A great multitude of people came to see Jesus. In the crowd was a man whose only son had an evil spirit within him. The boy could not speak and the spirit caused him great harm. The child would foam at the mouth and the spirit would throw him into the fire trying to hurt him. Sometimes it threw him into the water. It bruised him and tore at him. He was in agony.
The father had first taken the boy to Jesus' disciples to cure him. God had given them the power to perform miracles also. They tried to make the spirit leave him, but they were unsuccessful.
Now the father has come to Jesus begging for help.
Jesus said, "Bring the boy here to me."
As he was bringing him, the evil spirit again threw him down and tore at him. Jesus told the unclean spirit to leave the boy. At that instant the child was healed and Jesus returned him to his father.
The disciples came to Jesus away from the crowd and said, "Why couldn't we cast out the spirit?"
Jesus said,"It is because of your unbelief. If you have faith, even as small as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell a mountain to move, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you."
Then he added, "However, this kind of spirit can only be cast out by prayer and fasting."
This is the twenty-fourth recorded miracle of Jesus.
|
Work a Jigsaw Puzzle
