He
answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”
Mark 9:19
Mark 9 [17.] One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”
Mark 9 [19.] He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”
Mark 9 [20.] They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.
Meaning:
The father has just explained that the disciples could not cast the evil spirit out of his son (Mark 9:17-18). Jesus responds with a cry of grief and frustration, followed at once by a command full of compassion. In one breath he laments the unbelief around him and opens his arms to the suffering boy.
- “Unbelieving generation”
Jesus addresses not only the disciples but everyone present: the arguing scribes, the curious crowd, the struggling father and the nine who had failed. “Generation” in Mark describes the people of that time as a whole, marked by unbelief. Earlier Jesus had sighed deeply because “this generation” demanded a sign (Mark 8:12), and he had warned about “this adulterous and sinful generation” (Mark 8:38). In his home town he “marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:6). Here unbelief has even crept into his own followers.
- “How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?”
These words echo the complaints of God and of Moses about Israel in the wilderness. After all his signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, Yahweh asked, “How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me?” (Numbers 14:11). Jesus has just come down from the mountain, like Moses coming down from Sinai to find the people faithless around the golden calf (Exodus 32:19). His lament is the voice of God himself, grieved by the hardness of human hearts. Isaiah described God the same way: “I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people” (Isaiah 65:2).
There is also a hint of Jesus’ coming departure. He has just spoken with Moses and Elijah about his death in Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-31), and he knows his time with the disciples is short. How long must he carry them before they learn to trust?
- “Bring him to me.”
The frustration does not lead to rejection. Jesus’ very next words are an invitation. He does not send the father away or walk off from his weak disciples. Patience wins over exasperation. The same Lord says to everyone who struggles, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Where human help has failed, the boy must be brought to Jesus himself.
The Significance of Mark 9:19
- Unbelief grieves God
Jesus’ words show that unbelief is not a small matter. Doubting God’s power and goodness, especially after seeing his work, grieves him. Believers are invited to examine their own hearts honestly and to ask for greater faith, as the father in this story will soon do.
- The patience of the Lord
Even when Jesus is exasperated, he remains patient and ready to help. “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). No one is too weak in faith to be brought to Jesus.
Cross-References:
Numbers 14:11: "How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?" God’s lament over Israel’s unbelief in the wilderness.
Mark 6:6: "He marveled because of their unbelief." Unbelief had limited Jesus’ work before.
Isaiah 65:2: "I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;" God’s patient, outstretched hands toward a rebellious people.
Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." Jesus’ invitation to bring every burden to him.
Conclusion: Faced with the disciples’ failure and the unbelief all around him, Jesus cried out, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” His words echo God’s grief over Israel in the wilderness. Yet he immediately said, “Bring him to me.” The verse shows both how deeply unbelief grieves God and how patiently Jesus welcomes those who come to him in their weakness.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible