Matthew 17:14-21 The healing of the "lunatick" son
Old English isn't exactly subtle in its verbage; but it fills the bill; so to speak. Jesus gives a rebuke in verse 17 which reads starting from verse 16
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
The context here vaguely suggests the overall faithlessness of this man or perhaps the fact that others by this time weren't doing deliverance; or possibly a slightly stronger indication that Israel as a whole was still faithless and full of wicked unbelief.
It seems directed to the Disciples as we see in verse 19-21
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
It must have been stunning to be accused of unbelief; but at this point long after their initial experiences with the Lord (whether or not they were part of the 70 going out 2 by 2 doing deliverance and healing); perhaps they were too used to being around the Lord or too comortable to go out themselves to do this work on a consistent basis. Lack of faith certainly could be tied into lack of prayer as I once again remind the readers that other than the discussion on how to pray ( Matthew 6) there are NO verses which show ANY prayer among the Apostles before the Resurrection; ZERO. Such preparatory prayer also would have kept them sensitive to the exhortations in verse 21 about fasting; at least on a routine basis. Sober words for us all.
Once again in verse 22 Christ warns of His imminent death and again great sorrow as a reaction
Old English isn't exactly subtle in its verbage; but it fills the bill; so to speak. Jesus gives a rebuke in verse 17 which reads starting from verse 16
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
The context here vaguely suggests the overall faithlessness of this man or perhaps the fact that others by this time weren't doing deliverance; or possibly a slightly stronger indication that Israel as a whole was still faithless and full of wicked unbelief.
It seems directed to the Disciples as we see in verse 19-21
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
It must have been stunning to be accused of unbelief; but at this point long after their initial experiences with the Lord (whether or not they were part of the 70 going out 2 by 2 doing deliverance and healing); perhaps they were too used to being around the Lord or too comortable to go out themselves to do this work on a consistent basis. Lack of faith certainly could be tied into lack of prayer as I once again remind the readers that other than the discussion on how to pray ( Matthew 6) there are NO verses which show ANY prayer among the Apostles before the Resurrection; ZERO. Such preparatory prayer also would have kept them sensitive to the exhortations in verse 21 about fasting; at least on a routine basis. Sober words for us all.
Once again in verse 22 Christ warns of His imminent death and again great sorrow as a reaction
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