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Matthew 17 · a question people ask

The man says his son "is epileptic" (17:15), and Matthew says "Jesus rebuked the demon" (17:18). How do the two fit?

In the text

The man came "kneeling down to him and saying" (17:14), "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water" (17:15). Matthew then says, "Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour" (17:18), and the disciples ask, "Why weren’t we able to cast it out?" (17:19). Matthew gives the man's words and tells what Jesus did, each in the text's own words, and doesn't explain how they fit. These notes don't either: they give no explanation of the boy's condition beyond the text's words, and apply none of it to anyone's illness today.

The verses

“When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?””
Matthew 17:14-19 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Matthew 17

Matthew 17: Get up, and don’t be afraid

Of the Gospels, only Matthew tells that Jesus "came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.”" (17:7). In the Greek the voice on the mountain begins with the very sentence of 3:17, then adds "Listen to him" (17:5). And the chapter ends with Jesus's words about the coin, never telling that it was found (17:27).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions