Matthew 17:14

 Matthew 17::14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,  Once more, their was a single individual who came to Jesus for help, and even in a multitude, we must come to Jesus individually, even if we are asking for help for someone else.  Verse fifteen adds, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.  It would not be politically correct to call someone a lunatic today, but he man's son had problems.  He would often harm himself.  The man was concerned for the physical wellbeing of his son, and we should be concerned with the physical wellbeing of our children today, but even more importantly we should be concerned with their spiritual wellbeing.  We should always bring them to Jesus in prayer in either case.  Verse sixteen continues, And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.  It is a good thing to bring those that we care about to the church, God's disciples today, but unless they then bring the problems of the person to Jesus, then they will not be able to do anything.  Since Jesus was evidently unaware of the man's problem, then we have to assume that the disciples attempted to help the man on their own.  Since the disciples were unable to help the man, we also have to assume that they were acting under their own power and not by faith in Jesus to empower them.  We must be careful that we as followers of Christ never begin to act under our own power instead of allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us.  Verse seventeen declares, 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.  Jesus was basically talking to the disciples I believe.  He called them, and of course nearly all others as well, a wicked and perverse generation, and then asked how long He would be with them.  Jesus had already told the disciples the parable of the mustard seed concerning faith, yet they remained basically powerless to do anything for God.  We have that same promise, but we often act as though we are powerless in the world today.  Jesus then told the man to bring his son to Him.  Verse eighteen adds, And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.  Jesus rebuked the devil in the son and that very hour he was healed.  The child had been acting the way he was not because of some mental defect but because he was allowing a devil to control him.  Once more, there was no big battle, but when Jesus told the devil to come out of the child the devil had no choice but to do so.  Verse nineteen asks, Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?  The disciples came to Jesus wanting to know why they could not heal the boy.  We today may often feel that we are unable to do something for those around us, but if we do then we need to come to Jesus and ask Him why.  It may be that we are asking something for our own benefit and not asking in accordance with God's will, or it may be that we are asking without real faith that God can do what we ask.  Whatever the reason, we need to look to God for the answer.  Verse twenty declares, And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye 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.  Jesus once again told the disciples that they could move a mountain with even faith the size of a mustard seed, which they evidently lacked at this time.  Verse twenty-one adds, Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.  Jesus said that faith like that came only from prayer and fasting.  They could not do it by their own power, and neither can we.