Bible Study series: Luke 9:37-43a. This was a great deliverance.
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I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 9:27-43a
37 And it happened on the next day. After they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 And look! A man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son because he is my only child. 39 And look! A spirit seizes him and suddenly cries out and convulses him–with foam. It hardly leaves him and is destroying him! 40 I begged your disciples to expel it, but they were unable!” 41 In reply, Jesus said, “O unbelieving and crooked generation! How long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was approaching, the demon threw and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him to his father. 43a And so everyone was amazed at the greatness of God. (Luke 9:28-43a)
Comments:
37:
The timing is right after the transfiguration on the mountain top.
Always remember that after you have your mountaintop experience of a taste of glory, you will have to confront a demon or the trials of life. That is Satan’s or the world’s counterattack, designed to discourage and wear you down.
38:
“look!”: see v. 30 for more comments. The father takes center stage. And he describes what happens to his son. The imagery in v. 39 is unpretty.
“look upon”: that is a literal translation, but I sense it means to have pity on him. God is said to “see” or “look upon” and “hear” the suffering of his people (e.g. Gen. 29:32; 31:12, 42; Exod. 2:23-25; 3:7-9; Ps. 35:2). The father asked Jesus to look upon his suffering son, his only child.
Once again Luke mentions that the boy was an only child (see 7:12 and 8:42), which adds to the pathos. If the man loses him, he loses his soul.
39:
“look!”: see v. 30 for more comments. Here the demon is fighting with the boy to take center stage after the verb “look!” Satan’s hordes love the attention. Never give it to him either in your own mind or out in the world. Specifically, you don’t need to rebuke Satan every time you have a bad thought. In most cases, let it slide right out of your mind by thinking on a wonderful promise of God in Scripture.
“with foam”: we should say the foam was in the mouth. Mark says the boy foamed and ground his teeth (9:18). Matthew says the boy is an epileptic, but this was caused by a demon, not a strictly natural cause. In other words, all diseases hit the body naturally and has natural causes, but a few of the diseases also have a demonic cause—both natural and demonic. A demon causes it, but it manifests in the body. It takes discernment to figure out how to pray. Let the Holy Spirit guide you.
“destroying”: the verb can mean “break, shatter, crush” or “bruise, wear out.” It is a visual verb of destruction. The demon was oppressive, and the boy was suffering. Never believe that demons can be called as allies (of sorts). Never make a deal with the devil. If you have, repent and give your heart and mind to Jesus, in Jesus’s name.
40:
Mark’s version says that the disciples or the crowds were discussing a topic with the experts in the law. Jesus asked them what they were talking about. Then the man in the crowd spoke up and told of his child and need (9:16-18). Mark’s version also says that this kind comes out only by prayer, and some manuscripts add fasting. We can combine prayer and fasting to build our faith. Pray for even small faith to expel demons. Fast, if necessary. Matthew’s version says that the nine disciples did not have enough faith; if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, the demon would have left. So we can combine prayer and faith to expel demons. Remember that one of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Cor. 12:7-11 is faith. Pray that God would distribute it by his Spirit, right when you need it.
Now let’s return to this verse in Luke.
The nine disciples were unable to expel it. Just earlier Jesus commissioned them to “do the stuff,” or they had authority to expel demons, but this one was stubborn. Mark says that even Jesus had to ask the question of the father about how long he had the demon (9:21), and the father answered “since childhood. If you can do anything, help us!” Jesus replied, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” Then the father cried out with very comforting words, that must have stuck in Peter’s mind when he was preaching his stories about Jesus, and Mark was recording them. “I believe! Help my unbelief!” the father said. This is a perfect description of the dilemma that people—you and I—face when we see a great need and want to have faith in God, but our desperation and unbelief gets in the way. Yes, God responds to desperation, as Jesus is doing here, but sooner or later the mind has to settle down and trust and believe. That’s the point Jesus was making. “All things are possible to the one who believes!” Desperation ≠ Faith
One good way to leave behind your desperation is to read up on Scriptures that talk about who God is, how much he loves you. Study Scriptures that promise healing.
41:
“O”: It expresses pain and disappointment, so it could be translated as “Oh!”
“unbelieving”: this could be translated as “faithless.” One has to have faith and trust in God. Remember a good acronym:
FAITH
=
Forsaking All, I Trust Him.
Word Study on Faith and Faithfulness
“crooked”: the verb means “thoroughly turned,” so that it is crooked. One translation has “twisted.” One lexicon suggests “depraved.”
42:
“unclean”: the spirit was of course unclean, so the meaning here is that the boy was made unclean. It was not a “good” daimōn (pronounced dye-moan), as some pagans thought of these minor deities. Luke has to clear up any potential confusion among some of his readers.
“threw”: it could be translated literally as “tore.” The verb s onomatopoeic (spelled and sounds like the action that the verb describes). “Rip” is an example in English. “Rrrrriiippp!” One translation has “knocked him to the ground.” But I like the verb “threw.”
“rebuked”: the verb means “rebuke, censure, warn,” and even “punish” (see Jude 9). In exorcisms it may have developed a specialized meaning, so one should use it, as Jesus did. Be authoritative. In any case, he has given us authority to tread on the devil (Luke 9:1 and 10:19).
“healed”: Why “healed” after a demon expulsion? Mark’s version says the unclean spirit had caused the boy to be deaf and mute (Mark 9:25). So here we have an undesigned coincidence, one Gospel clarifying the words of another Gospel, but without a deliberate strategy, as each writer included data points that the others omitted.
And the good news is that Jesus presented the boy to his father. No doubt he picked him up and took his hand and put it in his father’s hand. The father hugged and kissed him. A sweet and happy scene.
43a:
“greatness”: Some translations have “majesty.”
Please see my post on God’s majesty and greatness:
Do I Really Know God? He Is Majestic
Before leaving this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or section, it should be noted that Mark shows the disciples coming to Jesus and asking him privately why they could not expel the demon. He answered that this kind comes out only by prayer (and some translations add “and fasting”) (9:28-29). So you may have to pray before you launch into a deliverance time—and even fast.
See my posts here for a more developed theology of Satan and demons under v. 1, above:
GrowApp for Luke 9:37-43a
1. Study Eph. 5:8. You have been transferred from darkness to light. How do you walk in the light?
2. Study Jas. 4:7. You must submit to God and then resist the devil. Have you surrendered your life to God, completely?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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