Mark 9:21

9:21-22 The demon’s activity had been taking place since he was a little boy, and the demon had tried to kill the child in various ways. • if you can: The father’s request indicates that his faith had been severely dampened (9:18).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 9:21. Καὶ, and) Jesus acted wisely, in interposing a delay.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 9:21 . ὡς : a particle of time, here as frequently in Luke and John = since, or when. ἐκ παιδιόθεν , ἐκ redundant, similar to ἀπὸ μακρόθεν (Mar 5:6 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(21) And he asked his father.—The question, asked as if to bring into strong relief the chronic, and therefore seemingly hopeless, character of the possession, is peculiar to this Gospel, as is the circumstantial account of the falling oft-times “into the fire and into the waters.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. And he asked] This conversation with the father is parallel to another conversation with an actual sufferer (Mar_5:9).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he asked his father,.... As he lay rolling about in this miserable condition, that the length and stubbornness of his disorder might be known, and so the cure the more remarkable, and appear the more expressive of his divine power and goodness:

how long is it ago since this came unto him? since this evil spirit entered into him, and these disorders have attended him?

and he said of a child; or "from his infancy"; so that it was not for any actual sin that he had committed, that this sore affiction came upon him; and yet he could not be without sin, since it was not agreeable to the justice, mercy, and goodness of God, to afflict, or suffer to be afflicted, one that is innocent; and therefore must be tainted with original sin, which is the source and spring of all afflictions, calamities and judgments.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

Ver. 21. Of a child] παιδιοθεν. Neither yet is there any injustice with God, that little ones thus suffer: they are not innocents, but "estranged from the womb, they go astray as soon as they be born," Psa 58:3; the first sheet or blanket wherein they are covered is woven of sin, shame, blood, and filth, Eze 16:4; Eze 16:6. Infants have sin, though unable to act it; as Paul’s viper, stiff with cold, might be handled without harm, yet was no less venomous. But no sooner can they do anything, but they are evil doing, Ut urtica statim urit, et cancri retrocedunt, et echinus asper est, as young nettles will sting, young crab fish go backward, and as the young urchin is rough, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 21, 22. Our Lord asks the father, not the sufferer, which in this case would have been useless he was but a lad, and he was dumb. Our Lord"s question, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? was intended, not of course for his own information, but to inspire the father with hope and confidence. The father briefly answers, From a child; and then turns to a description of the perils to which his child was continually exposed through these paroxysms. And then, half doubting, half in despair, he says, If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. It is as though he said, "Thy disciples have failed, perhaps thy power may be greater."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The healing:

v. 21. And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

v. 22. And oft times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

v. 23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe; all things are possible to him that believeth.

v. 24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.

v. 25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

v. 26. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him. And he was as one dead, insomuch that many said, He is dead.

v. 27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

The evangelist purposely records the details of the healing, in order to bring out all the more strongly the healing power of the Lord in contrast with the destructive power of the devil. Jesus made careful inquiries regarding the length of time that the man’s son had suffered, and learned that the demon had taken possession of him in early childhood. He had not prevented his physical growth, but had given every other evidence of his hateful presence by causing him to throw himself into fire, to be burned to death, and into water, to be drowned. We cannot be far wrong in believing that similar symptoms and experiences even today, as convulsions, madness, delirium, lunacy, and others, are due to the hatred of Satan. But it is self-evident that the devil has only so much power over the bodies of men as is permitted him by God. So God had frustrated all attempts of the devil upon the life of that boy. Someone always had been present to save his life. Now the father appeals to Christ: Give us help and have mercy upon us! This was a sincere prayer, but unfortunately he modified it by saying: If Thou art in any way able. Here unbelief was battling with belief; he was not quite certain in his trust in Jesus. He implied some doubt as to His ability to help in this severe case of need. Jesus therefore takes time to correct this feeling, using, in a reproving way, almost the same words that the man had used towards Him: If thou only wert able. Here is the difficulty, the grievous mistake; there is still doubt in your heart. It is a favorite reference of Jesus that He here employs: All things are possible to him that believes. True faith has miraculous, heaven-storming qualities, Mat 17:20; Php 4:13. This word had the desired effect with the distraught father. It opened his eyes to his lack of faith. In deep humility he cries out: I believe; come to the assistance of my unbelief. As in the heart of all Christians, belief and unbelief were battling in his heart. But now faith and trust in the Lord were supreme. He trusts entirely in the help of Christ, also against that evil of unbelief that thrusts its head up now and then in his heart. On the part of God all things are possible, if the believer will but accept by faith what God has long ago prepared for him and enabled him to receive through help from above. Meanwhile the people were coming running from all directions, and Jesus wanted to avoid unwelcome publicity. He therefore earnestly reprimanded the unclean spirit, who here caused deafness and dumbness in the boy, giving him the direct command to go out from him and to stay out. The devil must needs obey, but in doing so, he wreaks his vengeance upon the boy for the last time, throwing him into such terrible convulsions as he went forth from him that the boy fell down as one dead, and many openly declared their belief that he was dead. But when Jesus took him by the hand, he could readily get up and stand. Thus the glory of God, which Jesus, the Man, possessed, was once more made evident in this miracle. The Son of God had again triumphed over the devil. There is lasting comfort in this fact for all believers that put their trust unwaveringly in Christ, the Son of the living God. These the devil, with all his might and cunning, cannot harm. And though he should succeed in killing the body, the soul is safe in the hands of the heavenly Father.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. ἐπηρώτησεν. Our Lord is asking for information, as in Mar 9:16, Mar 6:38, Mar 8:23. Both Mt. and Lk. omit the question. Cf. Soph. O.T. 558. How long time is it since this hath come to him? Here only in Mk is ὡς used in a temporal sense. In Lk., Jn, and Acts it is very freq.

Ἐκ παιδιόθεν. Pleonastic, like ἀπὸ μακρόθεν (Mar 5:6), and our “from whence,” “from henceforth”; παιδιόθεν ([2084][2085][2086]) or ἐκ παιδίου would suffice. The A text of Gen 47:3 has ἐκ παιδιόθεν.

[2084] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[2085] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mar 3:35 to Mar 6:20.

[2086] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21.] The Lord takes occasion to enquire thus of the father, to bring in the trial of his faith.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. ὡς τοῦτο γέγονεν αὐτῷ—since this has come to him. This conversation with the father has been preserved by Mk. alone, with his customary fulness in the narration of events. All attempts to discover special motives for this question of Jesus, aside from the general interest of a sympathetic person in the case, are unavailing. It has no special bearing on the cure to be performed. Ἐκ παιδιόθεν—from childhood.2

Insert ἐκ before παιδιόθεν, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDGILN Δ 1, 33, 118, 209.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.