When Jesus Shows Up (blog)

Fear is the pounding of your heart as you step out of the boat and walk across the water to Jesus. Doubt is the trembling in your hands when you carry a basket of 5 loaves and 2 small fish to 5,000 hungry people. Despair is the weakness in your voice as you say, 'If you can, Jesus'.Mark tells us about a "man in the crowd" who brought his son to see Jesus, with hope for healing (9:14-29). All we know is that the son was mute and suffered spells where he would fall rigid to the ground, tormented by an evil spirit.The story is so relatable, even without more details, because I know how it feels to stand by helplessly while people I love suffer, and all I can do is bring them to God in prayer."All I can do?"Jesus wasn't there when the man brought his son, because He was on his way down the mountain after His Transfiguration, where Peter, James and John saw Him shining in glory. That was quite a different scene from the one here, where the man asked Jesus' other followers to heal his son but they couldn't, some teachers of the law began arguing with them, and a crowd gathered.Surely the man had real hope in his heart when he set out to bring his son to Jesus. But now...How do you believe when faith seems to have failed, people are questioning and the world is watching?Just then Jesus shows up, and the man asks "...if you can do anything, take pity on us..." (9:22)"'If you can'?" Jesus replies. "Everything is possible for him who believes" (9:23).When Jesus shows up He takes hold of the man right where he is, in his despair, and says: 'Where you are doesn't matter as much as who I AM".It wasn't about healing for the man's son right there, but about whether or not the man believed. The man was standing, talking even, with "the Christ" (8:29), God in the flesh!And though Mark notes that the boy's father "Immediately" replied, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (9:24), that moment between Jesus' question and the man's answer was crucial. Something miraculous happened there.The man trusted in Jesus.Jesus is hope affirmed and made gloriously real in the world! He is the water we walk on, and the food we feed thousands with, and the faith that says "I believe!"He is the help that overcomes our unbelief.It's interesting that Jesus wasn't there when the man first came looking for Him, with that hope in his heart. By the time Jesus did show up, the man was despairing. Doesn't it remind you of how Jesus (intentionally) arrived 3 days after his friend Lazarus passed away?"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:21)Jesus answered, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.Do you believe this?" (11:25-26)[For more on how Jesus shows up, listen to Pastor John Greig's message about "Despair", in the series "Easter is Over, Now What?". Great series, check it out along with Pastor Daniel Fenco's message on "Belief", by downloading the SHLC App HERE and clicking on "Audio".]