“Beyond a reasonable doubt” is highest standard of evidence in a criminal trial. A standard that requires that evidence demonstrate guilt to such an extent that no reasonable person could doubt a defendant’s guilt.   It is a high bar, but still a subjective one.  After all who can define a “reasonable person?”  Then there is the matter of the litigators’ skill in casting doubt on the implications of the evidence.  And what about the integrity of the evidence itself?  Has it been tainted in collection or tampered with?  Is it really what it appears to be?

We say ‘seeing is believing’ and ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ but we also live in a world of AI and CGI.  Beyond that, a picture rarely comes with any context. Its meaning must be supplied. Consequently, the ambiguity of evidence is proverbial.  How much is enough to believe?  How much is enough to accept a verdict which is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt?’  We demand evidence for belief then raise the bar and impugn clear and compelling proofs.

And what is true for criminal trials is even more true for deeply held beliefs.  Which is why an evidentiary faith is no faith at all.   The reaction of the Pharisees to the empty tomb is a stunning example.  Time and time again, following the remarkable signs of Jesus power and authority, they asked for a sign from heaven.  They knew what Jesus had promised about rising from the dead.  They took measures to prevent it.  Then they had most compelling evidence that Jesus had risen as he said.  Yet it was not enough to soften hearts hardened by unbelief. 

Every skeptic demands proof.  But if it were given it would never be enough.  More proof would be demanded.  More doubt expressed.  This is why Jesus warned, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.”  Faith is reasonable, but never reasoned.  No evidence will be enough, because faith is not something you can work out yourself.  It is a gift. 

In Ephesians 2 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”   But this gifted faith is not a growing confidence in our own power to believe, but in the faithfulness of the object of our faith which is Jesus, the “author and perfector of our faith.” 

In Mark 9 as Jesus descends from the mountain with Peter, James, and John, where his glory was revealed in the transfiguration to struggling disciples, he descends into a chaotic scene.  The scribes are taunting the disciples about their failure to exorcise a demon who brought untold misery to the only son of a distraught father.   Everyone’s faith is laid low.  The scribes’ hearts are rock hard.  The disciples have confused faith in their abilities with faith in Christ.  And the poor father’s faith is hanging by a thread because of sorrow, helplessness, and disappointment.

But into this chaos of struggling faith, Jesus comes and brings clarity, grace, and restoration.  And from a weary father we learn how to pray when our faith seems to be hanging by a thread and circumstances have taken us almost beyond belief.

Join us as we examine Mark 9:14-32 and consider how prayer, not proof, sustains our faith in the middle of failure and disappointment.  We meet Sundays at 10:30 am on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.