ONLY BY FAITH

Passage: Matthew 17:14-21

Key verse: 20

NIV

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy(A)

14 When 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(B) and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “You 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.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith(C) as small as a mustard seed,(D) you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.(E) Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21] [a]

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 17:21 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 9:29.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 (A)And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has (B)seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and (C)they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and (D)twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? (E)How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus (F)rebuked the demon,[a] and it[b] came out of him, and (G)the boy was healed instantly.[c] 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, (H)“Because of your little faith. For (I)truly, I say to you, (J)if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, (K)you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and (L)nothing will be impossible for you.”[d]

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 17:18 Greek it
  2. Matthew 17:18 Greek the demon
  3. Matthew 17:18 Greek from that hour
  4. Matthew 17:20 Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Bring the boy here to me (14-17)

When Jesus came down the mountain a crowd had gathered. A man with a demon-possessed son came and knelt before him. The demon had planted fear of death in the father's heart, and Jesus' nine waiting disciples had compounded the problem by their failure to help the boy. Jesus was very sorry about the unbelief of his disciples and the unbelief and crookedness of the people of his time. He rebuked the demon and it came out. Jesus' word is powerful enough to drive out the forces of Satan. Jesus always answers a plea for mercy. No problem is too big for him--and no problem too small.

2. Faith the size of a mustard seed (18-21)

The disciples asked Jesus why they had failed. He told them that their problem was too little faith. Even faith the size of a mustard seed is big enough. They had depended on themselves and had not prayed. Prayer is the evidence of faith.

Prayer: Lord, forgive my lack of faith. Teach me to call on you in prayer.

One Word: Faith as small as a mustard seed