“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
- KJV Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
- BSB “If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!”
- NKJV Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
- NASB But Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can’? All things are possible for the one who believes.”
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
Jesus echoes the father's 'if you can,' declaring that all things are possible to one who believes. He shifts the question from his power to the man's faith.
Overview
Jesus gently challenges the father's doubt, redirecting 'if you can' back to him: the issue is not Jesus' ability but the father's trust. This does not make faith a magic force but calls for reliance on the One who is able. It invites the man, and every reader, to bring even weak faith to the limitless power of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 11:40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
- Heb 11:6Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
- Mark 11:23For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says.
- 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.
- Matt 21:21–22Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.
- Luke 17:6The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
- 2 Chr 20:20They rose early in the morning, and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, so you will be established! Believe his prophets, so you will prosper.”
- John 4:48–50Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”
- Acts 14:9He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 9:23 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.