The man that had brought his son to be healed
came out of the crowd and fell at Jesus' feet and
told Him about his son.

Jesus' answer was peculiar, He said, "O faithless
and perverse generation, how long shall I be
with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him
hither to me" (vs 17).

His indignation seemed to reach out to include all,
the multitudes, the scribes, the disciples. He seemed
to be saying that if God's people really knew their
privileges, they would not fail like this.

Jesus appeared in the midst of the confusion
with the other three disciples.

Many started running towards Jesus when they
saw him, all trying to tell Him what had happened.

Jesus kept walking until He came to where the
scribes were questioning the other disciples. He
asked them what were they wanting to know, but
the scribes seemed too embarrassed to say.

Jesus had given the disciples the power to heal
the sick and cast out demons and apparently they
had been successful. So they figured they could
also heal this boy.

To their surprise they were not able to cast the
epileptic demon out. The evil spirit threw the
boy to the ground and refused to come out,

The scribes were excited over the disappointed
disciples and more than likely took advantage of
their failure to disgrace them in the eyes of the
crowd.

It appears that the scribes followed Him along
with the crowd. When they got to Caesarea
Philippi, they found that Jesus and three of His
disciples had gone up on the mountain.

Since Jesus wasn't there, the scribes began to
question the remaining disciples. They weren't
able to answer them the way Jesus would.

About this time a man comes with his son who
was in a desperate condition. He was a lunatic,
deaf and dumb, and had violent epilepic spells.

Jesus had returned from the transfiguration with
James, John and Peter.

There must have been a great difference between
the glory and heavenly communion on the mount-
ian compared to the unbelief and suffering that
they faced when they came down into the crowd
that was waiting for them.

"And when they were

come to the multitude,
there came to him a

certain man, kneeling

down
to him, and saying,

Lord, have mercy on

my
son; for he is lunatic,

and sore vexed.

And I brought him to thy disciples, and they
could not cure him.
Then Jesus answered and ssid, O faithless and
perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you? how long shall I suffer you?
bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the
devil; and he departed out of him: and the child
was cured from that very hour"
Matthew 17:14-18

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The early church fathers taught:
"As two advents of the Lord are indicated in the
Scriptures, also two forerunners are indicated;
the first was John the son of Zacharias. He first
fulfilled the course of the forerunner. But since
the Saviour is to be manifested again at the end
of the world, it is a matter of course that His
forrunners must appear first, as he says in
Malachi. . . . "

So John the Baptist wasn't Elijah, but he came
in the "spirit of Elijah". This also explains Jesus
in Matthew 17:10-13.

Jesus had said that Elijah had come already in
John the Baptist and that he had been killed.
John's coming in the spirit of Elijah was a first
fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

Prophecy often has a double fulfillment, and in
this case Elijah is yet to come and restore all
things. Since this has no way been fulfilled yet,
it must take place as Malachi says, just "before
the great and dreadful day of the Lord."