Charles Brammall on mustard seeds and size not being what matters
Mathew’s gospel, chapter 27:14–20, might be one of the most (and worst) misunderstood passages in the Bible. But the C16 Protestant Reformers believed God’s Word was “perspicacious” (clear), and I do too. So let’s try and nut it out:
“When they (Jesus and His disciples) reached the crowd, a man approached and knelt down before him. “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 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 truly I tell 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.”
Faith in the FaithFUL One.
We often think of Faith in terms of its strength, quantity,
Its size and volume.
Fully sincere, Bible-loving, even evangelistic Christians say to me,
“I don’t know if I have ENOUGH faith. Is my faith STRONG enough?”
Jesus’ answer:
“The strength of your faith lies not in its quantity, but in the person in whom you HAVE faith- are they faithFUL? So ARE they? I am. I’m a good choice. Pick Me! Pick Me!”
Praise the LORD on high; I don’t have to be all angsty about how “big” or “small” my faith is.
The real issue is whether the one I trust is dependable. I only know one person who is.
*Mustard Seed Small
In this part of the Bible, the Lord Jesus declares extremely clearly that even if my faith is as tiny as a mustard seed, it can “move ‘this’ mountain”. Really? Literally? And anyway, WHICH mountain? What the dickens is going on here?
Mustard seeds have a diameter of about 1 and 1/2 mm. Jesus intentionally chooses a most minuscule seed. Minute seeds are not uncommon- I plant them in my beloved tiny courthouse garden at home all the time. They’re nothing special.
The mustard seed is not unique in its minutiae. He could have chosen another small seed instead. It’s just an illustration that even the wee-est AMOUNT of faith- in the RIGHT person- is MORE than enough.
But what about moving “this” mountain? A promise of miraculous abilities? Well firstly, why would I ever WANT to move a mountain anyway? Unless it was standing on my toe. Or my wife was buried under it. Or if it was to extract precious metals from it.
The answer is in the context of this passage, which is ALL about rebellion against God, “sin” as the Bible calls it. For example,
• The chief priest and elders plotting to put THE Chief Priest to death;
• tying Him up,
• leading Him away and delivering Him to Pilate;
• Judas realising his guilt, then hanging himself.
• Jesus being accused by the chief priests and elders;
• gutless, spineless Pilate capitulating and letting them choose between Jesus and Barabbas (literally, “son of the the father”).
• The people’s envy in handing Jesus over;
• Pilate being led by Mrs Pilate in this Man’s execution when he shouldn’t have;
• the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to choose Barabbas and execute Jesus. (The REAL Son of the Father killed in place of any old son of A father.)
And on and on the sin list goes… How long have you got?
Bottom line? Because of the context, I suspect the “mountain” Jesus promises I’ll be able to move with even the tiniest mote of faith is the “mountain” of rebellion in my life. The sin of Ignoring God.
But putting my trust in God, and with the help of His Spirit, I will be able to move (remove) the mountain of sin from my rocky, jagged, Alpine life.
That is, with even the most miniature “amount” of faith in the gigantic, international, all-powerful God. The eternal, only, all-wise God. The merciful, gracious, forgiving God.
Because… even more than the most gargantuan “amount” of faith in something UNWORTHY of my trust won’t move the whole-life autonomy I’ve declared against God. My self-rule, self-coronation.
Other “gods” just don’t cut the mustard. They’re duds, furphies, giant crocks. It’s a giant letdown every time because they DON’T exist. They’re not even vapours. So why depend on something imaginary to rescue me from eternal death? I’d have to be crazy!
Imagine two bridges crossing an enormous canyon-
- A rickety, rotting, wooden one. Old and termite-infested.
2. An enormously strong, reinforced, painted one. Rust-proofed and hardened steel.
The former won’t hold me, no matter HOW much faith I put in it. It’s not faithFUL, trustWORTHY, dependABLE. I’ll plummet to my certain death after the first few steps, if that.
This bridge is like putting my faith in other gods, myself, “the universe”, or nothing (allegedly, Atheism). It’s a death trap. Goodnight Irene. The fat lady has sung. It’s all over, bar the shouting.
Goodbye Mr Chips. It’s a dead man walking. I… WILL… perish.
The latter bridge is another story altogether. It’s on another planet. They are not even comparable. Worlds away.
If I have even the tiniest amount of faith in this bridge, take even the smallest step, it will carry me safely across.
Even if I’m carrying 300kg of gravel, I jump up and down as high as I can even if try to saw through it. It won’t budge because its strength lies in the bridge itself, not in how confident I feel about it.
• The STRENGTH of my faith important? Nuh.
• The strength of Jesus’ faithfulNESS important? Oh yeah
Next Time
“I Don’t Know HOW to Trust: God’s Honesty.”
Prayer;
Our Faithful, Reliable and loving Heavenly Father,
• Thank You that You’re happy with even the tiniest speck of faith in You.
• Please help us at my church (……..) not to worry about our faith’s “strength”.
• But instead, to be grateful for YOUR inexplicable strength.
So that Jesus’ name might be lifted high, Amen.
My God who can be trusted relied and depended on. Believed and enjoyed, I beg you to open the eyes and soften the hearts of my friends (………..) and family )………….);
Those who put their faith in themselves, other “gods”, or the universe. Or in their religion, their own good works, or chance.
So that Jesus’ perfect name might be worshipped, Amen.
Dear God, our faithful, honest, reliable One,
I beg You to make ME faithful, reliable, dependent,
• Trustworthy, honest and transparent,
• Reliable, committed and passionate-
to You and my loved ones who are not yet trusting You.
Not for my sake, but that Jesus’ name might be praised. Amen.
Image: Forth Bridge. Image Credit: Mike McBey/Wikimedia