Matthew 17:14

Mat_17:14; Mat_17:21

And when they were come to the multitude.

The healing of the lunatic child

I. The divinely appointed alternations of the Christian life. (Mar_9:2; Mar_9:17).

II. Spiritual work can be done only by spiritual men (Mar_9:28-29; Act_19:13-16). Correspondence in the worker to the work to be done is never overlooked in any other department of activity. Who employs a plague-stricken nurse to tend a plague-stricken patient? Christs own argument (Mat_12:25-28); Satan will not cast out Satan.

III. The weakness of the Christian apart from Christ.

IV. The absolute necessity of faith.

1. The disciples could do nothing without faith.

2. The father of the lunatic child could receive nothing without faith. How this is to be explained. Faith is more than belief; it is a consequent putting of ourselves into connection with God. The wire must be brought into connection with the battery before it can be charged with electricity. The pitcher must be placed in connection with the fountain before it can be filled.

V. The omnipotence of faith. By believing we place ourselves in connection with Almighty God. What pool cannot the ocean fill? What earthly space cannot the sun illumine? No man, then, who desires to be saved, need despair. You cannot expel sin from your own heart; but the word of Christ is omnipotent. (Anon.)

The contrast

Life is full of changes and contrast. The best of mans quality and character is what he is in, and how he meets these abrupt and broken changes.

I. Christs life was made up of contrasts. Not one more, marked or extreme than this, and nowhere is Christ so fully and truly supreme and sublimely himself. The contrast was painful to Him, painful to all His soul in its love of the beautiful and true and right. What a descent it was! Every true life has such contrasts, and in them the true man is revealed. Christ found His lifework, not in His glory, but in the valley, and was there truly and fully the Messiah. The value of the vision and glory is but their gift of fitness for work and endurance.

II. The confused scene which greets Christ is a true picture of life, into which with healing and order making, christ is ever entering.

1. A sad picture of the world to-day. We are perplexed and almost despairful.

2. A sad picture of our own inner life the home of so much strife, of so much unbelief. Our wondering question is often, Why could we not cast them out? (S. D. Thomas.)

The gracious welcome

Bring him hither to me.

1. Whose words are these?

2. To whom are they spoken?

3. Concerning whom are they spoken?

4. What do they teach us?

(1) Something as to Christ. He is the great Healer, the sinners one Physician.

(2) Something as to ourselves. Contact with Him is health, and life, and warmth. Into this close contact He invites us to bring others. And was any brought one ever sent away? (H. Bonar, D. D.)

A grain of faith

The boundaries of the province of faith.

I. Faiths limitations.

1. The different ages of the Church have called for different kinds of faith. The faith of a miraculous age would not be the same with the faith of a period when God worked by ordinary operations. But even in the same period, and at the same moment, not only the measure, but the character of the faith of different men must vary. A common man at the time of Christ would not have been reproved as the apostles were for not being able to cast out an evil spirit, because it was an authority only given to the apostles.

3. Faith and its achievements must be as God is pleased to give it to every one. It is a pure creation of God in mans soul.

4. Every mans responsibility is just to use the faith, whatever its measure may be, which God has given him; he cannot go beyond it. Nevertheless within this the state of every mans faith depends upon the condition of his heart, and the life which he is leading.

II. The ranges of faith.

1. It is plain that everything hinges upon faith, that the success of faith does not depend upon the quantity, but upon the quality-A grain. You may not be able to remove material mountains, but you can spiritual mountains of sin, care, and difficulty. God puts it into a mans mind to believe what He intends that man to do. But may we not mistake the leadings of faith? Yes: just as we may mistake the leadings of prayer and providence. The security is, in a scriptural mind, disciplined to know the still small voices of God. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Mysterious failure

I. That the honest efforts of Gods servants may sometimes end in failure. As Christian workers, we often think we succeed when we in reality fail, and the reverse. But in this case there could be no mistake.

1. It was a conscious failure-Could not.

2. It was a failure without a redeeming feature. In the pulpit we sometimes partially atone for failure in the end by the good impression we made at the beginning, and the reverse. The demon was only exasperated to ten-fold fury, till the lad was flung to the ground, and wallowed foaming.

3. It was a public failure. It was witnessed by the multitude, and among them the vindictive, sarcastic scribes.

4. It was a humiliating failure. This devil in the lad was too much for nine men, who were the divinely-credentialed ambassadors of Christ.

II. That the failure of Christian workers may sometimes be a mystery to themselves-Why could not we? They had honestly tried; had no doubt done the like before; certainly they did it afterward; why not now? Everything appeared to justify them in looking for success.

1. They were Christs chosen disciples.

2. They were His recognized ambassadors. He had confirmed their call by giving them the Divine gift of miracles.

3. They had not put their hands to a work which God designed for others. The very terms of their commission specified the work which they had tried to do and failed-raise the dead, cast out devils.

4. No reason to believe they used their own names instead of Christs on this occasion. No wonder they were humiliated and thunder-struck at such a failure. There is comfort here for all disappointed workers. The feeling of disappointment which prompted this question was a hopeful feature in their case. What we should be most concerned about is, not success, but downright honesty in our work.

III. The failure of many men in the pulpit and out of it need be no mystery even to themselves. Many of us fail because we forget to take aim. Have you tried to cast out devils, and failed? Tell Jesus about it. (T. Kelly.)

Hope in hopeless cases

I. The details of the deplorable case before us. Physical miracles of Christ typical of spiritual works.

1. The disease appeared every now and then in overwhelming attacks of mania, in which the man was utterly beyond his own control. So we have seen melancholy persons in whom distrust, despair have raged at times with unconquerable fury.

2. The patient at such times was filled with a terrible anguish.

3. The evil spirit sought his destruction by hailing him in different directions. So with distressed souls; fly to extremes.

4. This child was deaf.

5. He was dumb.

6. He was pining away. Men are a prey to their own unbelief.

7. All this had continued for years.

8. The disciples had failed to cast out the devil.

II. The one resource.

1. Jesus Christ is still alive.

2. Jesus lives in the place of authority.

3. Jesus lives in the place of observation, and He graciously interposes still.

4. Jesus expects us to treat Him as the living, powerful, interposing One, and to confide in Him as such.

III. The sure result. The word of Christ was sure; was opposed by the devil. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Christs life made up of contrasts

None of them more marked and extreme than this; and nowhere is Christ so fully and truly supreme and sublimely Himself. He needs no pause to fittingly enter the clanging discord of anger, despairing sorrow and rude scorn. He is alike supreme, touching manhoods apex in the mount, and mingling with manhoods depravity in ignorance and evil in the valley. And that not because He lived above and indifferent to each, but because, identifying Himself with each, He was true and great enough to subordinate all to His lifes mission. The contrast was painful to Him, painful to all His soul in its love of the beautiful and true and right. From the peace of the Transfiguration glory-the hearts ecstasy touching heaven; touching God in its fellowship; the glad satisfaction of an ideal realized, His lifes meaning and appointment found, all Moses promised and Elijah wrought for consummated-to the discordant throng of- unhallowed passion and faithless failure. What a descent it was! And this even in a moment, as abrupt as from dream to waking. The change and contrast is infinitely sad. Suddenly Christ, from calm vision and peaceful vow, descending with the glory yet about Him, mantling face and form, is greeted with taunt and scorn, and the bitter cry of shame and despair. Hardly the cross was a sorer trial to the patience, earnestness, and love of Christ. Yet, in the midst He stands, all calm and good, all patiently laying aside His own pain to minister to others-His one concern the honour of the kingdom of man and God. Every true life has such contrasts, and in them the true man is revealed; they compel to the surface that which is most of a man-good or bad, weak or strong. In them we have the gauge of a mans piety and true devotion. It is easy to serve and worship and to be strong in our moments of vision and conscious contact with God, when His Spirit thrills us with joy and faith. It is possible even to brace ourselves up with ardour and enthusiasm for some notable and well-defined task; but to find swift following (all discordant) our vision, a bitter trial, and wake from peaceful resolve to stern reality of strife, and still be true, needs all our faith. It is possible only to the Christ-like man, and should be our aim and glory. (S. D. Thomas.)

The power of faith

When man has faith in God his nature so opens itself to be filled with God, that God and he make a new unity, different at once from pure heavenly divinity and from pure earthly humanity, the new unit of man inspired by God; and by that new unit, that new being, it is that the evil is to be conquered and the world is to be saved. Can we understand that? Let us take two simple illustrations which may make it plain. Look at the artists chisel. Most certainly it carves the statue. The artist cannot carve without his chisel. And yet imagine the chisel, conscious that it was made to carve and that that is its function, trying to carve alone. It lays itself against the hard marble, but it has neither strength nor skill; it has no force to drive itself in, and if it had it does not know which way it ought to go. Then we can imagine the chisel full of disappointment. Why cannot I carve? it cries. And then the artist comes and seizes it. The chisel lays itself into his hand, and is obedient to him. That obedience is faith. It opens the channels between the sculptors brain and the hard steel. Thought, feeling, imagination, skill, flow down from the deep chambers of the artists soul to the chisels edge. The sculptor and the chisel are not two, but one. It is the unit which they make that carves the statue. Then again, look at the army and its great commander. The army tries to fight the battle, and is routed. Then its scattered regiments gather themselves together, and put themselves into the hands of the great general, and obey him perfectly, and fight the battle once more and succeed. Why could not I succeed? the army cries; and the general answers, Because of your unbelief. Because you had no faith. You separated yourself from me. You are but half a power, not a whole power. The power which has won the battle now is not you and is not I; it is made up of you and me together, and the power which made us a unit was your obedient faith. (Phillips Brooks, D. D.)

Faith in action

It may be interesting and useful to consider in what way the apostles actually worked out the lessons which our Lord gave them concerning faith. The lessons which Christ gave them while He was yet with them were, doubtless, intended to guide them when they were left to themselves; He dropped into their minds many maxims, and precepts, and seeds of thought, which He knew that they would not understand at the time, intending that the things said should be brought to remembrance by the power of the Holy Ghost, and should then be comprehended in all their fulness, and be guides to their feet and lanterns to their paths. Well, then, how did they deal with the mountains of difficulty which they had to remove in order to lay the foundations of the Church? How did they put in practice the precept of their Lord, that they should command the mountains in faith to be removed? and in what way and to what degree did they realize the fulfilment of the promise that a command so given and backed by prayer should be forthwith obeyed, and that nothing should be impossible? It is plain that you may easily conceive a very wild and fanatical system of attempts to propagate the gospel being based upon our Lords words literally taken. You may conceive, e.g., of St. Peter on the Day of Pentecost, instead of arguing calmly with the people and declaring the facts connected with the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, attempting some striking miracle which would batter down all opposition; or you can conceive of St. Paul at Ephesus, instead of pleading his cause in the theatre, commanding the great Temple of Diana to be removed and cast into the sea; in fact, you may conceive of a course of conduct as different as possible from that which the apostles with one consent and in their corporate capacity actually adopted. Look at the history contained in the Book of Acts, or at the incidental living history which comes out in the Epistles, and you will see that the whole work of the apostles is a combination of faith and prayer with judgment and calm, quiet, good sense; they were conspicuously what we should call good men of business; like all such men, they attended to small matters as well as great; when difficulties arose, they took counsel together, and discussed the difficulties at a general meeting; they framed rules when rules were necessary; they never forgot that in this world prudence is as necessary with regard to the kingdom of God as it is with regard to mere worldly success; this was the way in which the apostles founded and governed the Church of Christ. And yet the apostles would have been the last men to put trust in their own wisdom, or their business capacity, or their powers of organization. At all times of their ministry, in bright days and in dark, in the council chamber at Jerusalem or in prison for the name of Christ, in legislating for the churches or in dealing with individual hearts and consciences, in striving by all manner of means to cast out the legion of devils by which mankind was possessed, they would have in their minds such words as these. (Bishop Harvey Goodwin.)

Want of faith the source of weakness

How the whole story of humankind is like that scene which took place at the foot of Tabor, while Jesus was being transfigured on the top. You remember how, in Raphaels great painting, the whole story is depicted. Up above Christ is hovering in glory, lifted from earth and clothed in light and accompanied on each side by His saints. Down below, in the same picture, the father holds his frantic child, and the helpless disciples are gazing in despair at the struggles which their charms have wholly failed to touch. It is the peace of Divine strength above; it is the tumult and dismay of human feebleness below. But what keeps the great picture from being a mere painted mockery is that the puzzled disciples in the foreground are pointing the distressed parents of the child up to the mountain where the form of Christ is seen. They have begun to get hold of the idea that what they could not do He could do. So they are on the way to the faith which He described to them when they came to Him with their perplexity. Let the picture help to interpret them to us, and is not the meaning of Christs words to His disciples this? He claims the disciples for Himself. He tells them that the reason of their failure is that they have been trying to do by themselves what they can only do when He is behind them, when their natures are so open that His strength can freely flow out through them. That, I think, is what He means by faith. The man who is so open Christward that Christ is able to pour His strength out through him upon the tasks of life has faith in Christ. The man who is so closed Christward that nothing but his own strength gets utterance upon the tasks of life has not faith, and is weak because of his unbelief. (Phillips Brooks.)

Reason of failure

Whence comes it that, when assailed by temptation, we so seldom conquer and so often fail? It is because of our unbelief-because we are fools, and slow of heart to believe all that God Himself has told us. We do not go to Him first of all; we do not take His instructions, do not consult His revealed will as our first rule of action. Is it not so as regards that evil spirit whose name is Legion, whose accursed power we meet everywhere-not only in our streets, but in some of its manifold influences in our homes and hearts-the spirit of selfishness and sensuality, lust, intemperance, sarcasm, spite, hypocrisy, cheating, lying, meanness? We do not say, we have not faith to say, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out. We dare not say to impotence, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. We have more faith in ourselves; in clever legislation, compulsory education, commercial prosperity, in what we call progress, in the discoveries of science. We will not read, or we forget, history-how all the great empires of the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tiber, and the Tigris rose and fell as they realized that which was true and right hi the religion they professed; how the golden glory of Babylon, the silver sheen of Cyrus the Persian, the brazen splendour which gleamed on the victorious arms of Alexander, the iron strength of Rome, were ground into powder as the stone fell upon them, the stone which the builders rejected, but which became the head of the corner and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land-the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and when in this season of decadence, and in the time of their visitation, they heard the war-cry of their conquerors, and staggered from the wine-cup and the harlots lap to put on the armour which they could hardly bear, and the sword which they could scarcely wield, it was as they asked in their defeat, Why could not we cast them out? that the answer came, Because of your unbelief; because you have ceased to believe in righteousness, and righteousness exalteth a nation. (S. R. Hole, M. A.)

Had these disciples been not faithless but believing; had they prayed more frequently and earnestly; had they shown more of that self-denial which He taught and set before them, distrusted themselves and humbled themselves instead of disputing which should be the greatest, they would Lave east out that evil spirit. But he perceived, and prevailed over, their want of faith. He said, Jesus I know, but who are ye that utter His name, but do not believe in its power? Perhaps the absence of the Master from those nine apostles made them doubtful and fearing among the unbelieving Jews; just as you and I, when we leave the church, or our place of prayer at home, or the company of those whom we most revere and who influence us most for good, are tempted to forget the omnipresent God, to be of the world worldly, and to set our affections upon the things of the earth. So to lose the power, the only true power over ourselves and others, which we have in exact proportion to our faith, our prayers, our self-denial; for they are inseparable, these three-trinity in unity.

I. It is impossible to believe in our heavenly Father and not to go to him always as children to rejoice in his love, to thank Him for His gifts, to be protected in danger, taught in ignorance, relieved in pain, and forgiven when we have done wrong.

II. We cannot really believe in his power and love without going to him and praying to him oft and earnestly; not from a mere impulse of fear, in some sudden terror, in the great storm, carried up to heaven and down again to earth, in the valley of the shadow of death; but always out of a pure heart and faith unfeigned. And this true prayer does not begin when we kneel, nor cease when we rise. God has not only given us a voice to pray with, but a mind with which to think about our prayers, and capacities, and means, and time, and money, with which we may fulfil them. True prayer is prayer in action. Duty is prayer, and work is worship.

III. So it is impossible to believe really in Christ, and not to practise self-denial. To believe is to love, and to love is to obey. (S. R. Hole, M. A.)

Spiritual failure-its cause and cure

nothing can be better than to being our spiritual failures to Christ himself, as did the disciples. Why could not we cast him out? So asked the baffled, eager disciples of old, and got their answer. So let us ask, and hear what Christ will say to us.

I. Cause of spiritual failure.

1. Whatever the peculiar character of the malady, the disciples had bad power given them to heal it (Mat_10:8), which they had already freely and successfully put forth (Luk_10:17). This power was not unconditionally exercised. Some of the conditions of success depended upon the sufferers, some upon themselves. The cause of failure lay, not in forms or methods, etc., the mischief lay deeper down-unbelief.

2. Are there none possessed with evil spirits within our ken? Do we not in this description recognize phenomena of our own life?

3. There are fair excuses enough; undue dwelling upon the evil to be cured; mere reasoning on the causes of evil; reserve and fastidiousness in dealing with religious topics; perfunctory methods of using the gospel means.

II. Christs cure. There is no unnecessary upbraiding in our Lords answer, no dwelling on the merely negative side of truth. From the mention of unbelief He passes at once to the power of faith.

1. Faith needs to be cultivated. In the Revised Version Christs answer reads, Because of your little faith. You may trust doubt to spring up readily and flourish easily, but the power to discern the invisible, and hold fast amidst a thousand discouragements our confidence in an unseen God, an unseen Saviour, and in the power of truth which as yet far from prevailing must receive due cultivation if it is to conquer.

2. Let it be clearly understood that while Gods power in Christ works the miracle, our faith in that power is a condition of its operation and success.

3. This is no question of fervid enunciation, excited gestures, display of emotion. Faith may be small at first.

4. Our Lords addition to this main answer to the disciples query has an importance of its own. Faith in all cases needs to be sustained, but in special cases it needs to be specially sustained by

(1) prayer;

(2) fasting-self-denial. (W. T. Darison, M. A.)

The influence of earnest faith upon men

And so for the most part it is not abstract truth that wins men. I can read abstract truth at home and go to sleep over it; argue it out by myself and never be moved to alter my course one jot. What moves me is the sight of a man who is himself moved by the truth of what he proclaims, and in this high region of religious truth a man adequately moved in proportion to the importance of the truth he announces. A true herald of Christ is one who, not in the mere announcing of doctrine, but who in mien, gesture, tone, life, shows that lie believes the God-in-Christ doctrine of the salvation of the worst of men who are willing to yield and obey. Such a herald of the gospel is everywhere a quickening power, a kindling flame. (W. T. Darison, M. A.)

Faith not emotion or formalism

Those who would cast out devils in Christs name are not like pagan exorcists to work themselves into a fever of excitement and imagine that obstacles will disappear before them because they shout and gesticulate. A mans manner may be as quiet or as impetuous as you please, but it should be the natural expression of the truth which animates all the powers of his being. There is electricity enough in nature, and at certain times the air is burdened with it, but a good conductor is needed if its energy is to be gathered and transmitted. And in this case the force is to be gathered, not that it may be dissipated in the earth, but that it may rend rocks and overturn mountains. A great problem of the day is the storage and use of electricity; but who is fit for a work like this, to be in any degree a vehicle of the Divine power to save men? Not the noisy assertor of self who reminds you of his own personality and agency at every turn. Not the formalist, the mechanical utterer of pious phrases, nor the mere excited rhapsodist; but only the man of single eye and pure heart, whose soul is inter-penetrated with the truth as it is in Jesus, and who believes with all his mind, and soul, and strength in its might and efficacy. (W. T. Darison, M. A.)

The secrets of victory

Christs power, first, last, middle; our faith in that power unhesitating, unshrinking, unwavering; earnest prayer to Him whose ear attends the softest prayer, accompanied by that self-discipline which the holiest saint knows he needs, and the humblest Christian should be the last to disdain, these are the secrets of victory. Constantine, before the great battle of the Milvian bridge, is said to have beheld in the sky a flaming cross, with the words. by this conquer. Only by the power of the Cross can the world be surbdued; but only by the faith of its followers can the power of the Cross reach the worlds heart and free it from the tyranny of the legion of evil spirits that now rule and riot there. Onward Christian soldiers, and by your faith help to win a world for Christ! (W. T. Darison, M. A.)

The spirit of worldliness rebuked

I. The evil. The efforts of Satan have been different at different times. Persecution; heresy; fashions of Men; worldliness. If. The remedy. Faith. By prayer faith is increased, also we shall be given less to luxury. (S. Robins, M. A.)

A man wholly consecrated to Christ

It is said that shortly before Mr. Moody began those labours which were so marvellously blessed, he was greatly impressed by the remark made by s Christian friend: It remains for the world to see what the Lord can do with a man wholly consecrated to Christ.

The secret of power

Consider the principles which flow from this text.

I. We have an unvarying power. A gospel which never can grow old. An abiding spirit. An unchanging Lord.

II. The condition of exercising, this power is faith. The Church to-day is asking the same question as the disciples. What is to blame? Not our modes of worship, etc. While leaving full scope for all improvements in subordinate conditions, the main thing which makes us strong for our Christian work is the grasp of living faith, which holds fast the strength of God. Faith has a natural operation on ourselves which tends to fit us for casting out the evil spirits. Faith has power over men who see it.

III. Our faith is ever threatened by subtle unbelief. All our activity tends to become mechanical, and to lose its connection with the motive which originated it. The atmosphere of scornful disbelief which surrounded the disciples made their faith falter. So with us.

IV. Our faith can only be maintained by constant devotion and rigid self-denial. (Dr. A. Maclaren.)

The secret of Christian failure and success

They were justified in undertaking to cast the demon out, and ought to have succeeded. It was the right and privilege of their discipleship, and they were guilty of the harmfulness of their failure. And so with us, our demons and the worlds demons have been subjected to us. Our duty and privilege is to master and exorcise them. And to the measure of our opportunity we are guilty of the worlds evilness and our hearts weakness. It should not be Christs direct act. Thank God it will be that if we fail, they shall at last be east out; but it should be ours through the Christ-life and power with us. He has committed the work and responsibility of evils overthrow to us, and sternly and awfully He will require at our hands the lives marred and wrecked by our failure. Our great need is faith in this power of ours. We want to know and feel we are not helplessly in sins grip, nor weak though despised before evils array and seeming sovereignty in the world. The world is ours as we are Christs-ours to be conquered and won. (S. D. Thomas.)

Eastern epilepsy and mania

In Sidon there are cases of epileptic fits which, in external manifestation, closely resemble that mentioned in this verse. These fits have seized a young man in my house repeatedly; And, lo! the spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and foameth at the mouth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and is east down wherever he may be seized, and pineth away until you would think he was actually dead. Matthew calls him a lunatic, but, according to Mark, it was a dumb spirit. And there are eases in which the disease referred to accompanies, and in others it obviously occasions, dumbness. I will not say that such unfortunate creatures are tormented by an evil spirit, but I am sure that no cavilling sceptic can prove that they are not. (Dr. Thomson.)

Explanation of devil possessions

Many think that in the cases recorded we have but the symptoms of well-known diseases which, from their exceptionally painful character, involving loss of reason, involuntary or convulsive motions, and other abnormal phenomena, the imaginative and unscientific Easterns attributed, as the easiest mode of accounting for them, to a foreign power taking possession of the body and mind of the man. They say there is no occasion whatever to resort to an explanation involving an agency of which we know nothing from any experience of our own; that, as our Lord did not come to rectify mens psychological or physiological theories, He adopted the mode of speech common among them, but east out the evil spirits simply by healing the diseases attributed to their influences. There seems to me nothing unchristian in this interpretation. But I have no difficulty in receiving the old Jewish belief concerning possession; and I think it better explains the phenomena recorded than the growing modern opinion. (George Macdonald.)

Prayer for a wicked son

Speners prayer for his son:-Philip James Spener had a son of eminent talents, but perverse and extremely vicious. All means of love and persuasion were without success. The father could only pray, which he continued to do, that the Lord might yet be pleased to save his son at some time, and in some way. The son fell sick, and while lying on his bed in great distress of mind, nearly past the power of speech or motion, he suddenly started up, clasped his hands, and exclaimed, My fathers prayers, like mountains, surround me. Soon after, his anxiety ceased, a sweet peace spread over his face, his malady came to a crisis, and the son was saved in body and soul. He became another man.

A pitiable sight

Whoever has held in his arms his child in delirium, calling to his father for aid as if he were distant far, and beating the air in wild and aimless defence, will be able to enter a little into the trouble of this mans soul. To have the child, and yet see him tormented in some region inaccessible; to hold him to the heart, and yet be unable to reach the thick-coming fancies which distract him; to find himself with a great abyss between him and his child, across which the cry of the child comes, but back across which no answering voice can reach the consciousness of the sufferer-is terror and misery indeed. But imagine in the case before us the intervals as well-the stupidity, the vacant gaze, the hanging lip, the pale flaccid countenance and bloodshot eyes, idiocy alternated with madness-no voice of human speech, only the animal babble of the uneducated dumb-the misery of his falling down anywhere, now in the fire, now in the water, and the Divine shines out as nowhere else-for the father loves his own child even to agony. What was there in such a child to love? Everything. The human was there, else whence the torture of that which was not human? whence the pathos of those eyes, hardly up to the dogs in intelligence, yet omnipotent over the fathers heart? God was there. The misery was that the devil was there too. Hence came the crying and tears. Rescue the Divine; send the devil to the deep, was the unformed prayer in the fathers soul. (George Macdonald.)

This mountain as Hermon

There cannot be a doubt that the high mountain apart was one of the peaks of Hermon, which towers over Caesarea. On coming down again from the mountain the lunatic boy was healed; and in such a position the force of Christs rebuke to His disciples could be fully comprehended. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain [Hermen], Remove hence to yonder place [pointing down, perhaps, into the deep valley of the Jordan which lay below], and it shall remove. (Dr. J. L. Porter.)

Faith removing mountains

A grain of faith can remove spiritual mountains; mountains of guilt from the conscience, mountains of hardness from the will, mountains of earthliness from the affections. (E. Polhill.)

Faith that works wonders

All the marvels, all the apparent impossibilities, which men have wrought, have been wrought by the energy of faith. It is by his faith in the laws of nature, and in his interpretation of them, that the man of science has achieved the marvels which have altered the whole form and tone of modern life. It is by his faith both in the courage of his soldiers, and in his own power of handling them, that is, his system of tactics, that every great captain has won his victories, often snatching them from the very mouth of defeat. It is by his faith in men, and in his reading of the laws of social and political science, that every great statesman learns how to take occasion by the hand, and to make the bounds of freedom broader yet. It is by his faith in great religious principles and truths that every successful reformer of the Church, e.g., Luther, has purged the Church from its accretions of error and superstition, elevated and liberalized at once her creed, her ritual, and her morality, in the teeth of both priestly and imperial power. By faith the early Church put a new heart into the decrepit Roman empire. By faith the reformers put a new heart into the northern kingdoms of Europe, and suppressed some, at least, of the most flagrant vices and superstitions even of the southern kingdoms who rejected their teaching. (Almoni Peloni.)

Power in a mustard seed

The mustard seed is one of the tiniest of seeds, although in the fierce heat of the Jordan valley it will grow up into a herb as high as a man on horseback, and throw out sprays on which the birds of the air perch and feed, attracted by its pungent fruit. Take such a seed into your hand and consider it, and you will find it hard, round, dry, and apparently dead and inert. Pat it under a microscope and dissect it; and, small as it is, you will find that it contains a germ far smaller than itself in which its whole potency is summed up. Born in the air, nourished by the sunshine and the dew, it yet cannot live and appropriate their virtues while it remains in them, so long as it lies in the pod, or continues above the ground. But bury it in the soil, and soon a process of dissolution and disintegration sets in which is also a process of vitality and growth. Its main bulk rots, but rots only that it may feed the tiny germ of quickened life which resides within it, for even a seed must lose itself to find itself, must die that it may live. Through death it rises into a new life, pushes its way through what, compared to itself in size and weight, are whole mountains of obstruction and resistance, piercing clod after clod, and compelling each to yield its virtues, and to minister to its needs; until, at last, it rises into that fellowship with the air and the sunshine and the dew for which it yearned and was designed. The mountains of the earth are dead in comparison with its life. Hence it commands them to be removed, and they obey. So astonishing is the vital energy of even the smallest seeds that mushroom spores, which singly are almost invisible, have been known to lift large paving stones an inch or two from the earth in the course of a single night. (Almoni Peloni.)

The power of faith

I. The text speaks To those who have no faith. The disciples had failed through lack of faith. If we could but believe we should see difficulties vanish.

1. The sphere of faith. Faith has relation to mans spiritual needs; temporal needs not overlooked. The boundaries of faith are to be looked for in the promises.

2. How faith operates. By laying hold on Gods power. To make His work serviceable to us it must be done in some way through our instrumentality. But the excellency of the power is His.

3. Its necessity. Gods work cannot be done without our faith, He has so appointed.

II. Of comfort to those of little faith.

1. It may be little in two senses: in its object, or in its intensity.

2. Weak faith is faith. It lays hold on God like a thin wire touching a strong battery.

3. It can remove mountains. God will honour faith as such and not because of its strength merely. (G. T. Horton.)

Power through faith

That power is put forth according to our faith. You have, perhaps, seen a steam-hammer, or clipper, which is most mighty to crush or cut thick iron like shavings. The force applied is steam, which seems almost omnipotent. But how is it applied? By a simple tube of connexion and a common valve, by which the steam is let in upon the ponderous apparatus. An infant could turn the tap. So faith simply turns on to any work we have to do the whole power of deity; yet He hath appointed us fellow-workers with Him, by entrusting to us this prerogative of faith. (G. T. Horton.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 17:14-18. And when they were come to the multitude — Namely, the day following, Luk 9:37, there came a certain man, kneeling down to him — In great humility before Jesus, and with deep reverence for him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son — Compassionate his miserable condition, for he is lunatic and sore vexed — With terrible fits. “This man’s disease,” says Dr. Campbell, “we should, from the symptoms, call epilepsy, rather than lunacy. The appellation given it (σεληνιαζεται) shows the general sentiments, at that time, concerning the moon’s influence on this sort of malady.” It appears from Mar 9:17-20; Luk 9:39; (where see the notes,) that the disorder, whatever it was, was owing to his being possessed by an evil spirit; he might, nevertheless, be properly said to be lunatic, though his case was chiefly preternatural, as the evil spirit would undoubtedly take advantage of the influence which the changes of the moon have on the brain and nerves. I brought him to thy disciples — This he had done in Christ’s absence; and they could not cure him — Could not cast out the evil spirit, as appeared by their having attempted it without success. Christ gave his disciples power to cast out devils, when he sent them forth to teach and preach, Mat 10:1; Mat 10:8, and then they were successful; yet, at this time, they failed in the operation, though there were nine of them together: and Christ permitted this, 1st, to keep them humble, and to show them their dependance upon him, and that without him they could do nothing; 2d, to glorify himself and his own power. Jesus answered, O faithless and perverse generation — In these words our Lord might first intend to reprove both the disciples and the father of the child, for the weakness of their faith. With respect to the disciples, this appears evident from Mat 17:20; but the reproof, contained in the words, could not be designed principally for them: for though their faith was weak, they were not faithless, nor do they appear to have deserved so sharp a rebuke. It seems to have been intended for the people, and, perhaps, especially the scribes, who are mentioned, Mar 9:14, as disputing with the disciples, and, it should seem, insulting over them, as having now met with a case that was too hard for them; a distemper which they could not cure, even by the name and power of their Master. And this conduct of the scribes, which proceeded from their unbelief, was highly criminal, since Jesus had already given so many undeniable demonstrations of his power and divine mission. Therefore he treated them no worse than they deserved, in calling them a faithless and perverse generation, and in adding, how long shall I be with you — Namely, ere you be convinced? How long shall I suffer you, or bear with your infidelity? A reproof much more applicable to the scribes, than either to the disciples or the father of the child, the weakness of whose faith proceeded from human infirmity, rather than from wilful obstinacy and perverseness. After having thus rebuked the scribes, he turned to the father of the child, and said, Bring him hither to me — And while he brought him the evil spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming, Mar 9:20; Luk 9:42. Doubtless Jesus could easily have prevented this attack of the devil, but he wisely permitted it, that the minds of the spectators might be impressed with a more lively sense of the young man’s distress. He then rebuked the devil. — Commanded him to come out of the youth, Mar 9:25. And the child was cured from that very hour — The cure was immediate and perfect! Great encouragement this to parents to bring their children, whose souls are under the power of Satan, to Christ, in the arms of faith and prayer! He is able to heal them, and as willing as able.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 76. — CASTING OUT OF A DUMB AND DEAF SPIRIT, Mat_17:14-23.

As Moses, when he came down from the mount of God, found that his people had in his absence turned to idolatry and vice, so our Saviour, on coming from the mount of transfiguration, found that his disciples in his absence had neglected prayer and fasting, and become spiritually weak, and had rendered themselves liable to the taunts of adversaries and the rebukes of the Lord. Great is the contrast between the exaltation of the mount and this humiliation on the low level of the earth.

14. Come to the multitude — The preceding conversation, from Mat_17:9, transpired as they descended the hill. Mark (chap. ix) tells us that this was on the second day after the transfiguration. The Lord found his disciples under question by the scribes for a failure to dispossess a demoniac. As the multitude saw our Lord himself approaching, they ran to him with great earnestness, as if believing that he would be able to accomplish the work. They salute our Lord with joyful reverence. The Lord demands of the scribes why they are thus questioning his disciples; when the father of the demoniac child comes forth and states his case.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Mat_17:15. Lunatick.—Epileptic (R.V.). “The child was a possessed epileptic lunatic.”

Mat_17:20. Grain of mustard seed.—See note on Mat_13:31. The proverbial type of the infinitely little (Plumptre). Ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence.—Such expressions are characteristic of the vivid imagery of Eastern speech generally. To “remove mountains” is to make difficulties vanish. The Jews used to say of an eminent teacher, he is “a rooter up of mountains” (see Lightfoot ad loc.) (Carr).

Mat_17:21. This kind, etc.—In his eighth edition of the New Testament text, Tischendorf has omitted the twenty-first verse altogether, imagining that it has crept in from Mar_9:29. And indeed it is not found in the original Sinaitic text; or in the Vatican MS.; or in No. 33, “the queen of the cursives.” It is wanting, too, in some of the oldest MSS. of the old Latin translation, as also in Cureton’s Syriac version, and the Jerusalem Syriac, etc. We could suppose that Tischendorf is right in this case. The twentieth verse is complete and needs no appendix of reply (Morison). The verse is omitted in the R.V.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_17:14-21

A lesson in faith.—The disciples of Jesus were called upon in an especial manner at this time “to walk by faith and not by sight.” Things were to happen which would be wholly contrary to what they naturally expected (Mat_16:21-22). Therefore it was, perhaps, that our Lord spake to them as in Luk_9:44. And, therefore, perhaps, that He gave to them such a “lesson in faith” as we find in this passage. How this lesson was conveyed may be seen by considering, first, the striking contrast here described, and, secondly, the two-fold explanation of it which is afterwards given.

I. The striking contrast.—On one side of this we have, first, the utter failure of the disciples of Jesus. When those who have been on the Mount of Transfiguration come down again to the rest of their company, they find them in the midst of a large and agitated assemblage (Mar_9:14). Out of these there comes one to the very feet of the Saviour (Mat_17:14). He has a sad story to tell Him. He has a son—an only child (Luk_9:38)—who is described as an “epileptic” (Mat_17:15 R.V.)—one “grievously” vexed. At times, indeed, to such an extent as to be ready to fall, in his helplessness, into the “fire” or the “water”—and so be in uttermost danger of wholly losing such life as he has. This helpless case the father had brought to the notice of the Saviour’s disciples during His absence, only to find, however, that, in their way, they were as helpless as it. Whatever they had been able to do in other cases (Mat_10:8), they could do nothing whatever in this (Mat_17:16). On the other side, we have, in regard to the same instance, the complete success of the Saviour. What the disciples had thus attempted in vain He accomplishes fully. He does this also, as in other cases, by the simple authority of His word (Mar_1:27). A “rebuke” from Him (Mat_17:18) is enough. However strong and unwilling (cf. Mar_9:25-26), the demon hears and goes out. He goes out also in such a manner that there is no recurrence of the evil (Mar_9:25). The child was cured—and cured permanently—“from that hour” (Mat_17:18). In every respect, in short, on the Saviour’s side, there was every evidence of success. Instead of nothing, everything was accomplished. Utter helplessness had been followed up by irresistible power.

II. A twofold explanation.—Twofold because supplied to us from two opposite sides. From the side of the applicant first. With all the father’s depth of distress, and all the urgency of his love and entreaty, we cannot doubt the fact of there being, at first, some deficiency in his faith. This seems implied from what the Saviour said when first He heard of his case, and was told by the man how he had “spoken” to His disciples, but altogether in vain (see Mat_17:17, also Mar_9:19; Luk_9:41). It certainly comes out in the case of his second application to the Saviour as related by St. Mark. “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us” (Mar_9:22). Also, this same smallness of faith is just as certainly at once rebuked and encouraged by the Saviour’s reply—a reply which says, in effect (see Mar_9:23), “If I can;” that is not the question. “If thou canst believe;” that is the point. For “all things can be to him that believeth.” A reply also which the poor father evidently took in exactly that sense, as shown by the tenor and urgency of his immediate response—“Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief.” Nothing is plainer, in short, so far, than that all turned upon faith. Lack of faith in coming was one great reason of that signal lack of success which had marked the first part of this case. The same is true, also, when we look at it, next, from the side of the disciples. Nothing, indeed, can be more express than our Saviour’s own words on this point. “Why could not we cast it out?” “Because of the littleness of your faith” (Mat_17:20). And nothing stronger than the cogency of the reasoning by which He demonstrates the truth of this saying. For what is this faith—this true faith—of which He is speaking? It is a principle of activity, like that “grain of mustard seed” of which He once told them before (Mat_13:31-32), which grows of itself. If you have any at all of it, therefore, you have that which is quite certain to grow into more; and, therefore again, that which will be competent, ultimately, to remove the greatest obstacles that can be. Nothing, in short, can be beyond the power of such true faith to accomplish (Mat_17:20). Nothing, therefore, is to be sought by us more! (So we may gather from Mar_9:29, as it stands in R.V.) Even, if need be, at the cost of much self-denial in other respects. (So we may understand the addition which “many ancient authorities” make to that verse.)

1. Here is a general lesson to all.—Let all those who come to God come to Him in faith (Heb_11:6). Let them have faith enough in any case to be desirous of more. The poor man in this story does not appear to have had more than this to begin. But this little faith—this mere “mustard seed” of it—did all he wished in the end.

2. Here is a special lesson to some.—Even to all such as seek, in any way, to help in ministering the word. Let them believe in it themselves! Let them seek to realise both what it is and how much it can do. Oh, the amount of sterility in the field of the kingdom because of deficiency here! Why is it that we have done so little although having the truth itself in our hands? Because of the littleness of our faith. Because we have not realised, on the one hand, that it was really the truth! And have not realised, on the other hand, that truth vanquishes all!

HOMILIES ON THE VERSES

Mat_17:14-18. Household trouble.—We have here—

1. A household in misery because of one of its members. Trouble may be intensive as well as extensive. One prodigal may destroy the peace of a whole family.

2. A household troubled by an uncontrollable circumstance. The sufferer in this case was not blamable. Some troubles we bring upon ourselves; others are put into our lot by a power beyond us.

3. A household united in deep concern for one of its members. The father spoke not for himself only, but also for others, “Have compassion on us,” etc. (Mar_9:22). An unfeeling heart is a greater calamity in a family than the most painful affliction.—J. Parker, D.D.

The church and humanity.—The incident may be viewed not only from the point of the household, but from the point occupied by the church. 1. The church expected to have restoring energy.

2. The church overborne by the evil which confronts it.

3. The church publicly rebuked for its incapacity.

4. The church shown to be powerless in the absence of Christ.—Ibid.

The position of Christ.—

1. Christ calm in the midst of social tumult.

2. Christ exposing Himself to severe reprisals in the event of failure. He spoke rebukingly before He performed the miracle.

3. Christ asserting His independence. “Bring him to Me.” Jesus needed no help. “Without Me ye can do nothing,” but without us He can do everything.

4. Christ overruling and destroying evil. He never put evil into any man; always He sought to cast it out.—Ibid.

The restoration of men.—

1. The worst of cases are not hopeless.

2. Devils do not come easily out of men.

3. Jesus Christ not only expels the devil, He gives His own personal help to the recovered man (Mar_9:27). We need Jesus even until we are set in heaven. The devil throws down, Jesus lifts up.—Ibid.

Mat_17:19-21. Christian work at home and abroad.—

I. The lesson of the failure.—The failure must have been a trial of no mean severity to the disciples. It was failure to fulfil the commission with which they had been entrusted. It was failure under the unsympathetic and scornful eye of the multitude. It was failure after they had been braced by success and lifted up with strange, not to say wild, hopes. It was a sore humiliation, yet was it full-charged with blessing to them. It was of the nature of that baptism of fire by which true men are made more true, and strong men more strong, and which in some form all men undergo who are appointed to signal service in the kingdom of heaven. Our main concern must be to discover the cause of the failure.

1. The failure of the disciples was to our Lord a question of their spiritual life. It was a question of their attainments and habits in the matter of faith, prayer, and fasting. The faith which our Lord desiderated concerned the deepest springs of life and force in the soul. “Prayer and fasting!” It was no mere matter of abstinence from meats and drinks, or of the observance of seasons and forms in prayer and sacrifice. We know how little store, comparatively, our Lord set by these things. Here was a question rather of faith’s maturity and practical prevalence throughout the whole sphere of the spiritual life, of faith’s triumph over everything which tended to bring the man under the dominion of the present and visible; of a faith which would lift the soul into habitual communion with God, and enrich the will with the energies of self-restraint. The cause of failure thus concerned the very element of life which distinguished them as religious and spiritual men, from men who were carnal and irreligious. Here was no question of the want of tact, or aptitude, or courage, or readiness, or energy, or of any of the secondary and accidental qualifications of good workmen, but a question of vital spiritual force.

2. To our Lord the failure of the disciples in this particular instance was a question of degree in the fulness of the spiritual life. His explanation was that there was a disproportion between the inherent difficulties of the case and the power which the disciples had brought to it. “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Faith grows by culture—it may be weakened by neglect, it may be corrupted by sin. Had the disciples yielded to weakening and corrupting influences? They had been giving forth spiritual energy in the service of Christ; had they been careful to have the springs of that energy replenished from time to time by communion with God?

3. To our Lord the failure of the disciples was a question exclusively of their spiritual life and attainments, and the spiritual power which these engender. The case was admitted to be exceptionally difficult, but it is implied that a robust faith, a spiritual power duly nurtured by prayer and chastened by fasting, would not have been put to shame in dealing with it. Our Lord’s exposure of the cause of the disciples’ failure thus reveals to us a law of the Christian service—that the power in which the labours and conflicts of the kingdom of heaven on earth are to be sustained is spiritual in kind—the power of a genuine religious life; and that the power is in the proportion in which the life is full.

II. The application of the lesson.—We have failures to deplore as well as successes to celebrate. To our “Why?” the Master might say, “Because of your unbelief,” etc. The demons we seek to cast out of the nations are of a kind which will not go out except on the imperative of a spiritual power of the highest order. The subject has a bearing:—

1. On our national life.—Alas for the apostles of a faith which is discredited by the life of the nation which sends them forth!

2. On the spiritual condition of the churches.—Our missionaries, with few exceptions, will be men who represent the average spiritual power and moral enthusiasm of the churches. We have to look to the churches for the men who are to conduct its affairs at home, and also for material and moral support. Causes of anxiety:

(1) Conformity to the world.

(2) Some popular tendencies of theological opinion.

3. On the spiritual attainments of those more immediately engaged in the service.—Ultimately the question is a personal one.—A. Hannay, D.D.

Mat_17:21. Prayer and fasting. (A Lenten Sermon.)—Here is an undoubted approval of two things very much called in question—prayer and fasting.

I. The true thought touching prayer is that it makes us more fitted to receive, not that it makes God more ready to give.

II. Jesus couples prayer with fasting to secure Heaven’s choicest gifts.—“This kind,” etc. The church of England, in its staid sobriety of doctrine, recognises the value of the discipline of the soul upon the body, and orders all Fridays throughout the year to be observed as days of abstinence, together with the whole of Lent, the forty days from Ash Wednesday, until Easter; also the Ember-days of the four seasons, with other days named. Jesus Himself, moreover, stamps with authority the practice of the church in this matter, and gives special directions relative to fasting. Hence says He, “When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites,” etc. (Mat_6:16-18). The common-sense view with reference to fasting is this: We ought to be as little indebted to earth as possible; tethered here and pinned to this world by as few material things as will serve; bound by as few cords to animal existence and fleshly life as alone are needed to keep body and soul together. “Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.” This injunction of the Lord Jesus should be the text held in remembrance throughout Lent: “Chasten with stripes the inner man.” There are various ways of doing this. There are many ways in which we may specially now—as at all times we ought to—deny ourselves for our neighbours’ good. Some luxury, doubtless, there is which we, without any great hardship, may give up—some luxury which may minister to the necessity of our poorer neighbour, and make, to a brother that lacketh and hath need, his woeful want less bitter. Yea, let those who have much of this world’s good laid up in store for many years just fast a little during Lent, that those who from chronic want and penury have to keep Lent right through the year may now feast a little, and even in my suggested breach to them of a church rubric, their indulgence shall not be cursed, while our austerities shall be blessed.—Archdeacon Colley.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

E. The Church as working Wonders by the Power of Spiritual Prayer and Fasting. Mat_17:14-21

(Mar_9:14-29; Luk_9:37-43.)

14And when they21 were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain22 man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic [σεληνιάζεται], and sore vexed [sorely afflicted]:23 for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not curehim. 17Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you [bear with you, ἀνέξομαι ν̔μῶν]?Bring him hither to me. 18And Jesus rebuked the devil [him, αὐτῶ], and he [the demon, τὸ δαιμόνιον]24 departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very25 hour. 19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief [little faith]:26 for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed [mustard], ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be 21impossible unto [to] you. Howbeit [But, δέ]this kind goeth not out but [except] by prayer and fasting.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

“In all the three synoptists, the cure of the lunatic follows on the transfiguration—a circumstance which may be regarded as one of the evidences of the genuineness and authenticity of the narrative, and against the mythical hypothesis.” Meyer.

Mat_17:14. Kneeling down to Him.—He saluted Him, doing homage with bended knees: γονυπετων αὐτόν.

Mat_17:15. Lunatic.—Meyer seems to suppose that lunacy and epilepsy, and demoniacal possession excluded each other. Our conviction, on the other hand, is, that a certain amount of nervous derangement uniformly accompanied all demoniacal possessions. Comp. our previous remarks [on Mat_4:24, p. 96, and on Mat_8:28, etc., pp. 164–166]. The suggestion of Olshausen, that they were partly caused by sensual indulgences, appears to us based on a confusion of two different states—surrender to the power of demons, and to that of sin.

Mat_17:17. Perverse Generation, γενεὰ διε στραμμέν η..—The expression is not merely intended as a general designation, but has a peculiar and distinctive meaning. It implies perversion, in the sense of being seduced or led astray (διαστρεφεσθαι). In their grief at the announcement of the Lord’s impending sufferings, the disciples who had been left behind, had, at least partially, given way to the spirit of the world. A slight analogy may here be traced to the return of Moses from the mount, when he found the people assembled around the golden calf. According to the ancient expositors, these words of Jesus were addressed to the person who sought relief; according to Calvin, to the scribes; according to Paulus, Olshausen, and others, to all the people present; according to Bengel, de Wette, and Meyer, to the disciples. No doubt the Lord referred primarily to the disciples, though evidently as in connection with the persons by whom they were surrounded. The rebuke itself may be regarded as a gentle moral exorcism, addressed to them before the Lord proceeded to cure the demoniac. Meyer speaks of the “strong feeling” expressed by Jesus. This should, however, be viewed in its higher bearing as an indignant emotion, by which the Saviour first of all expelled the spirit of dejection from the circle of His disciples.

How long shall I bear with you?—De Wette remarks: “Jesus here blames their want of self-dependence, their continual dependence upon Him, since He would so soon have to part from them (έ̓σομαι), and that they so often put His patience and forbearance to the test.” In that case, the first ἕωςπότε would mean: not long shall I be with you; and the second: too long, etc. But this view is evidently untenable. Besides, in the parallel passage in Luke, the expression ἑως πσ́τε occurs only once. But, on the other hand, we must not understand it as implying, I have been and borne too long with you. In our opinion, the consciousness of His approaching departure from the disciples seems to have led the Saviour to a twofold application of it to present circumstances: How soon will you require, in dependence on My Spirit, to stand and act alone! and again: How soon shall your present state of weakness, which calls for infinite forbearance on My part, require to give place to spiritual decision!

Bring him hither.—Although this is addressed to the disciples, it must also have applied to the father of the lad. According to the narrative in the Gospel by Mark (which furnishes a number of details), the crowd gave way at the appearance of Christ. The people ran to meet the Lord,—foremost among them, no doubt, the father of the child, and the disciples. The scribes probably followed more slowly, the lad being in their company. While they were bringing him to the Lord, he was seized with a fearful paroxysm whenever he came within sight of Jesus. See also the narratives in Mark and Luke.

Mat_17:18. And Jesus rebuked him.—In accordance with His ordinary method of healing demoniacs. See above. The details of the cure are furnished by Mark and Luke.

Mat_17:20. Because of your unbelief [better: want of faith, διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν].—The reproof does not refer to unbelief in regard to the divine power of effecting this miracle. In point of fact, they had attempted to cure the child. But Christ here alludes to their dejection on account of His impending sufferings, which arose from unbelief of the heart. They had not yet sufficiently exercised prayer and fasting, which would lead them to full renunciation of the world.

As a grain of mustard.—See Mat_13:33.—To remove mountains.—Comp. Mat_21:21, where the expression is even more strongly worded than here. In both cases, it is a figure implying the removal of the most formidable obstacles, 1Co_13:2. For legends about the removal of mountains, see Calovius and Starke. Similar miracles were ascribed, amongst others, to Gregory Thaumaturgus and Hilarion.—Among the Jews, an eloquent teacher was described as one who removed mountains. Stier, 2. p. 242.

Mat_17:21. This kind, τοῦτοτὸγένο ς.—Various explanations of this expression: 1. It has been applied to the demons generally, as constituting a “kind.” Thus Chrysostom, Fritzsche, and others. 2. This particular kind of demons. Grotius, de Wette, Meyer. 3. Sieffert refers it to the ἀπιστία of the disciples. 4. Theile applies it very strangely to the Apostles, in the sense, this kind of men proceed no further than prayer and fasting (!)—The second view (of Grotius, etc.) is so far supported by the circumstance, that the case of this demoniac was peculiarly aggravated. He was dumb and deaf; he threw himself into the fire and into the water, foamed and gnashed, and could only be healed during a fearful paroxysm. After the evil spirit had left him, he fell down as if dead; and the Lord was obliged to restore him by a second miracle, taking hold of him by the hand. Still it were a mistake to regard this demoniacal possession as different from others in kind, and not merely in degree, and hence as constituting a peculiar kind, for which specific prayer and fasting were required. The Lord rather conveyed to His disciples that they had not preserved or cultivated the state of mind and heart necessary for the occasion, that they were not sufficiently prepared and collected to cast out so malignant a demon. The dumbness and deafness indicated a melancholy and obstinacy, from which, in their dejection about the impending sufferings of Christ, the disciples themselves were not at that moment quite free. Besides, we must not forget on all such occasions that Judas was still among them.

Prayer and fasting.—Some commentators erroneously apply this statement to the diseased person. Thus Chrysostom: the prayer and fasting of the sufferer. Paulus: proper diet and abstinence (!) Ammon: invigoration of the soul by devotional exercises, and depression of the body by suitable abstinence. De Wette, Meyer, and others correctly refer it to the conditions necessary for such a faith as to work miracles. Meyer regards Mat_17:20-21 as a gradation. But even in Mat_17:20 the term mountain is intended to convey the idea of a very great difficulty, such as that before them. Hence Mat_17:21 is intended to furnish directions in what particular manner they were to prepare for meeting this kind of demons. The demons of such deep melancholy could only be overcome by the sacrifice of most earnest prayer, and complete renunciation of the world.

From the circumstance (recorded by Mark) that during the absence of Jesus the scribes had mingled with the disciples, Neander infers that the transfiguration must have taken place in Galilee. But there is no reason for assuming that scribes had not also resided in the territory of the Jewish prince Philip.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The great contrast: Christ’s transfiguration on the mount, and the scene of misery and unbelief in the valley below, here brought together in immediate contact. In the art of painting, Raphael has solved the difficult problem [in his famous Transfiguration, the last creation of his genius, representing Christ with Moses and Elijah in heavenly glory above, gazed at by the three favorite disciples at their feet, and the frightful scene of the lunatic below.—P. S.].

2. The disciples at the foot of the mountain were to be strengthened for the impending conflict in a manner quite different from that by which the three more intimate disciples of Jesus were prepared for it. They were to be taught and trained to stand alone. Still, despite their number, they were thrown into peculiar difficulties. At that particular season they were asked to cure a peculiarly severe case of demoniacal possession; they were surrounded by hostile scribes, ready to draw the worst inferences from their inability to afford relief, and to dispute with them; while the crowd of spectators were in danger of giving way to frivolity and derision. Hence, also, the multitude were greatly agitated when Christ appeared. The heavenly leader had to repair a severe defeat of His adherents. He accomplished it instantaneously and victoriously; thus at the same time both humbling their unbelief, and evoking and strengthening their faith. The three more intimate disciples of Jesus had been strengthened by the experience of communion with the blessed spirits of heaven. The rest were now strengthened along with them by witnessing the power of their Lord, which proved victorious over the worst demons of hell.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

How closely the Church of Christ borders on the precincts both of heaven and of hell!—Christ the King and Lord of all blessed spirits, and the conqueror of the lost.—In the Church of Christ it appears how both heaven and hell exert their influence upon earth.—The descent of the Lord and of His disciples into the valley: 1. Illustrated by the descent of travellers from bright mountain heights to dark gorges of valleys; 2. a lively image of the conflicting experiences realized by those who now descended from the mountain; 3. a foretoken of the descent of Christ into the kingdom of the dead.—The cure of the lunatic child itself a great victory, and accompanied by two other miracles. 1. This miracle was rendered more difficult—(a) by the character of the sufferer; (b) by the failure of the attempt made by the disciples; (c) by the malicious questions of the scribes; (d) by the presene of a perplexed multitude; (e) by the circumstance that the faith of the father of the child was shaken, although immediately restored. 2. The introductory miracle: the removal of the wrong state of feeling in the persons assembled, and of the inward dejection of the disciples. 3. The supplementary miracle: the rescuing of the child from the deadly stupor which proved all but fatal.—Although the Church of Christ may appear weak in many of its members, it always retains possession of miraculous power in its Lord.—How the disciples of Jesus ought to recover themselves from their unbelief, when they observe the loss of their power.—The error of the disciples on the mount, and the error of those in the valley. The former wished to surrender themselves to the vision of heavenly objects, or to a merely contemplative life; the others ventured without sufficient faith upon the most trying conflict with the world and hell (attempting the cure, disputing with the scribes, and risking their reputation before the people).—“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard,” etc.—In what order must our faith remove mountains? 1. First of all, the unbelief out of our own heart; 2. then unbelief in those who are disposed to believe; 3. after that, the unbelief of the world. The disciples miscarried in their work, because they reversed the right order.—We are to remove, first of all, the mountain which stands nearest in our path.—In this instance, the Jewish authorities had placed themselves in the way of the disciples as a mountain which they could not remove.—Faith can only achieve what it has recognized and felt as the will and call of God. But this it will certainly accomplish in the strength of the Lord.—Faith makes no experiments; what it undertakes is already decided and done in the counsel and power of God.—“This kind goeth not out” etc.—Prayer and fasting are the fundamental conditions of the victory of faith over the kingdom of darkness: 1. Prayer as faith, taking hold on the Lord and deriving strength from Him. 2. Fasting as faith in its practical renunciation of the world.—We can only overcome the spirit of melancholy in the world by a cheerful renunciation of the world.

Starke:—J. Hall: Felt need makes a man at once humble and eloquent.—Great is the misery of one bodily possessed; but infinitely greater that of one spiritually possessed.—Canstein: Satan makes use of natural causes (such as lunacy) for his designs.—There are, no doubt, even at the present day, many incurable diseases which are ascribed to natural causes (alone), and which yet may be (jointly) the effects of the invisible evil spirit.—Quesnel: God often allows His servants not to succeed in the cure of souls, partly as a Judgment on these souls, and partly to humble and arouse His servants.—The indignation of Christ.—Cramer: His reproofs and chastisements, Psa_141:5.—Osiander: If Jesus bears with our great weaknesses, should we not bear with those of our brethren? 1Pe_3:8.—Cramer: Teachable scholars should be willing to acknowledge their dulness, and should often ask questions.—Zeisius: Unbelief stands in the way of the power and manifestations of the Lord, while faith at all times works miracles and removes mountains, if not materially, yet spiritually.—Hedinger: Behold how we must grapple with the powers of darkness.

Heubner:—The father of the lunatic, a consolatory example for poor parents who have children similarly afflicted.—They should seek help from Christ Himself.—The patience of Christ toward His disciples.—Let ministers ask themselves why they have so little success in their work.—We cannot expect to drive out the evil spirit, if our state of mind be in harmony with that which he produces.

Footnotes:

[21] Mat_17:14.—Codd. B., Z. [and Cod. Sinait.] omit αὐτῶν, and so does Lachmann. Tischendorf reads ἐλθών after Cod D., Vulgate, al. [This must refer to a former edition, for in the editio septima of his large Greek Testament, 1859, Tischendorf reads: ελθον των αὐτων. So does Alford.—P. S.]

[22] Mat_17:14.—[Certain is an unnecessary interpolation, which dates from Tyndale and was retained in all the later Protestant E. V. But Wiclif and the N. T. of Rheims omit it.—P. S.]

[23] Mat_17:15.—Κακως πάσχει. Lachmann reads έ̓χει B., L., Z., [also Cod. Sinait.], which is probably an emendation, since πάδχει seemed to be superfluous after κακῶς. So Meyer. [Mark has instead of it έ̓χον πνεῦμα ά̓λαλον and hence Lange translates here: hat ein böses Leiden, has a malignant enil.—P. S.]

[24] Mat_17:18.—[The tranposition of devil and the pronoun in some of the English versions, is an attempt to improve the style of the original, which is no part of the translator’s work, least of all in the Bible.—P. S.]

[25] Mat_17:18.—[From that hour, ἀπὸ τῆς ώ̓ρας ἐκείνης. Very is an unwarranted addition, which presents the case more strongly than the sacred writer, in his natural simplicity and modesty, intended.—P. S.]

[26] Mat_17:20.—[Lachmann reads with his authorities ὀλιγο πιστὶαν little faith. This may be an emendation to soften the expression, as Meyer and Alford assume; but it has the authority of the Vatican, and of the Sinaitic MS. If we retain ἀπιστίαν, with Tischendorf and Alford, it should be rendered want (absence) of faith, instead of unbelief, which is too strong.—P. S.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 17:14-21.

Jesus Heals The Epileptic Boy

Mark here gives (Mar 9:14-29) many vivid details not found in Matthew or Luke. (Luk 9:37-42)

Mat 17:14-16. And when they, viz., Jesus, with Peter and James and John, (Mat 17:1, Mat 17:9) were come to the multitude. The place was near the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration, (Luk 9:37) and so pretty certainly in the neighbourhood of Cesarea Philippi. (See on "Mat 17:1".) The great picture by Raffaelle, seizing upon the close connection between the Transfiguration and this scene, has taken the artistic license of representing them as contemporaneous, the Master in glory on the Mount, the nine disciples vainly attempting to heal the demoniac boy at its foot. ’The multitude’ were surrounding the nine disciples (Mark), and ’were greatly amazed,’ probably at the sudden appearance of Jesus after a night’s unexplained absence, and after this failure of his followers. Some think there was still a light in his countenance, as when Moses descended with dazzling face. But this would have excited a curiosity which he and the three could not gratify. (Mat 17:9) Mark adds that the multitude ran to him and saluted him; they were perhaps curious to know where he had been, and were doubtless eager to see whether he could heal when the disciples had failed. It was probably in regard to this point that ’Scribes’ were ’questioning with them.’ The fame of Jesus numerous healings in Galilee had long ago spread far and wide. (Mat 4:24 f.) A man, kneeling to him, in humility and reverence, not in worship. Lord, see on "Mat 8:2". It is not clear what amount of reverence the word here expresses. On my son, an only son, (Luk 9:38) and still a boy. (Mat 17:18 Mar 9:24 Luk 9:42) Lunatic, or epileptic , as in Mat 4:24; the word does not occur elsewhere in New Testament The symptoms described, and more fully and vividly in Mark, (Mat 9:18-20) are those of epilepsy; and the boy had been so affected from childhood (Mark). The epilepsy was in this case connected (Mat 17:18) with possession by a demon (see on "Mat 8:28"), which might either have caused the bodily ailment, or taken occasion there from. In Mark (Mar 9:17) it is called ’a dumb spirit,’ indicating that the demoniacal possession had caused the child to be dumb. I brought him to thy disciples, the nine who had been left behind, and they could not cure him. Mark and Luke, ’cast it out.’ They had doubtless repeatedly cast out demons during their mission in Galilee the previous winter or spring, (Mat 10:1-8) and they might have done so now but for weakness of faith. (Mat 17:20.)

Mat 17:17 f. O faithless (unbelieving) and perverse generation. The terms are borrowed from Deu 32:5, Deu 32:20; compare Php 2:15. They were not unbelieving through lack of evidence, but through perverse neglect or rejection of the evidence. The Greek word means thoroughly twisted, crooked, etc., and so does the Latin perversus. (Compare Eng. wrong from wring.) Tyn., Cram, Gen., here render ’crooked:’ The term ’generation’ seems to be used generally, not meaning specifically the disciples or the Scribes, etc., as various writers have supposed. The father, the nine disciples, the crowd, the Scribes, (Mar 9:14) would all in varying degrees and ways suggest that the current generation was unbelieving and perverse. So Zwingli, Bengel, Ewald, Trench (see Morison). ’Unbelieving’ does not necessarily mean that no one in the generation believed at all; the disciples had ’little faith’ (Mat 17:20), the father believed and did not believe. This prevalence of perverse unbelief made it painful to live amid such a generation, and to suffer, or bear with, them. He had shown keen distress at unbelief before, Mar 8:12 (see above on Mat 16:4); Mar 8:5 (see above on "Mat 12:13"). Our Lord’s sensitiveness of feeling appears in many ways, but only here is recorded as taking the form of momentary impatience at dwelling amid such an environment; it must have been all the more distressing from the contrast with the scene of the Transfiguration, a few hours before. How long? literally, until when? as if expecting a time of release. Yet he did bear with that generation for yet many months (see on "Mat 19:1"), and did on this occasion, amid all the disheartening and intolerable unbelief, promptly recognize and bless a faith that was confessedly weak. This confession was made by the father in a touching dialogue recorded by Mark. (Mat 9:20-25) Bring him hither to me. Even the disciples have been weak in faith, and what they ought to have done must be done by him. And Jesus rebuked the devil, literally, him, the demoniac, which of course means that he rebuked ’the unclean spirit’ (Mark and Luke); the rebuke doubtless related to his unlawful and malignant possession. The apparent confusion of persons in speaking to the child and the demon is natural on the assumption of a real demoniacal possession, and repeatedly occurs in the Gospels. Tyn. and his followers transposed ’the devil’ into the first clause. The devil should be the demon, see on "Mat 8:31". Departed out of him, and being united, compare on Mat 3:16. The dispossession caused the child frightful suffering, and presently he lay as if dead till Jesus raised him up (Mark). The child; boy is the exact translation, and more definite than ’child.’ Was cured from that very hour, at once and permanently, as in Mat 15:28, Mat 9:22. Luke adds, (Luk 9:43, R.V.) "And they were all astonished at the majesty of God."

Mat 17:19-20 (21). The disciples, viz., the nine who had tried and failed. Apart, Mark, (Mar 9:28) ’when be was come into the house,’ apparently that in which he and they had been sojourning. Why could not we cast him (it) out? ’we’ being expressed in the Greek, and thus emphatic; he had authorized them to cast out demons, (Mat 10:1-8) and we cannot doubt they had done so. (Compare the Seventy, Luk 10:17). Because of your unbelief, cor, text, little faith,[1] compare ’ye of little faith’ in Mat 6:30, Mat 8:26, Mat 14:31, Mat 16:8. To this corresponds the answer given in Mark. ’This kind can come out by nothing save by prayer,’ viz., as increasing their faith and spiritual power. For gives a proof of the preceding statement. Your failure must have been on account of your weakness of faith, for a very minute faith can work a very great miracle. As a grain of mustard seed, often used for anything very small (see on "Mat 13:31"); their faith must therefore have been extremely minute, being less than this. Unto this mountain. He probably pointed to the mountain on which he had the night before been transfigured; so in Mat 21:21 it is the Mount of Olives. This faith that could remove mountains (compare Luk 17:6 Mat 21:21 f.; Mar 11:23, 1Co 13:2) was proper and possible only in those to whom it was granted to work miracles. For us to attempt such a thing is folly. And nothing shall be impossible unto you is of course an exaggerated expression, such as all men use, and all understand, and answers to what he had just before said to the father. (Mar 9:23) "All things are possible to him that believeth;" compare also Php 4:13.

[1] This is the reading of à B, the cursives 13, 124, 346, which are known to have been derived from one old uncial, and several other important cursives, the Old Syriac, Memphitic and Sahidic, Armenian, Aethiopic, and it is quoted in Origen, Chrys., Hilary. The word is not found in the classics nor elsewhere in Biblical Greek, but sometimes employed by Greek Fathers. It was easily changed by copyists into ’unbelief (apistian), a familiar term, implied in Mat 17:17, and seeming at first more in accordance with what fellows. Yet in fact Jesus has never accused the disciples of having no faith, but repeatedly of having little faith (oligopistoi). This fact is not likely to have occurred to copyists, while the other considerations are obvious.

Mat 17:21. This verse is spurious,[2] having been added by copyists from Mar 9:29. Already, before this was done, the passage had been enlarged in Mark by adding ’and fasting,’ due to the asceticism among the early Christians. A similar addition of’ fasting’ was made by copyists in Act 10:30, 1Co 7:5, and so came into the common text. The word fasting is genuine in Luk 2:37 Act 13:2 f.; Act 14:23. For our Lord’s instruction as to fasting, see on "Mat 9:15"; and see on "Mat 6:18".

[2] It is wanting in à (first hand) B, two copies of the Old Latin, the Old and Jerusalem Syriac, Sahidic, and a copy of Memphitic, and Æthiepic. The insertion by copyists from another Gospel is natural and very common, while we cannot imagine any reason for the omission of the passage if originally present in Matthew, since no class of Christians in the early centuries would have objected to it. The manuscripts and versions which contain it have much verbal variation, a common thing in such borrowed passages. In Mark the sentence is found in all documents, but the words ’and fasting’ are there omitted by à (first hand), B, one copy of Old Latin, and apparently by Clem. (Westcott Hort) This evidence might seem slender, but there is no conceivable reason for the omission of the words by copyists or students, while their insertion is explained by the asceticism prevalent among the early Christians, and is paralleled in the common text of Act 10:30, 1Co 7:5. So the case is clear.

The events of Mat 16:13 to Mat 17:20 occurred within a short time, apparently little more than a week, and soon after Jesus reached the neighbourhood of Cesarea Philippi. He appears to have stayed in that region, so far as our information enables us to judge, several weeks, perhaps two or three months (compare on Mat 16:13), but there is no record of further sayings or doings.

Homiletical And Practical

Mat 17:14 f. A father’s remarkable experience. (l) The distressing calamity. (2) The disheartening failure. (3) The struggling faith. (Mar 9:22-24) (4) The great blessing.

Mat 17:14. Henry: "Sense of misery will bring people to their knees..... Parents are doubly concerned to pray for their children, not only those that are weak and cannot, but much more that are wicked and will not, pray for themselves."

Mat 17:17. The Saviour grieving at unbelief. (1) He felt an unbelieving atmosphere to be utterly uncongenial. (2) He saw clearly the perverseness and general sinfulness of unbelief. (3) He considered what blessings men were missing through unbelief. (4) He observed how attempts at usefulness were marred by unbelief. (5) He was pained by unbelief in him as a personal unkindness and injustice. (6) He perceived that unbelief is obstinate and hard to conquer.

Mat 17:19. Henry: "Ministers, who are to deal for Christ in public, have need to keep up a private communion with him, that they may bewail the follies and infirmities of their public performances, and inquire into the cause of them."

Mat 17:20. Little faith. (1) It restricts usefulness. (2) It hinders spiritual perception. (Mat 16:8) (3) It makes men timid amid perils. (Mat 8:26) (4) It leaves them consumed with temporal anxieties. (Mat 6:30)

John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Healing of a Lunatic. Mat 17:14-21

The return to the people:

v. 14. And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain man, kneeling down to Him and saying,

v. 15. Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed; for ofttimes he falleth into the fire and oft into the water.

v. 16. And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

While Jesus had been on the mountain with the three disciples overnight, a multitude had gathered at the foot of the mountain, where the other disciples were awaiting His return. The Lord found the people pressing about the center, where some of the scribes were disputing excitedly with His followers. Mar 9:14. The crowds received Him with all signs of respect, and His attention was immediately directed to a certain man who rushed forward with urgent desire, kneeling at His feet, falling on his knees, and almost carrying Jesus over with the impetuousness of his anxiety for his son. He confesses Jesus as the Lord; he earnestly begs mercy at His hands, realizing that he is not worthy to receive the gift. For his son he pleads, who was a demoniac of a peculiar kind, suffering with a form of lunacy or epilepsy which caused the boy to cast himself, often into the fire, and often into the water. And here was a complication: The disciples had been unable to help him. He had actually gone to the trouble of consulting them, but it had been in vain: they were not able to heal him.

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

DEMONIACAL EJECTMENT

Mat 17:14-21; Mar 9:14-29; Luk 9:37-43. Mark: “And having come to His disciples, He saw a great crowd round them, and the scribes arguing with them.” He and the three disciples had been absent from the nine and the multitude during that memorable night of the transfiguration. In the morning, when they come down from the mount, they find an oral debate going on between the nine apostles and the scribes; i.e., the pastors of the Churches, who had gathered with the multitude. The subject of the debate was the failure of the nine to cast out an awfully stubborn and formidable deaf and dumb demon, which had occupied an only son from his infancy. “And immediately all the multitude, seeing Him, became aroused, and running to Him, seized Him;” i.e., gathered about Him, and took Him into a special diagnosis. “He asked the scribes, Why are you disputing with them?” The salient point in the debate was, that as the nine had failed in all their efforts to cast out the demon, at the same time alleging that if their Master were there, He could cast him out; the scribes stoutly disputed their word, and argued with them that if He were there, He would fail just as they had done. “And one of the multitude, responding, said, Teacher, I brought my son to Thee, having a dumb spirit, and when he may seize him, he convulses him; he froths, gnashes his teeth, and pines away.” Matthew says: “He is a lunatic, and suffers exceedingly, and frequently he falls in the fire, and often in the water.” Luke: “And, behold, the spirit takes him, and immediately he cries out, and he convulses him with foam, and scarcely departs from him, contorting him.”

We see from these descriptions that the child was an epileptic, of the very worst form, his convulsions being so frequent and violent as not only to take away the faculty of hearing and speech, but to render him at times insane, raving like a maniac. When these awful convulsions came on him, he screamed and roared at the very top of his voice, falling, rolling, in indescribable agony, gnashing his teeth, foaming at the mouth, and finally pining away, gasping for breath, and apparently ceasing to breathe, looking pale as a corpse, perspiration evanescing, becoming dry, ashy, cold, and to all appearances lifeless. “And I said to Thy disciples that they may cast him out, and they were not able. Responding, He says to them, O faithless generation, how long shall I bear with you?” We see here how grievous their unbelief and consequent failure were to Jesus. Lord, save us from grieving Thee in a similar manner! “Bring him hither to Me; and seeing Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him; and falling on the ground, he continued to wallow, foaming.” Here you see, the demon knew Jesus, having long ago been a pure spirit in the celestial universe, gazing upon the glory of the Son, before he had the misfortune to deflect with the great apostasy, following in the track of fallen Lucifer. See how awfully stubborn and malignant he is! Seeing Jesus, and knowing that his time is short, he seizes the moment left him to execute his wrath on his poor victim, seizing him instantly, convulsing him with horrific spasms, so that, falling on the ground, he wallows, foaming as if he were dying. “And He asked his father, How much time there is since this happened to him? And he said, From his infancy; and frequently he throws him into the fire, and into the water, that he may destroy him; but if You are able to do anything, help us, being moved with compassion in our behalf. And Jesus said to him, If you are able to believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And immediately the father of the little child, crying out with tears, continued to say, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” Here we see a glorious illustration of the omnipotence of faith.

O what an inspiration this wonderful Scripture flashes out on a desponding Church and a sinking world!

Millions on all sides are sweeping into hopeless ruin; whereas alt that is needed that we may be saved to the uttermost, and our friends and loved ones rescued from Satan to go to heaven with us, is faith in Jesus. It costs nothing but your sins and your doubts, which were Satan’s millstones around your neck, dragging you to perdition. Your family are unsaved, your loved ones hanging over hell by the brittle thread of life. Soon it will be eternally too late. Will you not fly to the mercy-seat in their behalf? I trow, no demon more obstinate, potent, and incorrigible than this one possesses any of them. Though awful devils have them by the throat, Jesus is more than a match for them all. Will you not give Him a chance before demons people hell with the inmates of your home and community? You see here that true faith is accompanied by tenderhearted humility, illustrated by the fact that this man is so intensely exercised for the salvation of his son, that his tears gush out copiously, and flow in rivulets over his face. So get down before God till you, in spite of doubts and devils, with heart-gushing tears, can say, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.”

“And Jesus, seeing that the multitude are running together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, Dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, Come out from it and enter no more into him. Crying out, and convulsing him much, he came out. He became like a corpse, so that many said, He is dead.” When Jesus was talking to the man, the multitude, observing that something was going to be done, and all eager to see, immediately began to crowd in from all directions to witness the sight. As this would produce a great confusion, Jesus instantly commands the obstinate demon, who had resisted all the efforts of the nine, to come out. The demon avails himself of the last moment to execute vile retribution against the poor epileptic. So, in the very act of evacuating him, he convulses him so awfully that he pines away, pallid and ghastly as a corpse, and the people all around say, “He is dead.” I have witnessed many scenes of this kind in my revival- meetings, people falling amid frightful convulsions, foaming at the mouth, pining away, gasping for breath, and the unspiritual people around saying, “He is dead,” “She is dead.” I could give you the positive history of many such cases, which I have seen with mine own eyes. Frequently have they been hauled away from my meetings like dead people, but they always came to life.

The physical phase of this case is abundantly illustrated in all of our lunatic asylums, without which our communities would be terrorized this day by raving maniacs. I now have in mind a good, true, and efficient, sanctified Methodist preacher, who, like this boy, had epilepsy, in its worst form, till one and twenty, when a sanctified sister, finding her way to his father’s house, told him about Jesus, and prevailed on him to commit to Him soul and body. Though three times, amid these awful convulsions, he had been laid out and pronounced dead, when he got his eye of faith on Jesus, though all physicians had abandoned him to die, the Blessed Healer, in a moment, cast out the stubborn demon, completely healing soul and body, so that he has never since had a trace of epilepsy; but, responsive to the call he received when Jesus healed and sanctified him, from that day he has been preaching holiness to the Lord.

Mat 17:19 : “Then the disciples, coming to Jesus, privately said, Why were we not able to cast him out? Jesus said to them, For truly, I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Be thou moved hence, and it will be moved, and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind goeth not out except through prayer.” E. V. says, “Through prayer and fasting,” some good man evidently adding “fasting,” feeling that it would strengthen the statement, as it does not here appear in the original. We must remember that the disciples did not fast till after the Lord had left the world, as this would have been out of harmony with the glorious sunshine of His perpetual and omnipotent presence. He said that they would fast after He had gone away. Hence it is all right and pertinent for us to fast, as the Spirit leads, till He returns in glory. We must remember that our Savior is talking about spiritual things, referring to the little mustard seed and the great mountain to illustrate the omnipotence of faith. God appreciates quality rather than quantity. Hence, though your faith may be small, if it is free from doubt, the tiny mustard seed will make the great mountain of sin leap away, and sink out of sight into the sea of forgetfulness.

In these two notable transaction — i.e., the transfiguration glory on the mountain summit, and the casting out of this awfully cruel, stubborn, obstinate demon down at the base, we have a vivid illustration of heaven and hell in close proximity. So terrible is the conflict between the powers of darkness in this world, that we often find the bright summit, the transfiguration glory, and the dark valley, pervaded by infuriated demons, in close proximity. Where God works, Satan works too, et vice versa. Hence the Christian soldier should never be discouraged at the rage of hell and the howl of devils; but on the contrary, in that case, should always take courage, as Satan is not fool enough to waste his ammunition. When the powers of darkness rendezvous and the formidable difficulties intervene, always look out for bright victories.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 17:14. Καὶ ἐλθόντων αὐτῶν, κ.τ.λ., and when they were come, etc.) A very different scene is here opened to view from that which Peter had wished for in Mat 17:4.—Whilst Moses was on the mountain, the people transgressed; see Exo 32:1; whilst Jesus was on the mountain, matters did not proceed very well with the people.

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

Mat_17:14. Notwithstanding divergence in other respects, the healing of the lunatic (σεληνιάζ., see note on Mat_4:24) comes next in order in all the three Synoptists (Mar_9:14 ff.; Luk_9:37 ff.),a circumstance which also militates against the mythical view of the transfiguration.

αὐτόν] Comp. Mar_1:40; Mar_10:17. The accusative is to be understood as conveying the idea that He was directly touched by the man, as much as to say: he clasped Him by the knees. Comp. προσκυνεῖν τινα, προσπίτνειν τινα, προσπίπτειν γόνυ τινος (Pflugk, ad Eur. Hec. 339; Kühner, II. 1, p. 251).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 17:14-21 . The epileptic boy (Mar 9:14-29 ; Luk 9:37-43 ).

Very brief report compared with Mk.

Mat 17:14 . ἐλθόντων : the αὐτῶν of T. R. might easily be omitted as understood from the connection. γονυπετῶν , literally, falling upon the knees, in which sense it would naturally take the dative (T. R., αὐτῷ ); here used actively with accusative = to beknee him (Schanz, Weiss).

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

As men that make supplications used to do.

Men are unworthy of Christ his goodness, yet notwithstanding he regardeth them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

We have here the miraculous cure of a child that was lunatic and vexed with a devil. Observe,

I. A melancholy representation of the case of this child, made to Christ by the afflicted father. This was immediately upon his coming down from the mountain where he was transfigured. Note, Christ's glories do not make him unmindful of us and of our wants and miseries. Christ, when he came down from the mount, where had conversation with Moses and Elias, did not take state upon him, but was as easy of access, as ready to poor beggars, and as familiar with the multitude, as ever he used to be. This poor man's address was very importunate; he came kneeling to Christ. Note, Sense of misery will bring people to their knees. Those who see their need of Christ will be earnest, will be in good earnest, in their applications to him; and he delights to be thus wrestled with.

Two things the father of the child complains of.

1. The distress of his child (Mat 17:15); Lord have mercy on my son. The affliction of the children cannot but affect the tender parents, for they are pieces of themselves. And the case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithful and fervent prayer. This child's distemper, probably, disabled him to pray for himself. Note, Parents are doubly concerned to pray for their children, not only that are weak and cannot, but much more that are wicked and will not, pray for themselves. Now, (1.). The nature of this child's disease was very sad; He was lunatic and sore vexed. A lunatic is properly one whose distemper lies in the brain, and returns with the change of the moon. The devil, by the divine permission, either caused this distemper, or at least concurred with it, to heighten and aggravate it. The child had the falling-sickness, and the hand of Satan was in it; by it he tormented then, and made it much more grievous than ordinarily it is. Those whom Satan got possession of, he afflicted by those diseases of the body which do most affect the mind; for it is the soul that he aims to do mischief to. The father, in his complain, saith, He is lunatic, taking notice of the effect; but Christ, in the cure, rebuked the devil, and so struck at the cause. Thus he doth in spiritual cures. (2.) The effects of the disease were very deplorable; He oft falls into the fire, and into the water. If the force of the disease made him to fall, the malice of the devil made him to fall into the fire or water; so mischievous is he where he gains possession and power in any soul. He seeks to devour, Pe1 5:8.

2. The disappointment of his expectation from the disciples (Mat 17:16); I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cured him. Christ gave his disciples power to cast out devils (Mat 10:1, Mat 10:8), and therein they were successful (Luk 10:17); yet at this time they failed in the operation, though there were nine of them together, and before a great multitude. Christ permitted this, (1.) To keep them humble, and to show their dependence upon him, that without him they could do nothing. (2.) To glorify himself and his own power. It is for the honour of Christ to come in with help at a dead-lift, when other helpers cannot help. Elisha's staff in Gehazi's hand will not raise the child: he must come himself. Note, There are some special favours which Christ reserves the bestowment of to himself; and sometimes he keeps the cistern empty; that he may bring us to himself, the Fountain. But the failures of instruments shall not hinder the operations of his grace, which will work, if not by them, yet without them.

II. The rebukes that Christ gave to the people first, and then to the devil.

1. He chid those about him (Mat 17:17); O faithless and perverse generation! This is not spoken to the disciples, but to the people, and perhaps especially to the scribes, who are mentioned in Mar 9:14, and who, as it should seem, insulted over the disciples, because they had now met with a case that was too hard for them. Christ himself could not do many mighty works among a people in whom unbelief reigned. It was here owing to the faithlessness of this generation, that they could not obtain those blessings from God, which otherwise they might have had; as it was owing to the weakness of the disciples' faith, that they could not do those works for God, which otherwise they might have done. They were faithless and perverse. Note, Those that are faithless will be perverse; and perverseness is sin in its worst colours. Faith is compliance with God, unbelief is opposition and contradiction to God. Israel of old was perverse, because faithless (Psa 95:9), forward, for in them is no faith, Deu 32:20.

Two things he upbraids them with. (1.) His presence with them so long; "How long shall I be with you? Will you always need my bodily presence, and never come to such maturity as to be fit to be left, the people to the conduct of the disciples, and the disciples to the conduct of the Spirit and of their commission? Must the child be always carried, and will it never learn to go alone?" (2.) His patience with them so long; How long shall I suffer you? Note, [1.] The faithlessness and perverseness of those who enjoy the means of grace are a great grief to the Lord Jesus. Thus did he suffer the manners of Israel of old, Act 13:18. [2.] The longer Christ has borne with a perverse and faithless people, the more he is displeased with their perverseness and unbelief; and he is God, and not man, else he would not suffer so long, nor bear so much, as he doth.

2. He cured the child, and set him to-rights again. He called, Bring him hither to me. Though the people were perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child. Note, Though Christ may be angry, he is never unkind, nor doth he, in the greatest of his displeasure, shut up the bowels of his compassion from the miserable; Bring him to me. Note, When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, and may be confident in him and in his power and goodness.

See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer.

(1.) He breaks the power of Satan (Mat 17:18); Jesus rebuked the devil, as one having authority, who could back with force his word of command. Note, Christ's victories over Satan are obtained by the power of his word, the sword that comes out of his mouth, Rev 19:21. Satan cannot stand before the rebukes of Christ, though his possession has been ever so long. It is comfortable to those who are wrestling with principalities and powers, that Christ hath spoiled them, Col 2:15. The lion of the tribe of Judah will be too hard for the roaring lion that seeks to devour.

(2.) He redresses the grievances of the children of men; The child was cured from that very hour. It was an immediate cure, and a perfect one. This is an encouragement to parents to bring their children to Christ, whose souls are under Satan's power; he is able to heal them, and as willing as he is able. Not only bring them to Christ by prayer, but bring them to the word of Christ, the ordinary means by which Satan's strongholds are demolished in the soul. Christ's rebukes, brought home to the heart, will ruin Satan's power there.

III. Christ's discourse with his disciples hereupon.

1. They ask the reason why they could not cast out the devil at this time (Mat 17:19); They came to Jesus apart. Note, Ministers, who are to deal for Christ in public, have need to keep up a private communion with him, that they may in secret, where no eye sees, bewail their weakness and straitness, their follies and infirmities, in their public performances, and enquire into the cause of them. We should make use of the liberty of access we have to Jesus apart, where we may be free and particular with him. Such questions as the disciples put to Christ, we should put to ourselves, in communing with our own hearts upon our beds; Why were we so dull and careless at such a time? Why came we so much short in such a duty? That which is amiss may, when found out, be amended.

2. Christ gives them two reasons why they failed.

(1.) It was because of their unbelief, Mat 17:20. When he spake to the father of the child and to the people, he charged it upon their unbelief; when he spake to his disciples, he charged it upon theirs; for the truth was, there were faults on both sides; but we are more concerned to hear of our own faults than of other people's, and to impute what is amiss to ourselves than to others. When the preaching of the word seems not to be so successful as sometimes it has been, the people are apt to lay all the fault upon the ministers, and the ministers upon the people; whereas, it is more becoming for each to own his own faultiness, and to say, "It is owing to me." Ministers, in reproving, must learn thus to give to each his portion of the word; and to take people off from judging others, by teaching all to judge themselves; It is because of your unbelief. Though they had faith, yet that faith was weak and ineffectual. Note, [1.] As far as faith falls short of its due strength, vigour, and activity, it may truly be said, "There is unbelief." Many are chargeable with unbelief, who yet are not to be called unbelievers. [2.] It is because of our unbelief, that we bring so little to pass in religion, and so often miscarry, and come short, in that which is good.

Our Lord Jesus takes this occasion to show them the power of faith, that they might not be defective in that, another time, as they were now; If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall do wonders, Mat 17:20. Some make the comparison to refer to the quality of the mustard-seed, which is, when bruised, sharp and penetrating; "If you have an active growing faith, not dead, flat, or insipid, you will not be baffled thus." But it rather refers to the quantity; "If you had but a grain of true faith, though so little that it were like that which is the least of all seeds, you would do wonders." Faith in general is a firm assent to, a compliance with, and a confidence in, all divine revelation. The faith here required, is that which had for its object that particular revelation by which Christ gave his disciples power to work miracles in his name, for the confirmation of the doctrine they preached. It was a faith in this revelation that they were defective in; either doubting the validity of their commission, or fearing that it expired with their first mission, and was not to continue when they were returning to their Master; or that it was some way or other forfeited or withdrawn. Perhaps their Master's absence with the three chief of his disciples, with a charge to the rest not to follow them, might occasion some doubts concerning their power, or rather the power of the Lord with them, to do this; however, there were not, at present, such a strong actual dependence upon, and confidence in, the promise of Christ's presence with them, as there should have been. It is good for us to be diffident of ourselves and of our own strength; but it is displeasing to Christ, when we distrust any power derived from him or granted by him.

If ye have ever so little of this faith in sincerity, if ye truly rely upon the powers committed to you, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove. This is a proverbial expression, denoting that which follows, and no more, Nothing shall be impossible to you. They had a full commission, among other things, to cast out devils without exception; but, this devil being more than ordinarily malicious and inveterate, they distrusted the power they had received, and so failed. To convince them of this, Christ shows them what they might have done. Note, An active faith can remove mountains, not of itself, but in the virtue of a divine power engaged by a divine promise, both which faith fastens upon.

(2.) Because there was something in the kind of the malady, which rendered the cure more than ordinarily difficult (Mat 17:21); "This kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting. This possession, which works by a falling-sickness, or this kind of devils that are thus furious, is not cast out ordinarily but by great acts of devotion, and wherein ye were defective." Note, [1.] Though the adversaries we wrestle, be all principalities and powers, yet some are stronger than others, and their power more hardly broken. [2.] The extraordinary power of Satan must not discourage our faith, but quicken us to a greater intenseness in the acting of it, and more earnestness in praying to God for the increase of it; so some understand it here; "This kind of faith (which removeth mountains) doth not proceed, is not obtained, from God, nor is it carried up to its full growth, nor drawn out into act and exercise, but by earnest prayer." [3.] Fasting and prayer are proper means for the bringing down of Satan's power against us, and the fetching in of divine power to our assistance. Fasting is of use to put an edge upon prayer; it is an evidence and instance of humiliation which is necessary in prayer, and is a means of mortifying some corrupt habits, and of disposing the body to serve the soul in prayer. When the devil's interest in the soul is confirmed by the temper and constitution of the body, fasting must be joined with prayer, to keep under the body.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. When they were come to the multitude] It appears that a congregation had been collected during our Lord's stay on the mount: how great must have been the desire of these people to hear the words of Christ! The assembly is self-collected, and no delay on the preacher's side discourages them-they continue to wait for him. In the present day how rare is this zeal! How few by the most pathetic invitation can be brought together, even at the most convenient times, to hear the same doctrines, and to get their souls healed by the same wonder-working Christ!

Kneeling down to him] Or falling at his knees, γονυπετων. The ancients consecrated the EAR to memory; the FOREHEAD to genius; the RIGHT HAND to faith; and the KNEES to mercy: hence those who entreated favour fell at and touched the knees of the person whose kindness they supplicated. See Wakefield's Commentary; and see the note on Ex 9:29; where the subject is largely explained.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) And when they were come to the multitude.—St. Luke states that it was on the next day, the night having apparently been spent on the Mount of Transfiguration. The magic power of the art of Raffaelle has brought into vivid juxtaposition the contrast between the scene of glory above and that of trouble and unrest below, but we must not allow the impression made by the picture to distort our thoughts of the history. The two scenes did not synchronise. The vision was at night, and the descent from the mountain would have carried those who made the journey some way at least into the day that followed.

There came to him a certain man.—St. Mark (Mar_9:14-16) narrates more fully that as our Lord and the three were coming to the disciples, they saw a crowd, and scribes disputing with them; that when the multitude saw this they were astonished, and running to Him, saluted Him; that He then asked, “Why dispute ye with them?” and that this drew forth the answer and the prayer which in St. Matthew’s record stands without any prelude.

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

14. when they were come to the multitude] Some will recall Raphael’s great picture of the Transfiguration, in which the contrast is powerfully portrayed between the scene on the mount, calm, bright, and heavenly, and the scene below of suffering, human passions, and failure.

14–21. A Lunatic Child is cured

Mar_9:14-29, where the scene and the symptoms of the disease are described with great particularity. Luk_9:37-42.

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 when they were come to the multitude,.... Which was on the next day, as in Luk 9:37 when Christ and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, came down from the mount to the other nine, with whom the multitude of the people were; during their stay on the mountain,

there came to him a certain man; who was, as Mark says, "one of the multitude"; and as Luke, "a man of the company": who had applied to the nine disciples on the behalf of his son, but without success, and was waiting till Christ came from the mount; who when he saw him, made up to him, and

kneeling down to him in the manner of a supplicant, doing him homage and worship; hereby showing his great esteem of him, and veneration for him,

and saying the following words:

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

14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

Ver. 14. And when they were come to the multitude] That was the next day after the transfiguration, Luk 9:37, and in that nick of time, when the disciples could neither cure the lunatic nor answer their adversaries, Mar 9:14, who had now sport enough to see them brought into the briers, and therefore jeered them before the people to some purpose. Most opportunely therefore, if ever, comes Christ to their aid, as it were out of an engine, and both cures the child and confounds the Pharisees. His recent honour hindered him not from doing his office: his incomparable felicity made him not forget poor Joseph’s misery. He knew he was much wished and waited for, and therefore makes haste from the mount to the multitude.

Kneeling down to him] Some understand the word of such a humble gesture of catching the party petitioned by the knees or feet, as the Shunammite used to the prophet, the Shulamite to her spouse, and Thetis to Jupiter, when she sued to him in her sons’ behalf. {a}

{a} Γουνουμαι σε εγωγε, Iliad. a.

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.

And when they were come to the multitude - This took place on the day following the transfiguration, Luk 9:37. This multitude was probably composed of persons who had attended on his ministry, many of whom were his real disciples. With them, as Mark Mar 9:15 informs us, were “scribes questioning with them.” That is, they were probably professedly making inquiries about the Saviour, but really attempting to introduce their own sentiments, and to draw them off from him. They probably artfully asked them many questions about his birth, his family, his appearance, his manner of life, and his instructions, all which were contrary to the general expectation respecting the Messiah, and they intended, therefore, to insinuate that such a person could not be the Christ. The people were persuaded that he was the Messiah. and it would not have done to have attacked their opinions openly, but they attempted to gain the same point by sly insinuations. Error is always subtle, and often puts on the appearance of calm and honest inquiry. Well had he compared them to leavens, Mat 16:11-12. The multitude, seeing Jesus coming down, left the scribes, and ran to meet him (Mark). They were amazed, probably because they had not expected to see him there. In their joy at meeting him in this unexpected manner, they “saluted” him (Mark); that is, probably they prostrated themselves before him after the manner of salutation in Eastern countries. See the notes at Luk 10:4. Jesus, seeing the scribes and their artful design, reproved them by asking them why they questioned thus with his disciples, Mar 9:16. Conscious of their guilt and their base purpose, they returned no answer.

A certain man kneeling down to him - That is, saluting him, or showing high regard for him. See the notes at Luk 10:4. It did not imply religious homage, but merely high respect and earnest entreaty.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And when he was come. Peter, by wishing to remain on the holy mount, preferred his own gratification to the good of many. But true charity seeketh not its own advantage only; what therefore appeared good to Peter, did not appear so to Christ, who descends from the mountain, as from his high throne in heaven, to visit man. (Origen)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The same history is told us both by Mark and Luke, but with considerable difference; we have it, Mar 9:17,18, thus, And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. As an introduction to this, Mark saith, Mar 9:14-16, that when our Saviour came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? Luke gives us this account, Luk 9:37-40, And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. When our Lord went up to the mountain where he was transfigured, he left at the foot of it the multitudes, and nine of his apostles, he took only three with him. How long he stayed there no evangelist tells us. The multitude and his disciples stayed waiting for his coming, probably not far of; some of the scribes were got to them, and they were arguing together. The day after our Lord, and Peter, James, and John, were come down from the mount, they go to the multitude, who received him with great passion, and saluted him. He begins to inquire what they were discoursing about; but was by and by interrupted with a certain man, who comes and falls down upon his knees before him, begging mercy for his son, who (as Matthew reports his condition) was lunatic and sore vexed, often falling into the fire, and often into the water. Mark saith, he had a dumb spirit, that it tore him, he often foamed and gnashed with his teeth. Luke saith, that it was the man’s only child, that he had a spirit, that he cried out, it tare him, he foamed, and was bruised by it, &c. By the description of this young man’s disease, it appeareth to have been what we call the falling sickness, wherein men fall down, foam, and beat themselves. With this disease the devil joined, so as at certain times of the moon this disease took him, and the devil acting with it, he was dumb, at least for the time, and fell sometimes into the fire, sometimes into the water, foamed, gnashed with his teeth, tore himself: this seems to have been his condition. The father (during Christ’s absence) had attempted a cure by his disciples, but the text saith they could not (the reason we shall hear afterward); upon this he crieth unto Christ for his help.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 14-21. Healing of the demoniac boy. (Mar_9:16-29 Luk_9:37-42) The account of the miracle is much curtailed in our Gospel; the fullest narrative is given by St. Mark, to whom we must refer for the complete details.

When they were come to the multitude. St. Luke says this arrival was on "the next day" after the Transfiguration. If this event took place at night, the following morning will be meant. The contrast between the scene on the mountain and that presented by the demoniac below has been seized by Raphael, in his picture of the Transfiguration, at Rome the last great work that he painted. The upper part of this picture represents Jesus radiant in glory with the heavenly visitants, while the lower panel shows the agonized father, surrounded by the unbelieving crowd, bringing his tortured son to the apostles, who stand helpless and discredited. The painter has, indeed, sacrificed fact to dramatic effect (as the two events were not synchronous); but the lesson enforced thereby is most impressive, and lays holds of the imagination, showing different phases of the life of Christ, and the realms of light and darkness. There came to him a certain man. Things had not gone well while Jesus and the three chief apostles were away on the mount. As during the absence of Moses at Sinai the people had fallen into idolatry (Exodus 32), so now, when their Master and their leaders were withdrawn, the nine apostles bad faltered in faith and failed in exercising the miraculous powers bestowed upon them. Kneeling down to him. Directly the father saw Christ coming, he disengaged himself from the crowd and ran to meet him.

Vers. 14-21. The maniac boy.

I THE FAILURE OF THE NINE APOSTLES.

1. The descent from the mount. The morning had come, and the Lord with the three chosen apostles came down from the Mount of the Transfiguration to rejoin those whom he had left behind. As he drew near to them he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. (Mar_9:14) It was a strange contrast. He had just left the peace of the mountain side and the glory of the heavenly radiance. He came down to the jealousies, the controversies, the miseries, of earth. His presence was much needed; the nine apostles had experienced a sad defeat. They had received from him power to cast out devils; but now they had attempted, and had failed. Their Master had left them; he had taken with him the three who were nearest to himself. The faith of the nine had perhaps been weakened by the excitement, the agitation, the distressing predictions, of the last few days. So Aaron had failed in courage and in faith when Moses and Joshua were absent on Mount Sinai, and he was left in charge of the congregation. The apostles had failed now. The scribes were probably exulting over their defeat, arguing, perhaps, that this was a thing which neither they nor their Lord could do. Ah! we are helpless if we have lost our faith; we cannot cast out the evil one. Without Christ we can do nothing.

2. The meeting with the nine apostles. The Lord was come at last. He approached the scene of confusion with his wonted dignity. Perhaps some traces of the radiance of the Transfiguration still lingered round him. The people were greatly amazed, St. Mark tells us, when they beheld him; but they were not terrified like the Israelites when the face of Moses shone on his descent from Sinai. The Lord did not hide the glory of his countenance; it attracted, it did not repel. The people ran to him and saluted him. So we should run to Christ in our troubles; so we should salute him. He comes to help his chosen in their weakness. When we feel that he is near, we are amazed at our own want of faith, at his glory and power and forgiving love.

II THE MIRACLES.

1. The father. The Lord"s coming brought confidence to the perplexed disciples, hope to the disappointed suppliant. In that presence the miserable felt instinctively that there was help and comfort. One man disengaged himself from the crowd. He came in haste to Christ. He knelt down before him in the attitude of humble and earnest supplication. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. He told all the sad story. His son was lunatic, sore vexed, afflicted with the worst form of epilepsy. The fits came upon him in wild, fierce onslaughts, dreadful to look upon; for the seizures were due, not to natural causes, but to the direct agency of an evil spirit, who had taken possession of the lad, and tormented him with all the hellish malice of intense wickedness. It was a pitiable case, miserable for the poor boy, agonizing to the unhappy father. From his son"s childhood he had watched these wild paroxysms in helpless anguish. Now Christ had come into the neighbourhood. He heard of his power and mercy. He brought his afflicted child. But the Lord was absent, on the Mount of the Transfiguration. The nine apostles remained. The poor father brought his son to them, and begged for help. The case was beyond their power; they could not cast out the evil spirit. The disappointment aggravated the father"s distress. Now the Lord himself had come; and the father knelt before him. Sorrow brings men to Christ; sorrow brings them to their knees. We must come ourselves straight to Christ in the hour of extremest need. Sometimes his ministers can help us, sometimes they cannot. Christ can always calm the wildest tumults of the soul. Come straight to him, kneeling before him, in your own troubles, in the troubles of those very dear to you.

2. The Lord"s words. "O faithless and perverse generation!" he said. The scene before him was an illustration of the general character of the men among whom the Saviour lived. It is in some sense an illustration of the state of the Church now. Human nature is the same in all ages. The multitude regarded Christ with some external reverence; they were ready to apply to him in perplexity and sorrow; but they had no depth of conviction, no stability. There were some open unbelievers among them, wire questioned Christ"s authority and denied his power. There were some followers of the Lord, not without earnestness, not without love; but weak in faith, unable through that weakness to exercise the power which had been given them by the Lord. The evil spirit, too, was there; there were wild excesses caused by his agency; there was intense distress. There was no strength of faith, no energy of trustfulness in Christ. Yet there were three chosen saints, the nearest to the Lord, who had gone up with him into the holy mount, and were now returning with him to the labours and the sorrows of this sinful world. That generation was faithless; it was perverse, crooked, warped by invincible prejudices and inveterate obstinacy. The Lord had been long with them; but how little the result seemed to be! how few had chosen the good part! He would not remain much longer among them; his tender forbearance must have an end at last. We must be patient, when the Lord most holy had so much to bear; we must not repine when our work seems disheartening, unsatisfactory. The servant is not above his Lord. But mark the Saviour"s calm consciousness of power. "Bring him hither to me," he said. The disciples might fail; he could not fail when it pleased him to exercise his healing energy, for he was God Almighty.

3. The evil spirit cast out. St. Mark gives us, as his wont is, the deeply interesting details: the conversation with the father; the great word, "All things are possible to him that believeth;" the answer of the intensely anxious parent, so often echoed since by trembling souls coming to Christ in earnest entreaty and utter self-abasement, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Then came the word of power, "Thou deaf and dumb spirit" (for the demon had destroyed the poor lad"s power of hearing, and his only utterances were wild, inarticulate cries), "I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him." We notice the tone of authority, the emphatic "I," especially in the original. The demon despised the nine apostles; he must obey the Lord. He must never again dare to enter the heart from which the Lord himself had driven him. He let loose his fury on the lad; he cried, and rent him sore; but he came out of him at once. The Lord gently raised the poor boy. He was exhausted, and to all appearance lifeless; but Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up, and delivered him again to his father. We mark the gentleness of the Lord Jesus. Very gentle he was to the unhappy boy, to the afflicted, almost despairing father. We mark his power. He can drive out the devil, even from those over whom he has the firmest hold. "He is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him." Let us come. The father came, though he was almost hopeless; the evil spirit was so fierce, so strong. So we may pray for cases that seem almost desperate. The poor lad could not pray for himself; the Lord listened to the father"s prayer. Let us pray for others, for our relations and near friends, for all who need our prayers. Only let us take heed that our prayers are lifted up in faith. There is no limit to the power of a true and living faith, for it is limited only by the power of God, which is without limit. And if we feel (and who does not?) that our faith is wanting in depth and earnestness, then pray we again in the words of that memorable cry, which seemed wrung from the very heart of the almost despairing father, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

III THE CONVERSATION WITH THE NINE APOSTLES.

1. They came to Christ. They came to him privately, into the house, St. Mark says; and asked him the reason of their failure. He had given them power to cast out evil spirits: why could they not cast this one out? We should come to Christ in our spiritual disappointments, when we have failed to conquer this or that sin in ourselves, to convince this or that sinner of his danger. We should come to him in secret prayer, asking him the reason of our failure. He will tell us, if we come in humility and "sincerity. But let us not be satisfied till we have discovered the cause of our want of success, and set ourselves seriously to overcome it.

2. The Lord"s answer. The cause of their failure was simple; it was want of faith. Possibly the three apostles who were nearest to the Lord might have been able to cast the devil out; the nine could not. Some saints are stronger than others; some can do more than others in converting souls; their strength is in proportion to their faith. Faith is strength; for it is, in truth, the strength of God that worketh in his people, and that strength is manifested in those who trust wholly and absolutely in him. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." It is only in union with Christ that the Christian can do all things. "Without me ye can do nothing." The victory which overcometh the world is the strength of Christ, but in another sense it is our faith; for faith maintains a living union with Christ, and thus. the strength of Christ is ours. Our faith may be small, like a grain of mustard seed, but if it be only true, it can remove mountains (the Lord seems to have pointed to the towering mass of Hermon as he said the words) mountains of difficulties, mountains of perplexities, mountains of sin. Faith is realized in different degrees. To a true and perfect faith, the Lord says, nothing is impossible; for a true anti perfect faith reflects the almightiness of God. "Lord, increase our faith.

3. The special difficulty of the case. There was this to be said in palliation of the apostles" failure. The evil spirit was one of exceptional energy and malignity. Christians who would fight against such enemies must be doubly armed; by constant fervent prayer they must keep themselves in the love of God, in that close communion with him which is the secret of spiritual strength; by continued and voluntary self-mortification they must fortify themselves against the temptations of sensual pleasure. In prayer and fasting the Lord overcame Satan for us; in prayer and fasting the true disciple follows the Lord"s example and shares his victory. In the sermon on the mount the Lord enumerates almsgiving, prayer, and fasting as three principal exercises of devotion; here he describes prayer and fasting (the reading, however, is doubtful) as the chief weapons of the Christian warrior in the holy fight against the deadly enemy.

LESSONS.

1. We cannot always be on the mount in a rapture of devotion; we must work for Christ among scenes of sin and sorrow.

2. Come to Christ in your troubles, come with tears, come kneeling before hint; he can save.

3. Pray for continually increasing faith; pray for yourself, pray for others.

4. Tell Christ of past failures; search out the cause; seek his strength for the future.

Vers. 14-18. The disciples" failure.

It has often been pointed out as Raphael has shown in his famous picture that the distressing occurrence of the disciples" failure happened just when Christ was away from them, transfigured on the mountain. Then clearly it would not have been good to build three tabernacles, and so retain the heavenly vision. The world needs Christ; it was well that he returned to the world.

I A PARENT IN TROUBLE. This parent is greatly distressed because his son is grievously afflicted, and he seeks relief for him. Parents not only feel for their children; they will do for them what they would never attempt for themselves. It is not enough to have compassion for a great affliction. Love will search for remedies.

1. The parent brings his child to Christs disciples. He is not to blame for this, because

(1) Christ himself was out of reach; and

(2) the disciples had received a commission to work miracles. (Mat_10:8) The people of Christ should be helpers of the distressed. The Church is the natural home of the helpless. It is sad to see the miserable so disappointed by the failure of the Church to help them that they turn aside to the new offers of "Secularists.

2. When disappointed, the parent appeals to Christ. He does not despair; he does not give up all efforts to have his child healed. Nothing in the world is so persevering as love. When the Church fails, Christ may yet be appealed to. It is a great mistake to allow our disappointment with Christians to blind us to the goodness and power of Christ. We have to learn to turn from Christ"s imperfect followers to the Lord himself.

II THE DISCIPLES HUMILIATED. They tried to cure the lunatic boy, but they failed.

1. Good men are not always successful men. We may be true Christians, and yet we may meet with bitter disappointments in our efforts. The servant of Christ is often humiliated at the failure of his attempts to serve his Master or benefit his fellow men.

2. Christians are weak in the absence of their Master. If Christ had been with them, the encouragement of his presence would have fortified his disciples. They who would do effective work for Christ must cleave close to Christ.

3. The failure of work is due to the failure of faith. St. James tells us that faith without works is dead. The absence of the fruit is the sign of its deadness. If there is no sap in the tree, the branches must wither. To do effective service in this world we must live much in the unseen.

4. Difficult Christian work is only possible wizen accompanied by prayer. The mistake of the disciples may have been that, while they lost faith in God, they were too confident of their own powers. We always fail when we are trusting to ourselves alone.

III CHRIST TO THE RESCUE. He came when he was most needed.

1. Christ rebukes unbelief. He sees a defective condition of mind in the disciples and in the people generally. The atmosphere is not congenial to miracle working. But this is a sign of something wrong. A general state of unbelief is like the prevalence of a malaria. It must not be acquiesced in as a normal condition.

2. Christ makes up for the failure of his disciples. They may fail; he never fails. If he seems to fail in some cases (as at Nazareth, Mat_13:58), this is not because his power is insufficient, but because men are not receptive. He takes up our imperfect work, broken and marred as it is, and. he perfects it for us. W.F.A.

Vers. 14-21. The lunatic lad.

This incident is memorable chiefly on account of three truths it impresses on the mind.

I THE APPARENTLY UNLIMITED RANGE OUR LORD GIVES TO FAITH. Promise, rebuke, and surprise are mingled in his reply. "if thou canst, all things are possible," etc. As if he said, "You do not surely question my power; it is no question of power, it is a question of faith; have you faith to receive, to evoke the power?" As clearly as possible he says to this man, "The cure depends on yourself." We are continually tempted to ask Why should it be so? Why could not God overcome our unbelief by producing within us such manifest results of his health-giving power that we should find it impossible to doubt? The reason seems to be that our assuming our permanent relation to God is of more importance than any single blessing which results from it. Our trust in God and acceptance of him, as higher than all worldly power, are more than any other help we can receive from him, and therefore he first of all demands faith. And though it seems as if faith would be easier after receiving what we need, yet there can be no doubt it is the anxiety and restless thoughtfulness produced by trouble and difficulty which chiefly compel men to strive to ascertain for themselves what is the truth about God in his helpfulness. The visible and tangible blessings he bestowed were so far from being all he had to give, that he allowed no one to go away with only these.

II THE POWER OUR LORD ASCRIBES TO FAITH. Here, too, are difficulties. God will not, we feel sure, contradict himself by reversing in our favour any law of nature. But it is of the very essence of prayer to ask for such things as we cannot get but by prayer. Prayer is the acknowledgment that we have to do, not with nature only, but with one who can govern and use nature freely, and to whom all things are possible. There is a way of speaking of natural law as if it were a thing sacred and not to be tampered with, whereas a great part of our time is spent in averting the consequences of natural law, and nothing gives ampler scope to our free will and reason and active powers than the guiding of nature to happier issues. The man who says he cannot suppose God will depart from those great lines of action he has laid down ought on the same ground humbly to submit to sickness and use no remedy against it; for surely it is more presumptuous to fight against the natural law of disease than to pray God that if he sees fit he would fight against it for us. No doubt natural law is one expression, nay, the fundamental expression, of God"s will; and when day by day a man sees that the sun rises and sets with a regularity undisturbed by national disasters or personal necessities, he becomes convinced that it is God"s will that sunrise and sunset be invariable. But though everything in nature may be as rigidly bound to its own cause as sunrise and sunset, it does not follow that everything is as necessary, as important, as unalterable. By the arrest of the natural course of disease in this boy no shock was given to the needful belief of men in the constancy of nature. While holding fast, on the one hand, to the truth that all things are possible, we cannot but consider, on the other hand, that some things are so extremely improbable that it is vain to ask God to perform them. Scientific men assure us that there is a region into which we cannot see, but in which the most powerful of all causes resides. This is the region we claim for God, and out of which he can send forth influences in answer to those who appeal to him. There are other effects possible than those we contemplate, because there are other causes in operation than those we see. We may always be leaving out of view something that is known to the only wise God, our Saviour.

III THERE ARE KINDS OF SIN WHICH CALL FOR TREATMENT OF A SPECIALLY SEVERE KIND. The harping of David may be enough to cast out some devils, but others laugh to scorn the exorcism of nine apostles. What of your equipment in this warfare? You have a faith that has proved itself equal to some duty and fit for service of a kind. But are there not sins in you which sometimes assume a very alarming shape; and how are you equipped against these? Look first at the sin, at its inveterate hold on you, at its rootedness in the deepest part of your nature, at the skill with which it assails you all day long and in so many different ways; look with what ease it has survived any assaults you have made on it; and then look at the means you are using for its destruction, and say if it is likely, nay, if it is possible, that such sin can yield to such means. Were we to tell each other our experience, would not some of us have to say, "Unless there be some better remedy than those I have tried, I fear to think what may become of me and my sin"? Learn from this incident that your safety lies, not with subsidiary means, but with the Master, the one living Spring of life. D.

Vers. 14-21. The secrets of faith.

A blended good and evil characterizes the present state of man. Ever since our first parents ate of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" their children have been eating of it. The hovel is found under the very shadow of the palace. What a scene of glory was that of the Transfiguration! What a scene of misery is this at the foot of the mountain! "And when they were come to the multitude," etc. Learn

I THAT THE POWER OF FAITH IS UNLIMITED.

1. For Omnipotence is pledged to it.

(1) Witness the miracle of faith on the waters of the Red Sea. (see Exo_14:13, Exo_14:14) The distance across the arm of the Red Sea at Pihahiroth is about twelve miles; while the average depth of the water there is about eighty-four feet. The weight of the vast ocean sets into it. Yet was that world of waters controlled by the faith of Moses.

(2) So, had the disciples of Jesus "faith as a grain of mustard seed," they might have routed the devil from this boy. And the case of the demoniac may be taken as a sample of the moral condition of man under the tyranny of Satan.

(3) No limit is set to the premise here given to faith. (cf. Mat_21:21 Luk_17:5) Things great or small are equally easy to the Promiser. Properly speaking, to God nothing is miraculous. A rustic, witnessing the experiments of an electrician, may conclude that he is a magician. To the scientist these experiments have no more of miracle in them than the rustic may see in the furrow he cuts with his plough. "Things impossible with men are possible with God.

2. But Omnipotence is not pledged to caprice.

(1) In the heathen mythology there is one Phaethon, the son of Apollo, who was ambitious to guide the chariot of the sun, and importuned his father to entrust him with the reins. He soon found his arm too treble to restrain the fiery steeds; and the sun was rushing down upon the earth. Jupiter, seeing the danger, launched a thunderbolt at Phaethon and dislodged him from his seat, upon which the chariot came back into abler hands, and the world was saved from conflagration. If, then, Omnipotence be pledged to faith, may not ambition and folly destroy the world?

(2) The answer is that faith is the gift of God. (see Mat_16:17 1Co_12:9 2Co_4:13 Eph_2:8, 9 Php_1:29 Col_2:12 2Pe_1:1) God will not inspire faith in the interests of folly.

(3) Hence quality rather than quantity is the thing required. "Faith as a grain of mustard seed." The idea of a grain of mustard seed dislodging a mountain! Abstractedly, faith is impotent; it becomes omnipotent as it is associated with God. A small band slipped over a wheel sets a factory in motion, because it links the machinery with the steam engine. Faith may link the machinery of the universe to the great power of God.

(4) True faith is distinct from mere credence. Some are Christians from the accident of birth, as others are Mohammedans, Papists, or pagans. Some are Christians from conviction, having studied and approved the evidences. But saving faith is a thing of the heart an inspiration from God; it works by love, and purifies the heart and life.

II THAT MORAL CONSIDERATIONS DETERMINE THE SUBJECTS OF THE GIFT OF FAITH.

1. Divine seriousness is a condition of the faith of miracle working.

(1) This our Lord declared. (see Mar_9:38, 39) And Paul says, "No man can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost". (1Co_12:3)

(2) Simon the magician was mistaken in thinking that the gift of God could be purchased with money. (Act_8:20) The sons of Sceva found to their cost that they must not trifle with the name of Jesus. (see Act_19:13-16)

(3) The miracle working faith was given to authenticate the gospel. That end is now answered. Yet may it be given again at any time when God sees sufficient reason.

2. Repentance is the condition of saving faith.

(1) Christ came to save his people from their sins. So the promise is, "In the day that ye seek me ye shall find me, when ye search for me with your whole heart.

(2) Then seize the candle of the Lord, and search your heart to see what has hindered your salvation. Have you made restitution in that you have robbed? Have you made reparation in that you have injured? (see Mat_5:23, Mat_5:24)

(3) The faith that saves is a higher gift than the faith of miracle working. "Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven". (Luk_10:20) Rejoice not so much that you have the miracle working faith as that you have the faith that saves, "If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing". (1Co_13:2) Miracle working faith is as nothing compared with that which is saving.

3. Godliness is essential to the faith of usefulness.

(1) The goodness of Barnabas is significantly associated with his "faith" and usefulness. (see Act_11:24) This also may be noted in respect to persons eminently useful in the Church in following ages.

(2) But what are we to say to the usefulness of those who are far from goodness? Not that they are useful in consequence of their faith; for they have none. The truth God may bless, whoever uses it. No credit in this case is due to the ungodly; nor will they receive any reward.

(3) For the faith of usefulness we must pray. "This kind goeth not out but by prayer." Because without prayer we cannot have that goodness which renders us eligible for the gift of faith.

(4) Fasting also is helpful to faith. Our Lord gave us his example in this. (see Mat_4:2) He also gives us directions as to the spirit in which we should fast. (see Mat_6:16) Apostles associated fasting with their special prayer. J.A.M. (see Act_13:2, Act_13:3)

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

Mark ix, 14; Luke xi, 37.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, 1. A sick patient brought to Christ, the great physician, for cure and healing. A lunatic, that is, a person, at certain times of the moon, afflicted with the falling sickness.

2. This sickness of his was aggravated by Satan, who bodily possessed him, and cruelly cast him into the fire and into the water, but rather for torture than dispatch.

O how does Satan, that malicious tyrant, rejoice in doing hurt to mankind! Lord, abate his power, since his malice will not be abated.

Observe, 3. The person who brought him forth for cure, his compassionate father, who kneeled down and cried out, need will make a person both humble and eloquent. Everyone has a tongue to speak for himself; happy is he that keeps a tongue for others.

4. The physicians that he was first brought unto: first, to the disciples; and when they could not cure him, then to Jesus. We never apply ourselves importunately to the God of power, till we begin to despair of the creature’s help.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXX. E. Healing the Demoniac Boy].

LXX. THIRD WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY. Subdivision E. HEALING THE DEMONIAC BOY. (Region of Cæsarea Philippi.) aMATT. XVII. 14-20; bMARK IX. 14-29; cLUKE IX. 37-43.

c37 And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, b14 And when they came to the disciples [the nine apostles which had been left behind], they saw a great multitude about them [We last heard of the multitude at Mar_8:34. See Exo_34:29), but this can hardly have been so, for it would have been at variance with the secrecy which Jesus enjoined as to his transfiguration. Moreover, so important [422] a feature could hardly have escaped from the narratives of all three evangelists. Undoubtedly the amazement was caused by the sudden and opportune return of Jesus. Those who urge that this was not enough to produce amazement show themselves to be poor students of human nature. The multitude had been listening to and no doubt enjoying the questions of the scribes. The unexpected appearance of Jesus therefore impressed them with the sudden sense of having been detected in wrong-doing which invariably leads to amazement. Moreover, those who remained loyal to Jesus would be equally amazed by his approach, since they could not but feel that an exciting crisis was at hand.] a14 And when they were come to the multitude [i. e., when Jesus and the multitude met], bhe asked them, What question ye with them? [He surprised the scribes by this demand and they saw at once that he knew all and they felt rebuked for their unwarranted exultation, and so kept silent.] c38 And, behold, athere came to him a man, bone of cfrom the multitude, akneeling to him, banswered him, ccried, saying, bTeacher, a15 Lord, bI brought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit; ahave mercy on my son: for he is epileptic, and suffereth grievously; cI beseech thee look upon my son: for he is mine only child. 39 and behold a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; b18 and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: cand it teareth him that he foameth, band grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: cand it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely. [When the scribes did not answer, the father of the demoniac boy broke the embarrassing silence by telling Jesus about the matter in question. His child was deaf, dumb, and epileptic, but all these physical ailments were no doubt produced by the demon or evil spirit which possessed him. The phrase "hardly departeth from him" rather suggests the continual unrest in which the demon kept his victim rather than that the demon ever really relinquished his possession of him. Pauses in the delirium of agony were regarded as departures of the [423] demon.] a16 And I brought him to thy disciples, band I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; c40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. bthey were not able. aand they could not cure him. 17 And Jesus answered and said, banswereth them and saith, aO faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? cbring hither thy son to me. bunto me. [As there was no reason to accuse the apostles of perversity, it is evident that the rebuke of Jesus is addressed generally to all and not particularly to the disciples. The perverse faithlessness and infidelity of the scribes had operated upon the multitude, and the doubts of the multitude had in turn influenced the apostles, and thus, with the blind leading the blind, all had fallen into the ditch of impotent disbelief. The disbelief of the people was a constant grief to Jesus, but it must have been especially so in this case, for it fostered and perpetrated this scene of weakness, mean-spiritedness, misery, and suffering which stood out in such sharp contrast with the peace, blessedness, and glory from which he had just come.] 20 And they brought him unto him: c42 And as he was yet a coming, bwhen he saw him [saw Jesus], straightway cthe demon dashed him down, and bthe spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child. 22 And oft-times it hath cast him both into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: ahe falleth into the fire, and oft-times into the water. [By causing the long-standing nature of the case and the malignity of it to be fully revealed, Jesus emphasized the power of the cure] bbut if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. [Jesus echoed back the "if thou canst" which the man had uttered. If Jesus marveled at the faith of a Gentile which trusted the fullness [424] of his divine power, he also marveled at the disbelief of this Jew which thus coolly and presumptuously questions the sufficiency of that power. In the remainder of his answer Jesus shows that the lack of power is not in him, but in those who would be recipients of the blessings of his power, for those blessings are obtained by faith.] 24 Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said I believe; help thou my unbelief. [He confessed his faith, but desired so ardently to have the child healed that he feared lest he should not have faith enough to accomplish that desire, and therefore asked for more faith.] 25 And when Jesus saw that the multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. [Jesus had found the multitude when he came down from the mountain, but the excitement in this multitude was evidently drawing men from every quarter, so that the crowd was momentarily growing greater. A longer conversation with the man might have been beneficial, but to prevent the gathering of any larger company Jesus acted at once and spoke the words of command. Since the demon was manifestly of a most daring, impudent, and audacious nature, Jesus took the precaution to forbid it attempting to re-enter its victim, a precaution which the conduct of the demon abundantly justified.] 26 And having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and i the boy became as one dead; insomuch that the more part said, He is dead. [The malicious effrontery and obstinacy displayed by this demon stands in marked contrast to the cowed, supplicating spirit shown by the Gergesene legion. See Mat_13:32). Faith has such power with God that even little faith becomes well-nigh omnipotent in an age of miracles.] b29 And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer. [Prayer was the means of increasing faith. Demons, like spirits in the flesh, have different degrees of will force, some being easier to subdue than others, and this once, being particularly willful and obstinate, required more faith to expel it.]

[FFG 422-426]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. When they were come to the multitude. Come down out of the mountain. Compare Mark 9:14–29 and Luke 9:37–42. Luke says this miracle occurred the next day.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

This begins an account of Jesus healing a boy who had an evil spirit. These events happen immediately after Jesus and his disciples descend from the mountain.

have mercy on my son

It is implied that the man wants Jesus to heal his son. AT: "have mercy on my son and heal him" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

is epileptic

This means that he sometimes had seizures. He would become unconscious and move uncontrollably. AT: "has seizures"

translationWords

lord

mercy

cure

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

14–21. A LUNATIC CHILD IS CURED

Mar 9:14-29, where the scene and the symptoms of the disease are described with great particularity. Luk 9:37-42.

14. ἐλθόντων πρὸς τὸν ὄχλον. Some will recall Raphael’s great picture of the Transfiguration, in which the contrast is powerfully portrayed between the scene on the mount, calm, bright, and heavenly, and the scene below of suffering, human passions, and failure.

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.

14-21.] Healing of a possessed lunatic. Mar 9:14-29. Luk 9:37-42. By much the fullest account of this miracle is contained in Mark, where see notes. It was the next day: see Luk 9:37, and note on our ver.1. Our Lord found the Scribes and the disciples disputing (Mark).

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

14. And when they came to the multitude.] Mk. has: “And having come to the disciples, they saw a great multitude, and scribes disputing with them. And straightway all the multitude seeing Him, were astonished; and running up, were saluting Him. And He asked them, Why dispute ye with them?” Mt. shortens the narrative throughout. Here he omits as elsewhere the question in the mouth of Christ. See Introduction, p. xxxii. The rest he probably passes over because it is ambiguously expressed. Who were the parties to the dispute—the scribes and the disciples, or the scribes and the multitude? Why should the people be astonished (ἐκθαμβεῖν is a strong word) when they saw Christ?

There came to Him a man, kneeling down, and saying.] Mk. has: “And there answered Him one out of the multitude.”—προσῆλθεν] see on 4:3.

(M)

14-20. Mt. and Lk. agree against Mk. (a) in two or three small points, e.g. λέγων, Mat_15, Lk 38; ὅτι, ib.; ἠδυνήθησαν, Mat_16, Lk 40; εἶπεν, Mat_17, Lk 41; καὶ διεστραμμένη, ib.; ὧδε, Mat_17, Lk 41; (b) in omitting the greater part of Mk 20-26, of which, however, Mt. shows a trace in v. 15 πολλάκις γάρ, κ.τ.λ. = Mk 22, and Lk. shows traces in v. 38 ἐξέφνης κράζει καὶ σπαράσσει αὐτὸν μετʼ ἀφροῦ καὶ μόλις ἀποχωρεῖ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ συντρῖβον αὐτόν. Cf. Mk 20, 26. Lk. has transposed the convulsions of the sufferer after the command of Christ to a general description of his condition before that command. Lk. treats Mar 1:26 in a similar way. It is there said that after Christ’s command “the unclean spirit rent him, and cried with a loud voice.” Luk 4:35 omits the loud cry, and adds a clause to the effect that the demon did him no harm. It is therefore probable that the two Evangelists independently modify Mk. in this passage. The other verbal agreements are insufficient as a basis for a theory of a second source used by Mt. and Lk. It may more probably be supposed that Lk. had read Mt., and inserted reminiscences of his phraseology into his own account.

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