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Matthew 17:14-23 (Faith that moves mountains)

INTRODUCTION: We are almost at the end of our message series on Miracles and Controversies, and today’s passage contains both a miracle and a controversy. The miracle involves Jesus casting a demon out of a boy. And the controversy has to do with the disciples’ inability to heal the boy themselves. Why were they not able to cast out the demon? (Read Matthew 17:14-23 and pray.)

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How much faith does it take to do a miracle? Most people would say a lot! That only someone with a lot of faith can work a miracle. But that’s not what Jesus says in our passage this morning. Jesus says, “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.” (Matthew 17:20) A mustard seed is pretty small, and so it would seem you don’t need a whole lot of faith for a miracle to take place.

But then Jesus also tells his disciples that the reason they couldn’t work the miracle was because of their little faith. So, which is it? Does little faith prevent miracles, or does a small amount of faith work miracles? What is this faith that moves mountains? That’s the main question we will be exploring in our message this morning.

I. The father’s request (14-16)

It all begins with the father of the demon-possessed boy, so let’s look first at the father’s request. We read in verses 14-16:

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.” (Matthew 17:14-16)

There are a number of things we should note from the father’s request.

   A. His respectful approach (14)

First of all, notice his respectful approach. When Jesus and his disciples come to the crowd, the man approaches Jesus. He kneels before him. He addresses him as Lord. He asks for mercy.

Think about it. What if the man had not approached Jesus at all? What if he had stayed in the crowd? Or what if he had approached Jesus in a different manner, perhaps arrogantly, or demanding that Jesus heal his son? He may not have received the help he needed.

Think about yourself now. What if you never approached Jesus? What if you stayed in the crowd instead? Or what if you came to Jesus in a disrespectful manner, making demands instead of seeking his mercy? You also may not receive the help you need.

The father approaches Jesus respectfully. He asks for mercy and receives mercy. This encourages us to take our desperate needs to Jesus to ask for his mercy and help as well.

   B. His suffering son (15)

Next, notice his suffering son. The man isn’t even asking help for himself but for his son. The son is experiencing seizures and suffering greatly. He needs constant supervision as he often falls into the fire or into the water. We don’t have a lot of details, but it sounds like the boy was suffering from some kind of epileptic seizures.

Beyond that, we discover there is also a demon involved. Not all sickness is caused by demons, but there are several examples in Scripture of demon possession manifesting as illness. The demon appears to be trying to harm the boy as the seizures often happen when the boy is near fire or water.

   C. The disciples’ failed attempt (16)

The man’s son is suffering greatly, and so he brings his son to Jesus’ disciples, but they are unable to heal him. Remember this all took place while Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John, and so these were the remaining nine disciples who tried to help but were unable to cast out the demon and heal the boy of his seizures. So, the father brings his request to Jesus.

II. Jesus’ response (17-18)

We find Jesus’ response in verse 17-18:

“O 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 from that moment. (Matthew 17:17-18)

Notice Jesus has a dual response to the man’s request. First, he expresses anguish over the unbelief of the present generation. Then he demonstrates his power and authority over the demon by rebuking the demon and healing the boy.

   A. He expresses anguish over an unbelieving generation (17)
      – Matthew 23:37

Let’s look at Jesus’ cry of anguish first. “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?”

This response catches us off guard at first because Jesus is normally so patient with everyone. And God is incredibly patient with us. In fact, one of the reasons Jesus hasn’t returned yet is because God is patiently waiting for more people to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

But the Bible also tells us that we shouldn’t take God’s patience for granted. Although God’s patience is unlimited, the time frame in which he exercises his patience is not. There will come a time when God says, “Enough!” And in his perfect justice he will bring his righteous judgment upon individuals and nations – and indeed the world – that we all deserve. We catch a glimpse of that in Jesus’ cry of anguish here as he anticipates leaving this world and returning to the Father.

Jesus describes the present generation of his time as unbelieving and perverse. “Unbelieving” simply means without faith. The word translated “perverse” means twisted or distorted. In this context it speaks of moral corruption. Because of their unbelief, this generation was unable to see or think clearly. They were immoral and corrupt. Immorality and unbelief often go together.

Now, Jesus did not mean that there wasn’t any faith in the current generation. Jesus commends a number of people for their faith throughout the gospel of Matthew. So, it’s not that there wasn’t any faith, but rather that the generation as a whole was characterized by unbelief.

Is our generation any better? Probably not. Praise God there are many believers today. Praise God we have many fine examples of faith, but we also live in a generation that is mostly characterized by unbelief. And how it grieves the Lord. How we grieve the Lord by our sin and unbelief.

Jesus made a similar cry of anguish later on when he approached Jerusalem. We read in Matthew 23:37 how Jesus cried out: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)

Jesus longed to help the people of Jerusalem. He longed to gather them together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But they were not willing. How about you? Jesus also longs to help you, to shelter you under his wings. Are you willing? Or are you part of this unbelieving and distorted generation that turns away from Christ and his mercy?

The father makes his request, and Jesus responds first by expressing anguish over an unbelieving generation.

   B. He demonstrates his power and authority over the demon (18)
      – James 4:7

And then he demonstrates his power and authority over the demon. The father tells Jesus, “I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus says, “Bring him to me!”

We have seen Jesus cast out demons multiple times already in the gospel of Matthew. This is the final example Matthew records for us. Jesus rebukes the demon, the demon comes out of the boy, and the boy is immediately healed. That is the power and authority of Christ. One word from Jesus, and Satan flees.

Is Satan bothering you? Does he bring you the same temptations over and over? You also have been given authority in Christ.

The Bible tells us in James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Notice it is a two-step process. Submit, and resist. First, you submit yourself to God. Don’t try to tackle the devil in your own strength. You will never bring him down. Submit yourself to God, and then resist. Actively resist the devil and his temptations. Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

III. A discussion about faith(19-23)

We have looked at the father’s request and Jesus’ response. We now come to the crux of the passage, which is Jesus’ discussion with his disciples about faith. What the disciples failed to do, Jesus did easily. So, they come to Jesus asking why they couldn’t drive the demon out. And Jesus talks to them about faith.

The discussion is a little confusing at first, because Jesus seems to be saying two things at once. First, he tells them the problem is they have little faith. But then he tells them that if they have faith as small as a mustard seed, they can move mountains. And that’s confusing, because the solution seems to be the same as the problem!

Jesus often speaks in paradoxes, and the answer here has to do with understanding the difference between what Jesus means by little faith and what he means by small faith, or faith as small as a mustard seed. So, let’s take a closer look at his words about faith together.

   A. The disciples’ lack of faith (19-20a)

We begin with the disciples’ lack of faith. Back to Matthew 17 now, look at verses 19-20:

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.” (Matthew 17:19-20a)

You will notice that I have bracketed the word “so” in the verse. Even though the translators have included the word, it’s not actually there in the original language, and I think it’s better to leave it out. The word “so” implies quantity of faith, and Jesus isn’t talking about how much faith a person has here. Jesus doesn’t say, “Because you have so little faith,” with an emphasis on the word “so.” He simply says, “Because of your little faith.”

The disciples are confused. Jesus gave them power to cast out demons and power to heal. It was part of their job description! So why couldn’t they do it in this case? Jesus tells them, “Because of your little faith.” That is really the whole issue here. Why did the disciples fail to drive out the demon? Because the disciples exercised little faith instead of effective faith.

So, what’s the difference? What is the difference between little faith and effective faith? The difference does not have to do with the amount of your faith but rather the object of your faith. Are you trusting in something little or something big? Little faith trusts in something little, while effective faith trusts in God.

      1) Little faith = faith in something little

Little faith means faith in something little, basically anything smaller than God. What were the disciples trusting when they tried to drive out the demon? Certainly not God! They were trusting something else, perhaps their own ability, perhaps their past experiences. They were probably thinking, “We’ve done this before. We’ve got this!” They were forgetting about that whole submit yourselves to God first before you resist the devil.

The reason they were unable to cast out the demon is because they were exercising the wrong kind of faith. They were exercising little faith rather than true faith in God. Their faith was a defective faith. The disciples asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus tells them it is because of their “little faith.”

      2) Effective faith = faith in God

If little faith is defective faith, then what is effective faith? Effective faith means faith in God. Do you want effective faith? Then put your faith in something big. And nothing is bigger than God!

You know, the disciples may have failed to drive out the demon, but they did the right thing here by coming to Jesus. When you fail in your Christian walk, come to Jesus. Talk it out with him. Ask him what’s wrong. Don’t be afraid. He will not cast you aside. He loves you, and he is there to help you.

   B. Even a small amount of faith in God can do big things (20b)

Effective faith means faith in God. And you know what? Even a small amount of faith in God can do big things. Look at the rest of verse 20 where Jesus tells the disciples:

“I tell you the truth, 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.” (Matthew 17:20b)

The mustard seed was the smallest seed around, and so the mustard seed represents something very small. The mountain here represents something big, something you could never move on your own. Jesus is saying you don’t need a large amount of faith to do big things. You just need true faith. You need faith in God. You don’t move the mountain anyways. It’s God who moves the mountain. Your faith makes a difference not because your faith is great but because God is great. Don’t focus on the size of your faith but on the size of God.

And so, Jesus isn’t telling you to go around moving actual mountains to impress your friends and relatives. He is talking about how even the smallest amount of faith in God can do big things.

In the parallel account to this in the gospel of Mark, Jesus also mentions the necessity of prayer. When the disciples ask him why they couldn’t drive the demon out, he tells them: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29) Some of our older translations have an extra verse 21 here in Matthew 17 which mentions both prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting are both important so far as they increase our dependence on God. But we should never view them as a means to an end disconnected from faith.

How are faith and prayer related? Prayer is one of the primary ways you express your faith. Faith and prayer both demonstrate dependency on God. I like the way one writer puts it: “Faith like a grain of mustard seed is simply faith that says its prayers…. Prayerlessness is powerlessness.” (Frederick Dale Bruner , Matthew, p. 620)

Jesus says even the smallest amount of faith in God can do big things. There is a big difference between faith in something little and even a small amount of faith in a big God.

So, if true faith is effective, and little faith fails, how do we practice true faith instead of little faith? The Bible gives us three key instructions in this area.

      1) Believe God’s word (Psalm 145:13)

First of all, believe God’s word. Psalm 145:13 says: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” (Psalm 145:13) God is faithful, and his word is true. If you want to practice true faith that moves mountains, you need to believe God’s word.

      2) Trust God’s character (Hebrews 11:6)

Secondly, trust God’s character. Hebrews 11:6 says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Trust God’s character. Trust his goodness – his lovingkindness towards you and his faithfulness to his word.

      3) Submit to God’s will (1 John 5:14-15)

And then thirdly, submit to God’s will. We read in 1 John 5:14-15: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

True faith submits to God’s will. God doesn’t promise you that if you have enough faith, you can do anything you want. That would be dangerous! Would you trust your two-year old with that kind of power? Would you trust even your husband or wife with that kind of power? Would you trust yourself with that kind of power? Well, guess what? God doesn’t trust us with that kind of power either! Which is really wise of him and really good for us.

Faith is not a magic gift card to spend however you choose. True faith doesn’t ask for what you want. True faith asks for what God wants. God knows what’s best anyways. True faith submits to God’s will.

   C. Prediction of betrayal, death and resurrection (22-23)

And then finally we come to Jesus’ prediction of his betrayal, death and resurrection in verses 22-23:

When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed 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. (Matthew 17:22-23)

This is now the second time Jesus predicts his suffering, death and resurrection. (The first time was back in Matthew 16:21.) However, this time he adds a new detail. This time he mentions his coming betrayal. He says the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men.

Jesus tells the disciples about both his death and resurrection, but they seem to miss the part about the resurrection, because Matthew tells us they were filled with grief. They seem more focused on his death than his resurrection.

As the time drew near for Jesus to go to the cross, he spoke often with his disciples about his coming death and resurrection. In this way he reminded them of his true mission and also sought to prepare them for the trial ahead.

CONCLUSION: I love this whole passage because it teaches us such an important truth about faith. It’s not how much faith you have that is so important as who you are trusting. Little faith is trusting in something little. Effective faith is trusting in God. A small amount of faith in God is better than any amount of faith in something else. And even the smallest amount of faith in God can do big things.

Of course, a larger amount of faith in God is even better. You don’t want small faith in a big God. No, you want big faith in a big God.

So, we need to do two things. First, make you sure you have the right kind of faith. Make sure your faith is completely in God. And then, once you have the right kind of faith, ask God to increase your faith. Because even though a small amount of the right kind of faith is better than a large amount of the wrong kind, a large amount of the right kind of faith is best of all.

It’s like the difference between thin ice and thick ice. Thin ice is like little faith, that is, faith in the wrong object. It doesn’t matter how much confidence you have, when you go out on the thin ice, you’re falling through. That’s why the disciples couldn’t cast out the demon. They were skating on thin ice. They were trusting the wrong thing.

Now think about thick ice. Thick ice is like trusting God. Imagine ice that is twelve feet thick. It doesn’t matter how timid you are, how little faith you may have, if you have just enough faith to venture out on the ice, you are going to be fine. It’s not the size of your faith that counts. It’s the thickness of the ice. It’s the same way with faith in God.

So, if small faith in God is all that is needed, then why do we need to grow in our faith? It all depends on how you want to go through life. Do you want to go through life anxious and nervous, timid and trembling while walking around on ice twelve feet thick? Or do you want to step out with confidence on the thick ice of God’s power and love and move about freely? That’s the difference between small faith in God and big faith in God.

Don’t settle for little faith, that is, faith in something little. Have faith in God. But don’t settle for a small amount of faith in God either. We all need to grow in our faith in God.

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Good quotes:

“Jesus distinguished between great faith and little faith, but he did not make the result of faith dependent on faith’s greatness. The power of faith is connected simply with the presence of faith., and this power is made free of every limitation.” (Schlatter, Der Evangelist Matthaus, p. 535)

“A particularly big faith is not needed; the largest promise applies even to the smallest faith.” (Hunzinger, TDNT 7:290)

© Ray Fowler

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