Mark 9:23 (LSB)

Passage

And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Nearby Context

Mark 9:21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

Mark 9:22 And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

Mark 9:23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Mark 9:25 Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "jesus", "said", "possible", and "believes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "jesus", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And it has often thrown him both..." into verse 24's "Immediately the boy s father cried out...", so "all things" and "jesus" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "jesus" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.