Luke 9:40

Luke 9:40, in plain English

The father had already asked the disciples for help, but they could not drive the spirit out. They had the authority but something was missing.

Why it's here

The disciples had been given power over demons and had used it successfully before. But here they failed. Authority from Jesus is not a formula; it requires ongoing faith and dependence on Him.

Who's speaking

The father tells Jesus about the disciples' inability to help.

Where it sits in the story

Before reaching Jesus, the father had begged the disciples for help. But despite their previous success with demons, they could not cast this one out. They were out of their depth.

The scholarly reading

The father reports that he edeēthēn ('begged') the disciples to ekbalein ('cast out') the spirit, but ouk ēdynēthēsan ('they were unable'). This failure occurs despite the authority Jesus had delegated to them in 9:1, creating a tension between granted authority and actual effectiveness.

Language and setting

The disciples' failure to exorcise the spirit despite their earlier commissioning and successful mission (9:6) raises questions about faith, prayer, and the conditions necessary for exercising spiritual authority. It becomes a teaching moment about dependence on God.

Voice

The father reports the disciples' failure to Jesus.

Significance

The father revealed that he had already turned to Jesus' disciples for help, but they had been unable to drive out the spirit, despite having been given explicit authority over all demons just verses earlier.

38Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

39A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

40I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

41“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

42Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Read all of Luke 9 — Peter confesses, the Transfiguration blazes, and Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Everything from here moves toward the cross.