9:37–40 Luke abbreviates (in 9:37–43a) the much longer Markan account (Mark 9:14–27) of the demonized boy. As Jesus comes down from the mountain, a large crowd waiting for him meets him. A man from the crowd beseeches Jesus to look favorably on his only son; Jesus’ concern for those who have only one child can be seen elsewhere in Luke as well (7:12; 8:42), revealing his compassion. The man asks Jesus to “look at” (Gk. epiblepsai) his son, to show mercy to him; Mary praises God for “looking on [epeblepsen] the humble estate of his servant” (1:48), and the man desires the same for himself here. The father explains why Jesus is needed: a spirit regularly takes hold of the child, and when he does the child screams out, convulses, and foams at the mouth, perhaps with an epileptic fit (which is not to say that all epilepsy is demonic). The spirit shatters and breaks the child and scarcely departs from him (cf. 4:35; 8:29). The man now implores Jesus to help (9:38) because he has “begged” the disciples to cast out the demon, but they were unable.

9:41–43a Jesus does not address the father specifically; nor does he rebuke the disciples.119 Instead he refers to the people of Israel generally and as a whole, labeling them a “faithless and twisted generation.” In Deuteronomy 32:5 Moses says about Israel, “They are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.” According to Moses, Israel does not belong to the Lord; Jesus makes the same point here (cf. Luke 7:31). We see the same truth about Israel in Deuteronomy 32:20: “They are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.” Hence Jesus is not referring to his disciples; as weak as they are, they are not unbelievers. Nor is he speaking to the man asking for help; he is addressing the state of Israel as a nation. Jesus has just been transfigured, but he is going to be put to death by an unbelieving nation. Jesus wonders how long he must bear with them, but he still shows mercy to the father and his son. While the boy is being brought to Jesus, the demon throws him down, sending the boy into convulsions. Jesus, however, is in complete control, rebuking the unclean spirit, healing the boy, and giving him back to his father. People are astonished at God’s greatness (cf. 4:32) as a result of Jesus’ works.120

9:43b–45 Jesus’ extraordinary miracles garner high praise, but we saw in the previous paragraph the true state of Israel, and in the midst of the celebration over his work Jesus speaks to his disciples. They must pay close attention and let his words “sink into” their “ears.” Jesus tells them that as the Son of Man he will be handed over into the hands of people (cf. 9:22; 24:6–7). In the OT those who are handed over to others are under God’s judgment for their sin (cf. Deut. 28:7; Jer. 21:10; 22:5; 32:4, 28; Ezek. 7:21; 11:9). We might understand why Jesus’ words make no sense to the disciples: they cannot understand Jesus’ message, for it is inconceivable to them that one who pleases and obeys God would be handed over for judgment. Not only do they fail to understand what is being said; God prevents them from grasping its import. Furthermore, they are afraid to ask Jesus what he means by his words. Luke does not tell us why they are afraid. Perhaps they are too proud to admit their spiritual incompetence.

9:46–48 The next two scenes illustrate the spiritual blindness of the disciples. They do not belong to the “faithless and twisted generation” (9:41), but they also are plagued by pride, arrogance, self-absorption, and narcissism. They begin to argue on this occasion about which one of them is the greatest (cf. 22:24). It seems that the argument occurs outside of Jesus’ earshot, since we are told that he knows the evil thoughts in their hearts. We saw earlier that the word translated “reasoning” (Gk. dialogismon) always has a negative nuance in Luke.121 The knowledge of their thoughts points to the uniqueness of Jesus (cf. 5:22).

Jesus responds to their argument by putting a child among them. If they receive such a child in Jesus’ name, they receive Jesus himself, and if they receive Jesus, they also welcome the Father who has sent him (cf. 10:16; John 13:20). Jesus does not introduce a child because children are naturally good or innocent. He brings up children because they were at the bottom of the social ladder in the ancient world; they had no rights and were often considered a nuisance. Those who are truly great, Jesus teaches, welcome those considered nobodies in this world; they receive those ignored by a society trying to climb the ladder of influence (cf. Luke 22:26). Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor (4:18). True greatness is evident if one is content to be the least, if one loves those who are forgotten, if one loves the so-called little people.

9:49–50 John responds to Jesus, but John is not truly listening. Luke again abbreviates the story a bit (cf. Mark 9:38–40). John recalls an incident in which a person was expelling demons in Jesus’ name but the disciples tried to prevent his doing so since he was not part of the band following Jesus. We are reminded of the narrative of Eldad and Medad, who prophesied in the camp and Joshua entreated Moses to stop them. Moses, however, said he wished the Spirit would descend on all and that all would be prophets (Num. 11:27–29; cf. Phil. 1:18). John and his friends were apparently guilty of the same exclusive spirit here. Jesus said they should not hinder him, for “the one who is not against you is for you.” This is an apparent contradiction with Luke 11:23, where Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” We recognize, however, that these are proverbial statements, each being true in its proper context. In the latter instance, those who coolly distance themselves from Jesus demonstrate that they are actually against him. But this case is a person who is not opposed to Jesus and the disciples and who for whatever reason ministers at another place and time. Jesus warns his disciples against a provincial and narrow spirit; they should not be so quick to consider someone their enemy.