How Does Something So Small, Grow So Quickly Into Something So Big?

Matthew 17:20 -“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Many of us have been there. Throughout our walk with Christ there has certainly been occasions where we are challenged to pray for someone who is dealing with a devastating or desperate need – a serious illness, family tragedy, financial collapse an urgent or even emergent situation that we have been asked to call upon God to intervene.

Elders of the church are called upon in James 5:14-15 – Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

No pressure there! I know first hand as an Elder, we love that people will come forward asking for prayer in response to this scripture call. It is one of the most satisfying and rewarding of the things Elders are charged to do. Why? Because it is all spiritual in nature. As an overseer, the Elders often get caught up in the business of the church and though that is a spiritual charge it doesn’t always feel like it.

However, this can be a very daunting thing. People are coming to Elders in desperation and the Elders are challenged to the degree of their faith that God will do the thing that they pray for. Right? “The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Again, I say – No pressure! But it can challenge them to look at their faith and the degree of their faith.

So, what do we often do to relieve this pressure? We remind ourselves that it is really God’s work and we invoke this scripture of Mathew 17:20. Whew! Okay. All we need is a little mustard seed – The smallest of seeds – that size faith to see a great thing done. So, we look around at each other and say, sure, we are men of faith and surely we have that much faith so we pray. And we pray to cover every possible mode of healing from a miracle to doctors to medications to treatments. Praise God, we do see people healed in the way that we pray and hope for but perhaps not as often as seems promised in James 5. Still, with certainty I know that our loving God hears our prayers and responds in ways seen and unseen.

However, more often than not, I have to admit that my unbelief or the “Seeds of doubt” seem far greater than my mustard seed faith. I mean, I desperately want to believe that God is going to do a miracle but there is this doubt that hovers in my spirit where I really want to know it to be true – that James 5:14-15 will happen every time. But I doubt and then I hedge my bets so as not to disappoint the person we are praying for, not wanting to disappoint them if God does not heal them in the way that we have prayed.

But Jesus said that all it takes is a mustard seed of faith to see a great thing happen. Is that all we need to walk around with – our little mustard seed and we’ll experience all that God wants for us?

In the episode preceding Matthew 17:20, the disciples were unable to heal a boy who appeared to them to be suffering from epilepsy. So, the father comes to Jesus. Jesus then heals the boy. His disciples are brave enough to ask – “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief. “ The Greek word used for unbelief is also translated as weak or little faith.

I wonder – what is the difference between the weak, little faith that led to the failure of the disciples and the minuscule mustard seed faith that Jesus declares can move mountains?

A closer look at the Mustard Seed and Faith

As Jesus always did in his teaching, in Matthew 17:20 he takes something relevant to the audience as a way to explain a spiritual realty. So how is the mustard seed relevant to his audience?

First of all we find that mustard is a common herb. As Jesus says in Mark 4:32 it is the largest of all the herb plants. It is not the smallest seed but it is the smallest seed of those which “you plant in the ground”. Clearly, there are few plants which grow so large in one season as a mustard, and few plants would be characterized by such rapid germination of the seed. Mustard planted one day could begin growing the next. Wild mustard plants over ten feet tall dot the landscape near the Jordan River.

So, when Jesus references the mustard seed the audience knows all too well, that he is talking of the smallest herb seed quickly growing into by-far the largest herb plant. The seed was used as a common reference for something small that had great potential.

So, the three features of the mustard plant emphasized by Jesus are:

1. The small size of the seed
2. The rapid germination and growth
3. The large size of the plant in relation to the seed

But, once again, I ask what is the difference between the little faith that was exhibited by the Disciples and the tiny faith as a Mustard Seed that can move mountains or uproot the deep roots of the mulberry tree? It seems almost contradictory or an oxymoron.

What I believe Jesus is saying is that the Disciples, at that point in time, really didn’t believe (unbelief) they could be the source for God to work to heal the boy.  He had already told them in chapter 14 that the Heavenly Father will do whatever you ask in Jesus’ name. Were they relying too much on the physical person of Jesus, expecting him to always be there to step in for their unbelief? Were their seeds more the seeds of doubt? Perhaps they were not accessing God The Father directly for guidance and for power?

When Jesus references the mustard seed, it is not the faith the Size Of a mustard seed but the faith that Acts As a Mustard seed. The key difference we get tripped up on is another seemingly small thing. It is Jesus’ use of the word AS instead of OF.  The Greek word indicates that the object – faith, is not focussing on it’s size but on how it behaves. As an example we see in Galatians 5:14  “You shall love your neighbor AS yourself.” How you behave toward yourself is AS how you should behave towards others.

The mustard seed has “DNA” that is not about staying small but about being planted, quickly rooted and then growing fast to a great size.

Jesus declares that if we have the faith AS a mustard seed, we will see great things happen as our faith grows and matures. Faith is not intended to stay small. We are not supposed to be satisfied to carry around our little seed of faith but we are expected to plant it with the idea that God will supply all that’s needed for it to grow and for us to see God do even greater things than we had ever expected to see before.

Okay, I believe that based on the illustration that it is God’s work to provide all that’s needed to grow our faith and that it is our job to plant the seed and expect it to grow. What does it mean to plant our small seed of faith?

My opinion is that “planting” the seed is about establishing that you will be determined to act with increasing faith, fully expecting even greater things from God. This, while staying in tune that our expectations are in line with His will. Like “planting” a stake in the ground. It may be hard for us to discern the difference  between “little faith” and the “tiny faith as the mustard seed” but God can. He can detect the difference between little faith/unbelief and a tiny faith that engenders the genuine desire to see God do even greater things. It is part of seeking God for all He is and believing He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Our Pastor Steve recently preached on Hebrews and the great men of Faith who believed in God to do amazing things and they were done. Their faith may have started out as a small seed but I doubt all they had was a mustard seed size faith when they saw God do the great things. If you want to live out your faith AS a Mustard Seed and want to see God do great things . . .

1. Plant your Mustard Seed of Faith, putting aside your own expectations and desires of what God will do. Have no particular expectations but great expectation!
2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your prayers (Jesus taught that effective prayer comes from dedicated seeking for Gods guidance and power) and
3. You’ll grow in your faith as you step out further beyond the limits you have set in the past. When you see God do incrementally greater things it further establishes your increasing faith.

If you have been carrying around that tiny seed of faith and wondering why you are not seeing God do even greater things, then go ahead and plant it. Step out in faith in some small way today and believe that God will begin to grow your faith to something bigger than you ever imagined.

Plant the seed. See it grow. Then pass the mustard.