Remember in Matthew 10, when Jesus first
sent the disciples out on a mission on their own, they came back with
exhilaration report that even demons were subject to them. What happened
between then and now?
In these verses we see a desperate father coming
to Jesus, pleading for mercy and asking the Lord to attend to his seriously ill
son. That father had brought his son to the Lord’s disciples for ministry, but
they weren’t able to do a thing for him. The disciples referred to here were
those who were not with Jesus at the mount of Transfiguration. Notice that this
man called his son a lunatic. Why? It’s because he was possessed by a demon.
Isn’t it true that when a person is overtaken by a demon, he would display
symptoms of a schizophrenic and become out of his mind? No wonder the father of
the boy called him a lunatic. Besides, he was also suffering from epileptic fits.
And whenever he had a seizure of convulsive fits, the demons would seek to take
his life by hurling him into water or fire. It sought to take his life either by
drowning or burning him to death.
Why were the disciples, who earlier could easily
cast out demon and heal the sick, not able to do something for this boy? The
clue is found in Jesus’ response to the father. He called the disciples a
faithless generation. The issue could be traced to their lack of faith and unbelief.
Jesus called them an unbelieving generation. They had taken their dependence
off the Lord. Bear in mind that the Lord was away from them and up in the mountain.
It was very likely that those disciples thought they could do it without the
help of God or that they could do it without bothering God. Let’s be reminded
that without the help of God, we can never do a thing. We must develop a life
of total dependence and reliance on Him. Jesus then asked for the boy, rebuked
him and immediately the demon left him, leaving him totally cured.
In the disciples’ private moment with the
Lord, they asked Him for the secret to His victory over that lunatic boy. The
secret it seems lies not in what one does but on who one knows. He told them that
while faith is important the size of it doesn’t matter. Faith, even if it is small
like a tiny mustard seed, if placed on a huge God can accomplish much. Look at
it this way. If our faith is huge and we place it in a puny little god, who can’t
do a thing for us, we will still have no triumph. If we believe we have a big
God, the size or measure of faith doesn’t matter anymore. So long as we put
that measure of faith in Him we will experience the impossible. He is a God who
does exceedingly abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think or
imagine. The issue is: are we prepared
to pay the price to seek and know Him? Fasting, solitude and praying are costly
spiritual habits and disciplines that we should engage in. We need to give up
pleasure and time, and seize the opportunities to be with Him. As we do so, we become
more attentive to Him and what He will say to us. It helps us to develop an intimate,
experiential knowledge of Him. Ultimately, our victory in life and ministry is not
in what we know, it’s in who we know. For when we know God, we shall do great exploits
with Him!
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