{But if thou canst} (all 'ei ti dun(8869)). Jesus had asked
(verse  21 ) the history of the case like a modern physician. The
father gave it and added further pathetic details about the fire
and the water. The failure of the disciples had not wholly
destroyed his faith in the power of Jesus, though the conditional
form (first class, assuming it to be true) does suggest doubt
whether the boy can be cured at all. It was a chronic and
desperate case of epilepsy with the demon possession added. {Help
us} (oeth(8873)on hemin). Ingressive aorist imperative. Do it now.
With touching tenderness he makes the boy's case his own as the
Syrophoenician woman had said, "Have mercy on me" ( Mt 15:21 ).
The leper had said: "If thou wilt" ( Mr 1:40 ). This father says:
"If thou canst."