Questions on Mark 9:23-25

[SeekingSanctuary]

Question that has been bothering me for a while.

Text copied from Biblegateway

Mark 9:23-25New King James Version (NKJV)
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
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!”

Okay, a while back I read a commentary on this. It was a long time ago, so don’t expect me to find it, but basically what it said was that Christ refused to do anything because of the man’s unbelief, but then when the crowd showed up He felt He needed to prove He could do it, so He healed the child.

I have a problem with this interpretation. It doesn’t seem very “Christ” like, in the story where Jesus walked on the water and Peter came out, Peter started to sink because of his doubts, yet Jesus went to help him. He didn’t stand there waiting for Peter to get over it. When John the Baptist had a crisis of faith in prison Jesus sent word to him to help him with his doubt. The image of Christ simply standing there waiting on the child’s father doesn’t fit for me.

Either I might have something wrong, or I’m missing something, or I have no idea. This leads me to a couple of questions:

First, what is going on/am I missing in this story?

Secondly, how does God help people with doubts today?

[PaulSacramento]

It seems to me that a natural reading of the passages tells us that Jesus tells the father that it is belief that will bring healing, belief in HIM ( and by default, belief that the kingdom of God is at hand).
The father states that he does believe BUt also asks that the belief be strengthened ( it is one thing to believe in God, another that His active force, His healing prophet, His kingdom, has come).
Jesus then takes advantage of the crowd that gathers and loudly exorcises the demon in the child.

[melanie]

I don't think Christ refused to do anything, then decided too when the crowd showed up.
He was speaking to the father of the child on the importance of belief, to which he was struggling.
It was by faith that many had already been healed.
It just so happens that while this encounter was happening a crowd gathered, then Jesus healed the child. If the crowd did not show up then I don't think we have any way of determining whether or not He would have healed the Child. I am inclined to say yes, but thats not how it went down so it's speculation. As is the notion that Jesus only healed because a crowd was around.
Just because Jesus was speaking to the guy about his lack of belief doesn't mean He was going to walk away.