The demon recognizes that he is about to have to leave and makes one last effort, and the spirit threw him into a convulsion and he fell to the ground and wallowed foaming. In verse 21, Jesus asked the father how long this has been happening and the father responds: from childhood. The demon often attempted to cast him into the fire and water to kill him. Personal need Then notice the expression of personal need at the end of verse 22: but if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us! Faith So he expresses a personal need, take pity on us and help us. But the expression "if you can” is not an expression of faith but one of doubt. And that doubt must be removed before the miracle can be performed. So in verse 23, Jesus says to him: If you can! All things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father cries out: I do believe; help my unbelief. And this is an exercise of faith. Privacy Notice how verse 25 begins. 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit. Remember that Jesus had the boy and his father removed from the crowd. Now, when He saw the crowd running toward him, and before they arrived, He casts the demon out. Again the miracle is not for the benefit of the masses anymore, so He does the miracle privately on the basis of personal need and faith. Disciples’ dilemma All is settled, but not for the disciples. As we will see, they come to Him privately with a question. Read verses 28 – 29 of Mark’s account. What they want to know is: why could we not drive it out? Remember they have already been able to cast out demons, so why could they not cast him out this time? Jesus gives them two reasons: The wrong method In Mark verse 29, He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Here He says there is only one method to cast out this kind of demon. In other words they used the wrong method.
From Satan, John 8:41-48 Now He has just been telling them that they are in fact slaves to sin, and that, while they are descended from Abraham, they are not spiritually children of Abraham because they are doing what Abraham would not have done. Satan’s children Next, He tells them who their father is. Read verses 41-42. First they claimed that Abraham was their father. Now they claim that God is their father. How does He answer them? God is not their father First He refutes that God is their father. If their claim were true, if God were their father, then instead of trying to kill Him they would be loving Him. And why? Because He came from the Father’s presence and He came at the Father’s initiative, not His own. He was sent by the Father. If God were their father, they would have recognised Him and loved Him. The devil is their father Then He tells them who is their father. Read verses 43-45. Who is their father? He points out that the devil is really their father. How does He prove this to them? The devil is obviously their father because they want to do the desires of their father. And then He gives two examples of the devil’s desires that they are carrying out. The devil is a murderer from the beginning. And the fact that they are trying to kill Him shows that they have a murderer’s spirit. The devil is the father of lies. He is by very nature a liar, and all liars share his nature. And they are lying about Him, which shows that the devil is their father. And since they do the acts of the devil, they are the devil’s children, and the devil is their father. And for that reason, Jesus says, they do not understand Him and they do not believe Him.