TEXT [Commentary]

5. Jesus performs an exorcism after the disciples’ failure (9:14-29; cf. Matt 17:14-21; Luke 9:37-43)

14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.[*] So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

19 Jesus said to them,[*] “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil[*] spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.[*]”

NOTES

9:15 overwhelmed with awe. The use of xethambēthēsan [TG1568, ZG1701] here is the first of four uses of this verb in Mark (14:33; 16:5-6), the only NT writer to use the word. It refers to great surprise or perplexity (BDAG 303). In this context, the term could indicate surprise and excitement.

9:17 an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. The possessed boy was also unable to speak. This is one of several similar scenes in Mark (cf. 1:25-26, 34; 5:8, 12-13; 7:29, 35, 37).

9:18 it throws him violently to the ground. This demon was particularly vicious in his treatment of the boy, which added to his father’s concern. These details of hostile treatment in vv. 18, 20, 22, and 26 are lacking in Matthew.

becomes rigid. After the seizures, the boy was left wasted and spent. The verb (xērainetai [TG3583A, ZG3830]) means “to dry up.” The boy was immobilized by the seizures.

they couldn’t do it. The disciples’ failure probably motivated the debate that becomes the hub of the passage. Once again the disciples fail and will need to learn from Jesus as v. 19 suggests.

9:20 violent convulsion. The demon seized the boy just as described in 9:18. The situation was desperate and dangerous.

9:21 Since he was a little boy. Jesus asked how long this had been going on and was told that the boy had suffered from this terrible condition for some time—ever since he was a small child.

9:22 trying to kill him. As with the Gerasene demoniac, this demon’s presence had a destructive effect on the person it possessed, which is what demons always seek to do.

Have mercy on us and help us. The request for Jesus’ aid and compassion was made with the understanding that this could not be demanded, but only received as Jesus’ kind work of mercy. The mention of compassion (“have mercy”) is the last of four passages where this verb (splanchnizomai [TG4697, ZG5072]) appears in Mark (1:41; 6:34; 8:2). However, this is the only place in Mark where Jesus’ compassion is requested. Other texts simply note that he exercised it. The request for help will be renewed in 9:24 with respect to faith. These are the only two verses where Mark uses the verb boētheō [TG997, ZG1070], often used in appeals for God’ help (Taylor 1966:399).

9:24 help me overcome my unbelief! The man was of two minds. With one mind, he believed; with the other, he did not believe. The man asked for help in overcoming his doubt, so Jesus acted on his behalf. The term used for “help” is the same one used in 9:22. Jesus met the man’s doubt with affirming action. Here is another common person seeking Jesus and being aided by him.

9:25 come out of this child and never enter him again! Jesus rebuked the spirit and ordered him out. In this verse, we are told for the first time that the boy was both deaf and mute; he had been imprisoned in a world of silence. Jesus’ miracle changed that.

9:26 the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion. The spirit departed quite visibly with one last attempt to damage the boy. The mention of the convulsion recalls 9:18, 20, 22.

He’s dead. The crowd reacted to the danger of the convulsion out of their lack of appreciation for Jesus’ power and authority. They soon discovered they were wrong.

9:27 helped him to his feet. Jesus helped the boy get up to show that he had been healed. There is a wordplay in Gr. with the phrase, “raised him up.” Mark 5:41-42 describes a similar proof of healing.

9:28 Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit? The disciples were still questioning and learning. Apparently they viewed their healing gift as automatic. Jesus corrected this impression with his reply.

9:29 only by prayer. This is one of two passages in Mark that mention prayer using proseuchē [TG4335, ZG4666] (cf. 11:17), and this is the only term he uses for the practice. The term refers to prayer in a general and comprehensive sense and not so much to daily requests as other terms for prayer that mean “to ask” (aiteō) or “to request” (deomai; Balz and Schneider 1993:3.166). Some MSS add “and fasting” here, but it is more likely that these words were added than that they were dropped from the original text of Mark (Cranfield 1959:304-305).

COMMENTARY [Text]

When Jesus returned from the mountain of Transfiguration with James, John, and Peter, there was a dispute going on among the other disciples, the crowd, and the scribes. As the transfiguration was taking place on the mountain, the remaining disciples had gotten themselves into a disagreement about how to handle a demon-possessed boy. Apparently, since the disciples were unable to heal him, the scribes were challenging the validity of their ministry. Jesus intervened and performed another exorcism, one of four in the book of Mark (1:21-28; 5:1-20; 7:24-30). In this case, the focus was less on the miracle than on the attitudes of those around it.

Jesus rebuked all the people for their lack of faith, calling them a “faithless generation” (so the Gr.). This is the only place in Mark that this phrase appears (Matt 17:17 and Luke 9:41 are parallel accounts). Jesus’ rebuke suggests that the people’s rejection and lack of faith had a role in what failed to occur. The Greek term for “generation” (genea [TG1074, ZG1155]) is used in a negative ethical sense in 8:12, 38. The conceptual roots of this expression may go back to Deuteronomy 32:5, which refers to a twisted and deceitful generation. Jesus’ rebuke, “How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you?” implied that he would not remain with them long and that the disciples, therefore, needed to develop their faith. The people’s lack of faith was a painful reality with which Jesus had to cope. Yet despite their failure, Jesus compassionately healed the boy.

The man seeking healing for his boy also needed encouragement to believe, so Jesus said, “Anything is possible if a person believes.” Jesus underscored the importance of faith (1:15; 5:36; 11:23-24) in his call for the man to believe and trust in his ability to overcome the destructive forces dwelling in the child. Jesus did not promise a magic mantra, but underscored that anything could be accomplished through faith within the context of God’s will. He affirmed faith and submission.

The disciples needed to understand that their ministry was not an automatic exercise of giftedness. They needed to depend on the Father, looking to him in prayer and relying on his presence and power. Their failure was not in their giftedness but in how they used their gifts. The prayer in question was not formulaic, and Jesus never used such prayer to heal. Rather, he turned to God, asking him to exercise his authority and power.