Mark 9:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Mark 9:18
And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt…
Matthew 17:19-20 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mark 9:28-29 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Luke 9:39-40 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from h…
Matthew 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Mark 9:20 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.
Mark 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
2 Kings 4:29-31 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Mark 9:14-29
We have here the story of Christ casting the devil out of a child, somewhat more fully related than it was in Mat 17:14, etc. Observe here,
I. Christ's return to his disciples, and the perplexity he found them in. He laid aside his robes of glory, and came to look after his family, and to enquire what was become of them. Christ's glory above does not make him forget the concerns of his church below, which he visits in great humility, Mat 17:14. And he came very seasonably, when the disciples were embarrassed and run a-ground; the scribes, who were sworn enemies both to him and them, had gained an advantage against them. A child possessed with a devil was brought to them, and they could not c…
Pineth away - By these continual torments; so he was not only deaf and dumb, but sorely tortured besides.
John Gill on Mark 9:18
And wheresoever he taketh him,.... The spirit, or devil, whether it be near fire, or water, whatsoever danger, or dangerous place:
he teareth him; or throws him into it, or dashes him against it; or inwardly racks, tortures, and convulses him:
and he foameth; at the mouth, like one that is mad:
and gnasheth with his teeth; through the excessive pain he is in:
and pineth away; his flesh is withered, dried up, and consumed away. This was the sad deplorable case this child was in, who was his father's only child, and therefore his health and life were very desirable: now he further observes to Christ, saying,
and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. C…
Mark 9:14-27
Matthew 17:14-18
Mark 9:14-27
Luke 9:37-43
14. And when they were come to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling before him, 15. And saying, Lord, have compassion on my son, for he is lunatic, and is grievously distressed; for frequently he falleth into the fire, and frequently into the water. 16. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17. And Jesus answering said, O unbelieving and perverse nation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. 18. And Jesus rebuked the devil, who went out of him; and from that instant the child was cured.
14. And when he came to the disciples, he saw a great multitude aroun…
The Church Fathers
These spirits therefore, having lost the simplicity of their created being and the primitive fineness of their nature, are now clogged and laden with iniquity. Utterly undone themselves, they make it their whole business to undo others, for companions in misery. Being depraved themselves, they would infuse the same depravity into others.… When we command them by the one true God, the wretches, bitterly against their will, fall into horrible shiverings, and either spring straightaway from the bodies they possess, or vanish by degrees, according to the faith of the patient or the grace of the physician.
This saying, If thou canst, is a proof of the freedom of the will. Again, all things are possible to him that believeth, which evidently means all those things which are prayed for with tears in the name of Jesus, that is, of salvation. By this also we are taught that our faith is tottering, if it lean not on the stay of the help of God. But faith by its tears receives the accomplishment of its wishes; Wherefore it continues, When Jesus saw that the multitude came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him, and enter no more into him. Again, a sinner foameth forth folly, gnasheth with anger, pineth away in sloth. But the evil spirit tears him, when coming to salvation, and in like manner those whom he would drag into his maw he tears asunder by terrors and losses, as he did Job. Further, in his being vexed from his infancy, the Gentile people is signified, from the very birth of whom the vain worship of idols arose, so that they in their folly sacrificed their children to devils. And for this reason it is said that it cast him into the fire and into the water; for some of the Gentiles worshipped fire, others water. Again, the Lord applies to the evil spirit what he had inflicted on the man, calling him deaf and dumb spirit, because he never will hear and speak what the penitent sinner can speak and hear. But the devil, quitting a man, never returns, if the man keep his heart with the keys of humility and charity, and hold possession of the gate of freedom.1 The man who was healed became as one dead, for it is said to those who are healed, Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3.)
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Daemoniac — One “possessed with a devil.” In the days of our Lord and his apostles, evil spirits, “daemons,” were mysteriously permitted by God to exercise an influence both over the souls and bodies of men,…
Demoniacs — This word is frequently used in the New Testament, and applied to persons suffering under the possession of a demon or evil spirit, such possession generally showing itself visibly in bodily disease…
Gnash — Heb. harak, meaning “to grate the teeth”, (Job 16:9; Ps. 112:10; Lam. 2:16), denotes rage or sorrow. (See also Acts 7:54; Mark 9:18.)
Lunatics — (from the Latin Luna, the moon, because insane persons, especially those who had lucid intervals, were once supposed to be affected by the changes of the moon). This word is used twice in the New…
Demons · The epileptic boy — The epileptic boy
Doubting · EXEMPLIFIED — EXEMPLIFIED
Epilepsy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Teeth · Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain — Gnashing (grinding) of, usually signifying anger or extreme pain
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
These symptoms are often associated with epilepsy (see Matt 17:15), but Mark emphasizes the demonic origin of the child’s problem (Mark 9:17-18, 25-26, 28). The disciples’ inability to heal the child magnifies the effect of Jesus’ power (9:25-26).
