Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said
εἶπενeipen
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him
αὐτῷ·autō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
If
εἰei
G1487
if · conditional particle
thou canst
δύνῃdunē
G1410
to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person singular
believe
πιστεῦσαι,pisteusai
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — aorist active infinitive
all things
πάνταpanta
G3956
all · adjective — nominative plural neuter
possible
δυνατὰdunata
G1415
powerful or capable (literally or figuratively) · adjective — nominative plural neuter
to him that believeth
πιστεύοντι.pisteuonti
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine
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
John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that…
Matthew 17:20 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 unt…
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 21:21-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fi…
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be…
2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me…
John 4:48-50 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
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…
If Thou canst Believe - This was an answer to the inquiry above. I can furnish a sufficiency of power, if thou canst but bring faith to receive it. Why are not our souls completely healed? Why is not every demon cast out? Why are not pride, self-will, love of the world, lust, anger, peevishness, with all the other bad tempers and dispositions which constitute the mind of Satan, entirely destroyed? Alas! it is because we do not believe; Jesus is able; more, Jesus is willing; but we are not willing to give up our idols; we give not credence to his word; therefore hath sin a being in us, and dominion over us.
John Gill on Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe,.... As the man put an "if" on the power of Christ, Christ puts an "if" on the faith of the man; and tacitly suggests, that power was not wanting in himself, but faith in him; and should that cure not be performed, it would not be owing to any inability in him, but to his own incredulity. The Arabic version renders it, "what is this thy: saying, if thou canst do any thing?" What dost thou mean by it? Thou oughtest not to doubt of my power; there is no reason for it, after so many miracles wrought; upbraiding the man with his unbelief; and the Ethiopic version renders it thus, "because thou sayest, if thou canst": wherefore to show that power was not…
(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. sed v. Chrys. ubi sup.) His meaning is; such a plenitude of virtue is there in Me, that not only can I do this, but I will make others to have that power; where fore if thou canst believe as thou oughtest to do, thou shalt be able to cure not only him, but many more. In this way then, He endeavoured to bring back to the faith, the man who as yet speaks unfaithfully. There follows, And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. But if he had already believed, saying, I believe, how is it that he adds, help thou mine unbelief? We must say then that faith is manifold, that one sort of faith is elementary, another perfect; but this man, being but a beginner in believing, prayed the Saviour to add to his virtue what was wanting.
And not merely in works, but also in faith, has God preserved the will of man free and under his own control, saying, "According to thy faith be it unto thee;" thus showing that there is a faith specially belonging to man, since he has an opinion specially his own. And again, "All things are possible to him that believeth;" and, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." Now all such expressions demonstrate that man is in his own power with respect to faith. And for this reason, "he that believeth in Him has eternal life while he who believeth not the Son hath not eternal life, but the wrath of God shall remain upon him." In the same manner therefore the Lord, both showing His own goodness, and indicating that man is in his own free will and his own power, said to Jerusalem, "How often have I wished to gather thy children together, as a hen [gathereth] her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Wherefore your house shall be left unto you desolate."
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…
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…
Miracles · Faith required in: Those for whom they were performed — Faith required in: Those for whom they were performed
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).
John Calvin on Mark 9:14-27
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…
Jesus challenged the man to believe in the power of God—Anything is possible if a person believes (see 11:22-24), while lack of faith can hinder God’s saving activity (see 6:5).
