14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” [21 But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.]
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
When Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, and John, He encountered a crowd. A man had brought his son who suffered from what appears to be epilepsy brought on by demon possession to be healed. The remaining nine disciples had attempted to cast the demon out but had been unable to heal him. Jesus had given them the authority to heal (Mat 10:1) but at this time they were unable to.
Jesus’ response seems harsh but it was more likely one of deep concern. He was burdened as He looked at a people who were suffering from the effects of sin and battling because of their lack of faith. Jesus told the demon to leave and immediately it left. Then the disciples asked Him why they could not cast it out.
Jesus explains that it is their lack of faith that is hindering them from doing what God has charged them to do. God has given us work to do for Him but it will not be accomplished through us trying harder, it is accomplished through faith. Living in dependence on God is living with the expectation that He will do through you all that He calls you to do (Phil 2:13). If God wills that you move a mountain, then with just a little faith, you can move it. But faith must be developed, and that is done through prayer and the discipline of spending time in God’s word. How is your faith? Do you live expecting that God will work through you? Are you spending enough time in the Bible and in prayer (God working in you) to develop your faith?
I like in vs 20 where it says if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains. Just shows you how much God can do thru someone who has even the smallest amount of faith.
This reminded me to have mercy on others like we expect God to have on us. We must have mercy on others in the way we think about them too and not be judgemental
I think what I learnt was pretty similar to Sarah. When you have faith that’s what some of your faith is based on. So it’s really important to have faith.