Church Fathers Commentary Luke 9:37-42

"And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. And behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child: and behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely. And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not. And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son. And as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare [him] grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father." — Luke 9:37-42 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: Certain places correspond to certain events. On the mountain our Lord prays, is transfigured, and reveals the secrets of His glory to His disciples. As He comes down to the lower areas, He is met by a large crowd. 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 reveals the Father's voice; below, He drives out evil spirits. Therefore, it says, And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beg you, look upon my son.

Titus of Bostra: It seems to me that this was a wise man. For he did not say to the Savior, “Do this or that,” but, Look on my son, for this is sufficient for his salvation. As the prophet said, Look on me, and have mercy on me. He says, on my son, to show that his boldness in crying out among the multitude was reasonable. He adds, for he is my only child, as if to say, “There is no one else I can expect to be the comfort of my old age.” He next describes the sufferings to move his Hearer to compassion, saying, And, lo, the spirit takes him. He then seems to accuse the disciples, but his response is actually a justification for setting aside his fear, saying, And I begged your disciples to cast him out: and they could not. It is as if he said, “Do not think that I have come to You lightly. Your greatness is marvelous! I did not impose on Your presence immediately but went first to Your disciples. Because they failed to perform the cure, I am now compelled to approach You.” Our Lord therefore does not blame him, but the faithless generation, for it follows, And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation.

St. John Chrysostom: That this man was very weak in faith, the Gospels show us in several places. For instance, where he says, Help my unbelief, and, If you can. And also where Christ said, All things are possible for one who believes, etc.

Therefore, it seems more correct to me to consider the demoniac's father unbelieving, because he also brings reproach upon the holy Apostles, saying that they could not subdue the evil spirits. It would have been better to seek favor from God by honoring Him, for He shows regard for those who fear Him. But anyone who says that those who have obtained power over evil spirits from Christ are weak is slandering the grace itself, rather than those who are adorned with that grace in whom Christ works. Christ is therefore offended by the accusation against the saints, to whom the word of holy preaching was entrusted. Therefore, the Lord rebukes him and those who think like him, saying, O faithless and perverse generation. It is as if He were saying, “Because of your unbelief, the grace has not achieved its effect.”

Now, He does not direct His words to the father alone but to all the Jews, so that He would not cause the man to doubt. For it must be that many were offended.

Theophylact of Ohrid: By the word “perverse,” He shows that their wickedness was not original or by nature, for they were indeed upright by nature, being the seed of Abraham, but became perverted through malice.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: It is as if they did not know how to continue in their right beginnings. Now, Christ disdains to dwell with those who are disposed in this way. Therefore, He says, How long shall I be with you, and suffer you? He feels troubled by their company because of their evil deeds.

St. John Chrysostom: By this He also shows that He desired His own departure, not because the suffering of the cross was grievous to Him, but because their way of life was.

The Venerable Bede: It is not that weariness has overcome His patience, but it is like a physician who, seeing a patient act contrary to his instructions, says, “How long must I come to your house when I order one thing, and you do another?” But to prove that He was not angry with the man but with the sin, He immediately added, Bring your son here.

Titus of Bostra: He could have healed him by a simple command, but He makes his sufferings public, bringing the weak in faith to see what was happening. Then the devil, when he perceived our Lord, tears and throws the child down, as it follows: And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tore him. This was so that first the sufferings would be made manifest, and then the remedy applied.

St. John Chrysostom: The Lord, however, does this not for display but for the father’s sake, so that upon seeing the devil disturbed at a mere summons, he might at least be led to believe in the coming miracle. After this, it says, And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now, before this, it was not his father but the devil who possessed him. But now the Evangelist adds that the people were astonished at the greatness of God, saying, And all were amazed at the mighty power of God. He says this because of the gift of Christ, who also conferred on the holy Apostles the power to work divine miracles and to have mastery over evil spirits.

The Venerable Bede: In a mystical sense, our Lord daily ascends to some people in proportion to their merits. He glorifies the perfect and those whose way of life is in heaven by exalting them higher, instructing them in eternal things and teaching them what the multitude cannot hear. But to others He descends, strengthening the earthly and foolish, teaching and chastening them.

Matthew calls this demoniac a lunatic, while Mark calls him deaf and dumb. Matthew signifies those who are unstable like the moon, waxing and waning through different vices. Mark signifies those who are dumb because they do not confess the faith, and deaf because they do not hear the word of faith.

When the boy is coming to our Lord, he is thrown to the ground. This is because when people turn to the Lord, they are often grievously afflicted by the devil, who does this to instill a hatred of virtue in them or to avenge the injury of his own expulsion. Just as in the beginning of the Church, the devil waged fierce conflicts in response to the sudden losses inflicted upon his kingdom.

But our Lord does not rebuke the boy who suffered violence, but the evil spirit who inflicted it. For one who desires to correct a sinner ought to drive away the vice with reproof and abhorrence, but revive the person with gentleness, until he can be restored to his spiritual father in the Church.