20 · Words and actions of Jesus

I Believe. Help My Unbelief!

Mark 9:14–29

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A desperate father appeals to Jesus for help for his son while disciples and a crowd stand around them in a biblical setting.

A father asks Jesus to help his son after the disciples have failed.

Can belief and doubt exist at the same time?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Must you be certain to say, “I believe”?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A takes the father's own words seriously. He can say “I believe” while acknowledging “my unbelief.” The passage therefore does not present his faith as complete psychological certainty. C captures the striking feature of his cry: he turns his own lack of faith into something he asks Jesus to help.

20 · Mark 9:14–29

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Text & context

Full translation

14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 15 As soon as the whole crowd saw Jesus, they were greatly amazed and ran up to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?” 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a mute spirit. 18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down. He foams, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I told your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He answered them, “O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him to me.” 20 They brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately convulsed the boy violently. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming. 21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He said, “From childhood. 22 It has often thrown him into fire and water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the child's father cried out, “I believe. Help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 After crying out and convulsing him violently, it came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up, and he stood. 28 When Jesus had entered a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus returns to the disciples and finds a crowd and scribes around them. A father explains that he brought his son to the disciples, but they could not help him. The father appeals: “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus responds to his “if you can” by saying that all things are possible for the one who believes. The father's immediate response is: “I believe. Help my unbelief!” He does not hide the tension between faith and lack of faith. Jesus then delivers the boy. Later, when the disciples ask why they failed, Jesus points to prayer.
Notice this

The father does not wait until all his unbelief is gone before coming to Jesus. He says both “I believe” and “Help my unbelief!” The story is also not only about the father's faith. The disciples themselves have failed, and Jesus directs their attention toward prayer.

Language & translation

From the Greek

πιστεύω – pisteuō

I believe The verb means to believe, trust, or place confidence in.

ἀπιστίᾳ – apistia

unbelief / lack of faith Closely related to pistis/pisteuō with the negative prefix a-. Belief and unbelief stand side by side.

βοήθει – boēthei

help! An imperative from boētheō, to come to someone's aid. The same verb family appears in “help us” and “help my unbelief.”

σπλαγχνισθεὶς – splanchnistheis

have compassion The father asks Jesus for deep compassion toward him and his son.

πάντα δυνατὰ τῷ πιστεύοντι – panta dynata tō pisteuonti

all things are possible for the one who believes The statement is strong but occurs within a concrete appeal about Jesus' ability to help and is immediately followed by the father's confession of both belief and unbelief.

προσευχῇ – proseuchē

prayer In verse 29 Jesus points to prayer in response to the disciples' question about their failure.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Mark 9:14–29 in several Bible translations and compare:

  • pisteuō
  • apistia
  • boētheō
  • “If you can?”
  • “all things are possible for the one who believes”
  • verse 29: “prayer” or “prayer and fasting”

Also compare Matthew 17:14–20 and Luke 9:37–43.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. Is doubt the opposite of faith, or can they sometimes exist together?
  2. What does it mean to ask Jesus for help with faith itself?
  3. How should “all things are possible for the one who believes” be understood without making the believer responsible for every outcome that does not occur?
  4. Why does Mark end the story with the disciples' failure and Jesus' words about prayer?
Parallel passages
  • Matthew 17:14–20
  • Luke 9:37–43
  • Mark 11:22–24
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Mark 9:14–29
  • Matthew 17:14–20
  • Luke 9:37–43
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for pisteuō, apistia, boētheō, splanchnizomai, dynatos, and proseuchē