RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-10-28	Can Faith Really Move Mountains? (Mt.17:14-21)
		Mat 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, Mat 17:15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. Mat 17:16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Mat 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" Mat 17:20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Mat 17:21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Jesus along with Peter, James, and John had just come down from the “mount of transfiguration” experience (Mt.17:1-13). Arguably, this was a high point for them. Now as they come down they are confronted with the other nine disciples apparent failure. A man with a demon-possessed child was brought before the nine but they could not cast the demon out. Earlier Jesus gave His disciples the authority to cast out evil spirits (Mt.10:1). Jesus chastises them for their lack of faith Then He casts out the demon out of the boy. The disciples inquire as to why the demon did not obey their command. Jesus replied that their faith was small and weak. If their faith was the size of the smallest of the seeds, the mustard seed, they would be able to “move mountains”. The Bible is the revealed Word of God. But God has to condescend, or lower His language, to communicate to us. Consider a father trying to provide understanding with his young child because of his limited intellect. He will lower his vocabulary in order to be understood. God uses many techniques in the Bible to help us recognize and interpret the meaning. When we take a single verse out of its native context, we end up misinterpreting the verse. Jesus is telling His disciples about their weak faith. If they had even mustard-size faith they could command the mountain to move. With this context, the mountain refers back to the demon that was afflicting the man's son. Jesus was telling His disciples that, if their faith was stronger, they could command the demon to leave the boy. From this context Jesus does not intend to assert that seed-sized faith can move literal mountains. Jesus uses this common colloquialism of that day. The Jews of Jesus' day considered a mountain a metaphor signifying a seemingly impossible task (Ps.46:2; Is.54:10). Here are a couple observations worth noting. 1. Sometimes Jesus' followers fail, but Jesus never does (v.16, 18; see 1Co.1:9). 2. Faith can move “mountains” (impossible things), if it is God's will to do so (1Jn.5:14). I personally do not know anyone who has, by faith, moved a mountain. It seems clear moving literal mountains was not the intent. And how would moving a mountain help someone spiritually? 3. It was the will of God for the boy to be delivered from demon possession. Why couldn't the disciples deliver him? They had weak faith. It is very important that we act in faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (He.11:6). 4. The disciples had confidence but were surprised that they could not cast out the demon (v.19). Their confidence was in their own gifting. It appears they did not make God the object of their confidence. The object of faith must be on God. Jesus ties it all together in verse 21. The “prayer and fasting” helps point them back to God. The disciple's failure was because they did not make God the object of their faith. When God is not the object of faith, it is not really faith at all. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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