The Faith That Impressed Jesus

So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:6, NKJV

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.”
Matthew 21:21, NKJV

Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed. Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” “Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you…”
Matthew 17:18-20, HCSB​

The New Testament tells us that healing in Christ is, of course, faith-related: “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up… pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (from James 5).

When Jesus healed He said things like, “According to your faith be it done to you… your faith has made you well…” There’s no doubt that He encouraged faith among those who believed in Him. And He clearly taught that even a small amount of faith could be very dramatic indeed.

What kind of faith seriously impressed Jesus? The small tree-throwing kind?

We read in Scripture about a centurion whose servant was sick. He totally believed that Jesus could heal. But he told Him that he was not worthy to have Him enter his house. “Say the word and my servant will be healed,” he said.

The centurion’s faith so impressed Jesus that He said to those who followed Him, “I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel.” So Jesus rated this demonstration of faith very highly. But, as we have read, at another time He taught that faith the ‘size’ of a very small mustard seed could pull up a tree by its roots and send it flying. The centurion’s faith certainly seems to be tiny compared to the small seed of faith that can tear up trees.

It’s fair to suggest that Christian experience proves conclusively mustard seed-sized faith is unknown. We know nothing of trees and mountains flying into the sea. This tiny faith is sensational because it is in fact “all faith” (see 1st Corinthians 13:2). It is the incredible full extent of faith—a dramatic and absolute conviction believers do not experience.

Some sceptics can be very scathing about Christians’ inability to heal. They wonder why Christians aren’t leaving their cosy church buildings and flocking in their thousands to Third World countries to end the terrible suffering of starving, diseased children. “And where,” they ask, “do we see Christians restoring the limbs of amputee victims? It’s all bad backs, migraines, irritating limps and alleged bouts of depression.”

But wouldn’t limb-restoration be the result of major faith, far greater than that of the humble centurion whose young servant needed healed? Wouldn’t it be very close to watching trees getting displaced or perhaps the dead being raised?

And speaking of the dead, the spiritually dead are at a disadvantage here. They cannot truly comprehend our living and powerful Scriptures as God intends. Reason and intelligence are not enough. The ‘eyes’ of their minds and hearts are unenlightened (consider Ephesians 1:18), so they are unable to grasp how faith is likely to work.

Be assured that very small faith in God can result in big changes in our lives. In Christ all things are possible, but always according to His will. If we abide in Him we can trust Him fully and we will accept what He allows. Our tiny faith can release the transforming power of God into our pressing circumstances.

“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God…’” (Mark 11:22, NKJV).

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