What Can Be Done About All the Evil in Our World?

17th Sunday after Pentecost, 9/15/24 Mark 9:14-27 What Can Be Done About All the Evil in Our World? I. Nothing on your own II. Everything through Jesus III. Pray Throwing my hands into the air and shaking my head is one reaction. But more often, I just bow my head slightly for a few moments, close my eyes, and shake my head in disbelief. That’s what I often do when I hear a report about another heinous act taking place in our country or our world. Another horrendous incident perpetrated by a person or group of people who are thoroughly evil. What happened was simply beyond my comprehension. I can’t imagine myself coming anywhere close to doing such a thing. How could someone go that far down the path of evil? What made them even think about doing such a thing? How could this have happened? I don’t have any answers. So, I bow my head slightly for a few moments, close my eyes, and shake my head in disbelief. What’s your reaction to unthinkable evil? I’m guessing much the same. Perhaps you’re silent for a moment, but then the verbal deluge of disbelief comes pouring out. You’re not only incredulous, you’re angry, and rightly so. You not only ask, “How could this happen?” but, “What can be done to make sure it won’t happen again?” Or, “Who’s going to do something about this?” And society will join you in that reaction…for a while. Then things will calm down a bit, you’ll return to the busyness of your life, other things will demand your attention, and that last evil event will shuttle to the back of your mind. Until something evil happens again. Then you’ll start the process all over again, only this time it will be with a bit more pessimism. As one evil event after another occurs, you slowly begin to realize that there isn’t much you or anyone else can do about it. But you won’t allow yourself to become hopeless, especially as a Christian. And so, the question you’ve asked before will be asked again, “What can be done about all the evil in our world?” And I’m glad you’re asking it, because there’s an answer to it here in this morning’s text from Mark 9. What can be done about all the evil in our world? Pay attention as the Lord answers it for us in several ways. I. “You get an ‘A’ for effort!” That statement can be taken one of two ways. You can take it as a compliment that you did as well as you could in a no-win situation. Or you can take it as a somber recognition that you didn’t accomplish what you set out to do. I’ll give nine of the twelve disciples an “A” for effort over their actions in the event Mark describes for us here. To better understand this situation, you need to know the background. You probably wonder why only nine of the disciples are involved here, and not all twelve. That’s because Jesus was with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. Imagine living in the glow of that heaven-like event! This trio of disciples had just experienced what we won’t until we reach heaven—seeing Jesus in all his glory. So, what were the other nine disciples doing? It’s clear from this text that they were spending their time somewhere close to where Jesus and the other three were, waiting for them to return. And, as they waited, they were approached by a man whose son was demon-possessed. His description of the boy’s life is hard for us to imagine. How awful! This event occurred late in the earthly ministry of Jesus. No doubt this father had heard accounts of Jesus casting out demons. In fact, he may have even heard about how Jesus had sent his disciples out on a limited mission journey, and they had performed the exorcisms of demons as well. So, with high hopes, this man brought his son to these nine disciples for help. But they could do nothing. They tried but failed. Here was evil right in front of them in a horrifying way, and yet they were unable to drive the demon out of him, even though they had done so previously. Bottom line: they failed to be able to do anything about all the evil in their world. And they took abuse for it. Our text tells us that the teachers of the law argued with them. No doubt they accused the disciples of being phonies. They claimed to have had the power to drive out demons before. Where was it now? No doubt their accusations included Jesus. Can you hear them? But the disciples had no answer. No recourse. Nothing. Just an “A” for effort. What can be done about all the evil in our world? Nothing…on our own. And we need to realize that. I can take all sorts of precautions. I can participate in civic efforts to do something to prevent evil from happening. In fact, we should. We should do whatever we can to protect ourselves, our children, and our neighbors from evil. We should support and enforce laws that prohibit evil. But none of these things will eradicate it. Because Jesus made it clear that evil comes from the sinful human heart. I can support laws that curb evil, but my efforts won’t get rid of evil. Evil is in the heart, and I can’t change an evil heart. I can threaten it in the hopes of curbing evil, but I can’t change it. II. Only Jesus can. And he did, here in Mark 9. In doing so, he extended his winning streak over Satan. What do I mean by that? Well, we have quite a few accounts of Jesus facing demon possession and even one of Jesus facing Satan himself. These events were all part of God’s assault on the evil in our world, evil which has existed ever since the fall into sin. And in every battle, every attack, every skirmish, Jesus emerged as the Victor. His record was unblemished. His winning streak would continue right up and through Easter when he rose from the dead, descended into hell, and proclaimed his eternal victory over evil. And we see a segment of that victory streak on display here. Jesus declares, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And then we read this, “The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.” Another victory notch in our Savior’s work of salvation belt. Notice that he simply spoke a sentence, and the evil spirit was forced to leave. He was no match for the word of the Son of God. Although he tried. There was an eerie, hellish shriek. The demon shook the boy once again in an effort to remain in possession of him, but his efforts were futile. He was no match for Jesus. The people in the crowd thought he was dead. But as a fitting end of the account, Jesus “took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet.” What can be done about all the evil in our world? On our own, nothing. But through Jesus, everything. III. But there are times when it appears Jesus is simply allowing evil to take control. Or he’s too busy to take notice. What then? What can we do about all the evil in our world? First, take your cue from the father in this text. Jesus told him, “‘Everything is possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” The father responded with a prayer for the Lord to help him overcome his doubts, his unbelief. What an amazing prayer! Not because it’s so lofty and heaven-worthy, but because it’s so human, so real, so relatable. I, too have faith, and I , too, have my doubts, especially when I see all the evil in our world. I shudder. I’m afraid. My confidence wilts. And so the Lord calls on me to follow this father’s example and pray to him. Jesus never promised to eradicate evil while this world still stands. But he will when the Last Day arrives. And until then he promises to control it for our good and the good of his church—his believers. Meanwhile, he calls on us to pray to him with confidence. In the verses immediately following our text, that’s exactly what he tells his disciples. When they wonder why they were unable to cast out the demon, Jesus responded, “This kind can only come out by prayer” (9:29). With this explanation, Jesus exposes the folly of the disciples. They assumed they inherently had the power to cast out demons because of their previous power to do so. Jesus points out they the power comes from him and him alone. To tap into that power, they need to pray. And so do we. What can be done about all the evil in our world? Pray. Pray to Jesus. Pray for him to empower you and pray for his will to be done. And then trust him. Trust him. Remember…he’s on an eternal winning streak in his battles with Satan. It only appears that Satan is winning now. And our fears that this might be true reveal our lack of trust. You and I can do nothing on our own about the evil in our world. But Jesus can. He did. He still does. Satan is defeated. It happened at the resurrection of Jesus. No longer could sin, death, and hell claim us eternally. It might seem like Satan has a death-grip on our world. But that simply isn’t true. Jesus has one on him. Evil is trying to overcome Christ, but it can’t. It never will. Jesus wins. And we win with him. Thus St. Peter urges us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). That’s what can be done about all the evil in our world! Pray for the Lord Jesus to bless your struggle against the evil in your life, in God’s church, and in our world. Amen.