And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”
- KJV And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
- BSB I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”
- NKJV So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
- NLT I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The father says he begged the disciples to cast it out, but they could not. Their failure exposes the limits of power apart from faith and dependence on Christ.
Overview
The disciples, who had earlier been given authority, are now unable to help, revealing a weakness in their faith. Their failure sets the stage for Jesus to act where they could not. It teaches that spiritual power flows not from method but from genuine faith in and reliance upon the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 9:1He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
- Acts 19:13–16But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
- 2 Kgs 4:31Gehazi went ahead of them, and laid the staff on the child’s face; but there was no voice and no hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
- Luke 10:17–19The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
- Matt 17:20He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 9:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.