By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
WHEN YOUR FAITH FALLS SHORT
Matthew 17:14–20
Few stories are as quintessentially American as the “rags-to-riches” story. Perhaps it is because our country is so young compared to other nations or because we rose from such humble beginnings to attain our current status, but we do seem to love stories of individuals who overcome tremendous odds to achieve success. It is our love for the underdog that has made Rudy, Secretariat and the ’69 Mets household names.
It is hard to find a greater set of underdogs than the band of disciples Jesus called. In time, these men would go on to spread the message of Jesus far and wide through the ancient world. Their beginnings, though, were exceedingly humble, and they were painfully slow when it came to understanding and following their Master’s message.
Jesus preached an ethic of putting others first; His disciples were caught arguing over which one of them was the greatest (Mark 9:34). Jesus warned that He would soon be arrested and crucified; James and John ignored the warning and instead asked Jesus for the best seats in the Kingdom (Mark 10:37).
Jesus asked His inner circle to pray for Him in the garden; even these close friends fell asleep instead (Mark 14:37, 40, 41). One disciple betrayed Jesus, another denied Him and all fled for cover when He was arrested. It was certainly an inauspicious start to the disciples’ ministries.
We are helpless when we do not rely on Jesus. (14–16)
One passage in particular illustrates the chief failing that the disciples had to overcome. On a certain day, Jesus arrived to find a crowd of people arguing with His disciples. One man emerged from the crowd and begged Jesus to heal his son.
The son’s affliction was apparently epilepsy because his symptoms are described as growing rigid, grinding his teeth, foaming at the mouth and falling down (cf. Mark 9:18).
Doubt often reflects a lack of faith. (17–18)
Even though the man had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples for healing, the disciples had been unable to help him.
One can detect the tone of exasperation in Jesus’ response as He says, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”
Taking matters into His own hands, Jesus rebuked the demon that had plagued the boy, and the boy was healed instantly.
Even a little faith is great when it looks to Jesus. (19–20)
The question, of course, was why the disciples themselves had not been able to heal the boy. They had certainly tried, but even with the disappointed crowd pressing them to act, they had been unable to do so.
When they pressed Jesus with this question privately, Jesus replied that it was because of their lack of faith. He then went a step further and said that with faith even the size of a mustard seed, they would be able to move mountains.
It would take some time for the disciples to develop their “mustard seed” of faith. While growing their faith was important, training it toward the right object was equally important.
In time, the disciples would come to recognize that their faith was only the channel through which their Lord worked.
As they came to increasingly depend on the risen Christ and let Him work through them, they would leave their disappointing origins behind and go on to be powerful servants for God.
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