“Master,” he said, “I have brought unto Thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: ... and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.” Mark 9:17, 18. (DA 428.1) MC VC

Jesus looked about Him upon the awe-stricken multitude, the caviling scribes, the perplexed disciples. He read the unbelief in every heart; and in a voice filled with sorrow He exclaimed, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” Matthew 17:17. Then He bade the distressed father, “Bring thy son hither.” Luke 9:41. (DA 428.2) MC VC

The boy was brought, and as the Saviour’s eyes fell upon him, the evil spirit cast him to the ground in convulsions of agony. He lay wallowing and foaming, rending the air with unearthly shrieks. (DA 428.3) MC VC

Again the Prince of life and the prince of the powers of darkness had met on the field of battle,—Christ in fulfillment of His mission to “preach deliverance to the captives, ... to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18), Satan seeking to hold his victim under his control. Angels of light and the hosts of evil angels, unseen, were pressing near to behold the conflict. For a moment, Jesus permitted the evil spirit to display his power, that the beholders might comprehend the deliverance about to be wrought. (DA 428.4) MC VC

The multitude looked on with bated breath, the father in an agony of hope and fear. Jesus asked, “How long is it ago since this came unto him?” Mark 9:21. The father told the story of long years of suffering, and then, as if he could endure no more, exclaimed, “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” “If Thou canst!” Mark 9:22. Even now the father questioned the power of Christ. (DA 428.5) MC VC

Jesus answers, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23. There is no lack of power on the part of Christ; the healing of the son depends upon the father’s faith. With a burst of tears, realizing his own weakness, the father casts himself upon Christ’s mercy, with the cry, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:24. (DA 428.6) MC VC

Jesus turns to the suffering one, and says, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” Mark 9:25. There is a cry, an agonized struggle. The demon, in passing, seems about to rend the life from his victim. Then the boy lies motionless, and apparently lifeless. The multitude whisper, “He is dead.” But Jesus takes him by the hand, and lifting him up, presents him, in perfect soundness of mind and body, to his father. Father and son praise the name of their Deliverer. The multitude are “amazed at the mighty power of God,”(Luke 9:43) while the scribes, defeated and crestfallen, turn sullenly away. (DA 428.7) MC VC