Knowing the Word in Matthew 17:14-21

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

[When Moses came down the mountain, he encountered apostasy. Now Jesus encounters spiritual conflict and unbelief.]

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 [this is actually not the case but is a demonic possession as explained in verse 18] 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.” [The disciples should have been able to deal with this case.] 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation [even within Jesus’ disciple group there are those of unbelief], 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. [The healing right after the exorcism suggests that the demon caused the boy to suffer from an epileptic-like condition that required a physical healing.] 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 [faithlessness]. 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.” [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.]