Matthew 17:14-21, Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Comments

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he encountered apostasy. Jesus encountered spiritual conflict and unbelief. While the father thought the boy had epilepsy, Jesus saw demonic possession. (We should not confuse the two. There is not a demon behind every disease.)

The disciples should have been able to deal with this case. Their issue was faith and unbelief. Faith is not an intellectual assent but practical reliance on the living God. It is not the power of faith that brings healing but the power of God, which is available to even the smallest faith.

Prayer

I know, dear Lord, that yours is the only name given in heaven and earth for health and salvation. By your stripes I have been healed.