Matthew 17: Glory and the Grind (3)

Pray Psalm 13.1, 2.
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Sing Psalm 13.1, 2.
(Melita: Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
How long, O Lord, O Lord, how long will You forget me and my song?
How long will You conceal Your face and keep from me Your precious grace?
How long must I my soul consult? When shall my weary heart exult?

Read Matthew 17.1-18; meditate on verses 14-18.

Prepare.
1. What was the man seeking from Jesus?

2. How did Jesus respond?

Meditate.
We’re not the only ones who cry out from time to time, “How long?”

There are at least three candidates here for the term “faithless and perverse generation.” The first might be the man – perhaps as a representative of the crowds who were always thronging Jesus. The man came to Jesus imploring Him to deliver his son from spiritually-influenced epilepsy (v. 15). If we ever doubted the role of Satan and his minions in foisting misery on human beings, this vignette should dispel that once and for all. The child was recognizably epileptic, being subject to uncontrollable fits which at times endangered his life. But the real problem back of all this was demonic, as Jesus well knew.

Was Jesus getting a little tired of all the press and pleading? I don’t think so. I don’t believe the man or the crowd he represented was who Jesus had in mind as a “faithless and perverse generation.”

Perhaps the disciples? They had given it their best shot at healing this child (v. 16). We can imagine them, repeating what they’d seen in Jesus, and doing what they themselves had done on occasion. But to no avail. Was Jesus upset with the disciples? I don’t think so. They were only trying to do the best they could to help this poor boy. Surely Jesus must have been pleased with them for their efforts.

The “faithless and perverse generation” to which Jesus referred here are those spiritual forces of wickedness that just don’t seem to know when they’re beaten. Jesus had defeated and bound their leader (Matt. 4.1-11; 12.22-29). Now He was plundering Satan’s dominion, winning souls, healing the sick, and raising the dead. And still that wicked and perverse generation of heavenly rebels persisted, as if any place they might hide or anything they might do could escape the notice and power of Jesus. In casting out the demon, Jesus cured the child, and reminded Satan once again that his days are numbered.

I don’t mean to suggest that all illness or misfortune is demon-related. It is, however, sin-related, though not necessarily the sin of the sufferer (cf. Jn. 9.1-3). Sin in the world makes the world groan and travail in ways that often bring misery to people (Rom. 8.19-22). How long must this continue? Until Jesus comes and with a Word, dispatches sin and death and sets us firmly in the sweet fields and still waters of the new heaven and new earth.

The answer to Jesus’ question, “How long?” is “Not yet; but soon, and very soon.”

Reflect.
1. Jesus longed for the day when the world would be free from sin and death. Do you long for that day, too?

2. Jesus brought God’s healing power to the people He encountered. Who needs to know the grace of God from you today?

3. What can we do to make sure we don’t come under the influence of spiritual forces of wickedness?

When the Savior says, “O faithless and perverse generation,” he shows that wickedness has entered us through perversity, that it is contrary to nature and makes us perverse. Origen (185-254), Commentary on Matthew 13.7

Let Your Word go with me today, Lord Jesus, and grant me Your power to…

Pray Psalm 13.2-6.
Give the challenges, trials, and difficulties of the day to the Lord, and call on Him to give you victory in them all.

Sing Psalm 13.2-6.
Psalm 13.2-6 (Melita: Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
Exalt not, Lord, my enemy; Lord, hear my prayer and answer me!
Give light unto my weary eyes; let not death claim me for its prize.
Let not my foe rejoice to say that I have fallen in the way.

Yet I have trusted, Lord, in You; Your lovingkindness sees me through.
My heart breaks forth in happy voice; in Your salvation I rejoice!
Thus I will sing triumphantly: “My God has dealt full well with me!”

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).