The Parent Or The Child?

[Mr. M]

Mark 9:

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. (?)

18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth,

and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?

How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 

20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him,

and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, From childhood. 

22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.

But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Who do you think this spirit is tormenting, the parent or the child?

What is the significance of a "mute spirit"? 

If a child cannot speak, it must communicate by some other means.

Could the convulsions be an attempt to prevent communication with the parent,

or is there an element of the child's attempt to communicate (foaming at the mouth)?

I find myself deeply moved by both the parent and the child's hopelessness, and that

after all things are told, the matter comes down to unbelief!

Edited October 12, 2023 by Mr. M

[FJK]

15 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

I find myself deeply moved by both the parent and the child's hopelessness, and that

after all things are told, the matter comes down to unbelief!

Jesus told us that we can do all the things he did and more, yet we don't.

We were told that faith as a grain of mustard seed could literally move mountains but we choose to use the power of a D9 to do it instead.

I think the reason we don't is because of our own unbelief in what he told us, everything we fail at or don't even attempt comes down to our own unbelief.

We have turned what was the dynamic religion Jesus taught us into nothing but a nice philosophy about Jesus that ignores the power he has given us.

At least for the most part.

[Mr. M]

21 hours ago, Mr. M said:

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together,

He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit,

I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.

And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

We should consider that the child was either born deaf and dumb, or

due to some accident became so at a young age. In either case, the parent-

child relationship would come under a great strain. We have a modern

sign language, but the ability to communicate then would depend on

the devotion of the parent to the effort. An unclean spirit could develop

in the relationship, and this is seen by the parent's statement:

21 hours ago, Mr. M said:

But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

By faith, both the physical ailments and the relationship would be healed.

Such is the case in the body of Christ.

James 5:

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

[Mr. M]

Interesting addition in Luke's version.

Luke 9:38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.

What extra weight should be given for that fact?