While they were waiting at the foot of the mountain, a father had brought to them his son, to be delivered from a dumb spirit that tormented him. Authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, had been conferred on the disciples when Jesus sent out the twelve to preach through Galilee. As they went forth strong in faith, the evil spirits had obeyed their word. Now in the name of Christ they commanded the torturing spirit to leave his victim; but the demon only mocked them by a fresh display of his power. The disciples, unable to account for their defeat, felt that they were bringing dishonor upon themselves and their Master. And in the crowd there were scribes who made the most of this opportunity to humiliate them. Pressing around the disciples, they plied them with questions, seeking to prove that they and their Master were deceivers. Here, the rabbis triumphantly declared, was an evil spirit that neither the disciples nor Christ Himself could conquer. The people were inclined to side with the scribes, and a feeling of contempt and scorn pervaded the crowd.

Medens de ventede ved bjergets fod, havde en fader bragt sin søn hen til dem, for at de skulle befri ham for en ånd, som plagede ham og gjorde ham stum. Da Jesus havde udsendt de tolv for at prædike i hele Galilæa, havde han givet dem magt over de urene ånder, så de kunne uddrive dem. Når de handlede i fast tro, havde de onde ånder adlydt deres befaling. Nu bød de i Kristi navn den onde ånd forlade sit offer, men ånden spottede dem kun ved på ny at vise sin magt. Disciplene, som ikke var i stand til at redegøre for deres nederlag, følte, at de bragte skam over både sig selv og deres Mester. Og der var skriftkloge blandt mængden, som på alle måder benyttede denne anledning til at ydmyge dem. De trængte sig ind på disciplene og bestormede dem med spørgsmål for at bevise, at de og deres Mester var bedragere. De skriftkloge erklærede triumferende, at der her var en ond ånd, som hverken disciplene eller Kristus selv kunne overvinde. Folket var tilbøjeligt til at gøre fælles sag med de skriftkloge, og en følelse af foragt og hån var ved at få overhånd i skaren.