THE MAN WHO WAS A LUNATIC
“And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Mt 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. Mt 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Mt 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. Mt 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Mt 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? Mt 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Mt 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”Matthew 17:14-21.
We have moved into a new section of Matthew’s gospel. The two outstanding figures in the genealogy of Christ are Abraham and David. In the first section He is presented as the Son of David, and the Kingdom of Heaven was preached. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17. In the second section He is presented as the suffering son of Abraham, as seen in Isaac. “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Matthew 16:21. He will travel from the mount of transfiguration to Mount Calvary.
Things had not change below the mountain. A young man is designated as a “lunatic.” He would respond as an epileptic. Some believed that the symptoms were greatest when there was a full moon. In reality, a devil took full control of him at those times to make the people believe it was the moon.
Under the Kingdom ministry personal faith will have a like effect on the sick, and the possessed. This was true in the gospels and early acts, and will be so again in the Tribulation and the Kingdom. The unbelief of the nine rendered them helpless in this special case. However, Jesus had told them, after His departing, they would do greater miracles than these. Nevertheless, verse 20 and many similar passages in the Kingdom gospels speak of spectacular miracles by those with spectacular faith. For example, (Mt. 21:22; Mk. 9:23; 11:22-24; Jn. 14:12-15; 15:7,16; Heb. 11:6; Jas. 1:5-8). Nothing like this is promised in the church epistles. Thus, these are Kingdom ministry promises, in some cases are a hyperbole.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.