What does Luke 9:42 mean?
A desperate father found Jesus' disciples and begged them to rescue his young son. An evil spirit has demonized the boy. The demon either gives or exacerbates epileptic-type seizures (Luke 9:37–40) and attempts to kill him by throwing him in fire and water (Mark 9:22). The disciples find they have no control over the demon despite having been empowered by Jesus (Luke 9:1). When Jesus arrives, the father turns to Him. Jesus is frustrated with the lack of faith of everyone involved but agrees to help.Luke presents a quick resolution, but Mark gives more details. When the demon sees Jesus, it throws the boy down into another seizure. Jesus asks the father how long the boy has suffered, and the father says since childhood. The father then says, "But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus responds, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." The father gives the famous answer: "I believe; help my unbelief!" Jesus then sees an even larger crowd running toward them and cuts the conversation short. He rebukes the demon, and the boy goes into one last seizure that leaves him lying on the ground like a corpse. Jesus reaches down and helps him up, alive and healed (Mark 9:20–27).
Matthew says, "the boy was healed instantly" (Matthew 17:18). Mark's description might not seem "instantaneous," but compared to the conversation Jesus had with the Legion of demons (Luke 8:27–33), this is an accurate description.
Rarely, scholars attempt to suggest the demon slammed Jesus to the ground and "threw him into a convulsion." That is inconsistent with the actions of demons around Jesus. Legion harmed the man they possessed (Mark 5:5), and this demon regularly harmed the boy (Luke 9:39). A demon did cause its victim to attack would-be rescuers, but these rescuers were attempting to use God's power in an inappropriate way (Acts 19:13–16). Jesus consistently demonstrates full power over demons; they must exit at His word (Luke 4:31–36).
The wording in the ESV is blurry. It uses the term "heal" often in the context of casting out demons, but usually the source word is the generic Greek word for rescue or return to health. Here, the Greek word primarily means to restore someone to health after a physical malady. Luke almost always reserves its use for those cases in which someone is healed from a disease. In Acts 10:38, Luke quotes Peter saying about Jesus, "He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him." This seems to indicate that in the case of this boy, he may have epilepsy and the demon is making it worse. Jesus' healing of the boy goes beyond even rescue from disease and possession, however; in giving him "back to his father," the relationship and the boy's cultural position as his father's only child and heir are also restored.
Luke ends here. Matthew and Mark record the disciples retreating to a house in private and asking Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demon. Matthew quotes Jesus talking about their lack of faith while Mark points out their lack of prayer (Matthew 17:19–21; Mark 9:28–29). It was for prayer that Jesus went to the top of the mountain with Peter, James, and John (Luke 9:28). Luke's gospel often highlights the importance of prayer (Luke 1:13; 2:37; 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 10:2: 11:1–12; 18:1; 19:46; 21:36; 22:32, 39–46).
