And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Parallel translations
- WEB So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
- BSB I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
- NKJV So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
- NASB And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
- NLT So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
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 explains that Jesus' disciples could not heal the boy. Their failure exposes the limits of unbelief and sets up Jesus' teaching on faith.
Overview
Though the disciples had earlier been given authority over demons (Matthew 10:1), here they cannot drive this one out. Their inability is not a flaw in Christ's power but a lesson about dependence on God. It prepares for Jesus' diagnosis that their little faith, not the difficulty of the case, was the problem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 17:19–20Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
- Luke 9:40And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
- Acts 19:15–16And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
- Acts 3:16And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
- 2 Kgs 4:29–31Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 17:16 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
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