The Power of Unbelief
The Power of Unbelief
Unbelief is one of the most powerful forces on earth. That may seem odd to you. But it’s true.
There is a section in Mark’s Gospel that makes this clear. I encourage you to read it for yourself. The passage is found in Mark 4:35—6:6.
In this passage, Mark records Jesus calming the wind and sea with a word. The disciples respond to this display of power with fear. They ask one another,
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:41)
It’s a good question. The demonstration of Jesus’s power is just beginning. The answer will become more and more clear to them over time.
Power on Display
After this miraculous display of power over the wind and waves, Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a man who lived among the tombs. Jesus also healed a woman suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years.
He did this passively. It could be argued that it was even an accidental miracle. She came up and grabbed His cloak while He was in the middle of a crowd. He knew power came from Him to heal her as a result of her secretly grabbing His clothes.
She was healed. Passively. While Jesus was actively on His way to raise a dead girl to life.
Powerful. Miraculous. Awesome.
Miracle After Miracle
If you’re counting, that was four separate encounters. The disciples witnessed Jesus’s amazing power in all of these over a relatively short period of time.
Power over the natural world. The wind and waves obey Him.
Power over the supernatural world. The demons are subject to Him.
Power to heal physical afflictions. He can even raise the dead.
Whoa.
In the span of just fifty verses, the disciples saw more miracles than most see in a lifetime. Jesus was just getting started. From their perspective Jesus could do anything. He showed them His awesome power.
Then Jesus goes back to His hometown.
A Prophet Without Honor
After arriving in His hometown, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue. The people took offense at Him. They knew Jesus as a carpenter, the son of a carpenter. Now He is supposed to be a prophet? Maybe even the Messiah? Joseph’s son?
Look at what the text says:
He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:5-6a NET)
Their unbelief amazed Jesus. Their unbelief restrained His ability to work in their midst. The Scriptures say that Jesus was not able to do a miracle there. The NRSV translates this verse literally:
And he could do no deed of power there (Mark 6:5a)
Amazing.
If the Bible didn’t say it, I wouldn’t believe it. It is hard to believe that Jesus’s divine, miraculous power would be restrained by unbelief.
Belief Vs. Unbelief
The power of both belief and unbelief are contrasted in Mark 9:19-24.
We have to be careful. Some misapply this. They think that belief alone is powerful. It isn’t. Some teach that if you just believe enough you can make things happen. That’s false. The power isn’t in us. It’s in Him. (For more on this, don’t miss our related article: The Power of Belief.)
Others think that we can manipulate God with our belief. We can’t. Jesus is not teaching the power of positive thinking. He is illustrating the importance of belief in the God of the Bible. Belief in the true and living God. Not the power of belief in fairy tales or wishful thinking.
Jesus is also contrasting the power of faith in God with the power of unbelief in the same. It is belief or unbelief in a Person.
Unleashing and Restraining Power
God's power is unleashed when His people are believing. His power is quenched when people are unbelieving. The most likely reason for this (theologically speaking) is that God is unwilling to work in power when people are unwilling to trust in Him.
When Jesus went to His hometown He was still the Messiah. He was still God in the flesh. But His power was restrained from manifesting in their lives because of their unbelief. Unbelief is powerful because it shuts off the unbeliever’s ability to experience God’s power.
This is one of the major reasons why unbelievers fail to see any evidence for God. They see less than God’s full activity because of their unbelief. When they see anything, they suppress the truth in their unrighteousness. This is why believers must lovingly tell unbelievers to repent and no longer continue in their unbelief.
I Believe! Help My Unbelief
Part of the gospel call is a command to change your mind. To no longer be unbelieving. Believe! See Jesus’s words to Thomas, for example:
Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20:27, bold added)
Believers can take comfort knowing that God’s power is able to accomplish whatever He wills. We can get into trouble if we don't understand that God’s power is not designed to accomplish whatever we will. As we walk with the living God we must always strive to walk by faith not by sight. We must strive to walk according to His will not our own. This is why it is so important that we live and pray according to these priorities. It is easy to get distracted and wander off after our own agendas and ideas.
My default is to walk by sight. It’s part of our earthly nature. When I walk by sight, I think in terms of what is humanly possible. Such thinking is restrictive.
Of course, I don’t want to make the mistake of thinking that God’s power exists simply to make my dreams come true, either. Such thinking is foolish and selfish.
I want to walk by faith in what God has actually said. I want to believe the promises of God and walk according to His will. I want to know that when obstacles appear that may be too big for me, they are not too big for Him.
I find myself praying like the man recorded in Mark’s Gospel:
“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24b NET)
How about you?
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