Ran into this article recently, and thought it'd be a good one to share. Enjoy!
Mustard-Seed Faith (A Fresh Look at Matthew 17:20)
by Rev Edmund Chan
It was a most embarrassing situation. The disciples were confronted
with something that left them feeling both powerless and helpless. It
shouldn't have been like that. Not in God's economy. But it was.
And it had left these apostles-in-training most confounded. It was
something that they just couldn't understand.
OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE
A young lad was tormented by a demon. It was severe. He was
tormented to the point of insanity. He would throw himself into the
fire. He would throw himself in the water. He would have been burnt
or drowned to death if not for the vigilance of his concerned
caregivers. In vain his family had tried to help him.
Finally, the desperate father had brought this demonized son to the
disciples of Jesus.
There was a desperate and urgent cry for deliverance. Jesus wasn't
around. And if we take Matthew 17:1-13 as the immediate historical
context, then Peter, James and John (the inner circle of disciples)
weren't there as well. They were with Jesus at the Mount of
Transfiguration. The helpless disciples were left to fend for
themselves. They tried to cast out the demon.
Nothing happened. They were out of their depth.
They had done everything by the book. And yet nothing happened. And
we observe that it was not for lack of trying. They had tried
valiantly but failed miserably. They were totally out of their
comfort zone. Moreover, it wasn't a new situation for them. They had
done it before. They had seen demons cast out before and would no
doubt have participated in some of these deliverances. It had worked
then. But it was not working now.
Nothing happened. Until Jesus came.
With divine authority, He cast out the demon! The son was delivered.
The father was grateful. The public was awed. And the disciples were
astonished. And they had a burning question for Jesus. They waited
till the Master was alone. Out of the public limelight, they came
privately to Jesus to find out why they had failed so badly (Matt
17:19). Why Lord? Why could we not cast out the demon?
THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM
Jesus put His finger on something of utmost importance. Not his
diagnosis. Jesus did not say, "Your technique is wrong." The problem
wasn't one of methodology.
Nor did Jesus say, "You simply didn't try hard enough." The problem
wasn't one of diligence. Nor one of perseverance. Nor did Jesus say,
"Because you are not smart enough." The issue wasn't one of
intelligence.
Nor did Jesus say, "Because the demons are too fierce for you." The
issue wasn't the strength of demonic opposition. These things weren't
factored into Jesus' equation.
Rather, Jesus put His finger on the most significant thing. The
central issue was faith. Jesus declared: "Because of the littleness
of your faith" (Matt 17:20). Faith is the currency of heaven. Faith
taps into the power of God. Faith pleases God. Hebrews 11:6 says,
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."
MUSTARD-SEED FAITH
Here's the other thing. Don't miss the twist in Jesus' insightful
mentoring here. Jesus identified the root problem as the "littleness"
of their faith. Yet in the same breath, the Master Mentor said, "If
you have faith as a mustard seed..."
How strange. Jesus circumvented their expectations. And ours as
well.
We would have expected Jesus to say something like: "Because of the
littleness of your faith; if only you had a bigger faith..." Or a
deeper faith. Or a richer faith. OR a fuller faith. No, instead
Jesus said in effect, "If you had faith as a mustard seed, you could
move mountains."
Two figures of speech are employed here. "Small as a mustard seed"
was a common idiom that referred to something unusually small. The
mustard seed was the smallest of the garden seeds known. "Removing
mountains" was a figure of speech for that which is impossible or
incomparably difficult.
If you have faith as a mustard seed (v. 20). Some commentators think
that it refers to the growth potential of the mustard seed, meaning:
"If you had an active growing faith, like the mustard seed that grows,
you would not be baffled thus." Some others think it denotes the size
of the mustard seed: "If you had but a small grain of true faith,
though so little that it were like that which is the least of all
seeds, you could do wonders."
Which is it? Growing like a mustard seed or small like a mustard
seed? Neither.
NOT DIMINUTIVENESS OF FAITH
In hearing of the littleness of their faith (v. 20) the disciples must
have thought to themselves (like many of us would): "Yeah, the issue
is that we did not have enough faith. If only we had more faith!"
That's when Jesus masterfully (in the same breath!) pointed out their
error. He said in effect, "You totally missed it, guys - truly I say
to you, if you had really had true, God-inspired faith - even as small
as a mustard seed - it could do wonders!"
Get this. Jesus was evidently not commenting on the diminutiveness of
their faith but rather, the defectiveness of their faith! It was
compromised by unbelief (v.17)! It was faith in faith itself rather
than faith in God. It was the shallowness of their faith, not the
size of their faith, that was the central issue.
"Faith as a mustard seed" thus suggests that the chief consideration
is not the size of faith but the SIGNIFICANCE of faith. If they had
true faith - the right kind of faith that God would honor - even a
little faith, that would have been enough. True faith, no matter how
small, can do big things.
THE BIG MOUNTAIN OR THE BIG GOD?
The root issue here was not the size of the faith but rather its lack
thereof. There was UNBELIEF in the hearts and minds of the
disciples. They were operating out of their own FEELINGS rather than
on FAITH. They were concerned with how little their faith was in
light of how big the problem seemed.
Don't miss the hyperbolic contrast here. The smallest of faiths (the
mustard seed) is set in contrast with the greatest of obstacles (the
mountain). There's a profound point that Jesus is making with this
striking contrast - size isn't everything - neither the size of the
faith nor even the size of the mountain.
Jesus was formulating for them a vital principle of the kingdom of
God: NOTHING God asks them to do, even the seemingly impossible, will
be impossible if they truly trust Him.
COMING OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE
Another way to state this is simply: BIG God, small problems. Small
god, BIG problems! Which kind of God do we truly worship? A BIG, BIG
God! So, what's the problem?
It is this essential nature of true faith that we must come to terms
with. It is not faith in faith but faith in God. True faith, no
matter how small, can do big things.
Their eyes were upon two things: how great the problem was and how
weak they were to solve the problem. What the disciples failed to do
was to keep their eyes on God. That's what we ought to do when we are
thrown out of our comfort zones.
Indeed, Jesus answered the questioners that day rather than merely the
question. And He did it most memorably. "Faith as a mustard seed,"
He said. Small faith can do big things if it is in a BIG GOD!
Because it is not the greatness of our faith but the greatness of our
God that ultimately matters! It's time to arise from our comfort
zone. Keep your eyes on God! The BIG GOD! And put your faith IN
HIM!
Yes, even a mustard-seed faith.
