Matthew 17:16
Monday, 2 March 2026
So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Matthew 17:16
“And I presented him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him” (CG).
In the previous verse, a man came to Jesus begging him to have mercy on his moonstruck son because of his suffering. He often fell into fire and into water. He continues, saying, “And I presented him to Your disciples.”
This would have been the nine apostles and any other disciples who accompanied them who did not go with Jesus and the others up the mountain. It would have been inclusive of Matthew, who is recalling the account to share in his gospel. Understanding this, Matthew continues, “and they could not cure him.”
This would explain why Mark says the scribes were disputing with them. They were unable to cure the man’s son, but obviously had attempted to do so. The scribes probably chimed right in, calling them false teachers. This would have then elicited a response concerning their abilities and those of Jesus.
The entire scene comes alive when considering the accusations of the scribes. But it also shows a failing of the disciples, being unable to tend to the need placed before them. Of this verse, Albert Barnes says –
“And I brought him to thy disciples ... - That is, not to the apostles, for they had power over unclean spirits Matthew 10:8, but to others of his followers who attempted to work miracles.”
That analysis belies the entire context of what is presented. It appears that it is exactly because they were there and unable to cure the boy that the account is so remarkable. Their schooling was incomplete, and their faith in the Lord and His provision was lacking.
Life application: The purpose of the miraculous healings during Jesus’ ministry and during the time of the apostles served several purposes. One of them was to establish that He was the Messiah of Israel. He presented the power of God to the people as a witness that God was with Him and He was dwelling among them as prophesied.
A second purpose was that Jesus and His ministry became a sign to the people of their own inability to see, understand, and appreciate the work of the Lord, even when it was directly in front of their eyes and in exacting fulfillment of their own Scriptures.
Therefore, they were without excuse in their unbelief, and God was fully justified in His rejection of them. This is laid out carefully in the law and the prophets. The Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 spells out their history, including God’s rejection of them, quite clearly.
If this is true with His own nation, selected from out of all the people groups of the world, then think about it from the opposite perspective. How pleased God must be when those who had never been told of God’s Messiah hear and believe!
They didn’t have the ancient prophecies. They weren’t expecting a Messiah. They had no national, social, or cultural connection to the God of Israel, and yet they heard the word, believed the proposition set forth in the gospel, and accepted what they had been told by faith.
What God couldn’t get out of His own chosen nation, He gets daily and around the world from open and receptive hearts of people longing for release from the burdens they carry. Nothing is more precious than to know that we have been redeemed by such a wonderful, loving, and caring God.
May we always remember the joy of our salvation, and may we be willing to share that joy with others who so desperately need it as well.
Glorious Lord God, how thankful we are to You for having sent Jesus to save not only those of Israel, but people from around the world. You have exalted us to heaven itself when all we deserved was condemnation and eternal separation from You. Thank You for Your tender mercies, O God. Amen.
