Mark 9:18
Whenever 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 it out, but they were unable."
Whenever it seizes him
The phrase "whenever it seizes him" indicates the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of the affliction. The Greek word for "seizes" is "katalambanō," which can mean to take hold of or to overpower. This suggests a forceful and dominating influence, reflecting the spiritual battle between good and evil. In a broader scriptural context, it highlights the pervasive and relentless nature of demonic oppression, which can only be overcome by divine intervention.

it throws him to the ground
The action of being "thrown to the ground" signifies the violent and destructive intent of the demonic force. The Greek word "rhiptō" is used here, meaning to cast or hurl with force. This imagery evokes the chaos and disorder that sin and evil bring into the world, contrasting with the peace and order that Christ offers. Historically, such manifestations were understood as signs of spiritual warfare, emphasizing the need for spiritual vigilance and reliance on God's power.

He foams at the mouth
"Foams at the mouth" describes a physical manifestation of the spiritual affliction. The Greek word "aphros" refers to froth or foam, often associated with severe distress or agitation. This symptom underscores the totality of the boy's suffering, affecting both body and spirit. It serves as a reminder of the holistic nature of Christ's healing, which addresses both physical and spiritual needs.

gnashes his teeth
The phrase "gnashes his teeth" conveys intense pain and torment. The Greek "trizō" means to grind or gnash, often used in scripture to depict anguish or anger. This expression of suffering highlights the destructive impact of sin and evil, which Christ came to conquer. It also serves as a metaphor for the spiritual agony experienced by those separated from God, pointing to the hope of restoration through faith in Christ.

and becomes rigid
"Becomes rigid" describes the paralysis and helplessness caused by the demonic influence. The Greek word "xērainō" means to dry up or wither, suggesting a loss of vitality and life. This condition reflects the spiritual desolation that results from separation from God, emphasizing the need for Christ's life-giving power to restore and renew.

I asked Your disciples to drive it out
The father's plea, "I asked Your disciples to drive it out," reveals his desperation and hope for deliverance. The Greek "ekballō" means to cast out or expel, indicating the authority needed to overcome demonic forces. This request highlights the disciples' role in continuing Christ's ministry, yet also their limitations without faith and reliance on God's power. It serves as a call for believers to seek divine strength in spiritual battles.

but they were unable
The admission "but they were unable" points to the disciples' lack of faith or understanding at that moment. The Greek "ischuō" means to have strength or power, suggesting that their failure was not due to a lack of authority given by Christ, but rather a deficiency in faith or spiritual readiness. This moment serves as a teaching opportunity, emphasizing the necessity of faith, prayer, and dependence on God to overcome the challenges posed by evil. It inspires believers to cultivate a deeper relationship with Christ to access His power and authority in their lives.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
- The central figure in the Gospel of Mark, who is approached by a desperate father seeking healing for his son.

2. The Father
- A man who brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus after the disciples fail to heal him.

3. The Son
- A boy suffering from a severe condition caused by an unclean spirit, manifesting in seizures and physical distress.

4. The Disciples
- Followers of Jesus who were unable to cast out the demon from the boy, highlighting their lack of faith or understanding at that moment.

5. The Crowd
- A group of onlookers witnessing the interaction between Jesus, the father, and the disciples, representing the public's interest in Jesus' ministry.
Teaching Points
The Power of Faith
This passage underscores the necessity of faith in overcoming spiritual challenges. The disciples' inability to cast out the demon serves as a reminder that faith is crucial in spiritual warfare.

Jesus' Authority
Jesus demonstrates His supreme authority over evil spirits, reinforcing the belief in His divine power and the importance of relying on Him in times of need.

The Role of Prayer
The disciples' failure points to the need for prayer and dependence on God. In subsequent verses, Jesus explains that some spiritual battles require prayer, highlighting its importance in the life of a believer.

Compassion and Desperation
The father's plea to Jesus reflects a heart of desperation and faith. Believers are encouraged to bring their burdens to Jesus, trusting in His compassion and ability to intervene.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the father's approach to Jesus teach us about how we should bring our concerns and struggles to God?

2. How does this passage challenge us to examine the strength and focus of our faith in difficult situations?

3. In what ways can we apply the lesson of the disciples' failure to our own spiritual lives, particularly in areas where we feel powerless?

4. How does understanding Jesus' authority over evil spirits impact our view of spiritual warfare today?

5. Reflect on a time when prayer played a crucial role in overcoming a challenge in your life. How can this passage encourage you to deepen your prayer life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 17:14-20
This parallel account provides additional details about the disciples' inability to cast out the demon and Jesus' teaching on faith as small as a mustard seed.

Luke 9:37-43
Another parallel passage that emphasizes Jesus' authority over unclean spirits and the importance of faith.

James 5:15
Discusses the prayer of faith and its power to heal, connecting to the theme of faith in Mark 9:18.

Ephesians 6:12
Highlights the spiritual battle against evil forces, relevant to the struggle against the unclean spirit in the boy.
Glimpses of the Glory of JesusE. Johnson Mark 9:2-18
The Healing of the Lunatic YouthR. Green Mark 9:14-28
Healing of a Demoniac Youth, After the Disciples' FailureJ.J. Given Mark 9:14-29
Sinful Men May be Looked Upon as Possessed of the DevilC. S. Robinson, D. D.Mark 9:14-29
The Afflicted ChildG. R. Leavitt.Mark 9:14-29
The Afflicted SonB. L.Mark 9:14-29
The Cure of the Demoniac ChildA.F. Muir Mark 9:14-29
The DemoniacE. Johnson Mark 9:14-29
The Disciples NonplussedC. H. Spurgeon.Mark 9:14-29
The Dumb Man Possessed with a DevilL. H. Wiseman, M. A., Joseph Taylor.Mark 9:14-29
The Evil Spirit Cast OutAnon.Mark 9:14-29
The Secret of PowerR. Glover.Mark 9:14-29
People
Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, John, Peter
Places
Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Galilee, High Mountain
Topics
Able, Becomes, Begged, Cast, Dashes, Dasheth, Disciples, Drive, Expel, Foameth, Foams, Gnashes, Gnasheth, Goes, Grindeth, Grinds, Ground, Lips, Mouth, Pain, Pineth, Pining, Power, Puts, Request, Rigid, Seize, Seizes, Slams, Spake, Spirit, Spoke, Stiffens, Streaming, Strength, Takes, Taketh, Tear, Teareth, Tears, Teeth, Throws, Twisted, Violently, Wastes, Weren't, Whenever, Wheresoever, Wherever, Withering
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 9:18

     4160   driving out
     5132   biting
     5189   teeth

Mark 9:14-27

     5658   boys

Mark 9:14-29

     5168   muteness
     8611   prayer, for others

Mark 9:17-18

     4133   demons, possession by
     5297   disease
     5354   invasions
     5686   fathers, examples

Mark 9:17-19

     8744   faithlessness, as disobedience

Mark 9:17-27

     4132   demons, malevolence
     5333   healing
     5669   children, examples

Library
February 2 Evening
One star differeth from another star in glory.--I COR. 15:41. By the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all.--Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Christ's Lament Over Our Faithlessness
'He answereth him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?'--Mark ix. 19. There is a very evident, and, I think, intentional contrast between the two scenes, of the Transfiguration, and of this healing of the maniac boy. And in nothing is the contrast more marked than in the demeanour of these enfeebled and unbelieving Apostles, as contrasted with the rapture of devotion of the other three, and with the lowly submission and faith of Moses and Elias.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Omnipotence of Faith
Jesus said unto him, If them canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.'--Mark ix. 23. The necessity and power of faith is the prominent lesson of this narrative of the healing of a demoniac boy, especially as it is told by the Evangelist Mark, The lesson is enforced by the actions of all the persons in the group, except the central figure, Christ. The disciples could not cast out the demon, and incur Christ's plaintive rebuke, which is quite as much sorrow as blame: 'O faithless
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Unbelieving Belief
'And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'--Mark ix. 24. We owe to Mark's Gospel the fullest account of the pathetic incident of the healing of the demoniac boy. He alone gives us this part of the conversation between our Lord and the afflicted child's father. The poor man had brought his child to the disciples, and found them unable to do anything with him. A torrent of appeal breaks from his lips as soon as the Lord gives
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

An Unanswered Question
'What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?'--Mark ix. 33. Was it not a strange time to squabble when they had just been told of His death? Note-- I. The variations of feeling common to the disciples and to us all: one moment 'exceeding sorrowful,' the next fighting for precedence. II. Christ's divine insight into His servants' faults. This question was put because He knew what the wrangle had been about. The disputants did not answer, but He knew without an answer, as His immediately
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Salted with Fire
Every one shall be salted with fire.'--Mark ix. 49. Our Lord has just been uttering some of the most solemn words that ever came from His gracious lips. He has been enjoining the severest self-suppression, extending even to mutilation and excision of the eye, the hand, or the foot, that might cause us to stumble. He has been giving that sharp lesson on the ground of plain common sense and enlightened self-regard. It is better, obviously, to live maimed than to die whole. The man who elects to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Salt in Yourselves'
'Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.'--Mark ix. 50. In the context 'salt' is employed to express the preserving, purifying, divine energy which is otherwise spoken of as 'fire.' The two emblems produce the same result. They both salt--that is, they cleanse and keep. And if in the one we recognise the quick energy of the Divine Spirit as the central idea, no less are we to see the same typified under a slightly different aspect in the other. The fire transforms into its own substance
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him'
'And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.'--Mark ix. 7. With regard to the first part of these words spoken at the Transfiguration, they open far too large and wonderful a subject for me to do more than just touch with the tip of my finger, as it were, in passing, because the utterance of the divine words, 'This is My beloved Son,' in all the depth of their meaning and loftiness, is laid as the foundation of the two
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jesus Only!
'They saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.'--Mark ix. 8. The Transfiguration was the solemn inauguration of Jesus for His sufferings and death. Moses, the founder, and Elijah, the restorer, of the Jewish polity, the great Lawgiver and the great Prophet, were present. The former had died and been mysteriously buried, the latter had been translated without 'seeing death.' So both are visitors from the unseen world, appearing to own that Jesus is the Lord of that dim land, and that
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Transfiguration
'And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them. 3. And His raimemt became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Receiving and Forbidding
'And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. And He sat down, and called the Twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36. And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, 37.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

July the Ninth Scholars in Christ's School
"He taught His disciples." --MARK ix. 30-37. And my Lord will teach me. He will lead me into "the deep things" of God. There is only one school for this sort of learning, and an old saint called it the Academy of Love, and it meets in Gethsemane and Calvary, and the Lord Himself is the teacher, and there is room in the school for thee and me. But the disciples were not in the mood for learning. They were not ambitious for heavenly knowledge, but for carnal prizes, not for wisdom, but for place.
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Lenten Fast.
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer."--ST. MARK ix. 29. You remember the narrative from which I have taken this verse. Jesus, as we read, had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when He was come to the multitude, a certain man besought him saying, "Have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed, and I brought him to Thy disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus rebuked the devil, and the child was cured from that hour. Thereupon His disciples
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

The Child in the Midst.
"And He took a child and set Him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me."--ST. MARK ix. 36, 37. It is one of the characteristics of our time, one of its most hopeful and most encouraging signs, that men are awaking to higher and purer conceptions of the Christian life and what it is that constitutes such a life. We
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Of Hell
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:48. 1. Every truth which is revealed in the oracles of God is undoubtedly of great importance. Yet it may be allowed that some of those which are revealed therein are of greater importance than others, as being more immediately conducive to the grand end of all, the eternal salvation of men. And we may judge of their importance even from this circumstance, -- that they are not mentioned once only in the sacred writings, but are repeated
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

A Caution against Bigotry
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name: and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not." Mark 9:38, 39. 1. In the preceding verses we read, that after the Twelve had been disputing "which of them should be the greatest," Jesus took a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of these little children in My name, receiveth
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Faith's Dawn and Its Clouds
In the text there are three things very clearly. Here is true faith; here is grievous unbelief; here is a battle between the two. I. Very clearly in the text there is TRUE FAITH. "Lord, I believe," says the anxious father. When our Lord tells him that, if he can believe, all things are possible to him, he makes no demur, asks for no pause, wishes to hear no more evidence, but cries at once, "Lord, I believe." Now, observe we have called this faith true faith, and we will prove it to have been so.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Child in the Midst.
And he came to Capernaum: and, being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Absolute Surrender
"And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender

Thoughts Upon Striving to Enter at the Strait Gate.
AS certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another World, either in a World of Happiness, or else in a World of Misery, or if you will, either in Heaven or in Hell. For these are the two only places which all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end of it, must live in for evermore, some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places,
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

The Three Tabernacles
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. MARK ix. 5. Caught up in glory and in rapture, the Apostle seems to have forgotten the world from which he had ascended, and to which he still belonged, and to have craved permanent shelter and extatic communion within the mystic splendors that brightened the Mount of Transfiguration. But it was true, not only as to the confusion of his
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

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