“How long is it ago since this came unto him?”
The full verse · Mark 9:21 · KJV
he , How is unto ? he , Of a .
Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, who had just said of the boy, "bring him unto me" (Mark 9:19)
Asked to
Boy's Father: the man from the multitude who brought his son with a dumb spirit to Jesus after the disciples could not cast it out (Mark 9:17-18)
The Scene
At Jesus' word the boy is brought to Him, and as soon as the spirit sees Jesus it throws the boy down, and he falls on the ground and wallows foaming (Mark 9:20).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionWith the boy convulsing on the ground in front of everyone, Jesus stopped to ask the father a question. It drew out the length of the family's suffering. Gill says Jesus asked "that the length and stubbornness of his disorder might be known, and so the cure the more remarkable, and appear the more expressive of his divine power and goodness."
The question also gave the father room to tell his story. Matthew Henry notes that the answer, "Of a child," "made the case the more sad, and the cure more difficult." What the father said next showed both his pain and the doubt in his heart (Mark 9:22).
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe father answered, "Of a child." Then he poured out more: "ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us" (Mark 9:22). Jesus turned the "if" back to him: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). Barnes says this answer referred to "the 'doubt' in the man's mind about the power of Jesus." The father cried out with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24), and Jesus cast out the spirit (Mark 9:25-27).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe father's answer, "Of a child," is one Greek word, paidiothen, meaning "from childhood." The spirit had troubled the boy for years, not days. Luke adds that he was the man's "only child" (Luke 9:38), and Matthew that he often fell "into the fire, and oft into the water" (Matthew 17:15). Only Mark records Jesus' question and the father's answer.
Barnes says that when Jesus spoke of believing, the father "felt the implied rebuke in the Saviour's language," and wept. He adds, "Nothing can be more touching or natural than this."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis small question shows the care of Jesus. He had all power to heal at once, yet He paused to ask about the boy's history. He let a weary father put years of suffering into words. And that conversation became the place where the father's faith was tested and helped (Mark 9:22-24).
The story also shows that the length of a trouble is no limit to God's power. A spirit that had held the boy "of a child" (Mark 9:21) left at Jesus' command (Mark 9:25-26). Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says, "Very much is promised to our believing." The father's faith was weak and mixed with doubt, but he brought it to Jesus, and Jesus answered.
Look Closer
How long had the boy suffered?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You asked the father how long his son had suffered; what long-standing burden would You have me tell You about honestly?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think Jesus asked about the past before He healed the boy?
- The father prayed, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." When have you prayed something like that, and what happened?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus is not in a hurry to skip over your story. He asked a hurting father how long the trouble had lasted, and He listened. You can tell Him the whole story too, including how long you have carried it.
You don't need perfect faith to come. The father's faith was mixed with doubt ("if thou canst do any thing"), and he admitted it. Jesus did not turn him away. He called him to believe, and the father asked for help to believe.
This doesn't promise that every long struggle will end the same way or at once. It does show that no trouble is too old or too deep for Jesus, and that honest, struggling faith is the right way to come to Him.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources