And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Matthew 17:14-16

Here we see an example, where a man brought his son to the disciples to be healed, and they couldn’t cure him. Now this brings up some questions, why did the disciples fail to heal this boy? Was it due to their lack of faith? Was it due to the boy’s lack of faith? Was it not God’s will for the boy to be healed? Now first we see the demonstration of faith by the Father, as he took his son to Christ and said “Lord , have mercy on my son”

Another thing we need to acknowledge here, is this is not just an illness or medical issue, this was a demonic force that had a grasp on the boy. Meaning , the disciples were not just fighting against flesh and blood here, they were fighting against spiritual demonic forces. Were they prepared spiritually to fight this battle? Are we prepared to fight the spiritual warfare around us? (Ephesians 6)

Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:17-20

Jesus answers all our questions here, first he calls them all a “Faithless and Perverse Generation” doesn’t sound like the cuddly Jesus they teach in Sunday School. Christ rebukes the disciples for having no faith, this is why they couldn’t cast out the demon. This brings up a good point, not only does the person, who needs to be healed needs faith, but the one praying for them needs faith also. Asking for faithless people to pray for you is useless, faith is the foundation of our salvation. Without faith you can’t please God (Hebrews 11:6) and you can’t be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Christ rebuked the demon and cast them out immediately, the disciples’ response was “Why could we not cast them out”? Jesus said “Because of your unbelief” , you need to have true faith in Christ! Most people hope and wish God would do something, this doesn’t impress God, you need faith, total assurance that Christ is able!

Jesus said with faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. All it takes is faith in Christ! Surrender yourself to The Lord, put your faith in Jesus Amen!