Q:
Could you explain to me what Jesus meant when he said......
"Then the Lord said: “If YOU had faith the size of a mustard grain, YOU
would say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea!’
and it would obey YOU. (Luke 17:6)
"He said to them: “Because of YOUR little faith. For truly I say to YOU, If
YOU have faith the size of a mustard grain, YOU will say to this mountain,
‘Transfer from here to there,’ and it will transfer, and nothing will be
impossible for YOU.” (Matthew 17:20)
Was he talking in a spiritual application or a physical one?
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A:
Jesus seemed frustrated at times with his disciples for their lack of faith!
What about us? “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find the faith on
the earth?” (Matt. 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 8:25; 18:8) What is faith, and why is
it so important?
The apostle Paul explains: “Faith
is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us
assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of
old earned a good reputation.”
(Heb. 11:1-2; NLT) For God’s people, faith
includes not only having the conviction that God exists, but also accepting his
Word as inspired; making adjustments in our lives in harmony with what he tells
us, even when we may find some things hard to understand or resulting in
persecution; and putting our complete trust in all his yet to be fulfilled
promises. (James 2:18-19;
1 Peter 2:19-21) Faith is powerful! It helps us overcome seemingly
impossible obstacles, including molding our personality to reflect God’s own
qualities. (Eph. 4:23-24) Unlike obedience, which is for our own benefit; and
love, which is expressed to others by our obedience; faith is
something very personal between you and Jehovah. No one else can have it for you; and those who possess it become God’s
friends. (Isaiah 48:17-18;
1 John 5:3; James 2:23)
Consider this: "You have neither heard [God's] voice at any time nor seen his
figure," and yet your faith in him is so strong, so certain, that it influences
every aspect of your life. That is very special! You walk by faith, not
by sight, because you have come to "see" the one who is invisible! (John 5:37; 6:46; 12:28-30;
2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:27) Your faith is strong because you know
that “the things impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27; Matt.
19:26) Jehovah takes notice of such a person, because “faith is not a possession
of all people.” (2 Thess. 3:2; Psalms 101:6;
2 Chron. 16:9) In fact, “without
faith it is impossible to please him well.” (Heb. 11:6)
Although being God’s people, the Jews rejected Jesus on account of their lack of
faith. They had learned nothing from the faith that made their forefather
Abraham God’s friend and resulted in their blessings. They also had countless
other individuals to consider such as Noah, Jacob, Joshua and Caleb, David,
Daniel, Elijah, to mention just a few; persons of faith who we still talk about
today, thousands of years later. (Heb. 11:1-40; James 5:17-18) If we feel that
our faith is not what it should be, how can their examples help us? (Rom. 15:4)
We may lack faith because feelings of unworthiness and low self-esteem cramp us,
viewing ourselves as insignificant to God. (Matt. 6:26-32) This would likely be
true if we are presently undergoing suffering; especially if we are making it a
matter of constant earnest prayer and there seems to be no relief. (1 John 2:1-2; 3:19-20)
Or perhaps our conscience gets in the way, it being a matter of
realizing that we need to work on our love for God which is demonstrated by our
obedience. Again, faith helps because we know that Jehovah has made provision
for exactly that. (Rom. 8:34; James 5:14-15) Our faith will also enable us to
overcome mountain-like obstacles. That is really what Jesus was talking about
when he said, “For truly I say to you, If you have faith the size of a mustard
grain, you will say to this mountain, ‘Transfer from here to there,’ and it will
transfer, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Interestingly,
Jesus did not say that we need to have faith the size of a mountain. No, the
"little faith" that his disciples had was not even as small as a mustard seed,
which is "the tiniest of all the seeds." But a mustard seed can grow into a
large tree, and so can our faith. (Matt. 13:31-32) Not only do we need to
believe in God, but we also need to be convinced that whatever problem or
weakness we may be struggling with he will help us. (1 John 3:19-22) Count the
number of times Jesus told someone whom he had just healed, “your faith has made
you well!” Even non-Jews benefited from having faith, at times putting Jesus’
own disciples to shame. (Matt. 9:22, 28,29; 15:22-28; Luke 5:20; 7:9, 50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42, etc.)
We can make our faith grow as our relationship with Jehovah
prospers.
Consider the power of faith, and what those who have it can accomplish. Paul
speaks of past servants of God “who through faith defeated kingdoms in conflict,
effected righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, stayed
the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from a weak state were made
powerful, became valiant in war, routed the armies of foreigners. Women received
their dead by resurrection.” (Heb. 11:32-35) I am sure you enjoy reading about
these many experiences in your Bible. These amazing works were accomplished with
God’s help by ordinary persons who had “the
confidence that what they hoped for would actually happen.” We too can accomplish
remarkable things by virtue of our faith with the help of God’s holy spirit.
Does that include moving literal mountains or trees? If that is necessary,
Jehovah can make it possible. When he instructed Moses to build the tabernacle
in the wilderness he chose certain talented men and empowered them with his
spirit to construct everything according to his plan. (Exodus 35:30-35; Judges
14:19; 16:3, 30) But more likely, Jesus meant that we can overcome mountain like
obstacles in doing God’s will; not in our own strength but with God’s help.
What can be said about the faith Jesus had? (John 11:22, 41-42) For example,
what enabled Jesus to walk on water? That is not humanly possible unless the
water is frozen. There is a lesson for us in Peter’s case, when he too wanted to
walk on the water and therefore asked Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to
come to you over the waters.” Jesus answered him, “Come!” “Peter, getting down
off the boat, walked over the waters and went to Jesus. But looking at the
windstorm, he got afraid and, after starting to sink, he cried out:
‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately stretching out his hand Jesus caught hold of him
and said to him: ‘You with little faith, why did you give way to doubt?’”
(Matt. 14:25-31) Jesus was able to walk on the sea because God made it possible
for him to do that. His faith left no room for doubt. Peter started to sink only when he
started to doubt. (compare James 1:6-8)
Does that mean that if you have faith you too can walk on water? Not unless it
serves God’s purpose and he wants you to do so! There is a difference between
having faith and putting God to the test. It wasn't lack of faith that
prevented Jesus from hurling himself off "the pinnacle of the temple."
(Matt. 4:5-7, ESV; Exodus 17:7; Deut. 6:16) The apostle Paul explains,
according to the Amplified Bible: "We must not tempt the Lord [that is,
test His patience, question His purpose or exploit His goodness], as some of
them did—and they were killed by serpents."
(1 Cor. 10:9}
And the apostle John
assures us: “I write you these things that you may know that you have life
everlasting, you who put your faith in the name of the Son of God. And this is
the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we
ask according to his will, he hears us. Further, if we know he
hears us respecting whatever we are asking, we know we are to have the things
asked since we have asked them of him.” (1 John 5:14-15; 3:21-22;
John 14:13-14; 16:23-24)
When we consider the many examples of what ancient men of faith were able to
accomplish, it becomes evident that in the majority of cases they acted on God’s
will and thereby brought honor to God. (1 Cor. 1:25, 29;
2 Cor. 12:8-10) Jesus
was always mindful of what God’s will was for him, even when that included
submitting to suffering, as the Scripture says: “Although he was [God’s] Son, he
learned obedience from the things he suffered.” (John 5:30; 6:38; Heb. 5:8) He
was willing to accept whatever God allowed, knowing that he had good reason for
it, and that helped him keep his integrity even to the point of death. He never
lost faith that God would resurrect him. (Matt. 26:39, 42; Luke 9:22; 18:31-33)
Like Jesus, we too may offer up “supplications and also petitions” to God “with
strong outcries and tears,” on account of our pain and suffering; and although
Jehovah may not remove the cause of our affliction, or even lessen the pain, we
have his assurance that he will definitely help us endure it. (Heb.
5:7) We KNOW that he
is not oblivious to our outcries! Faith includes the assurance that, although
still future, the time will definitely come according to God’s promise when "he
will wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow
or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:3-4;
NLT)
At times I have wondered
about my own faith, whether I fall into the category of having "little faith,"
because although I put my complete trust in Jehovah, which led me to be
baptized in the first place, yet things have not always turned out the way I had
wanted them to. Our
trials may cause us to wonder if perhaps we have been unreasonable in our
expectations and faith; maybe too
trusting and somewhat naïve. I had an elder once tell me that "God
helps those who help themselves!" That attitude is not uncommon! Paul
explains that although the faithful men of old had "faith", yet they suffered; they "were made fun of and
beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. Still others were stoned to
death or sawed in two or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or
goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. The world did not
deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had
to live in caves and holes in the ground." (Heb. 11:36-38, CEV;
Matt. 5:11-12)
The research for your question has reminded me that our affliction, no
matter how unbearable it may be sometimes, this should never cause our faith in
Jehovah to diminish. The prophet Jeremiah suffered greatly, along with God's
unfaithful people; and yet he never lost faith in Jehovah, as he describes in
Lamentations 3:1-26, which reads in part: "Remember my affliction and my
homeless state, the wormwood and the poisonous plant. Without fail your soul
will remember and bow low over me. This is what I shall bring back to my heart.
That is why I shall show a waiting attitude. It is the acts of loving-kindness
of Jehovah that we have not come to our finish, because his mercies will
certainly not come to an end. They are new each morning. Your faithfulness is
abundant. 'Jehovah is my share,' my soul has said, 'that is why I shall show a
waiting attitude for him.' Good is Jehovah to the one hoping in him, to the soul
that keeps seeking for him. Good it is that one should wait, even silently, for
the salvation of Jehovah." (Lam. 3:19-26)
It is always good to hope in Jehovah, to keep seeking for
him, and wait for his salvation. "For the Scripture says: 'None that rests his
faith on him will be disappointed.'" —Romans 10:11.
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