Matthew 17:14-27
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “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. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “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.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 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.” [21]
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26 “From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” [1]
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What is striking in today’s passage is Jesus’ explanation to His disciples regarding why they were unable to heal the demon-possessed boy. The problem, Jesus explained, was their lack of faith. Only faith the size of a mustard seed is needed, Jesus went on, to command mountains to move.
I admit that I don’t understand fully the connection between faith and exorcism, but apparently it is real. Even less do I understand trying to engage in geographical remodeling through faith as mountains are rearranged. Is this a case of Hebrew hyperbole, a metaphor encouraging greater faith? It wouldn’t be the only time Jesus spoke in such extremes to make His point.
And what is His point for our lives today? The real issue is that the disciples weren’t able to serve, they weren’t able to engage in ministry, and weren’t able to bring the love and power of Jesus into someone’s life because of weak faith. How many serving opportunities do I miss because of lack of faith that God will provide the strength and resources? How many times do I let witnessing opportunities go by because I lack the faith in that moment that the Spirit will give me words, and that the outcome is in His hands, not mine? How many times do I let opportunities for growth slip by because my priorities don’t reflect the faith to which I am called?
Lack of faith is not only a problem for those aspiring to miraculous deeds. Lack of faith is a problem in the everyday living out of our faith. May God grant us faith, even that of a mustard seed, to believe His words and follow Him in confidence each day.
Lord Jesus, I confess that weakness of faith sometimes keeps me from following as You call, and leads me to miss opportunities to serve as I should. Strengthen my faith that I may follow You faithfully, and serve You boldly.
NOTE: I will be away attending the Best Practices for Ministry conference in Phoenix for the next several days, so will not be posting the daily Abide devotion. It will return on Tuesday, February 27. I encourage you to continue in the gospel of Matthew, letting it shape your prayers and life.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 17:14–27). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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