Dealing with the Demonic
TRANSLATION
(14) And when they came to the crowd, a man approached him and kneeling before him said, (15) “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and suffers greatly. For often he falls into the fire and often into the water. (16) I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” (17) And Jesus said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I stay with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” (18) And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it left him, and the boy was healed from that time on.
(19) Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” (20) And he told them, “Because you have so little faith. For truly, I tell you that if you have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
OBSERVATIONS
Immediately after his transfiguration, Jesus had to deal with his disciples’ inability to heal a demon-oppressed boy, a failure resulting from their faltering faith. Several repetitions should be noted including “disciples” (vss. 16 & 19), “heal/healed” (vss. 16 & 18), “how long will I” (twice in vs. 17), “faith” (twice in vs. 20), and “move” (twice in vs. 20).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus healed a demon-oppressed boy when his disciples failed to do so. (14-18)
II. Jesus explained to his disciples why they could not cast out the demon. (19 & 20)
IDEA STATEMENT
When his disciples failed to deliver a demon-oppressed boy, Jesus healed the child and then explained to his men why they had not been able to do so.
APPLICATION
The crux of this passage is found in Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question, “Why could we not cast (the demon) out?” We also need to identify to what Jesus was referring when he used the words, “O faithless and twisted generation” (vs. 17). To answer the second question first, consider two verses in Deuteronomy 32 that read, “His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children – this is their sin. They are a perverse and deceitful generation” (Deut. 32:5), and “He said, ‘I will reject them, I will see what will happen to them; for they are a perverse generation, children who show no loyalty’” (Deut. 32:20). We know from his quoting verses from Deuteronomy to counter the temptations of Satan that Jesus was well-versed in the fifth book authored by Moses. If he was not quoting these verses directly, their phrasings were surely reflected in his rebuke. With this in mind, we can conclude that Jesus was likely expressing frustration with his fellow Jews who were becoming increasingly hostile toward his ministry. While the miracles he was performing, including the deliverance of those oppressed by demons, proved him to be Israel’s Messiah, he was encountering increasing skepticism and outright opposition as he drew ever closer to Jerusalem.
Regarding the reason for the disciples’ failure to cast out the demon, Jesus clearly attributed this to their lack of faith. Had their faith even been equal in size to a grain of mustard seed, considered to be the smallest seed in Jesus’ day, they could have performed the miracle.