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Mat_17:21. Τοῦτο τὸ γένος ] this species of demons to which the one just expelled belongs. Otherwise, Euth. Zigabenus: τὸ γένος τῶν δαιμόνων πάντων . So Chrysostom, Theophylact, Elsner, Fritzsche, Bleek. But the τοῦτο , used with special reference to the fact of its being a case of epilepsy, must be intended to specify a kind of demons which it is peculiarly difficult to exorcise.
ἐν προσευχῇ κ . νηστείᾳ ] inasmuch as the πίστις is thereby strengthened and elevated, and attains to that pitch which is necessary in order to the casting out of such demons. The climax in Mat_17:20-21 may be represented thus: If you have only a slender amount of faith, you will, no doubt, be able to accomplish things of an extraordinary and seemingly impossible nature; but, in order to expel spirits of so stubborn a character as this, you require to have such a degree of faith as can only be reached by means of prayer and fasting. You have neglected the spiritual preparation that is necessary to the attainment of so lofty a faith. Comp. Act_14:23. Prayer and fasting are here represented as means for promoting faith, not as good works, which are of themselves effectual in dealing with the demons (Schegg and the older Catholics). Paulus and Ammon incorrectly suppose that the prayer and fasting are required of the sick persons themselves, with a view to some dietetic and psychological effect or other being produced upon their bodies; while Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Euth. Zigabenus are of opinion that they are demanded not merely from the healer, but also from the patient, as necessary weapons to be used against the demon. Inasmuch as ἐκπορεύεται is, according to the context, the correlative of ἐκβαλεῖν , Mat_17:19 (comp. also ἐξῆλθεν , Mat_17:18), we must likewise discard the view of Ewald, who thinks that in Matthew there is an allusion to a class of men whose character is such that they cannot be induced to set to work but with fasting and prayer. Comp. on the contrary, ἐκπορ ., Act_19:12 (and Mar_9:29 : ἐξελθεῖν ).
Those who adopt the mythical view of the whole incident (Strauss) pretend to find the origin of the legend in 2Ki_4:29 ff., which is no less unwarrantable than the interpretation, according to which it is treated as a symbolical narrative, intended to rebuke the want of faith on the part of the disciples (Scholten), or as a didactic figure as an admonition of the hidden Christ for an increase of faith amid the violent demoniacal excesses of the time (Volkmar). Moreover, the somewhat more circumstantial account of Mark is of a stamp so peculiar, is so clear and full of meaning, that it is not to be regarded as a later amplification, but the account in Matthew (and Luke) is rather to be looked upon as an abridgment of the former.