The men and women who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem must have had characters of great resilience and strength. They witnessed amazing events, such as the healing of the blind, the lame, and lepers being cleansed, but they also faced tremendous opposition from the religious authorities.
Consider this conversation between Jesus and his disciples as they came down from the Mount of Transfiguration.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist (Matthew 17.9-13).
Can you imagine the confusion they must have felt? They had earlier heard Jesus talk about being rejected, killed by religious authorities, and then raised from the dead.
They were walking down from the mountaintop where they had witnessed his heavenly glory. But now, he is again talking about his death and resurrection.
Rather than discussing Jesus’ death, they mention Elijah, only for Jesus to refer to John the Baptist as Elijah.
The disciples are a perfect example of what to do when filled with confusion, fear, and doubt. They just kept walking with Jesus, and so should we.
Jesus Cures Demonized Boy
Things didn’t improve for Jesus’s small group of followers when the three disciples arrived at the base of the mountain.
When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him” (Matthew 14.14-16).
Many years ago, a young man with mental health issues was causing a disturbance in the church and had to be removed from the property. I drove him home, and he kept saying to me, “Please don’t take me home.”
On my way back to the church to complete the evening events, I thought to myself, “God, I am just like the disciples. I can’t be of any help.”
There were times when Jesus called his disciples “little faiths.” I think when he did this, he had a smile on his face, trying to draw out deeper faith from them.
This time, when he questioned their faith, he put them in the category of their unbelieving generation.
Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me” (Matthew 17.17).
In each instance where “unbelieving generation” is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, it is always a negative reference. Jesus came into the world to save the unbelieving generation and his disciples showed their need for salvation like everyone else.
Unfortunately, as ministers around the world in every age know all too well, we are part of the generation that needs God’s salvation too.
Jesus’ Lesson on Healing
The disciples had previously been successful in healing and delivering people. They wondered why they couldn’t do it in this instance. However, Jesus provided them with the answer.
And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of 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” (Matthew 17.18-20).
Any reliance on human ability reflects a lack of faith. Any trust in what we’ve done in the past, any pride or self-seeking glory, reveals a lack of faith. Faith is a complete dependence upon God.
When we have that faith, even when it is small, we are able to move mountains that stand in our way. It’s not our faith. Rather, it is trusting God completely and watching Him work.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 