Our modern world is filled with professions that diagnose problems. We often give them the label of Consultant. Their job is to figure out what is going wrong, or what could be done better, more efficiently. They are an outside set of eyes, hopefully able to see with a fresh perspective things that we have missed. They will be able to suggest courses of action that will change the momentum, shift the emphasis, correct course, meet the need in a better way.
I like watching Doc Martin, the British TV series about a doctor who is able to spot very rare diseases and cure them. His character, played by Martin Clunes, has never learned to practice common social courtesies, and is so abrupt that people find him offensive, even his wife. But he is able to stitch together the various clues and determine what is causing the symptoms, often in rather hilarious ways.
Many a modern theologian, has looked at our text and put on a medical hat and labeled this boy’s behavior as Epilepsy rather than demon possession. The physical symptoms do look like epilepsy. But as I read the text carefully I see two sets of symptoms. The first is this boy’s lack of speech. The second is the ‘seizing’ moments that happen.
This lack of speech is the boy’s initial symptom. A condition now called Landau Kleffner Syndrome (LKS) is a form of epilepsy that does affect the ability to speak and understand. This boy can’t speak. And if he has LKS and something isn’t done, his ability to speak could be lost permanently. Usually the seizures stop around age fifteen, but if the language deficits are often permanent.
This could be what is happening to this boy. But there are several clues in the text that point to another explanation, and I think it fits better with the text. As you read the passage you will see that the convulsion happens when the boy is brought into Jesus’ presence, a common occurrence when demons encounter Jesus. Jesus casts out the demon and a shriek comes from the boy and then he is better. Demon possession fits better with the whole.
But even if you want to accept the premise that this boy had LKS, Jesus healed him, a miracle no matter the cause of the fits.
The disciples couldn’t fix this boy. They were missing something. Sometimes we will be missing something as well. We think we have it all figured out, but we don’t. We think we have all the pieces, but we are just as impotent as the disciples. Our best solutions fall short. It is time to call in a Consultant. The best one I know is the Holy Spirit.
The Arnold Journey 