Day 96 | Matthew 17:14-21 | Faith to Move Mountains

Faith to Move Mountains

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

¹⁴ At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷ Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

¹⁹ Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

²⁰ “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

...if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. "

Imagine this scene

Jesus has just come down from the mountain where He was enshrouded by the glory of God, also known as the transfiguration. He spoke to Moses and Elijah; and now, he comes back to see that the disciples that were left behind had no faith in the power of the God that they followed. He then makes a statement that many of us might consider “a little harsh”, but if we look at the meaning of the statement and don’t apply our own emotions to them, we can see Jesus’ frustration is born out in truthful words.

“You faithless and corrupt people!”

Other versions of the bible use the words “faithless and perverse”. The Jewish people had for so long lived without true faith in the God they claimed to serve and they had so “perverted” or “twisted” the truth about God that they were a whole generation that lived without true faith. This is Jesus pointing out to them the problem or reason that they are unable to heal the demon possessed boy.

“How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you?”

I believe that this is really Jesus making at statement of frustration and concern. In just a few verses after this one He states that He must go “into the hands of men and they shall kill him”. He is worried about the lack of faith that he see’s because there is so little time left for Him to teach them.

“Bring the boy here to Me.”

Jesus displays complete and total faith. There is never a word of doubt that passes from him. His statement is one of complete confidence in His ability (through His Father in Heaven) to heal this boy. He doesn’t say, “Bring the boy here to me, I think I can help him”.

Faith that could move mountains

This boy had been possessed from childhood. It was a well known case in the region and undoubtedly many “exorcists” had attempted to remove the demon from the child only to suffer defeat. Common exorcism practices were varied. Some used stinky odoriferous herbs or weeds to “stink” the demon out of the afflicted person. Always the emphasis was put on the person doing the exorcism and not on any amount of faith in God to do the healing.

So here are the disciples; still weak in faith. And this man brings his infamous son to them to be healed. They immediately start to think of how many times others have tried to heal him and failed. They start to think of the size of the problem instead of the size of their God who can do all things. Their faith is in themselves and not in their God, where it belongs.

A weak faith is simply a faith that is centered on a weak subject; like self. If you center your faith on the source of all things possible; on the one who created all things. If you center your faith on God, who created the mountains, then even the smallest amount of faith (in God) can move mountains. True faith also functions within the bounds of God’s will. It could never ask the source of faith, God, to do something that God would never do.

Notice that Jesus does not turn to a mountain in the area and demonstrate this level of faith by moving it. That would have definitely made his point! No, he was merely using the largest and smallest measurements to illustrate that it is not the size of the problem or the amount of faith that you have, it is the source of the faith that is important.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven,

Please forgive me sins Lord. Come into my life today and change my heart. Lead me.

Thank you for this lesson today and for the understanding of who faith works through. Help me to have that faith in You.

I thank You for all that you provide Lord. I ask that You would make sure that I use what You have given me to glorify You. Please be with my family, friends, and the church. Keep them safe and protected from the enemy. Pour out the spirit on our church and help us to find lost souls for You.

I love you. Amen.

Day 92 | Matthew 16:5-12 | Beware the Yeast

Beware the Yeast

Scripture: Matthew 16:5-12 [NLT]

⁵ Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”
⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. [NKJV]

"Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

v5,6 – We start off with an urgent warning from Jesus to His disciples. He had just finished a discussion with a group of Pharisees and Sadducees in which He called them “an evil and adulterous generation”. The warning to the disciples was to “Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

v7- The disciples were confused by Jesus’ warning and decided that he meant for them to have bread available. It caused an argument that may have went something like this… ” I thought you were bringing the bread”. “No that was your job!” “It was not, you were supposed to..”

v8-11 – Jesus knew what they were saying so he corrects them with a bit of a chastisement concerning their faith. Here he is; warning them against the yeast of the Pharisees, and they almost immediately start to display signs of a “yeast infection”. Their lack of faith was displayed in their inability to put their temporal needs aside, even with the amazing displays of providence from Christ in the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000, which happened just a few days before. Jesus seems to be saying that if their faith had been strong enough they would not have assumed He was talking about real food but would have understood the true meaning of His words.

v12 – Finally they get it. They now understand that Jesus is warning them about false teachings and doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Application: How often do we allow weak faith to cloud our judgement when it comes to the truth that God has given us in His word? Let me explain my question. Do your temporal or physical wants and needs cause you to miss or misunderstand the spiritual lessons that God is trying to teach you? I know that I can become so wrapped up in “life”; work, friends, entertainment, etc, that I forget to apply to my life the spiritual lessons that God has clearly taught me. I may even have spent so much time “doing it myself” that I lack the faith to trust in the promises of God.

Let me put it this way. Jesus lived His life as if all the promises of God were true. He never worried about whether or not He would have enough food to eat because he lived as though His food would always be provided.

Do you live a life that reflects a belief in God’s word; His promises, His mercies, His guaranteed love? Consider how your life might look if you did…

Prayer:

Father in Heaven,

I ask you now Lord, to increase my faith. This morning I have spent time thinking about faith and trust in You and I realize that my faith is very weak and fragile. I know that You can help to build my faith and so I ask for that today and every day. Help me to live as though Your promises are true, because they are, not because I have somehow made them happen myself.

Forgive me of my sins. Thank You for forgiving me. Help me to live a life that shows that forgiveness to others.

Thank you for all that you provide in my life. Help me to never forget that You are the One that provides everything. Help me to always be thankful.

Be with my family today. Keep them safe and protected from the enemy.

I love You Lord. Amen.

Related articles

• False Prophet’s Profits- Part One (savoringscripture.wordpress.com)
• The Leaven of the Pharisees? (faithbibleministries.wordpress.com)