All 3 synoptic Gospels put this event directly after the Mt. of Transfiguration. Oddly Luke’s version is the shortest.

Jesus and Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain where Jesus’ glory was on full display into chaos. The supremacy of Jesus is evident in both places.

No one seemed to have the wherewithal to wait for Jesus. Their pride was hurt and they felt the need to prove themselves. When we go rogue and take things into our own hands and don’t wait for Jesus, people get hurt.

Jesus rebuke seems to be a broad indictment of humanity at large. It is a picture of the brokenness of humanity.

Mark 9:21-22 Jesus turns to the dad and asks, “How long has this been happening?”

Why did Jesus ask this? It has no bearing on what Jesus is about to do.

It means nothing to Jesus, but it means everything to the boy’s dad. There is so much power in letting someone vent and feel heard. The ultimate fixer stops before fixing the situation and listens. As ministers of the Gospel of reconciliation we are guilty of not getting in people’s mess. We jump over their hurt and head straight for the solution.

The dad is honest about what he is going through and doesn’t put on a false appearance of faith.

Why is Luke’s version the shortest? Because Luke is still wrapped up in the question asked after calming the storm: Who is He?

Jesus pulls the disciples aside and tries emphatically to get them to listen and understand that He is going to be arrested. The disciples can’t reconcile what they hear Jesus teaching and see him doing that indicates he is the Messiah and that He keeps telling them that he is going to suffer and die. The disciples didn’t understand the identity or the mission of the Christ. They didn’t know he would be God himself. They thought he would be a man and they thought he would be a political leader not a suffering servant. Jesus has corrected the identity of the Christ during the transfiguration. Here He is trying to correct the mission of the Christ.