17. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son. He is possessed by a spirit that won’t let him talk.
18. Whenever the spirit brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes exhausted. I asked your disciples to force the spirit out, but they didn’t have the power to do it.”
19. Jesus said to them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”
20. They brought the boy to him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground, rolled around, and foamed at the mouth.
21. Jesus asked his father, “How long has he been like this?”The father replied, “He has been this way since he was a child.
22. The demon has often thrown him into fire or into water to destroy him. If it’s possible for you, put yourself in our place, and help us!”
23. Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.”
24. The child’s father cried out at once, “I believe! Help my lack of faith.”
25. When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he gave an order to the evil spirit. He said, “You spirit that won’t let him talk, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.”
26. The evil spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and everyone said, “He’s dead!”
27. Jesus took his hand and helped him to stand up.
28. When Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we force the spirit out of the boy?”
29. He told them, “This kind of spirit can be forced out only by prayer.”
30. They left that place and were passing through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was
31. because he was teaching his disciples. He taught them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. They will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life.”
32. The disciples didn’t understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him.
33. Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34. They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest.