Matthew 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
As we turn our focus to the Bible study, God would have us understand that different situations will sometimes call for different approaches, and moving targets can only be taken down by moving marksmen, those who are willing to adopt a different or an additional approach. The above question in the passage, posed by the disciples was a pertinent and valid question, for Jesus had previously given to His disciples, the power over diseases and unclean spirits.
And thus, if they had the power, it would be perplexing to them why in this particular situation, the devils literally mocked them in public much to the chagrin of all. One of the problems which arose among these disciples was their limiting of the power of God, through a lack of faith. In our day, one of the adverse side effects of being inundated and surrounded by gadgets and gizmos, is that we come to restrict the realm of possibility to these finite limitations.
So, whenever there arises a challenge, or a seemingly insurmountable difficulty, we come to believe that the problem could only be solved with the limited tools at our disposal. Thus, instead of expanding our minds in the realm of faith, to reach for the invisible, and the infinite, our perspective on faith in God is constantly being squished, cramped, and squeezed into very narrow modes of thought, and the inevitable result is that God is often left out of the picture.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them.… If you 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.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!