106. The Healing of a Demoniac Who Was Demon-Possessed at Each New Moon. Mt. 17:14–21; Mk. 9:14–29; Lk. 9:37–44

On the following day, when they came down from the mountain, a great crowd met Him, and when they saw Him, they were amazed, and running up, greeted Him. As He came to the disciples, the Lord Jesus saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. He asked the scribes: What are you arguing about with them?

But suddenly a man from the crowd came forward and, kneeling before Him, cried out: Teacher! I beseech You to look upon my son, possessed by a mute spirit; he is seized by the demon and suffers terribly, for often it throws him into the fire and into the water. Wherever the spirit seizes him, it throws him down and tears him, so that he suddenly cries out, foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid; the evil spirit scarcely departs from him, having tormented him. Teacher! I brought him to You, but You were not there. I brought him to Your disciples and asked them to cast out the spirit, but they were not able to heal my son. Lord, have mercy on my son; he is my only child.

Answering him, the Lord Jesus said: O faithless and corrupt generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me—bring your son here to Me.

And they brought him to Him. But as he was coming and when the boy merely saw Him, the unclean spirit convulsed him, threw him to the ground, and he began to roll about, foaming at the mouth.

The Lord asked his father: How long has this been happening to him? He said: From childhood. And the spirit often throws him both into fire and into water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. The Lord Jesus said to him: If you can believe, all things are possible to one who believes. At once the father of the boy cried out with tears: I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief.

The Lord Jesus, seeing that a crowd was gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: You mute and deaf spirit! I command you, come out of him, and do not enter into him again. And it cried out and convulsed him greatly and came out. The boy became as if dead, so that many said he was dead. But the Lord Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him up. The boy was healed in that hour and stood, and the Lord gave him back to his father.

And all marveled at the greatness of God. But when all were marveling at everything the Lord Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples: Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men.

When He had entered a house, His disciples, coming to Him privately, asked Him: Why were we not able to cast it out? The Lord Jesus said to them: Because of your lack of faith; for truly I tell you: if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind can only be driven out by prayer and fasting—cannot come out any other way except through prayer and fasting.