Misconceptions

In Matthew 17:20–21 (NIV), we read, “He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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.’” Luke 17:6 (NIV) reads, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Jesus spoke of having faith the size of a mustard seed. This translation can be a slippery slope because it implies some people are given more faith than others. Paul said God gave each of us “the measure of faith” in Romans 12:3 ; God gave everyone the same amount.

Let’s look into two aspects of this story. Because Israel was an agrarian society, Jesus used things in nature as examples to illustrate his messages. He said in Mark 4:3–8 (NIV), Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times.

Had he stopped there, his audience would have understood the analogy since many were farmers and others knew the fundamentals of farming. Because Israel was rocky, farmers had to remove as many rocks from their fields as possible. Seed planted in rocky soil will sprout quickly but die quickly because there is no depth to hold moisture for the roots. Seed planted among thorns gets choked out by the more aggressive thorn plant.

Although the Greek and proper Hebrew translates the word Jesus spoke as “tiny,” Jesus spoke Aramaic. In Aramaic, the phrase “as small (or tiny) as a mustard seed” would be “living as a grain of mustard.” Mustard, part of the weed family, grew wild. It takes a lot of time and work to grow vegetables or flowers, but weeds require little water and can flourish even in rocky soil; they can even push rocks aside as the weeds grow. I’ve been canoeing down the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels, Texas, and have seen weeds clinging to rocks on the banks.

We find a first-century figure of speech in this story; Jesus said you could say to a mountain to move and it should obey you. The word mountain can refer to authorities, even pastors. I could tell my pastor, “My mountain is going to crush your mountain” in a scriptural discussion, for instance. In Ephesians 6:12 (NIV), Paul listed four mountains: “For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Those four mountains must obey the voice of faith. Let’s add to that sickness, disease, and any other mental or physical challenge we face; it’s important to identify our mountains.

If according to Paul we have all been given “the measure of faith,” why do some seem to have more than others? I once heard a pastor say, “The reason you won’t find the Garden of Eden on earth is because God took it off the earth and put in the hearts of man.” I love that analogy because it helps to illustrate how faith can grow. What Paul meant by the measure of faith was the mustard seed Jesus was talking about. Okay, how do we water our faith? I’m hesitant to say this, but that’s the easy part. We try to make things too complicated, but the truth is that if we read the Word, we’re watering our faith seed.

It’s important to read the Word aloud because the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God .” God told Joshua to meditate on the Torah or the book of the Law of Moses day and night. The Hebrew word translated “meditate” is hagah, “to mutter or speak aloud.” Also remember that Elohim created all that is in the spoken word. Proverbs 18:21(NIV) tells us, “The tongue has power over life and death; those who indulge it must eat its fruit.” The Bible also tells us that angels take flight at the voice of God’s Word. When you speak God’s Word, you’re giving voice to it.

The second part of the pastor’s statement is that there are three gates to your heart—your eye gate, your ear gate, and your mouth gate. When you read God’s word aloud, you utilize all three. The eye gate allows words and images to enter your garden, the mouth gate speaks with the powerful tongue that gives life to the words, and the ear gate hears the words. If a bad thought hits your mind, it’s powerless without your tongue to give it life.