37 Now
it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a
great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly
a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my
son, for he is my only child. 39 And
behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so
that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great
difficulty, bruising him. 40 So
I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be
with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon
threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit,
healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Commentary
Vs. 37 “Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.”
Having been glorified in the presence of Peter, John, and James on the mountain, the next day Jesus comes down from it with them, and as they did, a great multitude of people met Him.
Vs. 38-40 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
Almost as soon as Jesus is back, there coming out of the multitude of people is a man imploring Jesus to cast out a demon out of his only child. explaining to Him how the demon seizes the child, causing him to cry out as it sizes him, convulsing him, causing him to foam at the mouth, before throwing him down to the ground and bruising him, and only departs from him with great difficulty (vs. 38-39). Now the man also tells Jesus that he already implored the other disciples to cast it out, but they could not (vs. 40). Now clearly this man had a great concern for his only child, for it was being terribly sized by a demon, and when he asked them to cast it out from the child and they could not he became even more desperate. And so, with great urgency and desperation he made his way through the crowd to find Jesus. Now their complete interaction is recorded in Mark 9:14-29 and should be read before anyone passes judgment on Jesus’ Words and Actions here.
Vs. 40-41 41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Now Jesus’ initial response may on the surface seem somewhat harsh, however it must be remembered that He had just been glorified, and so to see and hear that both the crowds and disciples were still walking by sight and not by faith would’ve been frustrating to anyone. That seems to be the issue that there was not only a lack of faith on part of the father, but also of not seeking, nor depending upon God by him and the disciples. For previously the twelve had been empowered by Jesus to do such things when He sent them out by themselves (see Luke 9:1-11) and so they were likely then living under the assumption that they could do such things now as they willed. Therefore, it was not until the man became desperate, when they could not help him and he and went and sought out Jesus alone did he get the results he was looking for. Nonetheless as Jesus notes in Marks account to the disciples as to why they could not cast it out this kind of demon can only come out with prayer and fasting, which brings us full circle back to dependence upon God. For God never enables any of us, from the least to the greatest, so that we become independent of Him and His Son. And so it was as the man brought Jesus the child and it did to the child all the things that he said it was doing to him, and so when Jesus saw that, that He rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Scripture Quotations
Commentary
Vs. 37 “Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.”
Having been glorified in the presence of Peter, John, and James on the mountain, the next day Jesus comes down from it with them, and as they did, a great multitude of people met Him.
Vs. 38-40 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
Almost as soon as Jesus is back, there coming out of the multitude of people is a man imploring Jesus to cast out a demon out of his only child. explaining to Him how the demon seizes the child, causing him to cry out as it sizes him, convulsing him, causing him to foam at the mouth, before throwing him down to the ground and bruising him, and only departs from him with great difficulty (vs. 38-39). Now the man also tells Jesus that he already implored the other disciples to cast it out, but they could not (vs. 40). Now clearly this man had a great concern for his only child, for it was being terribly sized by a demon, and when he asked them to cast it out from the child and they could not he became even more desperate. And so, with great urgency and desperation he made his way through the crowd to find Jesus. Now their complete interaction is recorded in Mark 9:14-29 and should be read before anyone passes judgment on Jesus’ Words and Actions here.
Vs. 40-41 41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Now Jesus’ initial response may on the surface seem somewhat harsh, however it must be remembered that He had just been glorified, and so to see and hear that both the crowds and disciples were still walking by sight and not by faith would’ve been frustrating to anyone. That seems to be the issue that there was not only a lack of faith on part of the father, but also of not seeking, nor depending upon God by him and the disciples. For previously the twelve had been empowered by Jesus to do such things when He sent them out by themselves (see Luke 9:1-11) and so they were likely then living under the assumption that they could do such things now as they willed. Therefore, it was not until the man became desperate, when they could not help him and he and went and sought out Jesus alone did he get the results he was looking for. Nonetheless as Jesus notes in Marks account to the disciples as to why they could not cast it out this kind of demon can only come out with prayer and fasting, which brings us full circle back to dependence upon God. For God never enables any of us, from the least to the greatest, so that we become independent of Him and His Son. And so it was as the man brought Jesus the child and it did to the child all the things that he said it was doing to him, and so when Jesus saw that, that He rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson
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