Charles Spurgeon Commentary Mark 9:20

"And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming." — Mark 9:20 (ASV)

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

What a dreadful sight! He struggled on the ground, like one in a fit of epilepsy.

And they brought him unto him:

Some came to help the father; probably, bringing the young man was too much for one person alone. They brought him unto him. Two or three of you with united prayer can do what, perhaps, one person's prayer would not. Come, help one another.

Bear ye one another's burdens in prayer. I would suggest that if one of you has an ungodly son who causes you trouble, you should communicate with a few of your brothers and sisters in Christ and say, "Let us jointly make this case a matter of prayer until God hears us."

Then you must take up a case of theirs—you know, taking turns—and see whether God does not, in answer to prayer, bless one after another whom you thus bring to Christ. I know what the result will be if it is honestly tried in simple confidence in the power of Jesus.

And he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

And Jesus, instead of curing him at once, gave his first attention to the other patient before him, namely, the father of the child. He was suffering from an equally bad disease, though the symptoms were different, and Jesus meant to cure him as well as his boy.

And they brought him to him: and when he saw him, immediately the spirit tare him;

As soon as Christ looked at him, the spirit tare him. One look from Christ awakes the devil. Sometimes, sinners are worse for a time when Christ looks upon them. The devil always has great wrath, when he knows that his time is short; and he rages and tears most violently when he is about to be ejected. The Jews have a proverb, "When the tale of bricks is doubled, Moses appears," and we may make it into a Scriptural proverb, "When the devil's torment of the heart is doubled, then Jesus appears to cast him out."