Tackling Tradition 55 - O Ye Of Little Faith

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.”  (Matthew 17:14–20, ESV)

On first glance, the text presents us with an account of a distraught man who has a child with a demon who has been to the Disciples — only to find the demons refuse to budge.  

Yeshua appears tor rebuke the father by way of a general comment about the condition of the land, the people, & the Disciples.   After casting out the demon, the child is healed, then the Disciples ask Yeshua why they could not cast the demon out — to which Yeshua replies, “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.” 

That’s pretty straightforward, right?  I suggest that, given its placement in the text, there is much more going on here than meets the eye.  

The text follows the Transfiguration narrative.   After witnessing a theophany, Yeshua & the Disciples begin the journey toward the Triumphal Entry, and, as we have discussed elsewhere, the Disciples test Yeshua’s resolve & His consistency with respect to His teaching. 

 

In addition, their journey is taking them to Jerusalem & the holy temple in order to lawsuit the Sanhedrin on their own turf.   Along the way, the Disciples are lawsuiting Yeshua as they put Him to the text. 

With all of this in mind, let’s reexamine the text. 

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. 

• This speaks to the condition of the nation & the world and the needs of the people.  
• The older generation cries out for mercy for themselves & the younger generation.   
• Demons are everywhere.   The people, the younger generation in particular is  falling into fire & into water, both of which are instruments of purification as well as destruction.  

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. 

• The older generation did what they had been taught to do.   They took their children & grandchildren to the learned leaders (prophets, priests, & kings) —- but to no avail. 
• Yeshua passes judgment of the leaders of the people, calling them out as leaders of a wicked, perverse generation, many of whom opposed Yeshua & the reform movement coalescing around Him.  
• He also sounds frustrated & a bit put off that this was happening.   
• Nevertheless, Yeshua casts out the demon & the child is healed — highlighting the deliverance & medical mission of which He was a part. 

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.”  (Matthew 17:14–20, ESV)

• As to the Sanhedrin, Yeshua is drawing attention to their disturbing lack of faith. 
• As to the Disciples, the text seems to criticize them for the same thing.  In truth, it’s calling attention to their purposes, namely they at times give the appearance of waivering, little faith.    Their appearance of “little faith” highlights their testing of Yeshua.   They are stepping to the side in order to send & direct individuals, the people, & the world to Yeshua.   
• Thus, in modern day Christian theology, we would call this maneuver an exercise in Christocentricity.  We should also see it, since Yeshua is their leader & theandric, an exercise in ecclesiastical humility — don’t look to an ecclesiastical institution & its leaders, look to God Himself as Creator Deliverer —- the LORD saves, not faith, however large or small.  
• Faith is just an instrumentality, not the source of healing in & of itself.  The Disciples got out of the way & the father took his son to Yeshua. 
• The text mentions faith & fasting.  This draws attention to both the sort of faith & activity in which we should all be engaged, & it simultaneously draws attention the sort of faith & activity that the majority of the Sanhedrin were notorious for engaging. 
• The mountain imagery is also multilayered.   At the individual level, it represents our individual problems/challenges— particularly those that belong to people living in an era of theological, philosophical, & ethical declension.  
• The mountain image points us back to the theophany (God Himseif on a mountain in all His glory.   Faith & fasting (which include suffering) get the LORD’s attention.  
• In addition, the mountain imagslowly e points us to the Temple Mount.  Faith & fasting can move the Temple Mount itself.   Recall that Yeshua & a representative number of His followers were on their way to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, & a major confrontation with the Sanhedrin that resulted in Yeshua’s crucifixion, burial, & resurrection. 
• As to the civil use of the Law, recall that the Sanhedrin turned to worthless men to kidnap Yeshua, put on a show trial (even handing Him to Herod for a time) then had to turn to Rome to do the deed for them.   As a direct consequence, an even larger reform movement was as born that eventually conquered Rome itself & has now circled the globe. 
• Faith & Fasting like Law & Gospel correspond to fire & water & have been used by God (& man) to build up & tear down over & over to the present day.

Oh that in these last days, the LORD would send us another Reformation ——— one that puts an end the destruction that dots (& in some places fills) the landscape!  

O LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER(s)!