City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’41 Jesus answered, ‘O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.”

-Luke 9:37-43a ESV

“23 And Jesus said to him, ‘‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.’”

-Mark 9:23 ESV

Reflection

Jesus, Peter, John, and James had just come down from the mountain, and a man from the crowd doesn’t hesitate to call Jesus’ attention. In this passage, the word “behold” is said twice,  in Hebrew it is hinneh which means to really pay attention to something significant and to look to understand, like the Hebrew word for “hear” is shema, or listen to something important and to really understand. Luke wants the readers to pay attention to the man in the crowd. The father wants Jesus to see with His own eyes to understand his son has a deadly demon.

Luke is a physician, he’s seen some things, epileptic seizures are not new to him, and he knows epilepsy does not equal demon possession. This demon tried to kill the child (Mark 9:21-22) and to an extent tried to kill the father’s soul. Mark 9:14-29 mentions the father would pull his son out of fire and water when the demon seized his treasured child. This poor child was burn-scarred all over as were his father’s hands and arms from pulling his only child out of the fires.

The other nine disciples Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas could not cast out this demon. Why couldn’t they? Was it the lack of prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29)? Were they afraid of the demon and what it was doing to that poor child?

Jesus responds by calling the crowd, His disciples, or maybe both “faithless and twisted.” Why did Jesus say that? The disciples were relying on their own power, not on God’s. Or if they were relying on God’s power, they secretly doubted the little boy could be healed. While Jesus is walking towards the boy, the demon attacks the child, he knows what he’s up against. Jesus rebukes the demon and the boy is healed. And all are astonished at the majesty of God, the NIV version says, “amazed at the greatness of God.”

Application

Hinneh means to look at something important with the intent to understand. Do you hinneh God? Do you look at Him and His Word with the intent to understand what He is saying? If there is something in your life you don’t understand, start with prayer. Also consider fasting, if a physical fast isn’t feasible, go for a media fast. And don’t forget: demons have NO power whatsoever over you because of the sheer power of Jesus Christ!

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You that You can do all things. Help me to hinneh You, Your Word, and Your Goodness. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.