He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus was transfigured in the presence of his inner circle of disciples. They later descended the mountain to find the disciples who had been excluded from the mountain top journey, the transfiguration, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and from hearing the Voice of God, unable to handle a case of demon possession. I wonder why they were excluded from the journey up the mountain. Do you?
The synoptic gospels agree that before he healed the boy, Jesus reacted to the disciples’ failure in a very strong and undiplomatic tone. Matthew and Luke have Jesus referring to the nine disciples as a “faithless and perverse generation” (Matt. 17:17; Luke 9:40). In Mark’s version, Jesus calls them “You faithless generation” (Mark. 9:19).
Seemingly unfazed by the public rebuke the disciples queried their inability to heal the boy and Jesus pointed to the inadequacy of their faith. According to Matthew, Jesus said it was because their faith was little. Jesus doubled down on this point and reinforced it by adding that “nothing is impossible” to someone whose faith is as small as a mustard seed. Faith that is smaller than a mustard seed is virtually nonexistent.
“You of little faith” is a stereotypical expression in this gospel. Matthew said that on several occasions Jesus lamented the degree of disbelief that resided in the disciples (see Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:21). The contexts varied, but the frequency and necessity raise questions about the disciples’ confidence in Jesus. Ironically Jesus had faith in the disciples, but occasionally their faith in him was practically zero.
It is possible for our faith, our confidence and our trust in Jesus and Jesus’ ability to do things, to be so miniscule that it is virtually nonexistent? What would you say of a person who knows of Jesus, accepts the concept of what Jesus can do, but does not put it into practice? For example the person accepts that Jesus can heal, but in sickness he or she does not look to Jesus for healing.
Faith is one of the most fundamental elements of life, especially for the followers of Christ. Jesus wants every believer to have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. With faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains.
Thought: Any mountains to sink? Exercise your faith!
Faith is one of the most fundamental elements of life, especially for the followers of Christ. Jesus wants every believer to have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. With faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains.
Charles Wesley wrote: “Give me the faith which can remove
and sink the mountain to a plain”.
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