14When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
17A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
19"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
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2 comments:
Even after 2000 years, we are still living in the "unbelieving generation"...
I wonder how the diciples tried to save the boy. It truly is amazing that through Jesus, those same diciples later on traveled to various places spreading gospel and doing the things they could never do before.
I'm thankful to see my brothers and sisters change through Christ and I pray that God will continue to work us through him.
I had never noticed before that Jesus' question "O unbelieving generation how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" is immediately followed by the passage of the father who pleads "I believe! Help me with my unbelief!"
It's so beautiful, because we can see Jesus' frustrations. We can see that he is absolutely entitled to that frustration. Yet one can also see the sincerity of the father's prayer. The father does believe, and yet he constantly struggles with his unbelief. And then we see Jesus have mercy upon the man and answer his prayer. He heals the man's son, yes; but more importantly, he is helping the man with his unbelief. God's patience, mercy and love overcome His frustrations with us. I believe that Jesus' question is one that God has been asking throughout the ages, ever since Adam and Eve. And the father's reply has been the cry of humanity, also throughout the ages. We have been cut off from God, and He has been struggling to reunite us to Him. He never gives up on us, no matter how often we betray him, fail him, and turn our backs to him. Reading the book of Exodus or indeed the entire Bible, and we see this exchanged played out over and over again. Look at our own lives and we see this exchange played out over and over again. Thank God that He is infinitely patient and loving, because we are forever falling and failing.
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