And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God. (Luke 9:38-43)
In this account of Jesus healing this demon possessed child, there are a couple things that are exactly the same details recorded in all accounts of this event across the gospels: Jesus’ response to the man and the fact that Jesus healed the boy.
When the man told Jesus that he first tried having His disciples heal his son but that they couldn’t, Jesus responded with, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” Now this may seem like a very harsh response, and it appears as though it was only in relation to the disciples’ inability to cast out the demon. But in Mark 9, we also read:
And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:20-24)
So we see that this father who had brought his child to Jesus after a failed attempt at the hands of the disciples, had his doubts. This does seem reasonable from a human standpoint, especially since the father had undoubtedly tried to seek help elsewhere even before the disciples, but each attempt kept failing by the time he came to Jesus. Yet, when all attempts of the world to heal fail, it doesn’t even remotely reflect God’s ability to do as He wills.
As human beings though, we tend to be a doubtful bunch, don’t we? So it’s no surprise that Jesus spoke the harsh truth that they were a faithless and twisted generation. And even though Jesus included the rhetorical questions of how long He was to be with and bear with them, the fact remains that HE WAS there and HE DID bear with them through their weakness as He healed the boy. He remained faithful even when they were faithless, for He could not deny Himself.
More Paralleled Insight
Now it’s easy to chalk up that the disciples simply didn’t have enough faith to cast out the demon from the boy, but the account of this event in Mark gives even more insight to this:
And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:25-29)
Now this verse in Mark, about that kind of demon cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting, has been widely interpreted by different people, but what we do know is that Jesus made it a habit to pray and fast regularly, and He was always able to cast out any demon. Who knows, maybe the Spirit had prompted Jesus to fast and pray leading up to that event, knowing that it would be needed. But regardless, we can still follow the lead of Jesus in this and be in tune with the Spirit, being obedient in prayer and times of fasting as we’re prompted to, so that in whatever situation we find ourselves, we are ready and equipped to be used by the Lord.
And if you find doubt in your own heart as you seek Jesus, just as the father in this story did, cry out to Him who is faithful, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And know that He who is always faithful, will hear you.