Mark 9:14-50 is actually a practicing of the revelation of Christ as our replacement. It had been revealed to the disciples that Christ is the entire replacement through His death and resurrection. Death terminates us, and resurrection brings Christ to us. The result is “no longer I, but Christ.” But how can this revelation be applied? According to the case of the casting of the dumb spirit out of the man’s son, this vision is applied by prayer.
As human beings, we all have a problem with our temper. Thus, we may use the matter of temper, especially in married life, as an illustration of the fact that certain “demons” can be cast out only through prayer. In married life it is easy for a husband or wife to have a problem with temper. Surely every husband has a problem with his temper, and every wife has trouble with her temper. Temper is a serious problem in married life and is a cause of separation and divorce. If a husband and wife never exchange words and are never troubled by their temper, most problems in married life would be eliminated. But temper is a problem. Therefore, we certainly need Christ in our married life. I would say in no aspect of our human living do we need Him more than in our married life.
Do you know how to have the best married life? The way is to practice “not I, but Christ.” But how can we practice this? The way to practice is to pray. For example, you should not try to subdue your temper. If you try in yourself to subdue your temper, you will eventually have a more serious problem with it. The more you strive to subdue your temper, the more you will make a “deposit” in the “temper bank.” Sooner or later, you will lose your temper in a more serious way. This is to try to cast out the “demon” of temper by your self-effort instead of by prayer.
Instead of trying to subdue your temper, you should pray. If you ask the Lord why you are not able to cast out the demon of your temper, He may say, “This kind cannot be cast out except by prayer. You need to pray.”
Actually, we do not need to pray in a lengthy way. It is sufficient simply to call, “O Lord Jesus!” Even such a short prayer indicates “no longer I, but Christ.” Your prayer testifies that you do not exercise your self-effort to deal with the situation. Instead, you apply Christ. This is to practice the vision concerning Christ with His death and resurrection being our replacement.
You should not try to cast out demons by your self-effort. In order to cast out demons, you need to pray. As we have pointed out, prayer means “no longer I, but Christ.” Hence, the case in 9:14-29 points out that if we would be replaced by Christ, we need to pray instead of trying in ourselves to cast out demons.
In 9:30-32 the Lord Jesus unveils His death and resurrection the second time. Verse 31 says, “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days, He will rise.” However, as verse 32 says, the disciples “did not understand what He was saying, and they were afraid to question Him.” Literally, the phrase “what He was saying” is “the word” (Gk., rhema).