And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:23-24 ESV)
The word “unbelief” is a very interesting word. The Greek word used in this passage is used 11 times in the New Testament. This word is translated 3 different ways:
- Unfaithfulness, betraying a trust – 1 time
- Weakness of faith – 1 time (this passage)
- Withholding belief in the power and promises of God – 9 times
In this passage, we have a man who wants to build up his faith. He asks the Lord to help him with his unbelief (weakness of faith).
The problem that arises is: people tend to take this definition and apply it elsewhere in the Bible. At the start of Jesus’ ministry, He goes back to His hometown of Nazareth. The people there did not accept Him.
And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He was amazed at their unbelief. (Mk. 6:5-6 NASB)
And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matt. 13:58 NASB)
Usually, when people read the Mark 6 account, they zero in on the words “He could not do any miracle”. I have often heard people say that Jesus was not capable of doing any miracle because people had a lack of faith. Usually, this argument is employed by someone trying to tie healing to faith. They say you must have faith in order to be healed. So, if you don’t get healed, then you don’t have enough faith. However, this word “unbelief” does not mean lack of faith. In this instance, it means “refusal to believe”.
In Luke’s account of this incident, there is no mention of “He could do no miracle”. Instead, it focuses on the people’s outright refusal to believe. So much so that they even attempted to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff. He prevented that from happening and moved on.
I think the big difference between the two forms of unbelief is best seen in the opening scripture. The man wanted help with his unbelief. He wanted his faith to become stronger and to overcome weakness. That is not a characteristic of someone who refuses to believe.
From the time you accept Christ into your heart, you have a certain degree of faith (Rom. 12:3). That’s just the beginning. God expects our faith to grow (2 Cor. 10:15). As we grow in faith, the weakness of faith decreases.
Jesus is the creator of our faith. Not just the creator, but the One who completes (Heb. 12:2). Since it is Christ who causes your faith to grow, it only makes since to cry out to Him, “HELP MY UNBELIEF!!!”
In the year 2000, the late Rick Elias wrote a song called, Help Thou My Unbelief. Let these lyrics resonate with you:
Help thou my unbelief
Lest I fall away
And give my heart wings
With visions and dreams
This world cannot steal away
Help thou my unbelief
Would you leave me this way?
I long to believe
And forsake all to thee
Help thou my unbelief
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