Healing a Demonized Boy
TRANSLATION
(37) The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a great crowd met them. (38) A man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. (39) A spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams. Then it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him and severely harms him. (40) And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” (41) And Jesus responded, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How long must I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” (42) As he was approaching, the demon threw (the son) to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. (43) And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.
OBSERVATIONS
Splendor on the summit soon turned to vexation in the valley as Jesus and the three returned to find the other disciples stymied in their futile attempt to heal a boy possessed by a demon. Repetitions and synonyms in this segment included references to the “crowd” (vss. 37 & 38), to the demonized “son” (vss. 38 & 41), an “only child” (vs. 38) and “boy” (vs. 42), and to the “spirit” (vs. 39), “demon,” and “unclean spirit” (vs. 42). The vivid description of the boy’s symptoms reminds us that the author of this Gospel was a medical doctor who demonstrated a clear interest in how the boy’s demon possession afflicted him physically: “seizes…suddenly screams…convulsions…foams at the mouth…will hardly leave him…severely harms him.” Jesus spoke a rebuke that shamed the doubters and then dealt with the demon, healing the boy. He then gave him back to his father, all the while astonishing everyone with this spectacular miracle (vs. 43).
OUTLINE
I. When he came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus found his disciples unable to heal a demonized boy. (37-40)
II. Jesus demonstrated his authority by healing the boy and giving him back to his father. (41-43a)
IDEA STATEMENT
Confronted by the degradation of demon possession and the unbelief of his disciples and the crowd, Jesus healed the boy, gave him back to his father, and manifested the glory of God.
APPLICATION
To whom was Jesus’ sharp rebuke, a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:5, directed (vs. 41)? Was it to the desperate father, to the disciples who were unable to help the afflicted son, to the crowd that had gathered, drawn to the spectacle of demon possession, or to everyone in general? In seeking a satisfactory answer, we do well to keep in mind that Jesus had just been transfigured, a mountaintop experience if there ever was one. From the revelation of divine glory and the affirmation of his Father’s voice, Jesus descended both literally and figuratively to the base of the mountain where he had to deal with the sorry plight of those whom he had come to save: a demon-possessed son, a grief-stricken father, his powerless disciples, and a skeptical crowd. It is no wonder that he expressed frustration with those who should have welcomed him with empowering faith but who were instead shackled in their unbelief. In spite of this, Jesus demonstrated his authority by delivering the child and giving him back to his father.
The answer to Jesus’ “how long” question was not immediately evident (vs. 41). However, it would not be long before he would arrive in Jerusalem, suffer and die, bearing our sins on the cross, and rise to enter his glory. The author of Hebrews told us this about Jesus: “…for the joy that was set before him (he) endured the cross, despising its shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). In spite of having to put up with the unbelief of a nation that had rejected his offer of redemption, he would soon finish the work he had come to accomplish and triumphantly return to the Father’s right hand where undiminished glory would be his forever.