On
the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.” Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. They were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Luke 9:37-45
Luke 9 [34.] While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
Luke 9 [37.] On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”
Luke 9 [41.] Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
Luke 9 [42.] While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. They were all astonished at the majesty of God.
But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Luke 9 [46.] There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
Meaning:
Jesus had just been transfigured before Peter, John and James, and the Father’s voice had said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). The next day they come down to a crowd, a desperate father and a failure by the other disciples. Mark tells the story at greater length (Mark 9:14-16; Mark 9:19; Mark 9:28-29), and Matthew also records it (Matthew 17:14-18). Luke closes the scene with Jesus’ second prediction of his betrayal.
- “I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child”
Only Luke mentions that the boy was an only child, as he notes that the widow of Nain lost “the only son of his mother” (Luke 7:12) and that Jairus had “an only daughter” (Luke 8:42). The description of the attacks shows how long and cruelly the boy had suffered, and how helpless his father felt.
- “I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t”
Jesus had given the twelve “power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1). Now the nine who stayed below cannot help. Mark records Jesus’ private explanation: “This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:28-29). Authority given by Jesus is not a possession to be used automatically; it depends on living trust in him.
- “Faithless and perverse generation”
Jesus’ lament echoes the song of Moses about Israel in the wilderness: “They are a perverse and crooked generation” (Deuteronomy 32:5). Like Moses, Jesus has patiently borne with a people slow to believe, and his time is short, for he is heading to his “departure” at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-31). Yet his frustration does not become rejection. In the same breath he says, “Bring your son here.”
- “And gave him back to his father”
The demon makes one last violent attack, but it cannot resist Jesus’ word: rebuke, healing and restoration follow in quick succession. “Gave him back to his father” echoes Nain, where Jesus “gave him to his mother” (Luke 7:15). Jesus does not only overpower evil; he restores families. The people “were all astonished at the majesty of God,” for in Jesus’ work God himself is present.
- “Let these words sink into your ears”
While everyone marvels, Jesus soberly repeats what he said after Peter’s confession (Luke 9:22): “the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” The applause will not last. Mark and Matthew record the same prediction (Mark 9:30-31; Matthew 17:22-23).
- “It was concealed from them”
The disciples still hoped for a triumphant Messiah, and a suffering one made no sense to them, yet they were afraid to ask. The same is said after the third prediction: “This saying was hidden from them” (Luke 18:34). Only after the resurrection did Jesus open their minds “that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
The Significance of Luke 9:37-45
- Bringing our need to Jesus
When others fail us, even his followers, Jesus still says, “Bring your son here.” Believers can bring their needs and those they love directly to him.
- Faith, prayer and the cross
Past success is no substitute for prayer and dependence on God. And while the crowd marvels at power, Jesus points his followers to the cross; they need not be afraid to ask him about the hard parts of his teaching.
Cross-References:
Mark 9:19: "Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me." Mark’s account of the same scene.
Mark 9:28-29: "This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting." Why the disciples failed.
Matthew 17:22-23: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up." Matthew’s parallel to the prediction.
Luke 24:45: "Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." What was hidden is finally made clear.
Conclusion: In Luke 9:37-45 Jesus comes down from the mountain to heal an only son whom the disciples could not help, rebuking the unclean spirit and giving the boy back to his father, so that all are astonished at the majesty of God. Yet while the crowd marvels, he warns that the Son of Man will be delivered into human hands, a saying his disciples cannot yet understand.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible