Mark 9:20

18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19 He answered him and said, “O ^afaithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I² bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

20 Then they brought him to Him. And ^awhen he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, ^a“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; ^ahelp my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He ^arebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

28 ^aAnd when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but ^aprayer and fasting.”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection

30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.

31 ^aFor He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will ^bkill Him. And after He is killed, He will ^crise the third day.”

32 ^aBut they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 ^aThen He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you¹ disputed among yourselves on the road?”

34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had ^adisputed among themselves who would be the ^bgreatest.

35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ^a“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

36 Then ^aHe took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,

37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and ^awhoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism

38 ^aNow John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, ^afor no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.

40 For ^ahe who is not against us is on² our side.

41 ^aFor whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Jesus Warns of Offenses

42 ^a“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me¹ to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

43 ^aIf your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life¹ maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to² hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

<< Mark 9:19

Mark 9:21 >>

What Does Mark 9:20 Mean?

Mark 9:20

The gospels record the boy's horrible symptoms: severe convulsions, foaming at the mouth, grinding of the teeth, and general rigidity of body. Due to sudden attacks, he often fell into the fire and into the water. Another overwhelming symptom was deafness and dumbness. He could utter only inarticulate sounds, though he possessed all the necessary organs for speech. All of his problems came as the result of his miserable, possessed condition, and they left him so emaciated that all life seemed to be draining from him.

Yet, nothing is too hard for Jesus Christ to conquer, no matter how powerful a demon seems to be. After rebuking the faithless and perverse generation, including the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus rebukes the demon, and it departs from him (Matthew 17:18; Mark 9:20, 25-27; Luke 9:42; see Zechariah 3:2). The demon dares not disobey Jesus' order not to re-enter because it recognizes His authority over it.

From then on, the boy is free of the demon. Jesus takes the boy's hand and delivers him to his father, bringing calmness, peace, and order in place of the disruption that preceded the exorcism. His spiritual power to heal had overcome the demonic force that caused the boy to suffer.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Exorcising a Young Boy (Part One)

Mark 9:14-29

Jesus walked with His disciples from Bethsaida to the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi. Six to eight days later, Jesus went up into a high mountain to pray, taking Peter, James, and John with Him and leaving His other nine disciples behind. There He was transfigured before the three. Meanwhile in the valley, the remaining nine disciples failed to cast out a demon from a young boy. Descending the day following His transfiguration, Christ healed the demoniac boy.

The failure of the nine disciples had given the scribes fuel for criticism of both the disciples and Christ. When Christ arrived on the scene, the scribes were being critically disruptive about the failure. The scribes were not known for their questioning as much as for their refuting and disputing. "Questioning" (KJV) or "disputing" (NKJV) in Mark 9:14 is translated from a Greek word that implies confuting, that is, attempting to disprove or deny.

The success of Christ, however, countered the failure of the disciples, shutting the mouths of the critical scribes. His coming upon this scene of dispute, chaos, and darkness must have been an incredible contrast to the honor, power, and glory that He had just experienced on the mountain in the Transfiguration. The sights and sounds that met Him on His return to the sinful world must have disturbed Him.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Exorcising a Young Boy (Part One)

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Mark 9:20:**

Mark 8:22-26
Ephesians 4:1

<< Mark 9:19

Mark 9:21 >>