Two months ago a vortex of customer service chaos began for me. I had purchased Fusilade II, a weed killer, from Home and Garden Supply through Walmart.com. The problem was that the product arrived weeks late, and I returned it. What followed was a masterclass in frustration. I’m still going back and forth with the seller, with Walmart (The marketplace), and even with my bank. Each one was what I considered an “authoritative source,” yet each one proved powerless to resolve the issue. The bank argued with the seller, Walmart pointed fingers at the Home and Garden Supply, who was adamant they would not give me a refund even though I returned their item, and I was caught in the middle of this “heated fellowship”, still without my refund. No one is willing to take true responsibility. What do you do when those in charge can’t help—when each authority argues with the next, and none can bring resolution, you need someone greater to step in. That’s the very scene we find Jesus stepping into today.
“And He asked them, ‘What are you arguing about with them?”
~Mark 9:16
Kingdom work demands faith that transcends both human intellect and institutional authority.
Disputes and powerlessness are symptoms of a disconnect from the true source of power: Prayer and faith in God. Jesus, Peter, James, and John have just come down off the Mount of Transfiguration in this passage, and they enter into a heated debate between the other nine disciples and the scribes, as the crowds look on as mere spectators. This is a chaotic scene, and the first thing Jesus does is ask this question. This wasn’t about highlighting the topic of the debate, but pointing out its uselessness. The scribes are arguing, but they themselves are also powerless to bring about a resolution. Nobody realized the real enemy was not the situation itself; they were not wrestling against flesh and blood, they were up against principalities and powers, and didn’t even realize it.. They were shadow boxing, swinging hard, but hitting nothing.
The disciples were fighting a spiritual battle, and they were losing because they were using intellectual arguments. The methods of man cannot accomplish the work of God, and that’s what everyone in the crowd should have perceived. Their failure went public in real-time, public, painful, and humbling. Given authority, but unable to activate it, they argued in defense while scribes pounced, eager to discredit everything they represented. The crowd, spectators of chaos, mirrored a hurting world that watches religious noise and wonders: Is there any real power here? Jesus arrives on the scene to diagnose the root problem and address it head-on, bringing about the desired end.
How often does the modern church mirror this scene? We host debates while the broken search for deliverance. We debate the best way to fix people’s problems with our programs and plans, often neglecting the one thing that brings true breakthrough: Prayerful dependence on God. Jesus’ question argues that the senseless arguments we engage in today are useless. How many of these discussions lead to genuine, God-given power and transformation, or are they just noise masking our inability? We focus more on winning the debate than waging true war in the Spirit, obsessed with being right but forgetting to be righteous.
This passage should call us to examine our own lives to evaluate where we’re relying on our own strength, our own intellect, and ability to argue a point instead of falling on our knees in prayer. Where have we been trying to cast out spiritual problems with intellectual arguments? We don’t realize we’re not fighting with flesh and blood. This call to action is to shift us from the stance of arguing to the posture of prayer. This is ultimately an invitation to exchange our frustrations that come from relying on ourselves for radical, faith-filled dependence on God. The first step in a breakthrough is admitting that our power has limits—but God’s power never does.
Time of Reflection
** Reflect on an area in your life where arguments have produced no fruit, only frustration.
** Consider a challenge where shifting from human debate to divine dependence is your necessary next step.
Heart Probe-Moment
** Are you secretly more comfortable with the noise of the argument than with the silence required to truly hear from God?
Reference Scriptures:
* Mark 9:14-29
* Matt 17:14-20
* Luke 9:37-43
* 1 Cor 2:4-5
* 2 Cor 10:4
* Eph 6:18
Thomas Nelson’s Chronological bible places this question at #44
Closing prayer:
Father, forgive me for times I’ve relied on my own words and wisdom instead of your power. Quiet the arguments in my heart and my community. Teach me to be a person of prayer, to seek Your face, and to trust that You alone hold the power to bring breakthrough and healing. Amen
