Seeds for 11/02/2023 - Matthew 17:14-20
Scripture: When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
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.”
Observation: This is a wonderful text that shows, among other things, Jesus expressing frustration or annoyance with the faults of the disciples. We know He loves and cares for them. He is often gentle and patient, but He’s also ready for them to be up to speed on this.
There is a contrast between the effectiveness of Jesus’ ministry of healing versus the disciples’ efforts. The man requesting healing for his son sets up the focus of the passage with his statement, “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
There seems to be an reasonable expectation that taking the boy to the disciples should have worked. The man expects them to be able to heal him. Jesus seems to agree with the father, given His reaction to the man’s statement. The disciples, for their part, are mystified: “Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’” They authentically do not know.
I can identify. Sometimes I think I’m following Jesus, doing my best to learn from and imitate Him. Yet something is amiss. I can’t replicate His power, wisdom, and/or grace in my life the way I believe I should given how long I’ve walked with Him. The disciples seem to have done their best. It just wasn’t good enough. What was the matter?
The answer is a hard one to swallow: “so little faith.” Jesus doesn’t explain how to have greater faith; He simply points out an intriguing contrast.
The point of Jesus teaching about faith the size of a mustard seed and commanding the movement of mountains isn’t about a literal mustard seed and a literal mountain. It’s an object lesson. The insight is found in the size and juxtaposition of the two objects.
The mustard seed is tiny. We’ve already established that in one of the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13. Now it is pitted against something clearly a great deal larger, the mountain. The point is simple yet challenging. The amount of faith needed to make an impact is not that great after all. Only a tiny amount, about the size of a small seed, is enough to make a large difference. How large? Really large! Like a mountain-sized impact.
Apparently we don’t have to have great faith to do great things. Even a small amount will do the trick. Lord, give me that much!
Application:
What might God want you to do that requires only a little bit of authentic faith in order to do it?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, I overwhelm myself about how much faith I must have to do great things for you. Give me just enough to take the next step of faithfulness. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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Love the parable of the mustard seed.