The man who contradicted Jesus!

The Man Who Contradicted Jesus.

The man who contradicted Jesus Brendan Mc Crossan

The man, who contradicted Jesus, got his healing for his son.

We don’t seem to hear many sermons on people contradicting Jesus and getting what they wanted when they did; it wasn’t brashness or ignorance that they displayed but faith, and Jesus answered their need. He realized that faith made them take this stand. Here is one of them in this next scripture.

Mark 9-17-Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Jesus Heals a Boy

14 When Jesus and his three disciples came back down, they saw a large crowd around the other disciples. The teachers of the Law of Moses were arguing with them.15 the crowd was really surprised to see Jesus, and everyone hurried over to greet him.16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about?”

17Someone from the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. A demon keeps him from talking. 18 Whenever the demon attacks my son, it throws him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grit his teeth in pain. Then he becomes stiff. I asked your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.”

19 Jesus said, “You people don’t have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 They brought the boy, and as soon as the demon saw Jesus, it made the boy shake all over. He fell down and began rolling on the ground and foaming at the mouth.21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” The man answered, “Ever since he was a child. 22 The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!”23Jesus replied, “Why do you say ‘if you can’? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!”

24 Right away the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more.”25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was gathering fast, he spoke sternly to the evil spirit that had kept the boy from speaking or hearing. He said, “I order you to come out of the boy! Don’t ever bother him again.” 26 The spirit screamed and made the boy shake all over. Then it went out of him. The boy looked dead, and almost everyone said he was. 27 But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.

This man is an example for all of us whose faith seems weak because of our situations, look at what he did, he contradicted Jesus himself, 19 Jesus said, “You people don’t have any faith,’ and ‘if you can’? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!”And he contradicted Jesus; he shouted not whispered, shouted, why did he shout, Jesus was close to him? Desperation makes us shout out what we believe. 24 Right away the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more.”

Somewhere inside this man, he knew he had faith for Jesus to heal his Son, he didn’t have faith in man, ‘Jesus disciples,’ for he seen that they couldn’t get the demon out of his son, but when ‘Jesus’ whom he did believe in arrived on the scene, and he told the disciples that ‘they didn’t have any faith,’ the man did not agree being put in the same category as them so he shouted aloud to ‘Jesus ‘–I do have faith, help me to have more! What he was saying was he did have ‘faith in Jesus,’ not the apostles; his eyes were on the right person. For example many people come up in a healing line and they are looking at a man to heal them, and most never get healed, because their eyes were on the man not on the healer- ‘Jesus.’ They were looking at a man to heal them, their faith was on a man’s gift of healing not the person doing the healing, - the Holy Spirit in Jesus name

Let’s look at this scripture carefully; who did the man say he brought his son to?

7 Someone from the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you.”

He didn’t shout this out, he spoke it; ‘I brought my son to you.’

Hewasinthecrowdprobablypushedbackbyotherstryingtoseewhattheapostlesweregoing to do. Obviously he handed his son to the apostles and then got shoved back by the crowd, that’s why he answered Jesus from the crowd; I brought my son to you. *{I am paraphrasing from here.} I didn’t bring him to this lot who couldn’t help him; I came looking for you the organ grinder not the monkey. It was to you I brought him, but you weren’t here so they tried to cast the demon out but failed, but I didn’t come looking for them in the first place it was you I was looking for. {End of paraphrase} *

His eyes were on the right person and he wasn’t going to get labeled with those Jesus was giving off about, and it was to him also that Jesus was speaking to when he said, ‘you people don’t have any faith,’ and he answered him again when he said “anything is possible for someone who has faith!” so he shouted out, “I “do have faith.

24 Right away the boy’s father shouted; “I” do have faith! Please help me to have even more.”

How often do we contradict Jesus and shout out to him, ‘I do have faith help me have more? We probably don’t, but he wants us to shout out, that’s why in this scripture we are being given an example to ask for more faith when our faith seems weak, this is a wonderful example of the tender mercy of our loving Father God. Faith grows; it never stays the same size it grows either larger or it shrinks away if it is never used, so in this scripture we are told we can ask

for more faith, and obviously we can receive it for Jesus cast the demon out of the child after the father shouted to him those words.

I am going to sidetrack a little to show you something about a demon being cast out of someone and what can happen.

He said, “I order you to come out of the boy! Don’t ever bother him again.” 26 The spirit screamed and made the boy shake all over. Then it went out of him. The boy looked dead and almost everyone said he was. 27But Jesus took hold of his hand and helped him stand up.

I seen this happen one night as some members of our praise and worship meeting were ministering in a place called Donegal. A man came for prayer who was a violent, chronic alcoholic, and a member of our prayer team and his wife were ministering to him, in a downstairs room and Rose and I were in the same room at a different part ministering to a woman, just as we finished praying with this lady, and God healed her from many illness and things that had her in bondage and he also baptized her in the spirit and gave her the gift of tongues.

Just as we finished praying with her we heard Danny’s voice rising and he commanded a demon to come out of the man, I looked over at him and he nodded for me to come over, Rose said she and the lady would pray. As I got to Danny and the man Danny had a hold of him against the wall as the man was struggling with him, then when I laid hands on him also, the man began levitating up off the floor and going up the wall with the both of us trying to hold him. He was screaming at the top of his lungs. We both commanded that demon to get out of him at the same time and the man fell down to his hands and knees on the floor, then Danny slapped him on the back and he collapsed on the floor, he looked dead, and I thought “Oh my God we killed him, were going to have to raise him from the dead.” I felt for a pulse and found none, and I told Danny, ‘I am going to raise him from the dead.’ as both of us now believed he had died, but thank God he let out a sigh and moved; both of us breathed a sigh of relief, ‘thank you God.’ Then the man sat up as we helped him to his feet and then on to a chair and he began weeping telling us that the thing was gone out of him.

That same thing happed to him like it happened to the little boy when a demon was cast out and it left him like he was dead, so if it ever happens to you don’t worry, just keep on praying till the person comes round again.

Two

Another person who contradicted Jesus was a woman whose daughter was possessed.

Mark 7-24-Common English Bible (CEB)

An immigrant’s daughter is delivered

24 Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. 25 In fact, a woman whose young

daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. 27He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

28 But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 “Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter.” 30 When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

Instead of chastising her for contradicting him, Jesus said to her, “Good answer,” he was pleased that she argued back with him. Not everything we think is displeasing to God. If you look at the wording in this scripture, Jesus was telling this woman that she and her child were considered lower than dogs, that she was a Greek Syrian, considered by the Jews to be lesser than dogs, and that the food was meant for the Jews and their children and also the healing were for the Jew alone, But she contradicted him by saying, ‘Lord even the dogs under the table get to eat the children’s crumbs.’ She knew exactly what Jesus was saying to her, but she boldly contradicted him and in doing so, she got her answer, her child was delivered there and then, Jesus didn’t even have to move from where he was sitting, and of course she believed Jesus when he said, ‘Go on home the demon has left your daughter,’ she didn’t argue with him on that score, she believed him. Both of these people had faith and exercised it, not in a way that most Christians would dare to do with God or Jesus, and both got what they asked for and it wasn’t for themselves, it was for their children; they fought with Jesus for their kids, and got rewarded for it.

Amen