From the desk of Pastor Ben

A Father Pleads For His Son

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.”
                                (Matthew 17: 14-15)

From somewhere within the crowd of people, which included the other nine disciples, this man approached Jesus with humility and reverence. He fully believed that Jesus could bring sanity and wholeness to his son, his “only boy” (Luke 9:38), who had had this terrible affliction since childhood (Mark 9:21).

Like the Greek term it translates, “lunatic” literally refers to something related to the moon (lunar). The Greek word was used to describe what we now understand to be various nervous disorders, including epilepsy, that cause convulsions.

The father sensed what Jesus verified, that the boy’s affliction was not simply physiological or mental but demonic. When he brought him to Jesus, he described his son as being “possessed with a spirit which makes him mute” (Mark 9:17). Whenever the “spirit seizes him . . .he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves” (Luke 9:39).

You can well understand the father’s deep anguish and why he pleaded with Jesus to have compassion on his son and restore him to health. He came to the only One who could help.

Ask Yourself:
When you feel overwhelmed or outmatched by the various challenges of life — be that job-related, or family crises, or health issues — how quick are you to run to Jesus as your source of help? In what ways could you testify to His ability to meet your deepest needs?