If you can
What is the significance of Jesus saying, “If you can?” (Mark 9:23)?
In Mark 9:23, Jesus responds to a desperate father seeking healing for his son, who is afflicted by an evil spirit that renders him mute and causes violent seizures. The father’s plea, “If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:22, NASB), is met with a rhetorical question from Jesus: “‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NASB). In this article, we will examine the significance of Jesus’ response to the father.
Jesus’ response calls the father to put his trust in God. This principle highlights a critical aspect of the relationship between faith and God’s power. The father has doubts about Jesus’ ability to perform the healing, especially since His disciples had failed in their attempts to help. He asks for Jesus to do something if He can. Jesus picks up on the man’s doubt and repeats the man’s words back to him as a question: “If you can?” In this way, Jesus points out that the issue is not His power but the father’s faith. For the son to be healed, the father must have faith in God, who alone can accomplish the seemingly impossible: “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27, ESV).
The Bible repeatedly stresses faith as the means God uses to accomplish His divine purposes. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it was move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (ESV). Jesus’ analogy illustrates that even a small amount of faith can see big things accomplished. It is not so much about the amount of faith as the object of faith—God.
Mark 9:23 parallels other instances where Jesus teaches about the importance of faith. In Mark 5:34, Jesus tells the woman with an issue of blood, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease” (ESV). Likewise, in Mark 10:52, Jesus says to Bartimaeus, a blind man, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (ESV). In each case, Jesus teaches that faith in Christ played a pivotal role in the miracle.
After Jesus says, “If you can?” He says, “All things are possible for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NASB). It’s important to note that He is not saying that faith can magically guarantee immediate results according to our whims and desires. Rather, Jesus calls us to trust in God’s power and purpose. Faith, in this context, is a deep, abiding trust in God’s sovereign will, regardless of the outcome. In faith, we submit our will to His.
The father’s response to Jesus’ challenge is instructive for believers: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, ESV). This honest admission represents the father’s earnest desire to overcome his doubt about Jesus’ ability to heal his son. It is perfectly acceptable to bring our doubts to God and ask for His assistance to strengthen our faith. Jesus responds to the father’s weak and unstable faith by casting out the demon and healing his son (Mark 9:25). This confirms that God’s power is not contingent upon perfect faith but on God’s sovereign will. God meets us in our weakness—there’s no other place for us to meet (see 2 Corinthians 12:10).
Jesus’ asking, “If you can?” in Mark 9:23 reminds believers about the importance of faith in God’s power. Jesus’ question prompts us to consider how all things are possible for those who have faith. Like the father begging Jesus for help, we can trust that God will help us to overcome doubt about His ability to accomplish impossible things.
