Exorcism 101 - In support of "by prayer and fasting" in Mark 9:29
Like many of you, I was told that Jesus did NOT include "fasting" in his answer to His disciples' question as to why they could not cast out the demon.
And like many of you, I didn't question the commentators, the Bible scholars, the seminary professors, etc.
But I think we clearly have another case of "fake news". In other words, "AND FASTING" were the original words of Jesus. Incredibly, the reason the shorter rendering was argued as being the "preferred" reading was that, since the Early Church had such an emphasis on fasting, the argument was that "and fasting" was a biased or "motivated" reading. And that modern NT textual critics simply concluded that it wasn't in the original. Could it be that the earliest Church fasted actually IN OBEDIENCE to Jesus' clear teaching? Incredible the conclusions that such scholars have reached!
Why do I think so? What changed my mind? (In addition to the aforementioned bias)
Firstly, most Greek manuscripts and the earliest manuscripts support the inclusion of the words "and fasting". P45 (dated 200-250) – more than a century older than the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus which are used to argue for the omission of "and fasting". The scholarship behind the NET concurs, "Most witnesses, even early and excellent ones (P45vid Aleph2 A C D L W Θ Ψ f1, 1333 M lat co), have "and fasting".
Secondly, the early church testifies to "and fasting" as being in the original. Clement's late 1st-century work (he died in c. 98AD), The Second Epistle on Virginity (which Jerome attests to having been written by Clement himself) attests to fasting as being part of Jesus' teaching. Clement instructing about exorcisms wrote, "according to the teaching of our Lord, who has said, 'This kind goes not out but by fasting and prayer,'". In fact, it was the universal testimony of the Early Church fathers was that Jesus said, "by prayer and fasting". The ENTIRE Early Church believed Jesus said "and fasting", and yet 2000 years later "enlightened" textual scholars override their consensus?? No - they were right and the moderns are wrong!
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit has ensured that we have the NT that God intended for us to have. This is a huge factor that many disregard in the whole debate as to the reliability of the New Testament. First of all, Jesus PROMISED that "the Holy Spirit, …, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance ALL that I said to you." (John 14:26, NASB). Notice Jesus didn't say "some" of the things He had said, but "ALL" that He said. Secondly, the Holy Spirit not only inspired the Apostles to write down what they did, but He led the Church in their preservation and acceptance of those Apostolic writings. It is because of the Holy Spirit that I believe in the doctrine of inerrancy!
If you still think Jesus didn't say "and fasting", I would strongly recommend reading the following articles.
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