![]() ![]() or, at the divine grandeur of Christ rising upon them daily. Luke (Lu 9:43) adds, "And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God"-"at the majesty" or "mightiness of God," in this last miracle, in the Transfiguration, &c. "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21), that is, though nothing is impossible to faith, yet such a height of faith as is requisite for such triumphs is not to be reached either in a moment or without effort-either with God in prayer or with ourselves in self-denying exercises. 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" (Mt 17:20). ![]() But the answer to their question, as given in Mt 17:20, 21 is fuller: "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting-that is, as nearly all good interpreters are agreed, "this kind of evil spirits cannot be expelled," or "so desperate a case of demoniacal possession cannot be cured, but by prayer and fasting." But since the Lord Himself says that His disciples could not fast while He was with them, perhaps this was designed, as Alford hints, for their after-guidance-unless we take it as but a definite way of expressing the general truth, that great and difficult duties require special preparation and self-denial. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary29. In our unbelief and our doubts we need his aid, nor shall we ever put sufficient reliance on him without his gracious help. Everyone who comes to the Saviour for help has need of offering this prayer. Give me strength and grace to put "entire" confidence in thee. Help thou mine unbelief - Supply thou the defects of my faith. We have no evidence that he had any knowledge of the divine nature of the Saviour, and he applied the word, probably, as he would have done to any other teacher or worker of miracles. Lord - This word here signifies merely "master," or "sir," as it does often in the New Testament. I do put confidence in thee, though I know that my faith is not as strong as it should be. Any man would have wept in his condition, nor would the Saviour turn the weeping suppliant away. An anxious father, distressed at the condition of his son, having applied to the disciples in vain, now coming to the Saviour and not having full confidence that he had the proper qualification to be aided, he wept. Nothing can be more touching or natural than this. Barnes' Notes on the BibleSaid with tears - The man felt the implied rebuke in the Saviour's language and feeling grieved that he should be thought to be destitute of faith, and feeling deeply for the welfare of his afflicted son, he wept. ![]()
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