Matthew 17:14-23 - "When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus..."

Matthew 17:14-23

Jesus' rebuke to this man with the demon-possessed son, and to the townspeople in general, sounds harsh until you consider that there were some unbelieving towns where Jesus refused to do any miracles at all. At least this crowd got off with a scolding, and the father received the cure he wanted for his son. For further insight into why Jesus had such a prickly attitude toward them, check the parallel passage in Mark 9:14-29 where it says Jesus reprimanded this father for saying "if you can do anything." The father was treating Jesus like a shot in the dark, a crapshoot, instead of the Son of God sent from heaven. Then after Jesus healed the boy and he lay still, the townspeople immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was dead. It was like they were waiting for Jesus to fail.

What distressed Jesus most about people's unbelief was that he was right there, in the flesh, doing miracle after miracle in the sight of all. If they didn't believe now, when would they? What would it take? So he says,"How long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?"

The disciples came to Jesus privately, recognizing their own part in the failed exorcism, but notice how Jesus was more gentle and fatherly with them. He told them the problem was the littleness of their faith, but he didn't treat them as if they lacked faith altogether. Now why did Jesus say the littleness of their faith was the problem, then go on to exhort them to have mustard-seed-sized faith? A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds around. Was Jesus saying small faith was the problem, or was it the solution?

I'm not sure what the answer is. To me it sounds as if he's saying not only did they have little faith, but they lacked faith in their little faith. They failed to see that even small faith can do the impossible if you understood that it was not the quantity but quality of your faith that mattered. As the saying goes, it's not about the greatness of your faith, but the greatness of the God in whom you put your faith that counts.

But you don't want to make the mistake of thinking faith is all about sending concentrated brain waves toward getting what you want, like the power of positive thinking, or Luke Skywalker dislodging his lightsaber from the snow. Jesus could heal sickness and exorcise demons because the sin that brought those conditions upon people would be paid for in his blood. He asked people to believe in him because his power to do miracles was rooted in his curse-reversing death. So this story concludes with Jesus telling his disciples that he must be handed over, killed, and raised on the third day. They grieved. They didn't understand that these miracles they rejoiced in were inseparable from the cup Jesus had to drink.