Matthew 17:14-17 14And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him 15and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son because he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire and often into the water. 16And I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.” 17And answering, Jesus said, “O faithless and perverted generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”
The placement of this story right after the transfiguration is significant. If we step back and look at the larger context, the message is about the identity of Jesus and how the disciples respond to this knowledge. Matthew has just recorded one of the greatest experiences of the Bible when the voice from the cloud confirmed Jesus as the Son of God. Then the next passage recounts two journeys of faith in respond to the power and authority of Jesus.
The first response is assumed behind the story and came from the other disciples who did not go up on the mountain with Jesus. The back story is that a man with an epileptic son came up to them, asking them to heal the boy, but they could not. Out of desperation, the man came to Jesus, pushing his way through the crow. His position of kneeling showed the greatest respect in seeking to ask a serious favor, like one would do before a king. The man begins his request with acknowledging Jesus’ position of authority: “Lord!” He believed Jesus could do something about his son. Matthew records in 18 that the boy’s malady was from a demon, but the descriptions match what modern medicine calls epilepsy. The description of the boy is not pleasant, especially for those who have an epileptic in the family. A seizure is happens because of a misfire of the brain neurons, causing muscle contraction and loss of body control or even consciousness. The result may be a fall that can cause physical injury to the person.
Jesus’ response to the situation is directed in two directions. At first, he addresses the situation of the disciples who were part of the faithless and perverted generation. His response borders on exasperation. Had they not learned anything thus far? He had invested several years in these disciples by this point. They had seen many miracles and heard the greatest teaching of all time. Yet, they still lacked the faith to seek healing for this boy. They had become twisted and misled by their generation. Basically, they let the values of the world and humanistic thinking divert their focus from Jesus. Jesus’ rhetorical questions also hint at frustration. Verses 19-20 show that he would use this as another teaching opportunity.
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