Treated With Contempt
051 Treated With Contempt
Mark 9:14-29
June 28, 2026
You see the title of the sermon is “Treated with Contempt”.
And that phrase is certainly familiar.
Just this morning
· As Peter, James, and John were following Jesus down the mountain,
· After having seen His glory,
· Jesus reminded them again.
Mark 9:12 “And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?”
This has been the point that the disciples refuse to see.
· When Jesus first announced it in Caesarea Philippi Peter rebuked Him.
· When He announced it on the way down the mountain they still didn’t get it.
· Indeed He’ll still tell them many more times which they won’t get.
What is clear is that the disciples are after glory
And are failing to understand that following Jesus
Will not be popular in the world.
We’ve read it many times, but:
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
· Jesus is the “man of sorrows”
· Jesus is “acquainted with grief”
· Jesus is “despised”
· Jesus is not esteemed
And yet it doesn’t seem to matter how many times He tells them,
The disciples still have visions of earthly glory.
Well here Mark provides for us AN ILLUSTRATION
Of what Jesus has been saying.
It is an illustration of the contempt Jesus has been talking about.
(incidentally, Mark loves this story…way more than any other account)
When we read this story it is one of absolute chaos.
While Peter, James, and John were witnessing glory on the mountain
The other 9 disciples are being put through the ringer.
And while the mountaintop experience was certainly fun,
You and I both know that the Christian life is lived in the valley.
We all love those mountain top retreats.
· Who doesn’t love Camp REGEN?
· Who doesn’t love a Disciple Now or a Disciple Still?
· Surrounded by Christians, with Christian events and nightly worship
· Those are great moments, and they certainly greatly encourage our faith.
But the bulk of the Christian life is not lived in Glorietta, it is lived in Spur,
It is lived around non-believers who aren’t headed for a worship service.
And the contempt of following Jesus is real
And it must be understood and even embraced.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE LEARNING HERE.
We don’t see Jesus being treated like the glorious God that He is.
Instead there is contempt.
Now, before we start looking closer at this text,
I want to draw your attention to some parallels
That might help you better see how routine and normal this scene is.
TURN TO: EXODUS 32
· You probably know the story just by the book and chapter reference.
· Moses has been on the mountain seeing the glory of God.
· In fact the glory would be so strong that Moses would have to wear a veil.
Being on that mountain with God must have been a glorious delight.
What a 40 day retreat!
But Exodus 32 reveals what was going on down in the valley.
(READ: 1-6)
Every time we read the story the scene shocks us.
· How could a people who had so recently witnessed the glorious deliverance of God so quickly turn on Him?
· How could Aaron have been so weak as to give in to their rebellion?
· How could they do such a thing?
It really is appalling.
I certainly want to remind you of God’s response to their contempt.
(READ: 7-10)
There is nothing about the response of God there that shocks you.
· Why wouldn’t God be angry?
· Why wouldn’t God be frustrated?
· God would be totally just in doing to them exactly as He said to Moses.
These people had failed to His glory and they deserved judgment.
BUT YOU KNOW THE STORY…
· Moses intercedes and God changes His mind.
God does however continue to voice His frustration.
(READ 33:1-3)
Can you hear how frustrated God is with those people?
· I don’t even want to be around them.
· Of course again, Moses intercedes,
· and God does in fact accompany the people, but you get the point.
These were a people who failed to recognize the glory of God
It was frustrating to God and it became a burden to Moses.
Glory on the mountain, chaos in the valley.
But that’s NOT the only time.
TURN TO: NUMBERS 14
The setting of this chapter is
· After the spies returned from surveying the land
· And issued a bad report to the people
· And the people decided not to enter the Promised Land.
They had contempt for God
That contempt spilled over to God’s appointed leader.
(READ 14:1-4)
You see the rebellion and how even Moses could not escape it.
As God’s man, he would share in God’s contempt.
Now again look at the frustration of God.
(READ 14:11-35)
I want you to pay particular attention to what God says in verse 11.
· “The Lord said to Moses, “HOW LONG will this people spurn Me? And HOW LONG will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?”
And then look down again at verse 27
· “HOW LONG shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me.”
I think the parallel to our current passage in Mark is blatantly obvious.
The things God was saying
About an unbelieving generation in the days of Moses
Are the very things Jesus is saying
About an unbelieving generation in His own day.
Unredeemed people do not recognize the glory of God.
Contempt for God is all they give.
THIS IS THE POINT that Jesus has been making in His preaching to the disciples.
Here in Mark 9, it is about to be illustrated for them.
Tonight, as we look at this story,
It’s a little difficult to just outline it in a linear fashion.
What we’re going to do is
1. Point out the major players,
2. See the contempt that Jesus is talking about,
3. See how Jesus was not worthy of such contempt,
4. And ultimately learn from it.
So let’s start looking at this story as a whole.
(READ MARK 9:14-29)
Ok, let’s start with:
#1 A DEFIANT SPIRIT
Mark 9:17-18, 20-22, 26
This is really where we need to start,
Because the entire story revolves around a boy who is “possessed with a spirit which makes him mute”.
Now, let’s just stop there for a second.
What manner of evil is it that would choose to invade the life of a boy and make it where he can’t speak?
· It’s just senseless cruelty.
· It’s just meanness for meanness sake.
And then you add in a few of the other facts the father gives throughout the conversation.
(18) “whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out.”
“seizes” is (kata-lom-BON-o)
It’s where we get our word “catalepsy”
It’s like he has a seizure.
The word “slams” is an especially violent word.
· It was the same word used of when you put new wine into old wine skins and it bursts the skins.
· It was the same word used of rabid dogs that will turn and “tear you to pieces”.
It’s a violent and destructive word.
We are talking about a demon who not only has made this boy mute,
But who from time to time just decides to body slam him.
And not just that.
Jesus later asks the father how long this has happened and the dad say, (21b-22) “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.”
What manner of cruelty is this?
John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
I can’t imagine the grief of a parent here.
· Every time a fire was started,
· Any time you get close to the water
· To worry that this demon is going to body slam him into it to try and kill him.
It’s just pure and utter torment.
It is awful for the child, it is awful for the parent.
No wonder the father asks in verse 22
For Jesus to “take pity on US and help US!”
Both the father and the son are suffering here.
It’s an ugly picture of a cruel and violent demon.
But that is somewhat par for the course.
· Satan is cruel and evil.
· You never find demons improving the lives of people.
BUT…What makes this demon stand out a little from the rest,
Is its intensified defiance even to Jesus.
Now, this demon is not in charge, and it must do what Jesus says,
But it seems even more defiant than we’re used to.
Think back in Mark’s gospel.
The first encounter with a demon that Mark mentioned.
Mark 1:24-26 “saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.”
· That evil spirit couldn’t hide from Jesus and was forced to out himself.
· It had a sense of fear of Jesus.
· It did thrown its host into convulsions but otherwise quickly came out.
Or we read about:
Mark 3:11 “Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!”
Or we remember the man with a legion of demons:
Mark 5:6 “Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;”
That demon came running up and bowed.
Mark 5:12 “The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”
Even that Syrophoenician woman:
Mark 7:29-30 “And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.”
BUT THIS DEMON IS INCREDIBLY DEFIANT.
We notice what this demon does the second he sees Jesus.
(20) “They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.”
· It’s almost like it is challenging Jesus.
· It’s almost like it is putting on a display of disdain and disrespect of the Lord.
And when Jesus commands it to leave:
(26) “After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out”
And not only that,
But when Jesus told it to leave, He had to be specific that it could not return.
(25) “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.”
It’s like Jesus knew how defiant this demon was.
Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
But you just recognize that we have here
A demon that seems to show no respect at all.
Yes, it was forced to yield to Christ, but it didn’t want to.
· It was defiant.
· It was cruel.
· It was evil.
· It was loud.
If the disciples were looking for a world were everything loved and obeyed Jesus, they needed to look again.
THIS DEMON WAS DEFIANT.
And that defiance proved to be a problem
For the 9 remaining disciples down in the valley.
#2 DEFEATED DISCIPLES
Mark 9:18b, 28-29
The thing that catches our attention very early in the story is that
· This broken-hearted dad brought his boy to Jesus,
· But Jesus wasn’t there.
· Jesus was on the mountain.
No problem, Jesus had given His disciples authority over demons.
Mark 6:7 “And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;”
Mark 6:13 “And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.”
Jesus’ absence would not be a problem.
They had done this many times before.
BUT THIS TIME there was a problem.
(18b) “I told your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
This time it wasn’t working.
SOME CLUE is given to us later in Mark’s gospel,
And some comes to us in Matthew’s gospel.
(28-29) “When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
We don’t really know what Jesus meant by “This kind…”
· Maybe it was a specific kind of demon?
· Maybe it was a reference to how defiant it was?
· We don’t really know.
And We don’t really know how the disciples were trying to cast it out.
All we do know from Mark’s gospel is what they weren’t doing.
THEY WEREN’T PRAYING.
Jesus said, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
IN OTHER WORDS, “The only way you’ll get this one to leave is by asking God to take care of it for you.”
Matthew’s gospel gives a little more insight:
Matthew 17:19-20 “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus reveals it as a faith problem.
Matthew and Mark together help us see that
The disciples have a self-sufficiency problem.
Instead of seeking and crying out to God, they trusted in their own ability.
“I can do it…”
One can even imagine one disciple failing and then another saying, “You’re doing it wrong, here, I’ll cast it out.”
By the time they were finished one imagines A CHAOTIC SCENE
Where all 9 disciples are waiving their hands and uttering commands
And putting on a big show all to no avail.
They were defeated and defeated badly.
JUST ANOTHER REMINDER THAT
They are ministering in a fallen and hostile world.
If they are to succeed it will require faith and prayer
And dependance on God’s power, not their own.
Now, that is how the scene began.
· The remaining 9 disciples all gathered together waiting for Jesus, Peter,
James, and John to come down off the mountain.
· While they were waiting this man and his son show up
· And the disciples utterly fail at trying to cast out the demon.
And this had led to a third reality.
#3 DEBATING SCRIBES
Mark 9:14
The mention of scribes is important here.
You already know that one of the strategies of the religious elite
Was to send people to just follow and watch Jesus
And to wait for Him to slip up.
Mark 7:1-2 “The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.”
Remember how they just showed up and watched and waited?
That’s what the scribes are doing here.
AND Jesus had already pointed out that the scribes would NOT be on His side.
Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Well, when these scribes see this man approach the disciples
And they see them fail so miserably; they see their opportunity.
The scribes engage with the disciples.
What they are saying we do not know, but it’s not hard to imagine.
All Mark says is that (14) “When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.”
THE FIGHT IS ON.
1. You’ve got a demon-possessed boy that can’t be healed.
2. You’ve got disciples that are humiliated.
3. You’ve got scribes that are pointing it out.
4. You’ve got a crowd that has gathered to watch it all.
IT IS ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL CHAOS.
The glory of the mountain has given way to the chaos of the valley.
The enemy is out in full force.
The contempt for Jesus is real.
#4 A DOUBTING CROWD
Mark 9:15,19,26
Now here is something interesting.
(15) “Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.”
Believe it or not this verse
Is pretty heavily discussed and debated among commentators.
It is because of the word Mark uses
When he says the crowds were “amazed”.
It is a really strong word.
I’ll show you some of the other places Mark uses it.
Mark 14:33 “And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.”
That was Jesus in the garden.
The same word “amazed” here
Is rendered “to be very distressed” in chapter 14.
You see it again:
Mark 16:5-6 “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.”
There it is rendered “amazed” and it speaks of when the women entered the empty tomb after the resurrection and saw an angel.
With those two uses of the word in mind,
It helps me understand a little better what the pulse of this crowd is.
This crowd has been watching the fight.
· The disciples first got their tail kicked by a demon
· Now they are getting humiliated by the scribes.
Jesus is being dragged through the mud in this public debate.
And all of a sudden Jesus shows up.
And the crowd is “amazed and began running up to greet Him.”
What if we read it that the crowd was
“very distressed and began running up to greet Him”?
AS IN, the crowd is confused now.
· They wonder if the scribes are right?
· They wonder why His disciples all of a sudden have no power?
This is a fickle crowd and now their faith is wavering.
They are not amazed at the glorious sight of Jesus.
Their faith is in distress as they watch the battle unfold.
AND THAT EXPLAINS
Why Jesus first response is in verse 19 saying, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”
Jesus DOESN’T respond to that crowd
Like He was greeted by a group of people who were happy to see Him.
Jesus responds like He just walked into a buzzsaw.
He walked up to a boy who is suffering, a father is disheartened,
Scribes who are accusing, disciples who are embarrassed,
And a crowd is about to turn on Him as being a fraud.
The crowd is doubting.
They are on the verge of denial.
They are being convinced by the scene.
And JESUS, just like God in the days of Moses, HAS HAD ENOUGH.
Can I remind you of one of the verses we read?
Numbers 14:11 “The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?”
Do you understand the frustration of Jesus here now?
· How many miracles must He work?
· How many demons must He cast out?
· How many hungry people must He feed?
· How many lepers, how many paralytics, how many dead must He raise?
Before these people will believe in Him?
All it took was one moment of weakness from His disciples
And all of a sudden the whole world is turning on Him.
THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT ALLIES.
· They are rocky soil.
· Their faith is skin deep.
· They are like their fathers.
Hebrews 3:16-4:2 “For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”
That is the crowd Jesus is dealing with here.
They’ll do to you what they did to Moses.
IT IS CONTEMPT!
Do you understand why Jesus says to get ready
Because contempt is on the way?
Could Peter, James, and John really expect
· That the kingdom was about to appear?
· That the masses were about to turn to Him in obedience?
Jesus was not receiving praise, He was receiving contempt.
And He was receiving it from everywhere.
One more player in this story
#5 A DISTRAUGHT FATHER
Mark 9:17-18a, 27b
I saved this man for last, because apart from the boy who is delivered, this man does provide for us the one bright spot in the story.
This father had come looking for Jesus.
(17-18) “And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
He saw Jesus as his only hope but was met only with disappointment.
The disciples of Jesus could not deliver his boy.
And now Jesus, in frustration, has demanded
“Bring him to Me!”
But as the father grabs his son to lead him to Jesus,
That defiant demon fires off again.
(20) “They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.”
AND IT LOOKS LIKE
Jesus isn’t going to be able to be any more effective than the disciples.
This demon is just not cooperating.
But Jesus doesn’t panic nor does He act rashly or bizarrely.
(21-22) “And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
I’m not totally sure why Jesus asked the question, but I like it.
This boy falls into another epileptic fit
And Jesus asked, “How long has this been happening to him?”
· It’s not like Jesus doesn’t know.
· And it’s not like it matters from a healing standpoint.
But I like it because it reminds me of times in my life when I have suffered or when something hurts and someone asks me a similar question.
“How long..?”
· It’s an expression of compassion.
· It’s an expression of sympathy.
· Jesus sees this father and feels his pain.
Where the story gets more interesting is in the father’s next response.
You can see how distraught he is.
“But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
It’s almost like that leper earlier.
Mark 1:40 “And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
The leper knew Jesus could if He would.
This father seemed to know Jesus would if He could.
His faith is wavering.
· The defiance of the demon…
· The defeat of the disciples…
· The debate of the scribes…
· The doubt of the crowd…
It has all weighed down this father
And he’s questioning why he even brought his son to Jesus at all.
AND HE QUESTIONS JESUS ABILITY.
Jesus jumps on the phrase.
“If you can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
The Greek structure puts the definite article before “If you can”
It indicates that Jesus makes a big deal out of that incredibly backward statement.
It’s almost like He says, “Ahh, the old “if you can” again.”
Jesus is about to have the same frustration as with the crowd,
But this man interjects!
(24) “Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
· The father determined to push past this defiant demon.
· The father determined to overlook the defeated disciples.
· The father determined to ignore the debating scribes.
· The father determined to distance himself from the doubting crowds.
He decided to plant his stake in the ground and place it all on Jesus.
Unlike the disciples, he would appeal to Jesus for help to do it.
AND JESUS ANSWERED HIS PRAYER!
He is the lone bright picture in this chaotic story.
But here is an accurate picture
Of what the disciples has better start to expect.
IF THEY THOUGHT they were following Jesus into fame and glory they had better think again.
They are following Him into rejection and contempt.
· Satan will fight them at every turn...
· The religious elite will debate them continually...
· The crowds will turn on them…
But in the midst of all that opposition
They can also expect that some will be saved!
What they must decide is if they will follow Jesus in the midst of it.
AND SO MUST WE.
· Am I willing to go against the crowd?
· Am I willing to go against Satan?
· Am I willing to go against the religious establishment?
Am I willing to trust Jesus and follow Him
Even though it costs me my life?
I really like how Luke’s gospel concludes this story:
Luke 9:43-45 “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.”
This fickle crowd would flip again here,
But Jesus warned the disciples not to buy it.
We are called to the same discernment.
The point of the story is the cross.
That is where He is headed.
We are called to take up our cross and follow.
THE ONLY OTHER OPTION
Is to be a part of the doubting rabble that frustrated God.
Tonight take a page from this father and pray,
“I do believe; help my unbelief!”