Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed: What Matthew 17:20 Really Means for You
Truly I tell you, 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 17:20
Jesus says that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. A mustard seed is only about one millimeter, yet it can grow into a bush 30 feet tall. Similarly our faith, even if small, can do incredible things.
In this blog post, we are going to take a closer look at Matthew 17:20 and what it holds for our life and our faith.
The Context Of Mustard Seed Faith
Prior to this famous verse in Matthew 17:20 we see a father in desperation bring his demon-possessed son to the disciples. The disciples had tried to heal him but failed to do so. (Matthew 17:14-16)
Something is wrong here; a while earlier Jesus had given them authority to do this very thing. (Matthew 10:1) But still they failed. Now they go to Jesus to figure out what happened.
Once Jesus steps in he quickly rebukes the demon and the boy is healed. (Matthew 17:17-18)
The disciples are likely embarrassed. They should have been able to heal this boy. They wait until everyone leaves and approach Jesus in private.
“Why couldn’t we drive out the demon?” – Matthew 17:19
It’s this question that leads us to Jesus’ famous response about faith as small as a mustard seed in Matthew 17:20.
What Matthew 17:20 Means
What we are going to see is Jesus address the problem, give the solution, and show what the result will be. While this response is directed at the disciples’ failure, this verse still contains powerful truth for us today.
Let’s dive into Matthew 17:20. To do so we will break down the key parts of this verse.
Because You Have Little Faith…
Here’s the problem. The disciples failed to cast out the demon from the boy because they lacked faith. The emphasis here is not on the quantity of faith, but the quality. The disciples had not placed their full trust in Jesus; they had some faith but it wasn’t strong enough.
Earlier Jesus had given the disciples authority over demons and every kind of sickness (Matthew 10:1, 8). In this situation Jesus expected them to draw on this authority. But they had forgotten and attempted to do this on their own.
Their lack of belief was the hinderance to allowing God to work through them.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed…
The problem was their lack of faith and now Jesus gives them the solution: have faith.
What’s surprising here is not that Jesus tells them to have faith, rather the amount of faith that Jesus requires. Faith as small as a mustard seed.
‘As small as a mustard seed’ was a common expression in Jesus’ day. It had become a proverbial saying used frequently by Rabbis to indicate the smallest amount.
Jesus is telling his disciples they don’t need an abundance of faith, just a little bit of faith. Remember the emphasis is on the quality, not the quantity. Just a little bit of quality faith is all that is needed.
Jesus wants his disciples to understand this so he adds emphasis. Whenever you see the phrase “Truly I tell you” that means it’s really important. This is the crux of his point; dependent confidence in Jesus is what is needed in the disciples.
Faith is not simply believing in Jesus, rather continually depending on him.
You can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…
So, what happens when we have faith as small as a mustard seed? We can move mountains.
Now, this is a proverbial figure of speech about overcoming even the biggest of difficulties and challenges in our life. But I don’t want to lessen or explain away this statement. Jesus is saying that faith as small as a mustard seed can overcome the biggest challenges we face.
This is astonishing. All that you need to overcome whatever is in front of you is a tiny bit of faith. Remember, quality not quantity.
Too many Christians try to bear the weight themselves and push through their difficulties. Jesus is giving us a better way. Continual dependence on him is where we can find all we need.
Nothing will be impossible for you…
Jesus ends Matthew 17:20 by adding more emphasis, NOTHING will be impossible for you.
We shouldn’t think of this as a way to get whatever we want. Jesus elsewhere explains that when we ask in his will (not ours) it will be done (John 14:13). What Jesus is driving at is that we will be able to overcome whatever he leads us to.
In other words, we don’t need to look at how big the mountain is in front of us, but rather look at how big our God is. With faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing is impossible.
How To Have Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed
So, how can we have faith as small as a mustard seed?
I don’t know about you but I often find myself like the disciples in this moment. I try to tackle the problems in my life on my own power. I know of the power that God has given me, but I often fail to apply it.
Matthew 17:20 is a reminder and a challenge to rely on God rather than our own abilities. Here’s how we can have faith as small as a mustard seed.
1. Pray
More often than not we are incapable of making significant changes in our life and faith. We need help.
If we lack faith God has promised to give us faith AND to use us to do things far beyond what we could imagine. Growing our faith starts with connecting with God and asking him to help us. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. (John 15:5)
For more check out: 9 Powerful Lessons In Prayer
2. Evaluate
We each should evaluate our lives and our faith to see where we have points of weakness.
I know this is uncomfortable. Most people won’t do it because it can be painful to see where you’ve failed. But it’s an important step. Turning a blind eye to our weakness is a surefire way to keep yourself from growing.
Spend some time prayerfully evaluating your faith for areas of weakness and then ask God to grow those areas.
3. Water
If you want a mustard seed to grow into its full potential then you need to water it and care for it. The same is true with your faith. What you water grows, so water your faith.
That means that you take time to pour into your relationship with God. If you don’t care for your faith, how will it grow?
Find ways you can connect with God. There’s obvious things like reading your Bible and praying. But there’s other ways too. Go into nature, journal, paint, listen to worship music, find a book about faith, do a Bible study with others, go to church, serve someone, etc…
There are lots of ways to connect with God and grow your faith. If you want to have faith as small as a mustard seed then you have to water it.
4. Take A Risk
God did not created you to play it safe. He created you for something meaningful and that will require some risks.
Look at the disciples. When they answered the call to follow Jesus they took some HUGE risks. They left their old lives behind and embraced what Jesus had for them.
2,000 years later we are still talking about their story and benefiting from what they did in faith.
God has something meaningful for you too. But you will eventually have to take a risk on God.
For more check out: What It Really Means To Follow Jesus
Final Thoughts On Faith The Size Of A Mustard Seed
Matthew 17:20 is powerful for us today. It’s an important reminder that God wants to use YOU to do incredible things. With just a little faith you can move mountains.
With just faith as small as a mustard seed you can get through whatever is in front of you. You can accomplish incredible things. And you will leave a lasting impact.
So, lean into God. Ask him to grow your faith. And see what he can do through you.
Great article. I am always uncomfortable when the subject of faith and the power of faith is raised with regard to overcoming problems/painful situations/obstacles in one’s life. I am struggling with a very painful situation (depression and anxiety that are at least in part biological as opposed to spiritual) While medication can and has helped me to cope with and manage my condition, it cannot cure it. The implication that I am unable to overcome this completely because my faith is lacking in quality, that my prayers for help in living with this pain are not “prayers prayed in faith” is troubling. I am just putting this out there but…Faith means trust. There are certain things that I don’t think God expects us to trust Him to provide. I don’t think that I have the right to expect that God will heal me merely because a I have total faith that He can do so. I cannot free myself from my situation by my own efforts – God has not given me that power. At least, I have not had any experience that would lead me to think He has given me such power. If He had, then I would have no fear of doing what He told me to do to heal myself. I would do as He had instructed, because I have faith that doing as He says will never harm me and, in this case at least, it would result in good. I believe God can be trusted to keep any promise He makes. However, there are countless cases of people who think God is speaking to them or guiding them in a certain direction or telling them how to overcome problems or making promises when, in fact, He is not doing any such thing. In the example you use in this article, Jesus tells his disciples in words, to their faces, that he is conferring his power! the power of God to perform miracles (casting out a demon) They had every reason to believe that this was the case. Surely they had been with Jesus long enough to know that he would not lie to them? (i.e they had no reason to not have faith in the promise he made to them in his words) Yet when it came to this particular situation, of the boy who was possessed by a demon they were unable to drive out this demon. The account doesn’t mention what process they were supposed to use when driving out demon, but what ever they attempted did not result in success. Apparently, despite being told in words whose meaning was crystal clear and unambiguous, by a person they had no reason to distrust in the matter, they still did not believe that it was possible for them to be given the ability to do something only God could do. They lacked complete faith that Jesus was God or at least possessed the power of God and the ability of God to confer the power to heal on them. It’s diff to me to see how this applies to Christians today. I don’t know of anyone who has spoken to Jesus face to face and been promised a certain outcome if he/she takes certain actions. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe there are people today to whom God has “spoken” (communicated knowledge or instructions) regarding managing difficulties. Perhaps there are people who have even heard His voice. Or the Holy Spirit has given guidance. The point I am trying to make is that if you are absolutely certain that God is telling you to do something or promising you something but it involves taking action that is difficult in some way, then faith, (no matter how “small”)in God’s goodness and love can give you the courage you need to do as He tells you. In my particular situation, the illness I am struggling with, I freely admit I do not believe that God has made me any promises that I will ever be totally free of it. But that I deserve a rebuke regarding the quality of my faith in general. There are some things that a person cannot do no matter how perfect their faith is. A person can only do something if God gives him/her the power to do it and God would only do such a thing if it is his will. Holding people responsible for accomplishing the impossible through faith is unfair, unless the required faith has an indisputable God-given basis. If God is truly telling you you can move your “mountain” He will also tell you the means by which you are to move it. Then you have reason to rely on faith (trust in God’s goodness, faithfulness, and love) to give you the courage or strength to do what must done to accomplish what seems impossible.
I totally agree with all your suggestions and comments, and certainly feel how you feel empathetically, but God works in totally different ways for different situations, for example my wife had a chronic back pain and Dr’s could not tell why, but one night she had an open surgery in a trance like, and in the morning, she was totally free from back pain!!! So we should remember that God’s plan abd means come after our faith has been displayed. Usually this comes when we surrender our means, when for example the Dr’s tell u there is nothing to do except to go home and die, at this moment one would not mind the balance in the bank, how many friends that are medical experts, and whether he has something else to be blamed with, at this point one would thus turn to God for all, that’s why when Jesus was no more, the disciples became miracle performers, but previously they could not because they had a thought that Jesus was anyway around for the task. So it’s until one surrender all human might, that God’s means begin. So you can decide to surrender your biological ailments to him, with Thanksgiving, or continue trying physiological means, and am not saying medical care is not important, but I know people who have been told medically it’s impossible to heal, only turn around healed to the amazement of the medical world,
This is very interesting one