Matthew 17:14-20
Chapter 17
14
When they reached the crowd, a man approached Jesus, knelt before him and said”
He Heals an Epileptic Child
15
Sir, have mercy on my son, who is epileptic and suffers greatly. He has often fallen into the fire and sometimes into the water.
16
I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.
17
Jesus replied:
“O you people, faithless and misguided! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”
18
And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was instantly healed.
19
Later, the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked:
“Why couldn’t we drive out the spirit?”
20
Jesus said to them:
“Because you have little faith. I tell you: if only you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would obey you. Nothing would be impossible for you.”
Commentaries
He Heals an Epileptic Child.
The purpose of this story is to teach about the power of faith. It was important to emphasize this, especially given the lack of faith among the disciples, described as “men of little faith” (6:30; 8:26). Matthew criticizes the disciples for their doubt in the power they received from Jesus, and in this sense, this message remains relevant: it urges us not to doubt the saving power of the Good News.