Tug of War
Read Mark 9:9-29
Immediately, the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” –Mark 9:24
As we’ve seen so far in Mark’s Gospel, “unbelief” (in Greek, apistia) is like Kryptonite for Jesus. When he was in Nazareth, Jesus was unable to do great miracles, except to lay his hands on a few people for healing. He was “amazed at their lack of faith (apistia)” (Mark 6:6). At the end of the Gospels, Jesus rebuked the disciples for not believing the report of the women from the empty tomb (Mark 16:14). In this case, Jesus equated their apistia with “hardness of heart,” the same condition Jesus rebuked among the Pharisees (Mark 3:5).
Apistia describes more than just a momentary doubt—it is a stubborn unwillingness to believe, a failure to trust despite repeated demonstrations of God’s trustworthiness. From Strong’s concordance, we read:
Although the term apistia itself is Greek, its concept reaches back to Israel’s recurring refusal to trust the covenant God (for example, Numbers 14; Psalms 78; Isaiah 7). The Septuagint often renders Hebrew ideas of stubbornness or faithlessness with apistia. The failure to trust represents a breach of God’s covenant. (Underline added)
When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, a crowd had gathered around his disciples. A father had brought his son to them for healing. The boy had been possessed by an evil spirit since a young age. The spirit robbed the boy of speech and caused violent seizures. The father described the boy being thrown on the ground, becoming rigid, and frothing at the mouth. In some cases, the spirit had thrown the boy into fire or water to kill him.
As modern readers, we might understand this “spirit” as a physical condition such as severe epilepsy. What we need to understand, though, is that this child and his family were suffering, and no treatment or prayers had thus far brought any relief. Even Jesus’ disciples were unable to help him, despite the fact that Jesus had empowered them to cast out demons in his name (see Mark 6:7).
As the father shared with Jesus the boy’s history, he said, “If you can do anything, please take pity and help us.” The word “if” caught Jesus’ ears—“If you can?” The father was hedging his bets, and you can hardly blame him. He’d no doubt taken his son to many healers over the years, to no avail. But Jesus told him: “Anything is possible for one who believes.” To which the father gave his infamous cry: “Lord, I believe! Help thou my unbelief!”
The man acknowledged his unbelief. He could not help it—he’d been through too much and watched his son suffer for too long. But the keyword here is “help”—that’s what transforms his confession of apistia into a cry of faith. He is not entrenched in unbelief; he is not stubborn or hard of heart. He very much wants to believe, but he needs help.
The Greek word for “help” is boétheó. It was originally a military word; it meant to “run toward” a cry for aid. (Theó in Greek means “to run.”) Picture a game of “tug of war.” Imagine you’re on the losing end. The rope is burning in your hand, your feet are slipping on the turf, and you cry out for help. Then imagine someone coming to your aid, adding their strength to yours. Your grip tightens, your feet find their grip, the tide of the battle turns. That’s what boétheó is like.
This poor father believed, but he was at the end of his rope; he could feel the apistia winning the battle in his soul. So he cried out to Jesus: Boétheó! And Jesus ran to his side, brought calm to his son’s body, and restored both the boy’s health and his father’s faith.
Anything is possible for the one who believes. That’s what Jesus said to the father. Do you believe it? If you struggle to believe the hope in that sentence, if the circumstances of your life have pulled you inexorably towards apistia, don’t despair. You don’t need to have perfect faith. You just have to cry for help and keep holding on as best you can. With God’s help, the tide of the battle can turn.
Dear Lord, You know my unbelief. You know its sources; You know its depth. But I also believe that You will not let me sink in despair, that when we cry, You run to our aid. So I join my prayer to that of the father’s, for all the challenges that are before me: “Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!” Amen.