Did the NKJV translators believe epilepsy is caused by demon possession?[i] Or do they possibly believe the possession described here is not real, but rather figurative? Or something else?[ii]
- Matthew 17:15 AKJV: Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
- Matthew 17:15 NKJV: “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
- Epileptic, noun. A person affected by epilepsy (a disorder of the nervous system, characterized either by mild, episodic loss of attention or sleepiness petit mal or by severe convulsions with loss of consciousness grand mal.)
- Lunatic (lunatick), noun. A person affected with a severely disordered state of mind.
Lunatick or Epileptic? The Greek word is σεληνιάζεται, which means “lunatic” or “moonstruck.”[iii] Epileptic is a modern interpretation or application.
Whether reading in the King James Bible or a modern translation, the context is clear that this is a case of devil- or demon possession. Jesus rebuked the devil, and the devil was cast out of the man’s son. Again, I ask, do the NKJV translators believe epilepsy is caused by demon possession, or do they possibly believe the possession described here is not real? Or something else? Many modernists reject that Jesus was literally casting out devils. They ascribe this to ignorance of medical conditions. For example, William Barclay writes from his high modern horse, “As was inevitable in that age [emphasis mine], the father attributed the boy’s condition to the malign influence of evil spirits.” In other words, such medical problems as epilepsy were merely associated with demon possession because the people were ignorant and did not know any better! Such an accusation, however, means the inspired writers—and the one who inspired them to write—must have also been ignorant of the cause! God forbid! Do the NKJV translators side with the modernists against God?
Notice also that there are parallel accounts of this incident recorded in Mark 9:14-27 and Luke 9:37-42. These accounts also clearly point to an evil spirit that Jesus cast out. Textual scholars can be like politicians. Politicians create political problems so they can remain relevant by solving them. Scholars create Bible text problems to they can remain relevant by solving them. I think the simple solution is to leave “epilepsy” out of the equation. Doing so stops short of seeming to make a modern medical diagnosis. Most folks today think epilepsy is a neurological disorder caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, and has nothing to do with demon possession. Whatever the “medical diagnosis” of the boy in Matthew 17, it is clear from the Bible that it was caused by the activity of an evil spirit.[iv] Let God be true, but every man a liar.
[ii] Some commentators try to either explain or compromise the situation by allowing that some but not all cases of epilepsy are caused by evil spirits. It is notable that in the Believers Bible Commentary edited by Art Farstad and based on the NKJV, William MacDonald attributes this to be an epileptic seizure caused by Satan, pp. 1270-1271. Harold Fowler approaches it similarly, stating, “The child is an epileptic, but not just an epileptic, because this physical malady is merely the background upon which his demon possession is superimposed. Rather, the cause of the epilepsy and its accompanying symptoms was a demon…Although the NT does not teach that all, or even most, cases of epilepsy were produced by demonic power, this one was.” (The Gospel of Matthew, Volume Three. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1978, p. 620). The liberal Lutheran Ulrich Luz does not like the demonic explanation of the text and seeks to spiritualize it positively for modern readers: “Illnesses such as epilepsy do not conform to the human image willed by God, and the struggle against it takes place with the will of Christ and by his power” (Matthew 8-20, English translation by James E. Crouch. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001, p. 408).
[iii] The modern NET Bible gives this note on Matthew 17:15: “tn Grk ‘he is moonstruck,’ possibly meaning ‘lunatic’ (so NAB, NASB), although now the term is generally regarded as referring to some sort of seizure disorder such as epilepsy (L&N 23.169; BDAG 919 s.v. σεληνιάζομαι).” From the root σεληνιάζομαι (lunatic), see also Matthew 4:24.
[iv] To be clear, I am not offering any diagnoses of any modern seizures. I am interpreting this case in the Bible in its context. The physical problem was caused by devils.
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