being saved and delivered.
But there’s something striking to take notice of; at that
point. Though Jesus showed up on the scene and asked for the boy to be brought
to Him so he can set him free, the demon didn’t let go without a fight. We all
know that demons tremble at the presence of Jesus. So how come the moment the
boy was brought before Jesus, the demon in him manifested at its worst
dimension? As seen in Mark 9:20: “then they brought him to Him. And when he saw
Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and
wallowed, foaming at the mouth.” Recall that in Mark 9:18 when the boy’s father
first recounted the boy’s predicament to Jesus, he had made mention of all the
acts demonstrated by the boy in Mark 9:20 upon setting eyes on Jesus? So what
was the demon trying to prove? That not even the Messiah could free the boy
from its grip? Such impudence!
Ever found yourself in situations where it seemed like the
more you did your best, the worse things tended to get? Those moments when all
your pleas appear to have eluded God’s ears and your prayers are nothing close
to being heard, not to mention being answered. Instead, things get so heated up
and it’s worse or no different from when you hadn’t made any attempts at
seeking remedies. Then a very persuasive suggestion invades the mind, gearing
you towards letting your guard down and throwing in the towel because,
obviously, you aren’t making any headways. It’s best if you let things be and
take life as it comes. As evident in the event of Mark 9:17-29, such times are
usually the moment salvation. But in that moment, the devil is likely to strike
one last blow in hope of getting lucky…and he could; who knows? In this boy’s
case, he ran out of luck completely!
He ran out of luck completely in the sense that the demon
was not just cast out of the boy but was ordered to never enter into him again.
In Matthew 12:43-45, it is made known by Jesus that when an unclean spirit goes
out of a man, it goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then it
says to itself, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when it
comes and finds the house empty, swept, and put in order without being
inhabited, it goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of the man from
whom the demon was cast out—becomes worse than the first. But that spiritual
rule of law was breached for this boy. So even if he decided to remain empty
and uninhabited after being swept and put in order, neither that demon nor any
other—was permitted to enter him ever again.
It is not exactly clear why Jesus decided to break that
spiritual protocol for the boy. Perhaps it had to do with the duration of time
he had suffered all those violent torment in the hand of the demon. Perhaps it
was sheer mercy and compassion, for it is written in Romans 9:15: “…I will have
mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I
will have compassion.” Whenever developments like this are witnessed and
certain question-marks arouses in the minds of observers as per why it should
be so, only one feedback tends to fill the blanks, which is: “the sovereignty
of God.” However, it’s a rare case, as—all through the gospels and even the
acts/epistles of the apostles, not another fellow enjoyed such divine of
privilege.
Let’s see it the way it happened in Mark 9:25: “when Jesus
saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit,
saying to it, DEAF AND DUMB SPIRIT, I COMMAND YOU, COME OUT OF HIM AND ENTER
HIM NO MORE!” At this point, the demon still dared to convulse the boy after
crying out in bitterness, anger, frustration, and defeat because it had come to
the end of its road. Then it came out of him, and the boy became as one that was
dead, such that many observers couldn’t help concluding that he was actually dead.
As is typical with fresh starts, especially when succeeded by very rough
endings, it sometimes tends to seem as though picking up the broken pieces and
forging ahead with the life of one’s dreams will be nothing short of mission
impossible. Suffice it to say that it’s been so for many who ended up settling
for less.
Again, suffice it to say that it probably would have been so
for the boy in question if Jesus hadn’t gone the extra mile to remedy his
situation. As seen in Mark 9:27: “BUT JESUS TOOK HIM BY THE HAND AND LIFTED HIM
UP, AND HE AROSE.” When having a fresh start and certain difficulties pose
themselves as giants before you such that you’re tempted to tow the path of
status quo, remember Jesus Who is ever ready to take our infirmities upon
Himself and bear our diseases. All you’d have to do is go to Him. If the boy’s
dad had not defied the odds and taken the boy to Jesus, his condition wouldn’t
have changed. Isn’t it amazing how the impossible situations of our lives can
be effortlessly alleviated just by casting them on Jesus? Considering how
trivially this boy’s ailment was fixed, could one conclude that there really
aren’t any impossible missions?
MISSION
IMPOSSIBLE???
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In events like that of Mark 9:17-29 where the disciples
seemed faced with that seemingly impossible mission, the simple remedy, as
proposed by the Lord Jesus, is—FASTING and PRAYER. As promised earlier, a fair
exposition of the mystery of prayer and fasting was to be captured in the
course of this piece. In order not to mince words in the process of transcribing
comprehensive teachings on the subject of prayer and fasting, links to the
teachings are provided below. Happy learning!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMJPN2MJgig&list=WL&index=8&t=3641s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcyoa8fR6MA&list=WL&index=31&t=2601s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVyV9F-aoHc&list=WL&index=38&t=7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU0YXhxGgOw&list=WL&index=52
CONCLUSION
For with God nothing shall be impossible: (Luke 1:37).
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©Jezuzboi, 2021.
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