View source for Jesus heals the epileptic boy

===The of a Boy With a Demon:===
This miracle is described in three gospels, Matt.17:14-20; Makr.9:14-29; Luke.9:37-43, it is about the power of a demon, and the power of prayer and penance.

===A Demon:===

Nobody today wants to relate a sickness with demons, but here is a demon who had a boy with convulsions since childhood. In Luke.13, Jesus heals the woman with the spine bent by Satan for 18 years.

In Job, it was Satan in person who gave Job leper. 

Jesus often correlates demons with sicknesses. His job was to preach the gospel, cast out demons and heal the sick, and he sent his disciples to do the same, 1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. (Matt.10:1, Matt. 5:23-24).

In fact, most wonders of the devil in the gospels are to produce all kind of sicknesses and diseases.

Look at Deliverance by Jesus... and by a Christian 

===Failure of the Disciples:===

This the only place where the disciples failed a healing and Jesus had to take over.

The Reason? Little faith, and prayer plus fasting (penance).

===Faith of the Father:===

The boy was healed by the faith and prayer of the father. In the case of the Syro-Phoenician the daughter was healed because the faith and prayer of the mother.

Yes, the best thing we can give to our relatives is our faith and prayer, to our spouse, children, grand-children... not only physical food but the spiritual one.

===A Miracle:===
Luke gives us the sign of a miracle of God, it brings to God, and praises God, 43And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. (Luke.9:42).

===Mathew 17:===

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 

15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 

16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."

17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 

18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 

20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

(Matt.17:14-20).

===Mark 9:===

23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.(Mark.9:28-29).
Luke 9:

42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 

43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. (Luke.9:42).

===Power of Faith... of Prayer and Fasting:=== 

The disciples failed to heal the boy, and they asked the reason to Jesus,

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

===Jesus gave several reasons:===
20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matt.17:20).

17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matt.17:17)

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.(Mark.9:29).

===Power of Faith... the "atomic bomb" of the Christian:=== 

The statements on faith of Jesus in this miracle are astounding:

Everything is possible for him who believes." (Mark.9:23).

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matt.17:20).

"Faith in Christ" is the most powerful dynamite of the universe, able to heal the body, to stop storms, to move the mountains of hatred and doubts, and most specially to fill us with love, with Jesus in our hearts, the seed of the love, joy, peace, and security that nothing or nobody can take away (Rom.8:37-39). 

===This "faith in Christ" is something very simple:=== 

The father of the boy above... and Jesus healed his son!, by the faith of the father.

The woman in Mark.5 believed Jesus could heal her if she just could touch him... she touch him, and she was healed, she stopped the bleeding she had for 12 years.

Jairus, in the same chapter, thought Jesus could resurrect his daughter, and Jesus resurrected her!.

In chapter 7, the Syriphaenician, a pagan woman, believed Jesus could heal her the epilepsy of her daughter... and the daughter was healed, by the faith of the mother... 

And the same goes on and on with the leper, the blind Bartimaeus, the servant of the Roman centurion, another pagan... 

Nowadays for you and me to have "faith in Christ" is the same... do you have any serious problem at home, or in your life?... try Jesus!, even if you are not a Christian... you will see wonders in your life!.

Only in one occasion in all Gospels Jesus "could not " make miracles, and it was in his own town, in Nazareth, in Mark. 6:5, and Jesus admired himself of their incredulity... not even Jesus "could" make miracles when there was no faith! 

===Prayer and Fasting:=== 

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. (Mark.9:28-29).

Prayer and fasting (penance) is the Hydrogen bomb of the Christians. 

It is what Jesus did for 40 days in the desert and every night He retired to pray in the gospels, prayer and fasting.

It is the secret weapon of the Movement of Cursillos in Christianity called "palanca". Each Cursillo is well programmed, prepared to the least detail, but the secret weapon of the success is the "Palanca"... it is the formula that never fails in the Bible, "do your best, and pray and fast".

Problems at home?, do your very best, but first "Palanca", prayer and fasting. Problems at work, with your friends or enemies with sickness?, yes, "Palanca! [[Category:Jesus]]