The Commands of Christ - Matthew 17:14-18

"And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. -Matthew 17:14-18

To whom is this command spoken?

Spoken to a man who brought his demon-possessed son to the feet of Jesus.

What does this command require?

Bring him (the demon-possessed son) to Jesus.

What truths do we learn here?

The situation here is a bit interesting. The man had brought his sick son to the disciples. But they couldn't heal him. So the man brings his son to Jesus, hoping that He could heal his son. Jesus replies with "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?" I wonder if Jesus was rebuking the multitude, the disciples, the man, or all three. He was probably addressing everyone, because He uses the word 'generation' which would imply a larger category of people. The point is, they had no faith and were thus called perverse. 

Needless to say, Jesus commanded that the son be brought to Him. The man obeyed, Jesus rebuked the demon, it came out of the boy, and the boy was healed from that very hour. 

Jesus has power over demons. He has power over all things. His disciples couldn't cast the demon out because of their unbelief. Jesus explains that if they just had a little faith, even as small as a mustard seed, they could say to the mountain 'Move from here to there' and it would happen. We serve an omnipotent God--a God that specializes in doing the impossible. If we would just believe a little in a big God, we could see many miracles.

What are the blessings of obedience?

This man's obedience brought healing to his son.