Luke 9:43Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But that this man was much weakened in faith, the writings of the Gospel shew us in several places. In that place where he says, Help thou my unbelief; (Mark 9:21, 23.) and, If thou canst. And in that where Christ said, All things are possible to him that believeth, &c.

By the word perverse, He shews that this wickedness in them was not originally or by nature, for by nature indeed they were upright, being the seed of Abraham, but became perverted through malice.

As if not knowing how to continue in the right beginnings. Now Christ disdains to dwell with those who are thus disposed. Hence He says, How long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Feeling troubled with their company, because of their evil deeds.

They believed that He accomplished this miracle not through His own divine authority, but through power sourced from God. He stated... - see v. 44

It seems indeed to me that this was a wise man. For he said not to the Saviour, “Do this or that,” but, Look on my son, for this suffices for His salvation; as the prophet said, Look on me, and have mercy on me; and he says, on my son, to shew that his was a reasonable forwardness in crying out aloud among the multitude. He adds, for he is mine only child. As if to say, There is none other I can expect to be the consolation of my old age. He next enters into the sufferings, that he may move his Hearer to compassion, saying, And, lo, the spirit taketh him. He then seems to accuse the disciples, but his answer is rather a justification of his casting aside his fear, saying, And I besought thy disciples to cast him out: and they could not.

Certain places accord with certain events. On the Mount our Lord prays, is transfigured, reveals the secrets of His glory to His disciples; as He descends to the lower parts, He is received by a large concourse. As it is said, And it came to pass, that on the next day, when he was come down from the hill, much people met him. Above He makes known the voice of the Father, below He expels the evil spirits. Hence it follows, And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee look upon my son.

The Lord, having departed from the gathering of people, continued His journey quietly. He dedicated additional moments to His disciples and periodically reminded them that the Son of Man would be betrayed into the hands of men, would be crucified, and that on the third day after His death He would rise again. Yet, the disciples did not comprehend this message. Upon hearing about the troubling future that lay ahead, they felt sorrowful, but they refrained from inquiring directly about its meaning or the reasons behind it.

As recorded by Mark the Evangelist, after Jesus had healed the boy, He entered the house. The apostles followed Him inside and, once they were alone, inquired, 'Why were we unable to drive him out?' Jesus replied, 'Because of your unbelief' (Matthew 17:20).

After admonishing the disciples for their lack of faith, which contributed to the situation, the Saviour commanded that the afflicted boy be brought to Him. When the boy arrived, he immediately suffered a severe episode of his affliction, collapsing to the ground in distress, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. This was one of the most dreadful manifestations of demonic possession, and even in the presence of the Saviour, the father struggled to quell his doubts about the possibility of healing. However, Christ unflinchingly proclaimed to him that “all things are possible to him that believeth.” When the distressed father, eager to banish all doubt within himself, cried out, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief,” the Saviour quickly uplifted his spirit of faith by healing the boy.

The Lord's renewed announcement regarding His sufferings is presented in the Gospel of Luke in a manner as succinct as or even more so than in the accounts of the first two Evangelists. However, Luke offers a more detailed depiction of the impact these words had on the disciples. As noted earlier in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the reaction of the crowd is highlighted; they were astonished by the magnificence of God, which reflects the response elicited from the people witnessing the miraculous healing of the boy possessed by a demon. The crowd was in awe of God's greatness, for they believed that such wonders were accomplished not through human effort, but by the divine authority of God. The passage discussing their marveling occurred sometime later after the narrated events, when the Lord, accompanied by His disciples, traveled through Galilee following their departure from Opus.

From the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus Christ journeyed toward Capernaum, deliberately keeping His presence hidden as He traveled through Galilee. Throughout His journey, He reiterated to His disciples the foretelling of what awaited Him in Jerusalem, aiming to prepare them so that 'they might not think that He would suffer reluctantly, and that they might become accustomed to it and not be embarrassed by His sufferings when they came as an unexpected event.' Pay attention to His words - recall and understand that all of this will indeed happen: the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, they will crucify Him, and after His death, He will rise on the third day.