Jesus' Frustration

What rattles Jesus? Money changers in the temple? Pesky Pharisees? Faithless disciples? Jesus is no robot or Mr. Spock. He "feels" and is affected. He gets frustrated. After his transformational experience on the mountain He comes down to face a chaotic situation. There is a contest between a powerful foe, a demon that is severely abusing a child, and nine disciples. How many disciples does it take to drive out a demon? Ever thought who this demon is? All demons are not the same. Demons are called spirits. They are not fallen angels. Spirits belong to people. I believe demons are the spirits of dead and evil people who roam the earth under the control of Satan to terrorize the vulnerable under certain conditions. So who is this dead-person demon? From the way this demon is treating this child this spirit must have belonged to a sadistic monster, perhaps a child-abuser. Could this be Herod the Great's spirit still preying on innocent children as he did after the birth of Jesus? Could he be still at it? Did Jesus know the name of this demon? But, regardless of who this demon is, Jesus clearly expected his disciples to deal with it.

Jesus' response includes calling his generation faithless and perverted. His disciples were caught up in the spirit of the age. They were tempted to unbelief. They were tempted to turn away, to stray, to change course. Does anyone see the similarity between Moses being on the mountain of Sinai getting the Law, and the chaos going on in the valley with the children of Israel making idols and acting perverted? I do. Remember Moses was on Mt. Hermon too. And another law was being handed down on this mountain. It wasn't "Listen to Moses," it was "Listen to My Son." The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus. Jesus replaced the Law. He now is the Law. He is the standard who perfectly fulfilled the Law. His disciples were not making idols while He was on the mountain, but they were cowering before a ferocious demon. And are there not demons associated with idols? (1 Cor.10:19,20) Moses was so frustrated in his day that he broke the tablets that contained the ten commandments.

But perhaps one of the most severe things Jesus ever said to his apostles was "How long shall I put up with you?" He had already asked "How long will I be with you?" He knew it would not be long, and He would go away, and send the Holy Spirit, but "put up with" them? That sounds pretty harsh. The word is "endure." Persecution is to be endured. (1 Cor.4:12; 2 Thess.1:4) The Hebrew writer asked that they "endure" his word of exhortation (Heb.13:22) Sound doctrine is to be endured. (2 Tim.4:3) Paul is surprised that Christians put up with abusive Christian leaders who preach a different gospel. (2 Cor.11:4, 20) But, the most parallel to our text is Acts 18:14 where the proconsul Gallio was having a hard time putting up the the Jewish leaders. They frustrated him. Our Jesus is full of faith, can do anything, and is the one who gets things done. He is out front and leading, and he expects us to fall in and keep up. He is on kingdom business and He is ready to get the job done. It frustrates Him when those he trained and gave authority and power gets intimidated by a demon or an enemy or a difficult situation. We must be careful not to test the patience and endurance of God.