Mk. 9:25. Jesus, seeing that the crowd was running together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: You mute and deaf spirit! I command you, come out of him and never again enter into him.
Mk. 9:26. And having cried out and convulsed him greatly, it came out; and he became as one dead, so that many said that he had died.
Mk. 9:27. But Jesus, taking him by the hand, lifted him up; and he arose. So that man, having come to Jesus, blamed the disciples for being unable to heal his son; but Christ turns the accusation back upon the man himself and speaks as if to say: you have no faith, and therefore you yourself are to blame that your son was not healed. However, the words of Jesus refer not only to this one man alone, but He says this generally about all the Jews, reproaching them for their unbelief. For many of those standing by could have been scandalized by this incident. And when Jesus says, "How long shall I be with you," He expresses by this that death was desirable to Him, that is, as if He said: "It grieves Me to live with you unbelievers." However, He does not stop merely at reproach, but also grants healing, displaying in the healing of the boy not haughtiness, but much more — humility. For observe that He attributes the healing not to His own power, but to the faith of that man, saying: "All things are possible to him who believes." Moreover, He rebuked the spirit upon seeing the crowd gathering toward Him — again because He did not wish to heal before a multitude of people, for the display of His power and for His own glory. And by the rebuke and the words, "Come out of him and enter him no more," He makes known that because of the man's unbelief the demon could have entered him again, had it not been forbidden by His command. But He permitted the demon to convulse the boy, so that all might understand the demonic assault and that the demon could kill a person were it not for the hand of God protecting them. Speaking in a figurative sense, the demon casts people into the fire of anger and lust and into the stormy waves of worldly affairs. This demon is mute and deaf — deaf, as one unwilling to hear the Divine words; mute, as one unable to teach others anything profitable for the soul. But when Jesus, that is, the Evangelical Word, takes a person by the hand, that is, directs his active powers, then he is freed from the demon. Note also that God is ready to help us, but we ourselves refuse to do good works. For it is said: Jesus "lifted him up" — behold the help of God — "and he arose," that is, zeal for good works was aroused in the man himself.
Mk. 9:28. And when Jesus entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately: why could we not cast it out?
Mk. 9:29. And He said to them: this kind cannot come out by anything except prayer and fasting. The disciples were afraid that they had lost the grace given to them by the Lord, and that this was why they could not cast out the demon. Notice also their reverence in that they approach Jesus privately. "This kind." Which kind? The kind of those who were demon-possessed at every new moon, or in general the entire kind of demons, which is not cast out except by prayer and fasting. Both the one who suffers from them and the one who wishes to heal must fast; both need this, but it is especially required of the sufferer himself. And one must not only fast but also pray, and not only pray but also fast. For true prayer is accomplished in this way, when it is joined with fasting; when the one praying is not weighed down by food, prayer comes easily and without difficulty.
Mk. 9:30. And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it.
Mk. 9:31. For He was teaching His disciples and saying to them that the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and after being killed, on the third day He will rise again. Everywhere Jesus joined the word about His suffering with miracles, so that they would not think that He suffered out of weakness. And now, having said the sorrowful word that "they will kill Him," He adds also the joyful one – that "on the third day He will rise," so that we may know that joy always follows after sorrows, and therefore so that we would not waste away in spirit needlessly in sorrows, but would hope to receive something joyful as well.
Mk. 9:32. They did not understand these words, but were afraid to ask Him.
Mk. 9:33. He came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He asked them: What were you discussing among yourselves on the way?
Mk. 9:34. They were silent, for on the way they had been discussing among themselves who was the greatest.
Mk. 9:35. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them: Whoever wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.
Mk. 9:36. And He took a child and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them:
Mk. 9:37. Whoever receives one of such children in My name, receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me, but Him who sent Me. The disciples, still having human thoughts, were arguing among themselves about which of them was greater and more honored by Christ. But the Lord, although He does not forbid the aspiration toward greater honor (for He commands us to desire the higher degrees), nevertheless does not permit us to seize primacy from others; on the contrary, He wants us to attain exaltation through humility. Thus He placed a child in the midst of the disciples and teaches us to be like it. A child neither seeks glory, nor envies, nor remembers wrongs. And not only then, Jesus says, will you receive a great reward, when you yourselves are like a child, but if you also receive others like this child for My sake, for this too you will receive the Kingdom of Heaven, since you will be receiving Me; and by receiving Me, you will receive Him who sent Me. Do you see what power humility and a simple and guileless character possess? This causes the Son and the Father, and consequently the Holy Spirit as well, to dwell within us.
Mk. 9:38. And John spoke up and said: Teacher! we saw a man who casts out demons in Thy name, but does not follow us; and we forbade him, because he does not follow us.
Mk. 9:39. Jesus said: Do not forbid him, for no one who has performed a miracle in My name can soon after speak evil of Me.
Mk. 9:40. He who is not against you is for you. Not out of any rivalry or envy does the son of thunder forbid that man from casting out demons, but he desires that all who invoke the name of Christ should also follow Christ, and that all the disciples should constitute one body. At the beginning of the evangelical preaching, it happened that some, driven by the passion of vainglory, desired to perform signs; but seeing how powerful the name of Jesus was, they invoked it and in this way performed signs, even though they were strangers to and unworthy of the grace of God. For it was pleasing to the Lord that the preaching should spread even through the unworthy. What then does the Savior say? He did not allow John to forbid the one performing signs: "Do not forbid him," He says, "for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me." That is, how will the one who acquires glory for himself through My name and performs miracles by invoking Me speak evil of Me? It appears that the Lord contradicts Himself, for in another place He says, "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Mt. 12:30). But those words were spoken concerning demons, who strive to draw those who belong to God away from Him and scatter God's possession, whereas here the words concern people who through others working miracles are brought to God.
Mk. 9:41. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
Mk. 9:42. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. I, He says, not only do not forbid the one who performs miracles in My name, but if anyone gives you anything, even the very least, for My sake and not for the sake of worldly people, even that person will not lose his reward. And He spoke of the cup of water with people in mind who make excuses of poverty. If, He says, you give even a cup of water — and nothing less than this is possible — even this will not be lost to you. Thus, if you honor one of these little ones, you please God; and if you cause one of these little ones to stumble, you have sinned: it would be better for you to have a millstone (a donkey-driven millstone) hung around your neck. By this He expresses that in such a case we shall be subjected to the most severe punishment. The Lord pointed to a physical torment in order to frighten us by this visible example.
Mk. 9:43. And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire,
Mk. 9:44. Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
Mk. 9:45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched,
Mk. 9:46. Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
Mk. 9:47. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the gehenna of fire,
Mk. 9:48. Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Mk. 9:49. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.