Having been up the mountain of transfiguration and having seen great things the realities of life quickly hit the disciples. A man's son keeps having seizures, he asked the remaining disciples to heal the boy but they got nowhere.
Now some will object to the Bible ascribing the boy's condition to an evil spirit, saying it is simply a case of epilepsy or some such illness. We need to take a balanced view here. It is wrong to ascribe all conditions to evil spirits, and it is equally wrong to deny that evil spirits exist. The Bible is clear, more to the point Jesus is clear, that evil spirits and demons are responsible for some conditions and part of the job of disciples is to drive them out. Now driving out demons does not need to be a dramatic event, and in most cases is not. There is misuse and abuse of "exorcism", but the remedy is right use.
Note Jesus' reaction. He is despairing that they need Him to be there in person. The implication is that the disciples should have been able to deal with the matter, and that Jesus wants us to be able to deal with such things.
The demon threw the boy into a fit. Jesus rebuked the spirit and it was gone. Elsewhere Jesus says that this sort needs prayer and fasting. Some problems are very deep rooted and much prayer is needed.
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