Matthew 17:14. And when they came, the crowds approached
towards him. And a man bowed down on his
knees. 15. And he said to him, “My
Master, have mercy upon me. My son, who
has a demon, is badly afflicted. For
many times he has fallen in the fire, and many times in the water. 16. And I brought him to your disciples, and
they were not able to heal him.
17. Y’shua answered and said, Oh crooked and faithless generation! Until when must I be with you and until when must I endure you? Bring him here to me. 18. And Y’shua rebuked it, and the demon went out from him. And the boy was healed from that moment.
19. Then the disciples drew near to Y’shua while he was alone and said to him, “Why were we not able to heal him?” 20. Y’shua said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you that if you had faith in you like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, move away from here, and it would move. And not a thing would be able to prevail over you. 21. But this kind does not go out except by fasting and by prayer.[1] (AENT)
17. Y’shua answered and said, Oh crooked and faithless generation! Until when must I be with you and until when must I endure you? Bring him here to me. 18. And Y’shua rebuked it, and the demon went out from him. And the boy was healed from that moment.
19. Then the disciples drew near to Y’shua while he was alone and said to him, “Why were we not able to heal him?” 20. Y’shua said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you that if you had faith in you like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, move away from here, and it would move. And not a thing would be able to prevail over you. 21. But this kind does not go out except by fasting and by prayer.[1] (AENT)
FOOTNOTE:
Prayer and fasting are a Hebrew method of
dealing with sin; even Y’shua prayed and fasted! In Hebraic thought, "grace"
(rakhem, chesed) is when you did something wrong but are not penalized for it;
however, "license" means that wrong conduct became right. Since YHWH isn’t in the habit of changing His
own rules (Numbers 23:19,
Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8); theologies that espouse a license against sin are
wicked.
The heart of Torah and Brit Chadashah is
mercy, but mercy never invalidates Torah.
If Torah were invalid, there
would be no need to ask for mercy. Truth
demands that we also understand the correct interpretation of Rav Shaul's
overall intentions (Acts 17, Romans 3:31,
7:12, etc.), combined with
the clear statement in Ya'akov Ha Tzadik's (James) Epistle, where both faith
and works are very necessary.
For example, if a law dates back to 1920
against breaking a posted speed limit, does this mean you have no obligation to
keep that law now? If an officer writes
you a ticket, will your appeal be that it’s an “old law” but now you are under
“grace”. The age of the law has nothing
to do with whether it is valid and enforceable today, and ignorance of the law
is no excuse.
If this is true of earthly law enforcement,
how much more must it be true of the Almighty YHWH, the ultimate giver and
enforcer of His righteous Torah! To echo
Y'shua's own words, “I have explained to you about earthly things and you
don't believe. How then shall I explain
heavenly things?” (John 3:12).
Fasting and prayer is our stewardship responsibility unto YHWH and His
Mashiyach to help us put things straight with Mashiyach, but the carnal flesh
seeks a license or loophole to continue in his sin.
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