![]() ![]() The Bible employs many forms, or genres, of literature. This is analogous (though not identical) to the way in which God speaks to us. The father has to condescend in order to be understood by the limited intellect and understanding of the child. Consider a father trying to communicate with his young child. God condescended-He lowered Himself-to speak to us in ways in which we would understand. While the Bible is God’s revealed Word, it is revealed to us by way of language. The Bible is first and foremost God’s revealed Word we want to be clear on this point (2 Timothy 3:16). ![]() The first thing that needs to be considered is the Bible’s use of literary techniques. If it were the size of even the smallest of the seeds, the mustard bush, they would be able to “move mountains.” When His disciples inquire as to why the demon didn’t obey their command, Jesus replies with the statement in Matthew 17:20. Jesus then chastises them for their lack of faith and then casts the demon out of the boy. The man tells Jesus that he brought his son to Jesus’ disciples, but they couldn’t cast the demon out (recall that Jesus earlier, in Matthew 10:1, gave His disciples the authority to cast out evil spirits). Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, had just come down from the “ mount of transfiguration,” and they encounter a man with a demon-possessed child. In order to correctly interpret a passage such as Matthew 17:20, we first look at the overall context of the passage. ![]()
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