"And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it."
In the first part of today's quote, Jesus assured His Apostles that Elias (John the Baptist) had already come and fulfilled the prophesies.
Jesus then proceeds to remove an evil spirit from a young boy, a spirit His Apostles, herein, are said to have been unable to exorcize.
I find this portion of the quote very puzzling and very odd that Jesus is recorded as having said, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." That statement runs totally contrary to what Jesus taught throughout His ministry. He said over and over that faith alone can accomplish whatever the believer requires to be done. Yet, to remove this particular spirit, prayer and fasting were also required. It makes no sense in the context of Jesus overall ministry.
The statement also seems to be in contrast to what Jesus is recorded to have said earlier in this same text, "O FAITHLESS generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me." In this earlier comment, Jesus once again makes it known that faith was the key to removing the evil spirit. Jesus seems to be saying, herein, that the Apostles didn't have enough faith to remove the spirit, He ridiculed them for that lack of faith. If the removal had required something more (prayer and fasting) Jesus would have simply explained why they failed and proceeded to remove the spirit.
Again, I believe the original text of the gospel of Mark did not contain the reference to "prayer and fasting" as being required to remove certain spirits. I believe it was added to legitimize the Roman Catholic ritual of "exorcism".
We have studied about this particular healing before in Matthew 17:15-18, "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour." Notice there is NO mention of the ritual of "prayer and fasting" mentioned in Matthew's account.
The account of this same event as recorded in Luke 9:38-42 make no mention of "prayer and fasting as having been required to cast out the evil spirit, "And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father."
John's account makes no mention of the event at all.
I advise that everyone prayerfully take from from what I've said today, whatever you are drawn to take, As I have said before, it is NEVER my intent to mislead anyone.~
I advise that everyone prayerfully take from from what I've said today, whatever you are drawn to take, As I have said before, it is NEVER my intent to mislead anyone.~
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