Helping a Hurting Father and Son
Month 9: The Road to Jerusalem · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: Mark 9:21-27
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?” “From childhood,” he said. 22 “It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 “If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.” 26 After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
Memory Verse
“While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!””— Matthew 17:5 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Ezekiel 20-22
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 253 of 365 — God recounts His long patience with a rebellious nation.)The Heart of It
Mark tells the same valley story as yesterday. But he zooms right in on the father's heart. It is one of the most tender moments in all the Gospels. Jesus asks how long the boy has suffered. The father says, "From childhood" (). That is years of fear, years of danger, years of watching his beloved son tormented. Then comes his trembling plea: "If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" (). He is worn thin. He is half-hoping and half-afraid to hope. Jesus gently presses on that little word "if": "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (). And the father cries out the most honest prayer in the Bible: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (). He is saying, I do trust You. But my trust is shaky and weak. Please help even that. And Jesus does not scold him. He heals the boy and lifts him up. Jesus meets honest, struggling, weak faith with overflowing compassion.
Today is about loving others. And this story shows us how Jesus loves hurting people. So we can learn to love that way too. Notice three things. First, Jesus asks questions and listens. He draws the father's story out instead of rushing past his pain. Second, Jesus has compassion. He is moved by the suffering of both the boy and the worn-out dad. Third, Jesus welcomes weak faith. He does not demand perfect faith before He helps. The people around us are often like that father. They are tired and scared. They carry long burdens. They are not sure their faith is "enough." When we love others, we don't wait for them to have it all together. We listen to their story. We feel with them. And we point them to the Jesus who is full of compassion, even when their faith is as small as a mustard seed. To love like Jesus is to be patient and tender with people in their honest struggle.
Around the Table
A daddy was very sad and worried about his sick boy. Jesus listened to him, felt sorry for him, and made the boy well. Jesus is kind to people who are hurting!
Let's do it: Practice a kind face and gentle voice. Say to someone, "I'm sorry you're sad. Can I help?"
The dad prayed, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" He was honest that his faith felt small and shaky. How did Jesus answer him?
Let's talk: Who is someone you know who is going through a hard time? What is one kind thing we could do to love them this week?
Jesus didn't demand perfect faith before He helped. He welcomed an honest, struggling faith. He was "moved with compassion." Loving others well means listening to their story and being patient with their weakness. We don't wait for them to be "fixed" first.
Let's go deeper: When someone is hurting or doubting, are you more likely to lecture them, or to listen and feel with them? How can you love more like Jesus loved this father?
💬 Conversation Starter
When you're sad or scared, what helps more? Someone telling you to cheer up? Or someone really listening and staying with you?— That's how Jesus loved the hurting father, and it's how we can love others too!
🛡️ Defending the Faith
People sometimes picture God as cold or impatient with doubters. But here Jesus tenderly helps a man who openly admits, "help my unbelief!" (). God doesn't reject honest, struggling faith. He meets it with compassion. We can reassure a doubting friend of that with gentleness and respect ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
There's a special grace in this passage for fathers. It shows us a dad at the end of his rope. He has carried a years-long burden for his child. And he brings that burden to Jesus exactly as it is, frayed faith and all. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" may be the truest prayer many of us pray over our own kids. Hear the comfort. Jesus did not require this father to manufacture stronger feelings before He acted. He honored the faith that was there, weak as it was, because faith's power is in its object, not its intensity. That frees you to keep bringing your real concerns to Jesus honestly, without pretending. Bring Him the wandering child, the stubborn habit in your home, your own thin patience. And it reshapes how you love others outside your home, too. The Christlike way to love hurting people is the way Jesus loved this father. Ask. Listen. Feel with them. Welcome them in their weakness rather than demanding they arrive whole. In a culture quick to argue and slow to listen, a family known for compassionate, patient love will look like Jesus. Teach your children that loving others is not mainly fixing them. It is being moved with compassion and walking them toward the Savior who can. And model the honest prayer yourself, out loud, so your kids learn they can bring their shaky faith straight to a Lord who never breaks a bruised reed ().
Draws on: Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, thank You for being so gentle with the hurting father and his son. Help our family love people the way You do. Help us listen. Help us feel with them. Help us be patient with their weak faith. And when our own faith feels small, help us pray honestly: 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.' In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus welcomed a worn-out father's shaky faith with compassion. So I'll love hurting people by listening, feeling with them, and pointing them to Him.