“Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ 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)
Here we find the story of a demon possessed boy. The disciples were approached by the father of this boy with the request that his son be healed. They could not drive out the demon thus prompting the above verbal exchange. We know what faith is; Hebrews 11:1 defines it for us. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We also know that it is impossible to please God without it according to Hebrews 11:6. So are we to assume that the disciple’s faith was so miniscule that they couldn’t accomplish what to Jesus was a simple task?
Our notes below show us that a mustard seed is the tiniest seed known to ancient man, yet rather than a small plant, it was a tree that grew tall in the warm Middle Eastern sun. Is it possible that the mention of mustard seed size faith also references the fact that like the mustard tree our faith must grow allowing that it takes years for this growth to take place? Perhaps; but why couldn’t the disciples perform this task when called upon? They were obviously perplexed by their inability. Could it be that their faith, as well as ours, must be solely fixed upon God’s ability to do that which may seem to some impossible?
Mountains are good examples of something that would be impossible to move, at least in the mind of mortal man. The Hebrews back in Bible times thought of mountains as being rooted far beneath the earth, therefore, it would seem to them that moving one would be virtually impossible [ref: IVP NT Commentary Series]. Our faith must be non-wavering and must be fixed firmly on Christ, for without Him we can do nothing of any lasting and eternal value (John 15:5). Do we no longer see healings of this magnitude today because they no longer occur or do they no longer occur because doubt has replaced our faith? We see miracles all around us, yet find our faith lacking when it comes to those things that we may be required to do. There is nothing that is impossible for our God. If we are genuine believers who have placed all our faith, hope and trust in Him, then nothing will be impossible for us as well. In Jesus’ name we can do all things. We must believe that and then live it, for in not doing so we short change ourselves.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
NOTES:
1 - The disciples’ shortage of faith was not that they lacked confidence or did not expect success—they were apparently surprised by their failure—but because their expectation was not properly grounded in relationship to God. A tiny grain of true faith, rooted in submissiveness to God, is effective. [Reformation Study Bible]
2 - Grain of mustard-seed - The plant here described was very different from that which is known among us. It was several years before it bore fruit and became properly a tree. Mustard, with us, is an annual plant: it is always small, and is properly an herb. The Hebrew writers speak of the mustard-tree as one on which they could "climb," as on a fig-tree. Its size was much owing to the climate. All plants of that nature grow much larger in a warm climate, like that of Palestine, than in colder regions. The seeds of this tree were remarkably small, so that they, with the great size of the plant, were an apt illustration of the progress of the church and of the nature of faith, Matthew 17:20. [Barnes’ Notes on the Bible]
