Matthew 17:14-20, 22-23

Here we learn that when Jesus had taken Peter, James and John up the mountain for the transfiguration He had left the other nine at the bottom of the mountain tasked with preaching and healing. And they come to a crowd of people waiting for them. And here, a father begs for help for his demon possessed son. He said I brought him to Your disciples and still he suffers.

Now here's where it gets sticky. Jesus shows frustration and rebukes his disciples, the father and the demon, which is Instantly cast out. And some wish to chide Jesus for His response to this father. It is not a coincidence that many of the churches that do so are the leftist liberal churches who have an issue with pretty much anything God has to say. He calls His own followers wicked and perverse. That seems kind of harsh, doesn't it?

Now understand it this way, Jesus has been casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, voices to the mute and has just spent the day with Moses, Elijah and his inner circle apostles. He gave the apostles the authority to cast demons out and perform miraculous healing. They already had everything they needed, the authority. And in spite of all they had seen Jesus do, they still did not have the faith needed to cast this demon out.

So the disciples ask Jesus later why was this demon not cast out? And He tells them, “BECAUSE OF YOU!” How many times in scripture are we told that miracles aren't done and prayers remain unanswered due to the amount of faith the one asking has, or rather, the lack of it.

Maybe this possession was a little scarier than most. Casting out demons can be wholly frightening that I can say from personal experience will throw you for a loop. A good friend and brother in Christ named Rick was on a mission trip in some of the slums of the Philippines during a church service when a man sat next to him.

The man, it turns out was possessed, and when greeted by Rick announced this fact to him and all around him expressing the desire to manifest/appear during the worship service. Rick had never seen that before and needed to call in help from an elder there who did have experience with demons. And the demon was cast out of him then worship resumed.

Perhaps the violent actions of this demon were a little too intense for the apostles. They didn't appreciate the power and authority they possessed through faith, because they still had doubts.

Now here we have to mention the famous issue of verse 21. Verse 21 is part of a controversy that really isn't all that controversial at all. Verse 21 is not found in every manuscript of the New Testament books we have. And it's not because an evil force is trying to keep this information from the public. There is no grand conspiracy or plot to force acceptance of an inferior scripture.

The ĶJV-only groups make it seem like Satan contacted bible printers and created the censorship of this verse in a sneaky attempt to weaken Bible teaching on fasting and prayer. For more information look at my Rumble channel for the video, “Which Bible Should I Use?”

So why is verse 21 in some manuscripts and not others? The KJV was a Bible version, not a translation, and used a transcript called the Textus Receptus to write the English version of these Greek texts. Now this particular text was one of the earliest found in history, but it was not the oldest or even the most complete manuscript we had available.

Later on, manuscripts that were even older than the Textus Receptus were found these were the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. Some portions of these transcripts date back into the lifetimes of some of the authors of Scripture.

So while some want to see verse 21 as a deliberate attempt to weaken God's word, specifically any version or translation that is not the KJV; others see a verse that is not included in older copies because it was never there or was added as a footnote by a scribe who was adding an explanation to the answer Jesus gave.

So what is this missing verse?


Matthew 17:21
[21] Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

This is either: a. Jesus explaining why the apostles were unsuccessful in casting the demon out that was omitted from the original text. Or b. An addition of a scribe who explained here what Jesus intended to say but didn't. Or C. Has always been part of Scripture and the controversy is ridiculous.

A couple of things to consider: 1. this verse does not fundamentally change or alter scripture or the Gospel message. 2. This verse neither adds to nor takes away any other significant Bible teaching. 3. Defending the inclusion of this verse rapidly becomes a defense of the fragile KJV only crowd rather than a real objection to what's actually taught in the verse.

The KJV is a good Bible, but it is just a version, not a translation. It was never intended as a literal word for word translation of the original Greek. So does verse 21 belong here?

I believe so. Not because of any scriptural authority really, but due to the experience I have had in casting out demons. For many demons are stronger than others, and though we have authority to cast out demons, sometimes serious prayer and fasting are needed and are used by the exorcist to prepare.

It is here Jesus mentions the mustard seed sized faith we must have to ask a mountain to move and it will move. Jesus isn't asking for radical landscape design, He's asking His people to have the faith that if they ask, God will do.

Then He again warns them of His impending arrest and execution. It's coming He said, but keep faithful. They end chapter 17 with deep grief and mourning.



[14] When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, [15] “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. [16] And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” [17] And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” [18] And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed at once. [19] Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, why could we not cast it out?” [20] And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
[22] And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men; [23] and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.