When He came into the house, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?”
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”
- KJV And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
- BSB After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
- NKJV And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
- NLT Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
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
Privately, the disciples ask Jesus why they failed to cast out the demon. It matters because it exposes their reliance on technique rather than on God.
Overview
After the public deliverance, the Twelve seek a private explanation for their earlier inability (9:18). Their question is honest and teachable rather than defensive. Jesus uses it to redirect them from their own power to dependence on God, a lesson that points beyond themselves to the One in whom all authority resides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 17:19–20Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
- Matt 13:36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
- Mark 7:17When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable.
- Mark 4:10When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
- Matt 15:15Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
- Mark 4:34Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
- Matt 13:10The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 9:28 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.