Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
A father had brought his dearly beloved son, who was possessed of a devil (demon), to the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. This young boy suffered many injuries as a result of the vile nature that dwelt within him. The loving father only wanted a cure for his son, like any good father, he struggled inside himself watching the pain of his precious child on a regular basis. To his surprise the disciples could not cure the young boy. They seemingly were unable to rid the child of the devil that haunted him.
The Lord expounds on this action by rebuking a faithless generation first in v.17 and in the next verse delivers the child from the stronghold of such satanic force. Here is where we pick up, when the disciples came to our Lord seeking an answer to why they were unable to cure the man’s son. Jesus replies in two parts, found in versus 20 and 21.
The first is in relation to a ‘grain of mustard seed’, which historically is considered the smallest of all seeds. Many preachers and teachers over the year have taught from this passage that only a small, tiny, little faith is needed to removed all and any obstacles that we come across in our lives. Although this teaching contradicts Scripture and becomes counterproductive in a believer’s life.
Contradicts I say, because four separate times in the book of Matthew alone, Jesus Christ rebukes the hearers of having little faith (three times ‘O ye of little faith’ and once He states: ‘O thou of little faith’ when He was speaking in the singular unto Peter, the rest were in the plural tense speaking to a multitude and/or a generation). Therefore, to teach the that Christ uses the thought of small or little faith as something positive contradicts the Scripture, since Scripture NEVER contradicts itself the popularized teaching must be in error.
That brings us to the second point, the teaching of possessing a little faith removing obstacles in our life is counterproductive to the believer. Every person alive today, face obstacles in way. Some are daily others are weekly or even monthly. Nevertheless, obstacles are not reserved for the saved or the lost (“... sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5.45). When a believer in Christ never exercises his or her faith it will, by simple deduction, remain small. Therefore when obstacles enter their life resulting in their ‘little grain of faith’ becoming incapable of victory, that person will become disheveled and discouraged in the Christian walk. This is mainly because of an incorrect interpretation or teaching of having ‘faith as a grain of mustard seed’.
Finally, the correct application I feel will encourage the reader in a number of ways. The key word in v.20 is not ‘grain’ nor is it ‘seed’, but it is the word simple little word ‘as’. This small word with a great meaning is an adverb, which answers questions such as ‘in what way?’, ‘when?’, ‘how?’, Etc. The Lord is not using an adjective here, which is a word used to describe an item or event. He is strictly using the term to give us an example.
What example is that? A grain of mustard seed is planted in the ground, it is then nurtured by water on a regular basis. Even though it is a small seed, it will produce growth ten times its size by being planted and nurtured. With that said, our faith is to be ‘as’ a grain of mustard seed, it must be planted. Our faith is to be planted in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. It must be watered by the word of God. Daily care and nurture by reading the word enables us to posses the power of the promise that whatever obstacle enters our life, the Lord will see us through it.
Are there obstacles that are more difficult than others? Absolutely! That is where V.21 is applied, because “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” There are some obstacles that our faith is only garnished through prayer and fasting (denial of desires).
To conclude, we can be encouraged today by a proper application of these verses, by insuring that our faith is planted in the unmovable risen Savior the Lord Jesus Christ - by nurturing that faith daily through reading the word of God and having a dedicated prayer life with the One that makes all things possible!
...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
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