And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
Matthew 17:14 marks the turn from the transfiguration with the three disciples on the mountain to Jesus' return to the multitude gathered in the plain below. As He descends, a certain man comes to Him, kneels before Him, and speaks to Him. That kneeling man is the father who had brought his suffering son to seek deliverance.
The scene awaiting Jesus is troubled. The people come to meet Him with reverence and joy, yet He discerns their perplexity and the distress of the disciples after they failed to cast out the boy's tormenting spirit. The child is afflicted by a dumb spirit, a demon under Satan's power. He suffers violent spasms, being thrown down and torn, a condition no human power could relieve.
In sharp contrast to the glory just displayed on the mountain, Jesus meets the child's misery. He lifts him from the ground, frees him permanently from Satan's and the demon's power, restores him to health of mind and body, and returns him to his father and home. The healing is an object lesson of redemption, showing the Son of God stooping from the Father's glory to save the lost.
Souls in the valley below, enslaved by Satan and in spiritual bondage, wait for the word of faith and prayer to set them free. Christ's servants therefore have work among people in need, where faith and prayer can free those enslaved by Satan. One whose spirit has received the risen glory of the Lord and become radiant in His presence must go down to those in need in the spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love that seeks not its own, to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death for saving humanity, and nearness to Christ is measured by drinking most deeply of that love on earth.
Coming to Jesus does not require a person to undergo conflicts and trials like those suffered by the child as he was brought to Jesus, though thrown down and torn. The account beginning in this verse is one of Christ's genuine miracles and works, and is not to be explained as the effect of one human mind or will upon another.
Matthew 17:14 marks the turn from the transfiguration with the three disciples on the mountain to Jesus' return to the multitude gathered in the plain below. As He descends, a certain man comes to Him, kneels before Him, and speaks to Him. That kneeling man is the father who had brought his suffering son to seek deliverance.
The scene awaiting Jesus is troubled. The people come to meet Him with reverence and joy, yet He discerns their perplexity and the distress of the disciples after they failed to cast out the boy's tormenting spirit. The child is afflicted by a dumb spirit, a demon under Satan's power. He suffers violent spasms, being thrown down and torn, a condition no human power could relieve.
In sharp contrast to the glory just displayed on the mountain, Jesus meets the child's misery. He lifts him from the ground, frees him permanently from Satan's and the demon's power, restores him to health of mind and body, and returns him to his father and home. The healing is an object lesson of redemption, showing the Son of God stooping from the Father's glory to save the lost.
Souls in the valley below, enslaved by Satan and in spiritual bondage, wait for the word of faith and prayer to set them free. Christ's servants therefore have work among people in need, where faith and prayer can free those enslaved by Satan. One whose spirit has received the risen glory of the Lord and become radiant in His presence must go down to those in need in the spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love that seeks not its own, to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death for saving humanity, and nearness to Christ is measured by drinking most deeply of that love on earth.
Coming to Jesus does not require a person to undergo conflicts and trials like those suffered by the child as he was brought to Jesus, though thrown down and torn. The account beginning in this verse is one of Christ's genuine miracles and works, and is not to be explained as the effect of one human mind or will upon another.