Matthew 17:19–20 (ESV) —
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Mark 9:29 (ESV) —
29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
NOTE: Verse 21 does not appear in the oldest and most trustworthy manuscripts. It appears in more recent transcripts and was probably an attempt to match Matthew's quote with Mark's quote. A couple of problems: one, Mark's quote does not include fasting as does the later Matthew manuscript (you can view it in the KJV); and two, if Matthew did not include it, then we should not be correcting scripture. I have no doubt Jesus said it, but there is a reason the Holy Spirit excluded it in the context.
Now, getting to the passage. It is obvious that Jesus wasn't suggesting we move mountains. In this case, he was speaking in metaphor. The idea is that one can do amazing things with just a very small amount of faith. But it is not to show off our faith (like moving a mountain), but faith is used to advance the kingdom of God. The faith of the disciples was weak. And the faith of the people was worse. But when we are in the will of God, we can believe that he will accomplish his will. The results are not always what we want, but we will see his hand in the results if we but trust. And it doesn't take much to see amazing things happen.
PONDER:
- Do I even stop to think about God's working in my life and the things that are happening around me? If not, I am one of those with weak faith.
PRAYER: Father, grow our faith. Use us to make a change in the world around us. Help us to see things from your perspective. Help us to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto you.
No comments:
Post a Comment