30  The Significance of Faith  (Luke 9:37–45)

On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement. (9:37–45)

The foundation of all spiritual life for Christians is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In perhaps the clearest statement of that truth in Scripture, Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9; cf. John 1:12; Rom. 3:28; 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:8, 11, 24). Faith is also fundamental in sanctification. “I have been crucified with Christ;” Paul wrote, “and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). Faith is objective and expresses itself in confident confession of Jesus as Lord and obedience to the Word of God, which results in a progressive separation from sin and conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ until glorification, when faith is replaced by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:6–7).

But in today’s postmodern world, faith has become subjective; a vague and ambiguous term. Faith is often viewed as a groundless, nonrational, contentless “leap in the dark” that is seen as virtuous and even impactful in and of itself. True biblical faith, however, is radically different. It may be defined simply as believing in who God is and what He has said because Scripture declares it to be true. Faith is not a nebulous, mystical experience, but is grounded in the nature of God as revealed in the Word of God. To believe the revelation of God in Scripture is always reasonable, because it is divinely inspired truth.

Hebrews chapter 11 contains the most extensive discussion of faith in the Bible; in fact, the word “faith” appears there twenty-five times. From the examples of godly men and women of the Old Testament, several truths about faith emerge. Verse 1 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith transports God’s promises from the future into the present, giving substance to future reality It is a substantial confidence that becomes an absolute, unshakable conviction.

Biblical faith is not natural, human faith. In that sense, everyone has faith, since everyone trusts in things, such as the safety of the water they drink and the edibility of the food they eat, the competence of those who maintain and fly the airplanes they travel on, and the effectiveness of the medicines they take. But, in all those examples, faith is based on human experience. Biblical faith trusts in what it has not experienced, based on its absolute confidence in the truth of God’s promises in Scripture. Apart from such faith, it is impossible to please God (v.6).

Theologians use three Latin words to delineate the elements of saving faith. Notitia (knowledge) refers to the intellectual element of faith, and “consists in a positive recognition of the truth, in which man accepts as true whatsoever God says in His Word” (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976], 503). Assensus (assent)describes the emotional element of faith. Berkhof notes, “When one embraces Christ by faith, he has a deep conviction of the truth and reality of the object of faith, feels that it meets an important need in his life, and is conscious of an absorbing interest in it—and this is assent” (Berkhof, 504–505). Finally, fiducia denotes the volitional element of faith; it is an act of the will. Saving faith

Genuine faith inevitably results in a life of obedience to God; one cannot affirm Jesus as Lord without doing what He commands (Luke 6:46; cf. Matt. 7:21–23). Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the others mentioned in Hebrews 11 believed God’s promises and obeyed Him, even though they all died without fully realizing what they had been promised. Saving faith overcomes death, endures torture, outlasts chains and prisons, withstands temptations, suffers martyrdom, and survives hardship (vv. 32–38). It is by such faith that people gain salvation and approval from God (v. 39).

In this section of Luke’s gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ gave His followers a crucial lesson about faith. Verse 41 reveals that the point the Lord wanted to make is that a twisted, distorted view of the Word of God produces unbelief. This passage may be examined under four headings: demon possession, disciple perversion, divine power, and dazzling person.

DEMON POSSESSION

On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. (9:37–39)

All three synoptic gospels place this incident on the next day after the transfiguration (cf. Matt. 17:14–21; Mark 9:14–29). After that amazing, dramatic experience of the eternal kingdom and Christ’s divine glory Jesus, Peter, James, and John returned to the harsh reality of life in afallen, evil world. The contrasts between the two incidents are striking. One happened on a mountain, the other in a valley. There was glory on the mountain, tragedy in the valley. On the mountain Jesus Christ displayed His glorious majesty, while in the valley Satan displayed his ugly, cruel violence. Two sons are in view, one God-possessed, the other demon-possessed; one in whom His Father was well pleased, the other whose father was tortured with displeasure over his condition. One Son fulfilled the glorious plan of the ages, confirmed by both Old Testament and New Testament saints; the other son was disassociated, disconnected, demented, and chaotic, without purpose or value to anyone. One Son was the destroyer of demons; the other son was destroyed by demons. Both sons were given back to their fathers. The demon-possessed son was delivered and returned to his father; the Son of God was killed, rose from the dead, and ascended back to His Father.

When they came down from the unnamed mountain somewhere near Capernaum, Jesus, Peter, James, and John encountered a tragic situation. As was always the case, a large crowd was waiting for Jesus—including some scribes, who were arguing with the nine disciples who had remained behind (Mark 9:14).

One of the people in the crowd was desperate. His problem was an all too common one; his son was cruelly possessed by a demon. Jesus encountered demon possession throughout His ministry when the greatest manifestation of demonic activity up to that point in history took place. He unmasked, exposed, and terrified the demons, as they faced the one who will ultimately cast them into the lake of fire prepared for them (Matt. 25:41). In this incident Jesus displayed his power over fallen angels in the most severe manifestation of demon possession in the New Testament. (For more information on demon possession, see Luke 1–5, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody 2009], 279–88.)

Having worked his way with his son through the crowd that surged forward to meet Jesus (Mark 9:15), the man fell to his knees before Him. He shouted to the Lord to make himself heard above the din of the crowd. Matthew’s account reveals that he addressed Him as Lord (Matt. 17:15), likely in reference to His deity. Acknowledging that Jesus had divine power over demons, He said to Him, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him.” Though the father referred to the boy’s behavior as epileptic (cf. Matt. 17:15), He understood that his son’s condition was not physiological, but demonic. Matthew adds that the demon repeatedly attempted to destroy the boy by throwing him into the open fires and pools or wells of water that were common in Israel (Matt. 17:15; cf. Mark 9:22). Mark notes that the demon had made the boy deaf and mute (Mark 9:17, 25), and that it had afflicted him since he was a child (v. 21). How, why or at what age the child became demon possessed is not revealed, so it is futile to speculate. God ultimately permitted it to happen, as He did in the case of the man born blind (John 9:1–3), for His glory in demonstrating Christ’s power. The boy’s condition also illustrates the reality that everyone who is outside the kingdom of God is under the power of Satan (Eph. 2:2).It is only a question of degree.

That the boy’s father addressed Jesus as “Lord” (Matt. 17:15) and teacher suggests that he had faith not only in the person of Christ, but also believed that His teaching was the truth of God. He begged the Lord to look (epiblepō; to look upon with concern, have regard for [Luke 1:48], or to “pay special attention to” [James 2:3]) at his son. Adding to the poignancy of the situation, his father told Jesus, “He is my only boy.” Only Luke notes the detail that the boy was his father’s only son (cf.7:12;8:38).

The father then described his son’s terrifying symptoms: he suddenly screams (exhibiting the demon’s control of his physical faculties; cf.4:33; 8:30), and it throws him into a convulsion and slams him to the ground (Mark 9:18) with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. That the demon only left the boy with difficulty signifies the relentless, prolonged, non-stop nature of the attacks. Mauling translates a form of the verb suntribō, which means, “to crush” “to shatter,” or “to break in pieces,” signifying the violence of the demon’s assaults on this unfortunate boy—violent, sustained demonic assaults not unlike the bizarre behavior of the men in Gadara (see the exposition of 8:26–39 in chapter 23 of this volume).

DISCIPLE PERVERSION

I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. (9:40–42a)

Anyone living in Israel at the time of Jesus would have identified the Jewish leaders and followers as extremely religious. They zealously observed religious laws, duties, ceremonies, rites, rituals, celebrations, and festivals. They lived lives of fastidious external morality, observing the rules and standards of conduct their religious culture demanded. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine any society more religious than Israel in the time of Christ. Further, they worshiped the God of the Old Testament; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the giver of the covenants.

All of this religious activity had convinced the Jewish people that when the Messiah came, He would be pleased with their self-righteous religious achievements. They assumed that He would oust the Romans, establish His kingdom and usher them into it as a reward for all that they had achieved. But when the Messiah, Jesus, arrived He indicted them for their self-righteous hypocrisy and bankrupt religious activities. He warned them that they were not part of God’s kingdom (Matt. 8:12), but rather the riff raff of society, the tax collectors and prostitutes, stood a better chance of entering it than they did (Matt. 21:31). Needless to say they were shocked and outraged. Infuriated by Christ’s unmasking of their hypocrisy and denunciation of their religious system as a worthless abomination, the religious elite had long been conspiring against Him and eventually murdered Him.

It was perfectly reasonable for this man to have brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples to cast it out. They had recently concluded an extended preaching tour during which they had cast out demons by the authority Christ had granted them (Matt. 10:1; cf. v.8; Mark 6:13). But surprisingly on this occasion they could not cast out the demon plaguing the boy. After the Lord cast it out, the bewildered apostles” came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith’” (Matt. 17:19–20). The apostles did not lack power, experience, or authority; they lacked the faith to deal with this exceptionally powerful demon. (Evidently demons vary in strength just as humans do. For example in Daniel 10:12–14, a holy angel sent with a message for Daniel was held up by a stronger fallen angel until Michael the archangel intervened.) Having discerned the strength of the demon inhabiting this boy, the apostles should have sought God’s help in believing prayer (Mark 9:29). If they had done so with even a tiny amount of faith—“faith the size of a mustard seed” (Matt. 17:20)—they could have handled even extreme difficulties (symbolized by the Lord’s metaphorical statement, “you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move”).The word had been spoken, the promise given, the will of God made manifest. All the apostles needed to have done was to believe and ask God for the power. Unfortunately, in this instance they did not.

The Lord’s rebuke, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?” encompassed the entire nation of Israel, whom He denounced on other occasions as a generation of “vipers” (Matt. 12:34; cf. 23:33), an “evil and adulterous generation” (Matt. 12:39; 16:4), a “wicked generation” (Luke11:29), and an “adulterous and sinful generation” (Mark 8:38). They were acting as if they were no different from their fathers, whom Moses characterized as “a perverse and crooked generation” (Deut. 32:5). Deficient in their knowledge of the true and living God, the people of Israel had become perverse, twisted, and faithless—the ultimate manifestation of which was their rejection and murder of His Son.

Sadly, the specific targets of the Lord’s rebuke on this occasion appear to have been His own apostles. Though not lacking in saving faith like the unbelieving crowd, their faith too was perverted in that they consistently failed to believe what He told them. His exclamation, “How long shall I be with you and put up with you?” reflects the disappointment and pain that their constant failure to believe and trust in what He told them caused Jesus.

Christ stepped in to do what the apostles could have done had they believed Him. Turning to the boy’s father, the Lord commanded him, “Bring your son here.” The man was going to get what he so desperately wanted. The demon, however, was going to get what he definitely did not want. He was about to come face-to-face with his sovereign, God the Son, who had thrown him out of heaven (Rev. 12:7–9) and will one day cast him into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10; cf. Matt. 25:41). In desperation, while the boy was still approaching, the demon made one last attempt to kill him. As the father and son approached Jesus, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion.

At this point Mark notes that his father, looking on in helpless anguish, cried out to Jesus, “If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:22).The Lord replied, “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes” (v. 23). Jesus did not usually call for faith in those He healed. In this case, however, He intended to use this man as an illustration for the apostles of what even imperfect faith in Him can accomplish. In brutal honesty “the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief’” (v. 24). Desperately, he pleaded for Jesus to give him whatever was lacking in his faith.

DIVINE POWER

But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. (9:42b)

Without fanfare, in simple, matter of fact language, Luke records the boy’s deliverance. Noting that a curious crowd was gathering and seeking to spare father and son any further embarrassment, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit. Authoritatively the Lord said to him, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again” (Mark 9:25). That triggered one final, violent paroxysm as the demon, “after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions,… came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead!’” (v.26). He was alive, however, and Jesus, having healed the boy … gave him back to his father. Once again the Lord exhibited the love, compassion, mercy and kindness in the heart of God for those who suffer.

DAZZLING PERSON

And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement. (9:43–45)

Luke’s note that they were all amazed at the greatness of God provides a fitting climax to this story. Ekplessō (amazed) has the connotation of being driven out of one’s senses with amazement. The crowd was astonished at the incomprehensible greatness, majesty (the noun translated greatness here is translated “majesty” in 2 Peter 1:16), and power Jesus displayed. The majesty Peter, James, and John witnessed on the mountain during the transfiguration was displayed in the valley as Jesus vanquished the demon. These verses reveal three reasons why Jesus was amazing: because of His power, sacrifice, and sympathy

JESUS’ AMAZING POWER

But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, (9:436)

The people were marveling not only at Christ’s deliverance of a young boy from a powerful and obstinate demon, but also at all that He was doing. That phrase indicates that as was typical of His ministry, Jesus had been performing other miracles (cf. 6:17–19; 7:21; 9:11; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; Mark 1:32–34; 3:10). Thaumazō (marveling) means to be filled with wonder and astonishment at something outside the realm of human explanation. The absolute sovereign authority Christ displayed over disease, death, demons, nature, and sin was inexplicable apart from it being the power of God at work. All of that authority was demonstrated on a limited basis during His incarnation, confined to His presence in Israel. But after the resurrection and ascension, His unlimited authority over all the created universe was restored (Matt. 28:18).

JESUS’ AMAZING SACRIFICE

He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” (9:43c-44)

Jesus’ demonstration of His power and authority over even a very strong demon heightened the disciples’ fervent messianic expectations. Having been taught all their lives that Messiah would be a political and military deliverer, they found it difficult to let go of those deeply embedded hopes. But as He repeatedly made clear to them, in His first coming Jesus did not come as conqueror and ruler, but as Savior and sacrifice for sin.

Wanting to make certain that they did not cultivate and nurture any false expectations, the Lord once again said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears.” He exhorted them to listen; pay attention and understand what He was about to tell them. The homage of the crowd was fickle; the praise being offered to Him in wonder and awe at the greatness of God was trivial and temporary In about six months the people would turn on Him, reject Him, and demand that He be crucified. At that time the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men. The individual by whom He would be delivered was, of course, Judas. But the Jews also were culpable for delivering Jesus to death. In Acts 3:13 Peter said, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate.” Pilate also is to blame, because it was ultimately he who, in violation of the proud tradition of Roman justice, gave in to the threats and demands of the Jews and delivered Jesus to be crucified (Matt.27:26).

But ultimately, it was God Himself who delivered His Son to be killed: “The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief” (Isa. 53:10). In Romans 8:32 Paul wrote that God “did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all.” It is not true, as some skeptics claim, that Jesus intended to bring in the kingdom, but His plans went awry and He was killed. The plan of God from the beginning was that Jesus would offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. He was, as Peter said, “delivered over bythe predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God … [and] nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men” (Acts 2:23). Therefore it was absolutely necessary for the Lord to “go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Matt. 16:21). Before the kingdom came the cross. Jesus had to die; the plan of God could not be set aside (cf. Matt. 26:24, 54; Luke 24:25–26, 46).

JESUS’ AMAZING SYMPATHY

But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement. (9:45)

The Lord’s prediction of His death was too much for the disciples to understand (cf. 18:31–34). As noted above, the concept of Messiah as a political ruler and military deliverer was deeply ingrained in their thinking. They did not understand what Jesus was saying because it did not fit that concept. In addition, the precise details of that disturbing and upsetting truth were concealed from them so that they would not perceive them. Jesus, the tender, compassionate High Priest, knew what they could handle, and withheld information that He knew would devastate them. Nor did the apostles push the issue, because they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

This passage emphasizes the centrality of faith in the Christian life, underscoring the importance of believing that God will do exactly what He said He will do. Those who have a twisted, perverted view of His person and promises as revealed in the Bible cannot expect to receive anything from God; He will not bless and honor the doubt of double-minded, unstable people (James 1:5–8). But He will honor the prayer of faith that cries out at the throne of grace to have its spiritual needs met (Heb. 4:16). Paul wrote that because of such believing prayer, “God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).