And when he came to the disciples he saw a great crowd around them, and scribes disputing against them.
The glory of the mountain is behind them, and the road down leads straight into an argument: a crowd pressing in, and religious teachers questioning the disciples. The contrast raises the question the rest of the chapter answers: why were the Lord's own people so helpless while He was away?
Christ had just shone in glory on the mountain. He turns at once to the trouble at its foot.
The Lord showed His glory before the disciples' eyes at the transfiguration. Now He turns to the misery of the earth. What happened next is a striking display of His patience, and of the ways of God. When He comes down from the mountain, He finds a great crowd, and the scribes reasoning with His disciples. It is good to notice this. Though the Lord is recognised as Son of God, and will be shown in glory, and we with Him, He still comes down into this world — as He does still by His Spirit — and meets the crowd and the power of Satan for us.
A chapter earlier, the same expression described the Pharisees attacking Christ Himself. The ESV renders it here as "arguing."
In the former chapter the Pharisees "dispute against" Christ (Mark 8:11). Coming down from the Mount, the Lord finds the scribes "disputing against" His disciples. Later the Lord reminds us, "A servant is not greater than his master," and He adds, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). No wonder that men who dare to "dispute against" Christ also oppose believers. With the Lord this opposition only drew out His perfection; but with us, too often, it exposes our weakness. So in this scene we have seen the glory of the Lord on the top of the Mount. At the foot of the Mount we find the misery of man, the power of Satan, and the weakness of the disciples.
The disciples had already tried and failed, and the whole crowd had seen it.
A crowd surrounded the disciples, with scribes mixed in. A father brought his demon-possessed boy to get relief from the Lord. He did not find Him, so he asked the disciples to cast out the demon, but they could not… now all saw that the disciples were powerless. A painful position for them to be in! On top of that, the scribes were questioning them, perhaps emboldened by their defeat. This was likely to lower the disciples in the eyes of the crowd. The scribes wanted to win a victory by argument over the simple fishermen of the lake.
These same men had once done what they now could not do.
When the Lord sent out the Twelve, He "gave them authority over the unclean spirits" (Mark 6:7). For a time they used this power, for we read that "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the mute spirit. Power was present to work miracles and to overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not profit by it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
The disciples could not handle the scene. Their Master could.
From the heights to the depths they had to come. They found the rest of the disciples defeated and anxious while their Master was away. As soon as He appeared the crowds were amazed, and all eyes turned from the distracted disciples to the calm and all-sufficient Master. A moment before the scribes had been heckling the disciples; now He questions the scribes, invites the confidence of the troubled father, and displays His sufficiency.
One commentator sees here a picture of the world as it will be when Christ returns.
The conditions He finds when He comes back down from the mount of transfiguration are a picture of what the earth will be like when He comes again. Here are helpless disciples, triumphant unbelieving scribes, and the display of Satan's power… They had no power to cast out the demon, because they were "faithless." The Lord told them that their failure came from a lack of prayer and fasting. He meant dependence on God and denial of self… If God's people knew more of real prayer and real self-denial, there would be a greater display of His power through them.
- Down. The glory of the mountain does not keep Christ there. He comes down into the crowd and meets the power of Satan for us.
- Disputed. The same expression describes the leaders attacking Christ a chapter earlier and the scribes attacking His followers here. Opposition to the Master always reaches the servants.
- Defeated. The scribes pressed their advantage because the disciples had failed in public. Failure in front of the enemy hands the argument to the critic.
- Deficient. The power was present and had worked before. What was missing was faith to use it, and the Lord traced that to prayer and self-denial.
- Displayed. His arrival ends the debate. He questions the scribes, welcomes the troubled father, and shows His sufficiency.
And immediately all the crowd seeing him were amazed, and running to [him], saluted him.
The transfiguration is over. Jesus walks straight from the mountain of glory into a crowd. Scribes are arguing, a father is desperate, and His own disciples have failed. Mark alone records what the people did the moment they saw Him. They were amazed, and they ran to greet Him. What did they see?
Glory sits at the top of the mountain. Trouble waits at the foot of it.
In the previous chapter the Pharisees "dispute against" Christ (Mark 8:11). Coming down from the mountain, the Lord finds the scribes "disputing against" His disciples... So in this scene we have caught a vision of the glory of the Lord on the top of the mountain. At the foot of the mountain we find the misery of man, the power of Satan, and the weakness of the disciples.
His arrival does not just add one more person to the scene. It redirects it.
The moment He appeared the crowds were amazed, and all eyes turned from the distracted disciples to the calm and all-sufficient Master. A moment before, the scribes had been heckling the disciples. Now He questions the scribes, invites the confidence of the troubled father, and shows that He is enough.
Crowds had seen Jesus many times without running to Him. Commentators take this sudden reaction as a sign that something about Him looked different. They offer it as a likely explanation, not as a stated fact.
It is clear there must have been something unusual in the Saviour's appearance. The wonderful glory of His person must always have been visible to faith... Yet the careless and the thoughtless, the busy and the preoccupied passed Him by as one who had "no beauty that we should desire him." But at this moment everything is changed. The crowd is eager to greet Him. No doubt the glory that had been so dazzling on the Mount of Transfiguration had not fully faded.
The same detail recalls Moses coming down Mount Sinai. The two scenes end in opposite ways.
It would seem that the glory still lingered about the Lord's face. This points to a beautiful contrast with what happened long ago when the great Lawgiver came down from Mount Sinai. Then Moses had to veil his face. It was law, not grace; and the people, at any rate, could not look at that searching radiance. Here they cannot help being drawn to Him.
The change reaches beyond that day. One writer notes who may see this glory now.
Only three had been allowed to gaze on its full radiance. Now not apostles only, but the humblest believers, are privileged to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Mark's word is stronger than mild surprise. Translators have rendered it in different ways.
The word meaning "amazed" in Mark 9 is a little stronger in force than what is basically the same word in chapter 10. It is rightly given as "greatly amazed." It is the same word in the last chapter, where the King James Version says the women were "affrighted." But the Revised Version, as in so many cases of this kind, gives the stricter rendering "amazed."
(In Mark 16:5 the ESV reads "and they were alarmed.")
The crowd offers Him honour. He turns from it to a suffering boy.
This might have brought the Lord into a place of honour and notice; but it only shows Him all the more perfectly as a Servant, who would empty Himself, or make Himself of no reputation. The robe is quickly taken off, and the belt as quickly put on. The Lord turns from the greeting of the crowd to the sorrow of the poor mute child, whose father had brought him with a cry for mercy. He was so perfect in the spirit of service that neither the glory at the top of the mountain nor the greetings at the foot of it could weaken or interrupt it.
The crowd's reaction also points forward. One writer sees in it a meeting between heaven and earth that is still to come.
I believe it is meant to carry us forward to the day when the glorified family in heaven will visit the earth. People will recognise and enjoy them in their distinctly heavenly persons. Those on the earth below will know that they belong to a scene above, surpassing their own... They will feel this in the soul, own it, and act on it in its beautiful and perfect measure. But it will not overwhelm them. They greet Jesus, though amazed.
- Descent — The Lord comes down from the mountain of glory into the misery of man, the power of Satan, and the weakness of His disciples.
- Radiance — The crowd's rush suggests the mountain glory had not fully faded from Him. A man they once passed by now stops them.
- Attraction — Moses had to veil his face, and the people could not look at it. Here the shining One draws them in, and even the humblest believer may now see God's glory in the face of Jesus.
- Servant — Offered honour at the foot of the hill, He lays it aside for a suffering boy: the robe off, the girdle on.
- Preview — Amazed people running to greet a glorified Christ is a small picture of a coming day. Heaven's glory will be seen on earth, and it will not overwhelm those who see it.
And he asked them, What do ye question with them about?
Jesus has just come down from the mountain where His disciples saw His glory. At the foot of it He finds an argument. Religious teachers are pressing His disciples, and He asks what the dispute is about. The question sounds simple, but it turns the attack around. The men pressing the disciples must now answer Jesus Himself.
The verse sits between two scenes. On the mountain the disciples glimpsed the kingdom in glory. At the foot of it, nothing had changed.
The foot of the mountain showed a very different scene from the glimpse of the kingdom at the transfiguration. The disciples were surrounded by a huge crowd. The scribes were questioning with them, and the power of Satan in man was still not removed… Christ challenges the scribes.
One chapter earlier, the religious leaders had argued in the same way against Jesus Himself. Now His followers get the same treatment. (An older translation reads "dispute against" in both places.)
In the previous chapter the Pharisees "dispute against" Christ (Mark 8:11). Coming down from the Mount, the Lord finds the scribes "disputing against" His disciples. Later, the Lord reminds us that "a servant is not greater than his master," and He adds, "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). Little wonder that if men dare to "dispute against" Christ, they are opposed to believers.
The dispute did not begin at random. A father had brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples, and they had failed publicly. That failure handed the scribes their opening.
On top of that, scribes were questioning with them, which was likely to lower them in the eyes of the crowd. Perhaps the disciples' defeat had made the scribes bold. Their aim was to win a victory by argument over the simple fishermen of the lake. At that moment the Lord reappeared. He spoke to the scribes at once and asked what it was all about.
The same writer adds that verse 19 confirms this. The better manuscript reading there is "them", not "him" — the disciples' failure gave the scribes' attack its apparent force.
Jesus asks first. He does not wait for anyone to explain. The pressure moves off the disciples and onto their critics.
As soon as He appeared, the crowds were amazed, and all eyes turned from the distracted disciples to the calm, all-sufficient Master. A moment before, the scribes had been heckling the disciples; now He questions the scribes, invites the confidence of the troubled father, and displays His sufficiency.
Four parties made up the scene He walked into.
The boy demon-possessed, the father disappointed and distracted, the disciples defeated and dejected, the scribes not at all averse to making capital out of the incident. The Lord walks into the middle of it and everything is changed.
The One asking the question did not have to be there. He chose to come down into a crowd, an argument, and the work of the enemy.
When He comes down from the mountain, He finds a great crowd, and the scribes reasoning with His disciples. It is a blessing to notice this. The Lord is recognised as Son of God, and He will be shown in glory, and we with Him. Yet He still comes down into this world — as He does even now by His Spirit — and He meets the crowd and the power of Satan for us. And again (it is good for us to notice it) He speaks as closely with His disciples as He does with Moses and Elijah. How great is His grace!
Commentators differ on where the real problem lay. Some point to the hostility of the scribes. Others say the power was there and went unused, since the disciples had done this very work before.
When the Lord sent out His twelve disciples, He "gave them authority over the unclean spirits," and for a time they used this power, for we read, "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the mute spirit. Power was present to work miracles and to overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not benefit from it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
- Descent — glory on the mountain; at its foot a crowd, an argument, and Satan's power still unbroken.
- Dispute — the hostility that argued against Christ one chapter earlier now targets His disciples. Opposition to the Master reaches the servants.
- Defeat — the disciples failed with the boy in front of everyone, and that gave the scribes their opening.
- Deflection — Jesus asks first, so the scribes who pressed the disciples must now answer Him.
- Deliverance — He came down into that scene by choice. He met the crowd and the enemy for His own, and He spoke with weak disciples as closely as with Moses and Elijah.
And one out of the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought to thee my son, who has a dumb spirit;
Three disciples had just seen the Lord in glory on the mountain; below, in the crowd, a father waits with a boy no one could help. His words open the case: he names what holds his son, and he brings him to Christ.
The chapter sets a mountain top beside a valley floor. One writer lists everything that had gone wrong at the bottom.
There had been a remarkable display of the glory of God in the peaceful scene on the mountain top. At the foot of the mountain, meanwhile, the dark power of Satan was on show, with all the confusion it brings. The boy was demon-possessed. The father was disappointed and distracted. The disciples were defeated and dejected. The scribes were quite willing to use the incident to their own advantage. The Lord walks into the middle of it and everything changes.
The three Gospel accounts describe this same boy in different words. One writer weighs them against the idea that he was only mentally ill.
It is true that in Matthew 17:14-16 the father of a boy possessed by a demon called him a lunatic, and said the disciples could not cure him. But in Mark 9:17 he said his son had a dumb spirit, and in Luke 9:39 that "a spirit seizes him." It was clearly a case of possession: the Lord rebuked the demon, and it departed from him.
The father names one effect: his son cannot speak. Older translations call this a "dumb spirit," and the writers quoted here keep that wording. Later the Lord speaks to the spirit and adds a second word.
But the boy appears to have been deaf as well as dumb, and presumably he was dumb because he was deaf. At any rate, the Lord, in driving out the demon, addressed him as "you dumb and deaf spirit" (to alalon kai kophon) (Mark 9:17, 25). Notice that the account of this incident uses a distinct Greek word (alalos) for "dumb."
One writer reads the father's description as a picture of something much wider.
The Lord learned on asking that the boy had suffered like this since childhood. It is a picture, only too accurate, of our race. Our race fell into the hands of Satan in its very infancy, in the days of the garden of Eden. The poor child was both dumb and deaf (Mark 9:25). His state reflects the spiritual condition of every representative of fallen Adam. The unregenerate man has nothing to say for God, and he has no ear for the commandments of God. God is to him as though He were not.
The father had already taken his son to the disciples, and they could not help. That failure had a history.
When the Lord sent out the Twelve, He "gave them power over unclean spirits." For a time they used this power, for we read, "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the dumb spirit. Power was present to work miracles and overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not benefit from it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
The father did not stop when they let him down.
The distressed parent did not despair. He turned from the failing disciples to Him who never fails. How humbling when believers dishonour their Lord in this way!
Later, alone with the disciples, the Lord shows them why they had failed.
Privately the disciples have to learn from the Lord that it is not Satan who is the difficulty, but self. Only in dependence on God, and withdrawal from what works on the flesh, is power over such an enemy found.
Another writer adds that not every evil spirit is met in the same way.
There are differences among the evil spirits, and this kind gave way only to prayer and fasting. The lack of that was grievous in the Lord's eyes.
The moment Jesus reaches the bottom of the hill is read as a small model of something still ahead.
While glory was being displayed on the holy mountain, a painful scene was taking place below. A poor child writhing in agony, possessed by a demon, and the poor father bowed down with grief. The coming down of the Lord Jesus changed everything. Satan's powers were overthrown, and tears gave place to thanksgiving and joy. So it will be in the great day for which we wait, and for which the whole creation groans.
- Bondage. The boy's case is real possession, not imagined illness. He was mute, deaf, and gripped since childhood — a picture of man fallen into Satan's hands at the very start.
- Failure. The Lord had given the disciples power over unclean spirits, and they had used it. Here their faith failed, and the power present went unused.
- Appeal. The father did not despair when they let him down. He turned to the One who never fails.
- Diagnosis. The problem was never the enemy's strength but self. Only dependence on God draws on the power that removes him.
- Deliverance. He came down from the glory into the confusion, and everything changed. It is a small picture of the day when creation's groaning ends.
and wheresoever it seizes him it tears him, and he foams and gnashes his teeth, and he is withering away. And I spoke to thy disciples, that they might cast him out, and they could not.
A father brings Jesus his tormented son, after asking the disciples for help and getting none. The Lord had given them authority over unclean spirits, so why did they fail here?
One writer reads each symptom in the father's report as a picture of what Satan's influence does in people:
It seems the boy was not mute by nature. The evil spirit had made him mute, and also caused other painful symptoms through convulsions. His physical condition pictures the spiritual state of many people today who live under the influence of Satan's power. Foaming at the mouth reminds us of the shameful words that come out of men's mouths, as in Jude 13. Grinding his teeth speaks of the bitter rebellion seen at every level of mankind. His pining away shows that such people are damaging themselves, yet have no power to stop it.
The disciples' failure was not a lack of authority. The Lord had already sent them out with it, and they had used it:
When the Lord sent out the Twelve, He "gave them power over unclean spirits." For a time they used this power: we read that "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the mute spirit. Power was present to work miracles and overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not profit by it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
One writer traces the failure to two things: unbelief, and the state of soul that faith needs. Fasting, he says, means far more than going without food:
Chapter 3:15 makes it clear that the disciples had no excuse. They could not cast the demon out of this poor child. He had given them the power. But when the chance to use it came, they could not. Putting Matthew's account together with Mark's, we learn the whole secret of their failure. The disciples asked, "Why could we not cast him out?" Jesus answered, "Because of your unbelief." He added that nothing would be impossible to them if they had faith even as small as a grain of mustard seed. Both accounts also show that such faith needs a matching state of soul. Prayer expresses, in confidence in God, our realisation that we depend on Him completely. Fasting will mean the state that refuses lawful things and lawful enjoyments (see Numbers 6:3-7) for the sake of fuller devotion to the Lord's service. It may sometimes include going without food, but to limit it to that is to miss its main point.
The Lord answers the report with a lament over a faithless generation. One writer weighs what that lament meant for the disciples, and for how long the Lord would stay:
The disciples' failure meant that the testimony of God through them had fallen to the ground. As a result, that era of God's dealings would come to an end. "How long shall I be with you?" implies that the Lord's stay on earth had a limit. A needy generation, oppressed by the power of the devil, would not drive the Lord away. Just the opposite: it was man's deep need, under the power of Satan, that brought the Lord Jesus into the world. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The needy generation did not end His mission of grace and power on earth. The "faithless generation" did.
Later in the same chapter, John tries to stop another man from doing what the disciples themselves could not do. One writer sets that beside this failure:
The wrong of the situation was that John was trying to stop a man from doing good, which he himself was powerless to do. In the same chapter we read that one of the crowd brought to the disciples a demon-possessed son, a pitiful sight. The distressed father said to the Lord, "I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able" (Mark 9:18). John was among them. They were powerless.
The disciples' inability did not end the father's hope; it redirected it. Kelly notes both the dishonour done to Christ's name and the father's response:
The distressed parent did not despair, and turned from the failing disciples to Him who never fails. How humbling when believers dishonour their Lord like this! … Did He not give the twelve disciples, and more than the twelve, authority over the unclean spirits? How was it then that these put shame on His name by failing to draw on Him?
- Power given. The Lord gave His disciples authority over unclean spirits, and they had used it before this day.
- Power unused. The power was present; the faith to draw on it was not, and the Lord named unbelief as the cause.
- Power's conditions. Such faith leans on God and says so in prayer. It also lets go of lawful comforts for the Lord's service.
- Power dishonoured. Their failure let God's testimony fall to the ground. The men who could do nothing then tried to stop someone else.
- Power unfailing. The father did not despair. He turned from the disciples who failed to the One who never fails.
But he answering them says, O unbelieving generation! how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him to me.
Jesus comes down from the mountain of glory straight into a crowd: scribes arguing, a boy held by an evil spirit, and disciples who could do nothing. His words are aimed at the people, not at the demon. So who is this "faithless generation," and why does unbelief make Him speak of leaving?
The chapter sets two scenes side by side.
There had been a striking display of the glory of God in the peaceful scene on the mountain top. At the foot of the mountain the dark power of Satan was on show, with all the confusion it brings. The boy was demon-possessed. The father was disappointed and distressed. The disciples were defeated and downcast. And the scribes were quite willing to use the incident for their own gain. The Lord walks into the middle of it and everything changes.
Scripture uses one word for people who have no faith.
Apistos (ἄπιστος). The name given in Scripture to the class of people who do not have faith in the divine revelation of the gospel… The word is translated 'infidel' in 2 Corinthians 6:15 and 1 Timothy 5:8, and 'faithless' in Matthew 17:17, Mark 9:19, Luke 9:41 and John 20:27.
"Generation" here is not a measure of years but a description of character.
The word "generation"… is clearly used in a moral sense and not a literal one. It means people of a certain type and character. The Lord used the word this way in Mark 9:19 and in Luke 11:29.
The Lord had already given the twelve disciples authority over unclean spirits, and they had used it. So what failed here was not their authority.
When the Lord sent out the twelve disciples, He "gave them authority over the unclean spirits." For a time they used this power, for we read, "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the mute spirit. There was power present to work miracles and overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not profit by it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
What was the faith they lacked? It holds two things together.
It was for lack, not of power but of faith, that they could not cast the spirit out. Faith always assumes two things. First, a sense of the weight and yoke of the evil that presses on man. Second, confidence in God, who in His gracious power is always above evil and supreme. There may be failure, but never final defeat, so long as the heart leaves room for God to come in and holds to the certainty that His glory is at stake in the matter. The lack of this was what grieved the Lord Jesus; their inability was due to lack of faith and of self-judgment.
The question is not impatience with need. Need is what brought Him here in the first place.
In the presence of this failure, the Lord has to say, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" These words show how serious the failure of the disciples was… "How long am I to be with you?" implies that the Lord's stay on earth had a limit. A needy generation, crushed by the power of the devil, would not drive the Lord away. On the contrary, it was the deep need of man, under the power of Satan, that brought the Lord Jesus into the world. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." It is the "faithless generation," not the needy generation, that ends His mission of grace and power on the earth.
The rebuke came from love, not irritation.
Blessed Lord Jesus! Your ways are perfect. No love, no tenderness, no patience is like Yours. Yet You felt their faithlessness. They did not know how to draw on the energy that casts Satan out of his strongholds — the energy that comes by depending on God and denying self.
The same breath that exposes the unbelief also opens the door.
But see the patience and goodness of the Lord; He cannot deny Himself… He finishes the sentence in which He rebukes their unbelief with these words — "Bring him to me." Faith, however small, is never left without an answer from the Lord. What a comfort! Think of all the unbelief, not only in the world but among Christians. Suppose just one person were left who had faith in the goodness and power of the Lord Jesus. He could not come to Him with a real need and simple belief without finding His heart ready and His power enough.
- Faithless — the word means "without faith," and "generation" describes a character, not an age group.
- Failure — the disciples had the authority already; power was present, faith to use it was not.
- Feeling — no one bore with unbelief more patiently than Christ, and no one felt it more.
- Finish — need never drove Him away; unbelief among His own is what sets a limit to His work on earth.
- Free — the rebuke ends with "Bring him to me," so the smallest real faith still gets a full answer.
And they brought him to him. And seeing him the spirit immediately tore him; and falling upon the earth he rolled foaming.
Jesus comes down from the mountain of the transfiguration and finds a crowd, disciples in an argument, and a boy no one could help. They bring the child to Him, the evil spirit throws him into a convulsion, and Jesus does not stop it at once.
One writer sets this scene next to the transfiguration that came just before it. He also notes how late the Lord's rebuke of the spirit came.
The foot of the mountain was a very different scene from the glimpse of the kingdom at the transfiguration. A vast crowd surrounded the disciples. The scribes argued with them. The power of Satan in man was not removed... Even then the rebuke of power had not yet come.
The words that put the boy in front of Jesus came after the disciples had already failed. That failure did not close the door.
The opposition of man does not dry up the goodness of the Lord, and neither does the failure of His own. He can still add the comforting words about the demon-possessed man, "Bring him to Me." As someone has said, "However small faith may be, the Lord always answers it. What a comfort! Take all the unbelief there is, not only in the world but among Christians. If only one person in the whole world still had faith in the goodness and power of the Lord Jesus, he could come to Him with a real need and simple belief, and he would find His heart ready and His power enough."
Doing what Jesus said brought no relief at first. One writer sees two purposes in the fit that followed.
But now the Master Himself is here, and the word is, "Bring him to Me." At first the result was disappointing. They brought the boy, and the demon flung him down in a terrible fit. Yet the Lord used this for His own purpose. It made the boy's terrible plight all the clearer in the very moment before his deliverance. It also brought out the feelings and thoughts of the anguished father.
The spirit rages hardest just as it loses its grip. Writers see the same pattern in Israel's escape from Egypt.
What the devil cannot keep as his own, he will destroy if he can. Pharaoh never treated the children of Israel so harshly as when they were about to escape his grip. Something similar is always happening. Satan tempts, torments and batters no one harder than those who are in the very act of being set free from his tyranny for ever.
Some writers read the boy's condition as a picture of the whole human race.
The poor child was both deaf and mute (Mark 9:25). He reflects the spiritual condition of every descendant of fallen Adam. The unconverted person has nothing to say for God, and no ear for God's commandments. God is to him as though He did not exist. The afflicted child was in constant danger of his life. His father said of the unclean spirit inside him: "It has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him." In the same way every undelivered sinner is in danger — not just of temporary disaster, but of eternal destruction.
The father's appeal shows what he thought of Christ. The Lord's answer then moves the question away from His own power.
The spirit was hateful and vindictive in character, trying to get the boy to destroy himself. The father had reached the point of complete distraction. He appealed to the Lord, if He could do anything, to have compassion and help them... There was no question of the Lord's ability, but of the man's faith.
- Contrast — Above the mountain, a glimpse of the kingdom. Below it, the power of Satan still holding a child.
- Invitation — His own servants failed, and He still said, "Bring him to Me." He turns away no real need brought to Him in simple faith.
- Exposure — The fit at Jesus' feet was not an interruption. It displayed how bad the case was and drew the father's real thoughts into the open.
- Rage — Satan strikes hardest at those he is about to lose. The worst moment can be the moment before rescue.
- Faith — The father said, "If you can." The Lord moved the "if" from His own power to the father's faith.
And he asked his father, How long a time is it that it has been like this with him? And he said, From childhood;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and often it has cast him both into fire and into waters that it might destroy him but if thou couldst [do] anything, be moved with pity on us, and help us.
A desperate father brings Jesus a son the disciples could not free. His plea has a crack in it: "if you can do anything." What he says about the demon's aim, and how the Lord answers that little word "if," show where power and faith meet.
The father's report is not of an illness but of repeated attempts on his son's life. One writer reads the fire and the water as a portrait of the whole human situation.
The Lord learned when He asked that the boy had suffered like this since childhood. It is a picture, only too accurate, of our race. Our race fell into Satan's hands while it was still an infant — in the days of the garden of Eden. The child was both deaf and mute (Mark 9:25). That reflects the spiritual condition of every descendant of fallen Adam. The afflicted child was in constant danger of his life. His father said of the unclean spirit inside him, "It has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him." In the same way every undelivered sinner is in danger. The danger is not just temporary disaster, but eternal destruction.
The words are a prayer, yet they put a condition on Christ. One writer hears two doubts in that condition.
His cry, "If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us," revealed his lack of faith about His power, while he was also not too sure of His kindness.
Where did the hesitation come from? One writer traces it to a father more full of his trouble than of his Lord. He also marks off this doubt from the faith that says, "if you will."
The father's distrust seems to have come partly from extreme anxiety. The failure of the disciples no doubt made it worse. But note: the cause of it lasts, in painful times and in joyful ones. He felt more about himself than about the Lord. Here was the seed of unbelief. "Have pity on us" — he was full of the object, not calmly relying on the Lord's power in regard to it. This fills us with a sense of the apparent difficulties; we do not see where the "if you can" lies... This is not merely uncertainty about whether the Lord would see fit to step in. Such uncertainty can go together with perfect faith. "Lord, if you will, you can. And the Lord said, I will; be clean." Here there is no reference to Him as "Lord," only "If you can."
Jesus does not defend His power. He takes the man's own "if" and hands it back to him.
The Lord's reply is remarkable: "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Power connects itself with faith. The difficulty is not in Christ's power, but in man's believing. All things were possible if he could believe. This is an important principle. Christ's power never fails to do all that is good for man. But faith, sadly, may be lacking in us to profit by it.
The wording of Mark 9:23 here follows an older translation. If the limit is faith and not power, faith reaches as far as God Himself.
Without a doubt the Lord points out here the present power of faith when it is active. He means more than belief in Himself for immediate help and blessing, though His words included that. He also means the faith that could draw on all that is in Christ for every emergency along the way. For in the very next chapter we read, "With God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). So — and here is the wonder — whatever is possible with God is possible for faith.
He does not ask only for his son. He says "us."
How these few words tell of the heaviness of the affliction, in which, as the father said, he was not alone. He had presented his case with all the urgency of a parent's feeling. What more could he do?
The disciples had failed, the crowd was arguing, and the father's faith was thin — yet the Lord had already said, "Bring him to Me."
Faith, however small it may be, is never left without an answer from the Lord. What a comfort! Whatever the unbelief, not only of the world but of Christians — if only one single person were left in the world who had faith in the goodness and power of the Lord Jesus, he could not come to Him with a real need and simple belief without finding His heart ready and His power enough.
- Destruction — the spirit threw the boy into fire and water. Its aim was ruin, and that is the danger of every undelivered sinner.
- Distrust — "if you can" doubts both Christ's power and His kindness. It grew in a father more full of his trouble than of his Lord.
- Relocation — Jesus moves the "if" from His power to the man's believing. The difficulty is never on Christ's side.
- Reach — faith can draw on all that is in Christ, for whatever is possible with God is possible to faith.
- Welcome — the faith may be small and the failure around it great. Still, no one brings a real need to Christ and finds His heart unready.
And Jesus said to him, The 'if thou couldst' is [if thou couldst] believe all things are possible to him that believes.
Jesus comes down from the mountain and meets a crowd. His disciples have just failed to free a boy from a demon. The boy's father then comes to Him, and his plea starts with a doubt about what Jesus can do. The Lord's reply picks up the man's own word and hands it back to him. Where does the real obstacle lie in a desperate case like this?
The father had put a question mark over Christ. In His answer, the Lord moves that question mark to the other side of the conversation.
Jesus replied, "Your 'if you can' is really this — if you can believe." That is, He said in effect, "There is no 'if' on My side. The only 'if' that enters into this matter is on your side. It is not 'if I can do anything,' but 'if you can believe.'" This put the whole thing in the true light, and in a flash the man saw it. Seeing it, he believed, while confessing his former unbelief.
Once the "if" moves, a principle appears that reaches far past this one boy.
Power connects itself with faith. The difficulty is not in Christ's power. It is in man's believing. All things were possible if he could believe. This is an important principle. Christ's power never fails to do all that is good for man. Sadly, we may lack the faith to benefit from it.
Two things had worn the man down. One was inside him — the sheer weight of his son's condition crowded out any settled trust.
The father's distrust seems to have come in part from extreme anxiety... he felt more about himself than about the Lord. Here was the seed of unbelief. "Have pity on us" — his mind was full of the trouble, not resting on the Lord's power over it. That fills us with a sense of the difficulties we can see. Then we miss where the real "if you can" lies.
The other cause was outside him. He had already asked the disciples, and they had failed.
The power of Satan was there, and had been for a long time. Now the power of the Lord had come in grace. Yet the man says, "If You can... have compassion" — for the unbelief of the disciples had fed the unbelief of the poor man. The Lord, in a few plain words, declares that the question of power lies in the question of faith.
The saying is not limited to one healing on one day. Read alongside what the Lord says in the next chapter, its scope becomes startling.
Here the Lord surely points to the power of faith at work now. His words included believing in Him for present help and blessing. But they went further. He meant the faith that could draw on all that was in Christ, for every emergency along the way. In the very next chapter we read, "all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27). So — and here is the marvel — whatever is possible with God is possible for faith.
Such a wide promise invites misuse, so writers are careful to say what faith rests on.
What is really imagination is very often called faith. It is not faith unless we have the word of God for it. It was only a little word that Jesus said, "Come!" but Peter could and did act on it. There is wonderful encouragement for us here. He can enable His saints to do what is impossible by human strength.
The father does not pretend to a strength he lacks. He admits the weakness and asks for help with it. That honesty is the healthy response.
He teaches the weak man who asked Him that the question of power turns on faith. God looks for faith, however great His own grace may be. What possible moral good could power secure without believing? On the other hand, all things are possible to the one who believes... "I believe; help my unbelief!" How healthy it is for a believer to feel and own his unbelief!
- The "if" moves. The father put the doubt on Christ's ability. Jesus put it back on the father's believing. There is no "if" on His side.
- The block is never power. The shortage was never in Christ. His power never fails to do all that is good for man. What may be missing is our faith to draw on it.
- Anxiety shrinks faith. A mind full of the trouble, instead of resting on the Lord, is the seed of unbelief. The disciples' earlier failure had fed the man's doubt too.
- The reach is God's own reach. Whatever is possible with God is possible for faith — not just for one crisis, but for every emergency along the road.
- Faith needs a word, and honesty. Faith needs God's word behind it. And the answer the Lord accepted was a man owning his unbelief while asking for help with it.
And immediately the father of the young child crying out said [with tears], I believe, help mine unbelief.
The father had just said to Jesus, "If you can do anything… help us." The Lord turned that "if" back on him, and this verse is the reply — faith and doubt confessed in one breath.
The father had put the question mark over Jesus. The answer put it over the father.
The father says, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." The Lord's answer is literally this: the "if you can" is to believe. All things are possible to him who believes. Everything turns on the faith that counts upon Him. ... Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. The work of deliverance was complete.
The man's unbelief was not cold indifference. It grew out of a long-running distress, and out of watching the disciples try and fail.
The father's distrust seems to have come partly from extreme anxiety. The failure of the disciples no doubt increased it. But note, the cause of it is a lasting one, whether in pain or in joy; he felt more about himself than about the Lord. Here was the seed of unbelief. "Have pity on us" — his mind was full of the thing that troubled him, not of calm reliance on the Lord's power over it. This fills us with a sense of the apparent difficulties. We do not see where the "if you can" lies.
The father does not defend himself or pretend to a confidence he lacks. Writers treat that admission as a mark of a soul learning rightly.
He teaches the weak man who begs Him that the question of power turns on faith. God will have faith, whatever His own grace may be. What possible good, morally, could power secure without believing? On the other hand, all things are possible to him that believes. Even the disciples had to learn this. The father believed the lesson at once through his need, and he moves in the right direction under the Lord's guidance. "I believe: help my unbelief." How healthy it is for the believer to feel and own his unbelief!
Older translations add that the father cried out "with tears" — a phrase the ESV does not carry. Writers who follow them see the tears as the soil faith grows in.
Faith lives in a broken heart. "He cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe" (Mark 9:24). True faith is always in a heart bruised for sin.
And the faith he confessed was not something he manufactured on the spot.
The Lord is full of goodness. The poor father says with tears, "I believe, help my unbelief" — sincere words from a moved heart in which the Lord had already awakened faith. It was the anxiety for his son that weakened this faith.
The disciples had just failed publicly. The father came anyway, and got everything.
"O faithless generation," says the Lord, "how long shall I be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" ... He ends the sentence in which He rebukes their unbelief with these words: "Bring him to Me." Faith, however small, is never left without an answer from the Lord. What a comfort! Think of the unbelief, not only of the world but of Christians. Yet if only one person on earth still had faith in the goodness and power of the Lord Jesus, he could come to Him with a real need and simple belief. He would always find His heart ready and His power enough.
This is not only a story about a healing. The words have been read as the language of anyone who has bowed to God's verdict on himself but has no settled confidence yet.
When a soul bows to the judgment of God, he receives the testimony of God. But he may be like the man who said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." And God gives the faith that brings assurance of salvation.
- Cause. The doubt grew from anxiety. The father was full of his problem, not of the Lord's power over it.
- Gift. He did not produce this faith himself. The Lord had already awakened it, and it came out in tears.
- Honesty. He names both halves of his heart. Commentators call owning your unbelief healthy, not disqualifying.
- Reach. Faith is never too small for an answer. Real need and simple belief find His heart ready and His power enough.
- Result. The same cry fits anyone still unsure of salvation. God gives the faith that brings assurance.
But Jesus, seeing that [the] crowd was running up together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, *I* command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
At the foot of the mountain a spirit holds a boy and has robbed him of speech and hearing. His father's faith is shaky. Then a crowd starts running toward the scene — and that is the moment Jesus speaks.
Mark tells us Jesus acted when He saw the crowd running together. One writer links this to the Lord's habit in this Gospel of turning away from applause.
Mark also shows his readers how quiet and reserved the Lord was. He presses on everyone that the Lord avoided popularity and never chased it. "Everyone is looking for you," said Peter (Mark 1:37)… Again, when the Lord was about to free the boy held by the demon, at his father's urgent pleading, Mark tells us that Jesus "saw that a crowd came running together" and "rebuked the unclean spirit" (9:25). Perfect Man! He turned away from the popularity that so pleases the natural man.
The crowd came for a spectacle. The Lord had the father and son in view, and He came near to them.
Now the Lord avoided the empty curiosity of the people. He thought instead of the needs of the father and son. With authority He commands the unclean spirit to come out and not to enter the child again… The Lord does not keep at a distance from us. He takes part in our sorrows, He encourages our weak faith, and with a single word He drives away all the power of the enemy.
The father had described his son as having a spirit that made him unable to speak. Jesus adds a second word, and the two together explain the boy's silence.
A father came to Jesus with his boy and said to Him, "I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute" (alalon). But the boy seems to have been deaf as well as mute, and he was probably mute because he was deaf. In any case, when the Lord drove out the demon, He addressed it as "You mute and deaf spirit" (to alalon kai kophon) (Mark 9:17, 25).
Another Gospel gives the boy's condition a name that sounds medical.
The word is σεληνιαζόμενοι. Like the word lunatic, it comes from the word for "the moon," and people think it covers epileptics as well as those of unsound mind. Matthew 17:15 calls the boy a lunatic, but a demon also had him in its grip: Mark 9:25 calls it a "mute and deaf spirit."
The cure costs the Lord no effort at all.
Christ heals with more ease than any other. Christ makes the devil go out with a word (Mark 9:25). Indeed, He can cure with a look: Christ's look melted Peter into repentance; it was a healing look.
The spirit does not leave quietly. Its final act shows both its cruelty and its limits.
The Lord saw the people running together, drawn by this pitiful case. He then commanded the mute and deaf spirit to come out of the boy and stay out. As it went, the spirit struck one last cruel blow. It threw the boy into violent convulsions and left him so worn out that he looked dead. But the case does show how cruelly Satan's power holds on. Over that power the blessed Lord of glory rules supreme.
The Lord's command also banned any return, so He left nothing half-done.
The boy seemed to have sunk under that last terrible attack. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he stood up. The work of deliverance was complete.
The boy's condition was not only his own.
The poor child was both mute and deaf (Mark 9:25). He reflects the spiritual condition of every child of fallen Adam. The person who has never been born again has nothing to say for God, and he has no ear for the commandments of God. God is to him as though He were not.
The father could only hope for what Jesus was able to do. Those who speak for Him now can point to what He has already done.
Those who carry Christ's message now have the privilege of announcing not merely what He is able to do, but what He has done. He bowed His head in death as an atonement for sin. So He can now, in righteousness, "proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18). No one need stay under Satan's bitter yoke for a single hour. One simple appeal to the victorious Lord in heaven's glory sets the soul free forever.
- Silence — Jesus calls the spirit itself mute and deaf. The boy's silence came from the power holding him.
- Command — No ritual, no struggle: a word makes the enemy go, and the same Lord can heal with a look.
- Completeness — "Never enter him again" makes the cure permanent. The last convulsion showed the spirit's cruelty, and it still had to obey.
- Quietness — He acted as the crowd ran up, turning from their curiosity to the father and son.
- Mirror — Nothing to say for God and no ear for Him: that is the state of every fallen person. The same deliverance is still offered, now on the ground of a work already done.
And having cried out and torn [him] much, he came out; and he became as if dead, so that the most said, He is dead.
The unclean spirit does not go without a fight. Its last act leaves the boy so still that the crowd says he has died. Two questions follow: why does rescue look worse before it looks better, and who is in charge of that final violence?
Writers see a pattern in that last scream and seizure: what the enemy must let go of, he tries to destroy on the way out.
What the devil cannot keep as his own, he will destroy if he can. Pharaoh never treated the people of Israel worse than when they were just escaping his grip. Something similar happens all the time. Satan tempts, torments and batters no one so fiercely as those who are being set free from his tyranny for ever.
So the scene shows the enemy's character, not only his strength. He keeps his grip on the boy and hurts him to the last moment.
As it came out, the spirit made one last cruel thrust, convulsing him so violently that he was left exhausted and looked dead. The case does show how cruel and stubborn Satan's power is — and that the blessed Lord of glory has supreme power over it.
The convulsion shows real power. It is also obedience. The spirit does the one thing the Lord ordered — come out — and its rage changes nothing about who gave the command.
Now the Lord ignores the empty curiosity of the people. He thinks instead of the needs of the father and the son. With authority He commands the unclean spirit to come out and never to enter the child again. And it comes out of him. It shows its power at the same time, tearing the child and leaving him as if dead, yet it is wholly under the Lord's authority.
Seen that way, the last outburst works against the enemy himself.
The demon had to obey, though he did his worst before letting go of his prey. After all, this display of demonic power only gave room for a fuller display of divine power. The boy was not only set free, but set free for ever, because the Lord ordered the demon never to enter him again.
Most of the crowd read the still body and say the boy has died. The next moment answers them.
He had seemed to give way under the last terrible attack, but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he stood. The work of deliverance was complete. Alone with the Lord, the disciples have to learn that Satan is not the difficulty; self is. Power over such an enemy comes only through dependence on God, and by keeping away from what works on the flesh.
The disciples' failure had a cause, and it was not the enemy's strength.
As with the disciples, so with ourselves, behind our lack of faith to use the power of the Lord there is a lack of communion in prayer with the Lord.
The command that the spirit never return makes the freedom permanent, and writers apply that directly to the reader.
No one needs to stay under Satan's cruel yoke for a single hour. One simple appeal to the victorious Lord in heaven's glory sets the soul free for ever. "If you can!" said the Saviour to the father; "All things are possible for one who believes." Here is the secret of blessing and deliverance at all times. It is not human effort — not resolutions, prayers, or religion — but simple faith in the Son of God.
- Rage. The scream and the convulsion are a parting blow. What the enemy cannot keep, he tries to destroy. Pharaoh pressed Israel hardest when they were escaping.
- Restraint. That same rage is obedience. The spirit shows his power and leaves the boy as if dead. Yet he is wholly under the Lord's authority.
- Reversal. The worst the enemy can do only makes room for a fuller display of divine power. The boy is set free for ever, and the spirit may never return.
- Reading. The crowd says he is dead. But the look of ruin is not the end: Jesus takes his hand and lifts him up.
- Resource. The difficulty was never Satan's strength but self. Faith, dependence on God and prayer draw on power that never fails.
But Jesus, having taken hold of him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose.
The demon is gone, but the boy lies still and looks dead to everyone watching. This last line asks what the enemy's worst is worth when Jesus steps in, and why only His hand could raise the boy.
The convulsion that left the boy looking dead was not a setback to the healing. One writer sees the demon spending everything it had on the way out, and the result as final:
The demon had to obey, though he did his worst before letting go of his prey. This display of demonic power, after all, only gave an opportunity for a fuller display of divine power. The boy was not only fully delivered. He was delivered for ever, because the Lord commanded the demon never to enter him again.
The boy looked dead. One writer sets that appearance beside the hand that answered it:
The spirit made one last cruel thrust. It convulsed him violently and left him so exhausted that he appeared to be dead. Tenderly, however, the Lord took him by the hand and lifted him up. The case does show how cruel and stubborn satanic power is. Over it the blessed Lord of glory has supreme power.
The boy does not just stop convulsing. He stands up. One writer treats that as the seal on the whole account:
He had seemed to give way under the last dreadful assault, but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. The work of deliverance was complete.
Weak faith does not shut a person out. One writer points to the heart that turns to Jesus while it still doubts:
If the heart, because of the enemy's power, turns to Jesus, it can — thank God — bring its unbelief to Him along with everything else. There is love and power in Him for every kind of weakness. Whatever man's unbelief may be, Christ was present. He was the evidence of a power that, in love to men, destroyed the effects of the enemy's power. He acts according to what His own power calls for, and according to the purposes of the love of God.
The disciples had already tried and failed. Away from the crowd, the Lord traced that failure to something in themselves:
Alone with His disciples, in the house, we learn a truth of deep importance from the Lord. The faith that uses the Lord in all our difficulties has only one support. It is close communion with God, pictured by prayer, and keeping clear of the things of the world, pictured by fasting. It was so with the disciples, and it is so with us. Behind our lack of faith to use the power of the Lord there is a lack of communion in prayer with the Lord.
Another writer names the real obstacle:
Away from the crowd, the disciples have to learn from the Lord that Satan is not the difficulty. Self is.
Several writers read the scene as more than one boy's rescue. Christ comes down from His glory into a scene of Satan's power. One writer sees that order of events pointing forward:
Again the demoniac appears, and our Lord also will return from His glory to heal poor Israel, oppressed by the devil. This is the dispensational feature. The literal one is similar in moral character. It is the knowledge of the glory of Christ that delivers from the power of Satan.
Commentators differ on how far to press this. Some keep to the moral lesson for believers. Others also draw out the wider picture of Israel set free when Christ appears.
- Failure. The disciples tried and could not act. Behind their weakness lay unbelief. Behind the unbelief lay too little communion with the Lord in prayer.
- Faith. A doubting heart that still turns to Jesus can bring its unbelief to Him along with everything else. He answers out of His own love and power.
- Fury. The demon's parting convulsion left the boy looking dead. It only made room for a fuller display of divine power.
- Freed. Christ took the boy's hand and lifted him, and he stood up. The deliverance was complete, and it was permanent: the Lord ordered the spirit never to return.
- Future. Christ came down from His glory into a scene of Satan's power. Writers see a small model there of what He will do on a far larger scale when He returns for Israel.
And when he was entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Wherefore could not *we* cast him out?
The disciples wait until they are indoors with Jesus, away from the crowd. Only then do they ask why they had failed. His answer does not deal with method. It goes to the state of their souls.
Asking Him in private was their habit, not a one-off.
The apostles sometimes used moments of His privacy to lay their difficulties before Him. They came to Him "apart" to learn why they were unable to cast the demon out of a young man (Matt. 17:19; Mark 9:28).
They had done this work before, using authority He Himself gave them.
When the Lord sent out the Twelve, He "gave them power over unclean spirits," and for a time they used this power, for we read, "they cast out many devils" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the dumb spirit. There was power present to work miracles and to overcome all the power of Satan. But man could not profit by it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
He names one cause: unbelief. Then He shows how little faith it would have taken.
It lies on the surface: they did not know how to use the power their Lord had given them. He plainly tells them the cause of this was their unbelief. He leads their hearts so clearly into the secret of their failure that He adds, "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." So without faith at work, there can be no display of power through the servant, whatever his earnestness or zeal for the glory of God.
Later in the same chapter the disciples argue on the road about who is greatest, and one writer ties that argument directly to their weakness at the foot of the mountain.
He came to Capernaum, and while in the house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" "But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest." No wonder there was little power in the presence of Satan; no wonder there was little understanding in the presence of Jesus. There was a dead weight behind — this spirit of thinking about themselves, of wanting some distinction to be seen and known by men now.
Both prayer and fasting mean something deeper than a religious exercise.
Prayer is the realisation of complete dependence, and the expression of that dependence before God. It goes with confidence in Him, and with the expectation that He will answer our cries. True prayer, therefore, assumes that we have come to the end of ourselves, of our own wisdom and of our own strength. As long as we have the slightest trust in ourselves — in our own skill, way of serving, manner of speech, or natural abilities — we cannot be wholly cast upon God. By "fasting" we are to understand, not simply going without food, but the refusal of the things of this world we are passing through.
One writer counts three ways our position today matches theirs.
First, the Lord is absent in both cases. Second, we, like them, are continually in the presence of Satan's power — seen, sadly, sometimes among Christians, and always in the souls of the unconverted. And last, God gives us power greater than all the strength of the enemy (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 John 4:4), as much as He gave the disciples, if not more.
Failure like theirs is not the end of the matter.
Again and again we ought to be asking their question, as we find ourselves weak in the presence of the foe; and as we do, we will no doubt get exactly the answer they got.
- Ask — the disciples took their failure straight to Christ in private. Bringing our difficulties to Him is the first step back.
- Given — the power was never withdrawn; they had cast out demons before. What failed was the faith to use what was already theirs.
- Root — the Lord names unbelief. Behind it sat a dead weight: their wish to be seen as the greatest. Faith the size of a mustard seed would have been enough. The shortfall is never in His power.
- Soil — faith grows in complete dependence (prayer) and in refusing what this world offers (fasting). Any trust left in our own skill keeps us from being wholly cast upon God.
- Us — the Lord is absent, the enemy is active, the power is ours. When we stand powerless, their question is our question, and His answer is our answer.
And he said to them, This kind can go out by nothing but by prayer and fasting.
The Lord had given His disciples authority over unclean spirits. Yet in front of a crowd they could not free one boy, and later they asked Him in private why. His answer points them not to a better method, but to the state of soul that lets the power already in their hands work.
The failure was not a shortage of power, but a shortage of faith to draw on it.
When the Lord sent out the twelve disciples, He "gave them authority over the unclean spirits." For a time they used this power, for we read, "they cast out many demons" (Mark 6:7, 13). Here, however, their faith failed. They could not cast out the mute spirit. The power to work miracles and overcome all the power of Satan was present. But man could not gain from it, and the disciples had no faith to use it.
Underneath the unbelief lay something more specific — they had stopped leaning on God.
The Lord shows that, along with the unbelief, there is a lack of the sense and confession of dependence on God. This alone also judges the strength of our own nature. "This kind," He says, "can go out by nothing but by prayer and fasting." The power is in Jesus, and faith alone draws it out. But that faith carries the sentence of death on our own nature, along with the look up to God, the only source of power.
Older translations read "by prayer and fasting" here. The two words name two halves of one attitude, and fasting reaches wider than food.
Prayer is how a soul, confident in God, puts into words its awareness of complete dependence. Fasting will mean that Nazarite condition which refuses lawful things and lawful pleasures (see Numbers 6:3-7) for the sake of fuller devotion to the Lord's service. It may sometimes include going without food, but to limit it to that is to miss its main point. A fasting soul is one so filled with the richness of heavenly joys that it rises above the pleasures of earth and does not need them.
Put another way, one word is the positive side and the other the negative side of a single faith.
There are therefore different kinds of spirits. However, the connection of this verse and verse 19 shows that we are faithless if we lack prayer and fasting. For prayer expresses dependence on God, while fasting emphasizes self-denial or no confidence in the flesh.
The words "this kind" set this case apart from others.
It was indeed a mighty deed, and so it fell to this Gospel, more than the others, to give the most details. Evil spirits differ from one another, and this kind gave way only to prayer and fasting. That lack grieved the Lord.
Not every early copy of Mark carries the words "and fasting". The writer who points that out still holds fasting's worth.
The Lord does not so much command fasting as bring it, like prayer, under the Christian principle of dealing with our Father in secret… He also points to its value for spiritual power. Godly people have always felt, and must feel, how fitting it is for humbling the soul before God, when public or private need called for such humbling. But even in Mark 9:29 it is worth noting that the two oldest copies leave out "and fasting". Those copies, with other authorities, also leave out the whole of verse 21 in Matthew 17, and there is no matching word in Luke 9.
Fasting takes shape when someone gives up a lawful thing for the sake of God's work.
What does fasting mean? In practice, does it not mean giving up things that are lawful in themselves but not helpful, as the soul takes in the real presence of God, what suits Him, and what His work needs?… Missionaries live far from home ties that are lawful in themselves. Do they not cut themselves off from ease, comfort, companionship and the fellowship of fellow believers at home, to carry the gospel to people who have never heard it? I knew one young man who fasted from a hobby he loved, to give the money and time he saved to the Lord.
The disciples asked in private and got an answer. Our weakness should send us to the same place.
We ought to ask their question again and again, whenever we find ourselves weak in the presence of the enemy. As we do, we will surely get the same answer they got in verse 29. The Lord had already said that unbelief lay at the root of their powerlessness. Now He names two more things. Faith is needed, and so are prayer and fasting.
- Power — the disciples already had authority over unclean spirits. What failed was the faith to use it.
- Dependence — prayer says that dependence out loud: the power is in Christ, not in us.
- Denial — fasting is the other half: giving up lawful things, so that nothing of self competes with devotion to His service.
- Degrees — "this kind" shows that some battles yield only to that state of soul, and its absence grieved the Lord.
- Diagnosis — when we are weak before the enemy, ask the disciples' question and expect the same answer.