Intensity
Today’s Community Scripture – 2/28/2025
When they came down off the mountain the next day, a big crowd was there to meet them. A man called from out of the crowd, “Please, please, Teacher, take a look at my son. He’s my only child. Often a spirit seizes him. Suddenly he’s screaming, thrown into convulsions, his mouth foaming. And then it beats him black-and-blue before it leaves. I asked your disciples to deliver him but they couldn’t.” Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into convulsions. Jesus stepped in, ordered the vile spirit gone, healed the boy, and handed him back to his father. They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at God’s greatness, God’s majestic greatness.
Luke 9:37–43 (MSG)
– Reflection:
Intensity
If I were to summarize our text from this morning in one word, it would be “intense.” The passage begins with Jesus and his disciples descending the mountain after the Transfiguration, a glorious display of Christ’s stepping into his moment. As they reach the base of the mountain, they hear the desperate shout of a father pleading for Jesus to look at his son. His son suffers from a “spirit that seizes him” – one that has tormented him repeatedly. The father is at his breaking point. After a failed attempt by the disciples to heal him, the man turns to Jesus, crying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child.” Jesus’s response may be confusing to some; it certainly was to me the first time I read it! He seems beyond exasperation, perhaps verging on annoyance, mixed with a huge dose of frustration: “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you?” Jesus exclaims. Although it is somewhat unclear whom Jesus directs these words toward, they might best be understood as a corrective to the disciples. Jesus has given them the “power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,” yet they have failed to heal the young boy in this passage, despite being empowered to do so.
– Where do we go from here?
We have everything we need to enter the Kingdom; however, many of us are trying to do what has already been done for us on our own. We must step into that power and begin walking the path before us since birth. It may not seem like a huge, special thing in the beginning, but let me tell you, He has so much more for you than that small position you just aren’t able to see yet. In Mark 9:28-29, the Word shows us Jesus explaining that prayer and a small amount of faith are all that are required to rebuke the spirit. Perhaps Jesus’ frustration stems from the disciples’ hesitation to trust, even after seeing the miracles and witnessing God’s powerful transformation. Although we cannot be sure, we do know that life with Jesus calls us to consistent prayer and small acts of faith. Jesus, demonstrating His intense love, moves toward the people (us) with compassion and shows us what the kingdom of God looks like: mercy and healing. Although our faith often wavers, the faithfulness of Christ brings salvation.
Our Prayer for Today
Father, we appreciate your compassion and faithfulness. Guide us to embrace small moments of faith and turn to you in prayer. Lord, please fill us with your Spirit. Amen.
Coach Arthur Poston Jr.
Focused Development Organization
Middle School Coach
