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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 9:37 - 9:42
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Healing of the Epileptic Boy.
The miracle:
v. 37. And it came to pass that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met Him.
v. 38. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech Thee, look upon my son; for he is mine only child.
v. 39. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and, bruising him, hardly departeth from him.
v. 40. And I besought Thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.
v. 41. And Jesus, answering, said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
v. 42. And as he was yet a-coming, the devil threw him down and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
Since Luke is writing for heathen Christians, He omits almost all reference to the Pharisees and Sadducees, as his readers would have followed him only with difficulty. In this story, also, there is no reference to the quarrel which the disciples had with the leaders of the Jews, the story only being given. Jesus had been on the mountain overnight. But when He came down on the next day with His three disciples, He came upon an excited scene. In the first place, a great many people came to meet Him. And out of the crowd, as it drew near, one man came forward and cried to Him with a loud voice, in a pitiful prayer. He wanted Jesus to look upon his only son, with a view to helping him. From time to time it would happen that an evil spirit would take hold upon him, and the boy would suddenly scream with pain. The demon, meanwhile, would distort and tear him until froth would appear at the mouth, and even after bruising the child fiercely, he would barely withdraw for a time. It was a case of severe epilepsy and lunacy caused by an evil spirit. The poor father had pleaded with the disciples that had remained in the valley whether they could help in this emergency, but they had not been able. The cry of Jesus at this point: 0 unbelieving and perverse generation; people that have no faith and consistently go the wrong way! How long must I be with you and tolerate you? includes the people as a whole, also the father of the boy and, in a way, the disciples, as He told them afterwards. That was characteristic of the chosen people of God at that time: they were rejecting the Messiah of their salvation or following false leads and hopes in their dream of a temporal kingdom. Jesus then commanded the boy to be brought to Him. While the boy was approaching Jesus, in accordance with His command, the demon made a final assault on his victim, rending and convulsing him. Note: It is very probable that certain severe attacks of sickness, such as cramps, convulsions, epilepsy, lunacy, and others, even today are caused or aggravated by the devil. He is a murderer from the beginning and has only one thing in mind, to destroy the creatures of God. But the power of the evil spirit also in this case, as in all, goes only so far as Jesus permits it. For Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.