And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
Matthew 17:17 (ESV)
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith.
Matthew 17:19-20a (ESV)
When Jesus, Peter, James, and John had come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they found a crowd gathered around the other disciples (Mark 9:14). And from the crowd, a man came asking Jesus to heal his son, something the disciples had been unable to do.
Jesus’ response is puzzling. Who is it that he calls a faithless and twisted generation? Is it the crowd, the father, or the disciples? At first glance, it would not seem applicable to anyone. The crowds were a constant feature around Jesus. The father’s request was a common one. And surely he would not call his disciples a faithless and twisted generation.
Yet the commentaries I have read identify the disciples as the target of Jesus’ exasperation. They had been with him for three years and had seen all he had done. They had been out on mission trips and healed the sick and cast out demons. But they were unable to do so in this case.
A Lack of Faith
They later came to Jesus, asking him why they couldn’t cast out this demon. Mark’s account indicates that this was a more challenging type of demon that required prayer (Mark 9:29). But Matthew tells us that it was simply a lack of faith on their part. Nothing would be impossible for them if they had the faith of a grain of mustard seed.
I can sympathize with the disciples. How often is the Lord frustrated or disappointed in me? How often do I tell the Lord, “I can’t do that,” when he opens a door for me? Or I try, fail, and ask why? And his answer to me is the same as to the disciples. It is because of my lack of faith. If I simply trust him, nothing he asks me to do will be impossible.
