OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO HEAL AND TO SAVE

Matthew chapter 17 verses 14 - 21 records an event when Jesus descended the mountain after the transfiguration and they came up to the crowd of people who had been waiting below. One of the people came up to Jesus and asked the Lord to help his son who had suffered from seizures. He had brought the young man to the disciples but they had been unable to heal him.

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

Upon getting this report, Jesus reacted with indignation and asked how long He would have to put up with being among a faithless and perverse generation. He commanded that the boy be brought to Him and He evicted the demon with a rebuke and the boy was healed.

17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  

(verse 21 ? - Mark chapter 9 verse 29; This kind can only come out by prayer and fasting)

Later, in private, the disciples asked the Lord Jesus why they were unable to cast the demon out themselves. They had done what they had seen Jesus doing but they were foiled by the particular demon in the epileptic boy.

Jesus told them that their faith was too small. He taught them that if their faith was even the size of a mustand seed, they would be able to say to the mountain (that they had just descended) to move from one location to another location and it would move. 

If they had been able to generate even a little faith, they would have been able to heal the epileptic boy.

Matthew 17 verse 21 is missing from the text but some manuscripts insert the verse from Mark chapter 9 verse 29.  This verse reads a little out of synch in the context but indicates that evicting  the type of demon in question requires prayer and fasting.

This corollary points to prayer and fasting as the ingredients needed in order to grow the required level of faith. Support for this inference can be found in Jude verses 20 - 21;

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Amen.

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