Jesus healed them all (part 13): the healing of the lunatic son

Matthew 17:14-20

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." ¹⁷"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." ¹⁸Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" ²⁰He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Mark 9:14-29, 33-35

¹⁴When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. ¹⁶"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. ¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." ¹⁹"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." ²⁰So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. ²²"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." ²³" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." ²⁴Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." ²⁶The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. ²⁸After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" ²⁹He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. ³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

Luke 9:37-43
³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not." ⁴¹"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here." ⁴²Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

1. Don’t miss the supernatural in looking for the spectacular.
2. Don’t miss God looking for things to go your way. It’s easy to receive and there are many ways to receive.
3. Build up your faith. Don’t let it stay puny. Unbelief irritates and annoys the Lord. Jesus rebuked the disciples for having little faith. He expected them to grow in their faith.
4. It’s not just about running fast and hard; the main thing is to run in the right direction!
5. Learn to be quiet and hear from the Lord.
6. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Faith grows when we hear the word.
7. We don't react to what the devil is doing. We hear from God. Jesus remained calm. He took charge. He asked about the situation. He reminded the boy's father about believing.
8. John 10:10; Proverbs 3: 5 - We believe with the heart. We trust God with our heart. Heart here refers to the core of our being. We don't lean to our understanding, our thinking.
9. Faith arose in the father's heart, and he began to believe. Faith will work in our heart even with doubts in our mind.
10. While Jesus was praying, the boy got worse but he became all well. Don't be shaken.
11. Fasting does not heal people. Fasting does not deliver people. Fasting does not give authority. Fasting does not change God or move God. It is faith which moves God.
12. But fasting is instrumental in powerful and effectual ministry. Fasting changes us. Fasting humbles our flesh.
13. Psalm 35:13 - God does not humble us. We make a choice to humble ourselves before God. Fasting is a way to humble ourselves because we deny our body food, which is something our flesh desires. When we deny our flesh, it gets weaker. Our spirit becomes more sensitive to the Lord.
14. The disciples were weak in faith as they had been arguing about who was the greatest. That is giving in to fleshly ambition. That was why they could not minister healing to the boy.