WE CAN’T … BUT HE CAN!

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 29, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: July 29, 2020 from Luke 9:37-43a

We can’t do the work of Jesus Christ without Jesus Himself.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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In comparing the different Gospel accounts of events in the life of Jesus, it is important to notice not only what specific writers might include, but also what they leave out.

That’s very true with this morning’s passage in the Gospel of Luke. He tells a story to us of the life of our Lord that is also told in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. In all three cases, the three same sets of stories occur—and all in the same order. First, we’re told the story of how our Lord challenged them with the question of who they said He was—and in all three Gospels—they said that He was the Christ of God. At that time, He told them that some of them were standing there who would not die until they saw the kingdom of God. And so, second, we’re told the story of how some of them did—indeed—see the kingdom of God before they died. Peter, James, and John were all taken up by the Lord on to the Mount of Transfiguration, and were given a glimpse of His divine glory. They saw for themselves that He clearly was the Christ—the Son of the Living God; and they heard the voice of the Father say, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” And then third, after they came down from the mountain, we’re told in all three Gospels the story that we have before us today.

In Luke 9:37-43—right after his description of the event of the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain, we’re told;

Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God (Luke 9:37-43a).

Luke’s telling of this story, however, is much shorter than any of the others. He leaves many of the details out. And as a result of his brevity, he sends us—with great clarity—right to the basic point of this story. The others tell us many parts of the story that are important for us to know. But Luke’s plainness helps us to see in a powerful and dramatic way that this is a story about how the disciples at the foot of the mountain tried to do the work of the Lord Jesus without Jesus Himself being present—and about how trying to do so only lead them to frustration.

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This points us to one of the greatest causes of frustration we can have in the Christian life, and in the work that we are to do for the Lord Jesus. It’s when we think that we can live the Christian life, or experience victory over sin, or conquer bad habits in our lives, or be the witnesses for our Lord, or fight the work of the devil, or accomplish the spread of the kingdom somehow apart from Jesus.

We fall into this subtly. It must have happened subtly to the disciples too. They were presented with a spiritual need; and they saw how the Lord had met that need before. They perhaps remembered that He had previously given them authority over all demons and to cure diseases when He had sent them out. And so, they assumed—wrongly—that they could exercise that authority independently of Him.

But that is never true. We can never do anything for the Lord Jesus apart from the help of Jesus Himself. We are utterly dependent upon Him always—for everything! Do you remember what He said in the Gospel of John—just before He went to the cross for us? In John 15, He told His disciples;

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (John 15:1-8).

Note especially those words in verse 8; “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” The great condition of being able to bear fruit effectively for our Lord is that we must ‘abide’ in Him. Just as a branch must remain vitally connected to the vine—just as it must draw its life-force from that vine in order to bear fruit—so you and I must ‘abide’ in Jesus Himself. We must keep ourselves connected to Him in a personal and prayerful and dependent way. We must never think that we can bear fruit for His cause independent of Him.

That is the great lesson that Luke so effectively drives home to us in the brief manner in which he tells us this story. We just can’t do the work of Jesus Christ without Jesus Himself.

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Now; this is illustrated to us in the things that Luke says the Lord saw when He came down from the mountain with Peter, James and John.

Just think of what an experience it was that they had just had when they were up the mountain with Him! They had seen His majesty glory! They had seen Moses and Elijah speak with Him about the death that He was about to accomplish on the cross! They heard the voice of God the Father declare to them His identity—and command them to heed His words. It truly was the original ‘mountain-top’ experience! We love to have such times with the Lord; but He doesn’t let us remain there. He brings us back down to the valley below to be about His work—going along with us as He sends us.

And it’s then, when He came to the disciples who were not up on the mountain with Him, that we are shown an important aspect of His work that we can often relate to; and that is …

1. THE FRUSTRATION OF WORKING APART FROM HIM (vv. 37-41a).

Luke tells us, “Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him” (v. 37). The Gospel of Mark tells us that the disciples were there; and that the scribes—the scholars of the Old Testament scriptures—were arguing with them. And as we read on, we discover what it was that must have been the cause of the commotion. We’re told, “Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, ‘Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child’” (v. 38). The scribes had been arguing with the disciples—it seems—because of this man’s need, and because of the apparent inability of the disciples to do anything to help him.

This poor man’s situation was truly a desperate one. In the absence of the Lord, it must be that he came to the Lord’s disciples for help. This was his only son—and so, he was an especially loved son. What’s more, this son represented his hopes for the future. But somehow—in what way, were not told—the boy had become tormented by an evil spirit. In verse 39, the man explained to the Lord, “And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.” In Matthew’s Gospel, we’re told that this evil spirit even caused the boy to fall into the fire and often into the water. This poor father would have had to constantly watch for his son’s safety lest he die. Mark’s Gospel tells us that the boy would gnash his teeth and become rigid. And more, this evil spirit made the boy unable to speak. It was truly a horrifying situation for this father and his on.

And then, just think of the desperate grief of the father as he tells the Lord Jesus in verse 40, “So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” He had, no doubt, heard about the Lord Jesus’ power to cast out evil spirits from people. And perhaps he had even heard of how Jesus had sent His disciples out to do the same. And yet, they could do nothing for him. He was frustrated. And I’m suspecting that the disciples were frustrated too.

There’s a story in the Book of Acts of people who tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, but with no success. In fact, it was more than just frustrating … it was downright dangerous! Acts 19:13-16 tells us that the Lord Jesus was working mightily through the apostle Paul—performing great miracles through him in the city of Ephesus. But this was because Paul was in a dependent relationship with Jesus; and it was the Lord Jesus Himself that was doing the work through Him. Some came along and tried to do the work that Paul had been doing; but without that dependent relationship:

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also, there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (Acts 19:13-16).

It may not be that very many of us have run away naked and bruised from trying to do the work of the Lord without the Lord Himself. But we certainly have often come away frustrated. The frustration we often feel in the Lord’s work, though, is hardly comparable to the frustration our Lord Himself must often feel with us. We see this in our passage in Luke’s Gospel, from the words of our Lord when—in verse 41a we read, “Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?”

Who do you suppose the Lord is talking to? Some have suggested that He was saying this to the father of the boy. In Mark’s Gospel, we’re told that the Lord told the father of the boy that all things are possible to him who believes; and therefore, some have thought that the Lord was rebuking the poor man’s lack of faith. But Luke tells us nothing of this. Others have suggested that the Lord was saying this to the evil spirits who were plaguing the boy. But the Lord didn’t have to bear with or put up with them—He simply cast them out. No; this is where Luke’s clear brevity helps us. Our Lord was talking to the disciples. They had been trying to do the work of the Lord without the Lord even being there. And we simply can’t do the work of the Lord apart from Him.

Look, then, at …

2. THE SOLUTION TO OUR FRUSTRATION (vv. 41b-43a).

Jesus told the man, “Bring your son here” (v. 41b). That is always the solution to our frustration. The moment we bring the situation to the Lord Jesus, we set it on the path to resolution. Do you remember the story of the feeding of the 5,000? The disciples were frustrated then too. How could they feed that many people? Where would they get the food? Where would they get the money? The Lord asked them what they had; and they said only five loaves and two fish. But everything changed when the Lord said, “Bring them here to Me” (Matthew 14:17). Try it; dear brothers and sisters! Put it to the test. Whenever you feel frustrated with the situation, or perplexed by the need, stop right then and turn it over to the Lord in prayer. Make the problem His to deal with. Bring it to Him; and you’ll see what He can do.

Now; it’s important to note that not even in this case did this mean that the problem ceased immediately. The frustration ceased, but the situation was still serious. We’re told in verse 42; “And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.” In Mark’s Gospel, we’re told that the spirit cried out fearsomely; and when it left, the boy became as if he was dead. But the concern was now the Lord’s; and He took care of it in His way and in His time. Verse 42 goes on to say, “Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.”

And notice the result of it all. Verse 43 tells us, “And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.” They certainly weren’t amazed at the disciples; because they were not able to do anything. Instead, they were amazed at the majesty of God which they now saw in Jesus—just as that majesty was made manifest to the disciples on the mountain. And this is because only He can do the work; and no one can do anything apart from Him.

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Dear brother or sister; are you feeling frustrated in the work of the Lord right now in some way? Please consider that it may be that you are falling into the same trap that the disciples at the base of the mountain had fallen into. They were trying to do the work of the Lord without the Lord. That can only lead to frustration.

The frustration ceases, and the situation is set on the right path, as soon as we bring it all to Jesus. Let’s learn the lesson that the apostle Paul learned when the Lord once told him;

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Apart from Jesus, I can do nothing. But “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

EA