Luke 17:5-6 (3)
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-Well, we’re going to be back in Luke 17 this morning.
Let me encourage you (as always)...
...to turn there and follow along.
We’re only going to cover two verses (Verses 5-6)...
And that’s not because (as is sometimes the case)...
...they’re super-complicated verses...
(Though we’ll have some of those in the near future)
It’s simply because they form...
...their own unit of thought.
(Something called a “pericope”. . .
… if anyone cares to know)
The point being that they don’t...
...seem to connect much with the verses that follow.
(In fact, as we’ll see in a minute...
...they probably connect back to Verses 1-4).
-In any event...
...short though it is...
...this pericope does deal with a BIG subject:
Something that the Bible says...
...it’s impossible to please God without:
Faith!
And today’s text...
...deals with the subject of faith...
In a pretty BIG way!
So, we’re going to try to...
...glean as much from it as we can...
...while we’re here.
-Alright, let’s read it together...
And ask for the Lord’s help.
-Luke 17, beginning in Verse 5.
This is the Word of the Lord:
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
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Pray
-I want you to notice something...
...in that introductory clause of Verse 5.
If you’ll remember, Luke has been recording...
...Jesus going back and forth between...
Engaging with the Scribes and Pharisees...
Engaging with his “disciples” . . .
...for several chapters now...
...going all the way into...
...the beginning of this chapter...
...where he had begun, again, by saying:
1 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come...
What am I getting at?
I’m pointing out the fact, that...
...Luke hasn’t used the word “apostle”. . .
since chapter 11
and only 2 times prior to that!
-The first time was back in Chapter 6...
And it reminds us of...
...the distinction between the two words:
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
All Apostles are disciples
Not all disciples are Apostles
Apostles are the King’s emissaries.
Apostles have authority that...
...the other disciples don’t have.
Remember:
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Why am I pointing this out again?
1.) It’s an important distinction in general
2.) Luke seems to be contrasting this group...
...from the larger group of disciples in Verse 1.
Follow along with me...
We need the review anyway!
1 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.
3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,
4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
So, after giving those stern warnings...
...to the larger group of disciples...
Luke tells us:
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
So, if this request has come...
...as a response to the warnings of the last 4 verses...
(and the most natural reading of the text...
...would indicate that it did)
Then the idea would seem to be, that...
...the larger group of disciples heard it...
...but the apostles step out from them...
...with this petition for help in response.
-That seems to me to be...
...the most likely scenario for the context here.
(others scenarios are proposed)
(but they seem problematic to me)
I think Philip Ryken does a wonderful job...
...in connecting the dots:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 More Faith!
At this point the disciples simply had to interrupt. What Jesus was telling them to do went so far beyond their capabilities that they needed to ask for help. We can understand how they felt because none of these things is easy for us to do either.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 More Faith!
It is hard to set a good example for people, not leading them astray. It is hard to rebuke a brother’s sin in a way that leads to real repentance. It is hard to forgive people who have done us some kind of wrong.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 More Faith!
But forgiving someone seven times a day? Impossible! How could anyone do that?!?
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 More Faith!
So they asked Jesus for help: “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘
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-Now, think about this:
Is that what you would have asked for...
...in their situation?
It seems like an odd correlation, doesn’t it?
(That may be why some...
...try to connect this to other events...
...like the disciples’ inability to...
...cure the demon possessed boy in chapter 9, etc.)
Wouldn’t it seem more natural...
...to ask Jesus for:
More strength to not sin (causing others to stumble)
More courage and compassion to confront sin in others
More patience when wronged
More love for others
For that matter, why not ask:
“Lord, increase our capacity to forgive!” ?
Why a request for an increase of faith?
I like this explanation:
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Sixteen: Things that Really Matter (Luke 17)
We might have expected the disciples to respond with the prayer, “Increase our love!” Certainly love is a key element in forgiveness, but faith is even more important.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Sixteen: Things that Really Matter (Luke 17)
It takes
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Guys, that’s brilliant.
Forgiving others is an act of faith!
It’s something where we're often forced to...
Walk by faith
Not by sight
To forgive someone (biblically)...
...means that you release them from their debt...
...sometimes:
Without knowing if they’re truly sorry
Not knowing if they’ll wrong you again
Not being satisfied with the outcome
Not feeling like you’ve been properly vindicated.
It means to...
Simply obey God and extend forgiveness
Entrust the future to him!
That takes a lot more faith (sometimes)...
...than believing that God will perform a miracle, etc.
Remember the definition of faith from Hebrews 11:
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
It’s not easy to trust in God...
...for things that may not...
...ever become sight in this earthly life.
But, faith is trusting in God’s...
Commands
Word
Ways
Will
Promises...
...even if it doesn’t look like...
...they’re going to produce the desired result...
…even if we’ll never see them vindicated...
...on this side of Glory!
That’s Hard!
But that is the calling of the Christian life:
29 ...Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
7 ...we walk by faith, not by sight.
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That’s a difficult calling, to be sure…
One that, frankly, we can’t...
...obey in our own strength.
-But, here’s the good news...
The good news that is...
implicit in
presupposed by
...the apostles request in Verse 5:
1.) God graciously gives us the faith that we don’t have.
2.) He can strengthen the faith we do have.
3.) Jesus is “the Lord” of faith.
Consider these texts:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
3 ...think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail...
Some say that this is the idea of:
1 ...let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
At the very least...
...this has to be admitted:
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
That doesn’t originate within us.
That’s a blessing that’s externally imposed
This should be the disposition of our hearts, brethren:
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
And that seems to me...
...to be the heart behind the apostles’ plea in Verse 5.
Consider this from John Gill...
....and we’ll move on to verse 6:
...as they express their sense of the weakness, and imperfection of their faith; and their great desire to have it increased, which might be for their comfort, and his glory;
so they acknowledge his divine power, and that he is the author and finisher of faith; and that as the beginning, so the increase of it is from him:
wherefore faith is not of a man’s self, or the produce of man’s free will and power, but is the gift of God; and even where it is, it is not in man to increase it, or add to it, or to draw it forth into exercise; this also is the operation of God.
And if the apostles had need to put up such a petition to Christ, much more reason have other men.
Much more reason have you and I!
Amen?
May God so help us!
-Alright, look at Verse 6.
The Lord of faith responds...
...with a now familiar illustration.
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
So, the request was to “increase” their faith.
And Jesus responds by referring to...
6 ...faith like a grain of mustard seed...
Some translations say:
6 ...faith the size of a mustard seed...
So, what quantity of faith...
...is he invoking for his illustration?
Well, remember that this was the connotation:
30 ...“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
Jesus used that as an illustration a lot.
In the context of the Kingdom of God...
...it refers to:
It’s tiny beginnings
But growing into a glorious consummation
Remember:
32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
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But, in our text, and it’s parallel texts...
...where it’s being used...
...to illustrate faith...
There’s no mention of growth or expansion....
...related to the seed.
To me, then, the safest assumption would be...
...that what he has in mind...
is a faith that is in fact small...
but still has great potential...
just not based on it’s size
-Watch as we read on.
A powerful tree is brought into the illustration...
But the seed doesn’t grow into it...
...like in those other illustrations...
It’s a separate plant all together.
Watch:
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree...
(Apparently, he was standing near one at that moment)
This was a tree that was...
...most known for the strength of its root system.
Once established, it was certain and secure.
At that time (before bulldozers and track hoes)...
...you didn’t push it over...
...by dislodging its roots!
Its foundation was massive...
...and seemingly impenetrable!
YET… Jesus is saying:
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree...
(Not even use physical force)
(merely utter noises with your mouth)
(NOT teaching the power of faith-filled words)
(Not about spells or incantations, etc.)
6 . . . “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ . . .
Not cut down
But Uprooted!
(Ever tried to do that with a regular tree?)
Not only that:
Be uprooted...
And RE-Planted IN THE OCEAN!!!
Guys, is that even possible?
Are either of those physically possible?
Yet… Jesus says:
6 … “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Can trees hear you speak?
Can they move and plant themselves?
Are they sentient beings?
What should that indicate to us?
THIS IS HYPERBOLE!
That it’s is a rhetorical idiom
No one hearing this would take it literally.
It’s similar to Jesus saying:
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle...
No one’s going to take that literally
At least not in 1st century Palestine.
(I did as a small child!)
(It didn’t work)
-And the same is true...
...of the way Jesus applied...
...this, and similar illustrations, elsewhere:
Let me show you:
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
Do you think they took that literally?
Or as an object lesson for a greater truth?
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.”
Remember how Paul employed...
...similar hyperbole in...
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Those were over the top ideas...
...meant to drive home very real statements, right?
-So, what point is Jesus making in our text?
Here’s the point (back to the camel/eye of the needle illustration):
27 . . . “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Guys, it’s not the power of your faith, that...
moves mountains
removes long established trees
does the impossible...
(at least not in an ultimate sense)
It’s the power of GOD...
...that does all of those impossible things!
The exhortation in our text, is...
...NOT to have faith in the power of faith...
But to...
22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
John G. Mason summarizes...
...the thesis of our text phenomenally:
Luke: An Unexpected God Faith (17:5–6)
We need to pay careful attention to Jesus’ meaning here: it is not the degree of faith, nor is it doing unusual, weird or seemingly wonderful things for the sake of doing them.
Luke: An Unexpected God Faith (17:5–6)
His focus is on the capabilities of the God in whom the faith is put. Anyone who has even a small faith in a God who is good and great, can achieve seemingly impossible outcomes.
Luke: An Unexpected God Faith (17:5–6)
This does not mean that God will fulfil every flippant whim, nor will he be put to the test by doing the extraordinary simply for the sake of proving his existence.
Luke: An Unexpected God Faith (17:5–6)
However, as Christians down through the ages will testify, in matters that are consistent with his own purpose and passion, he will do the most extraordinary things. For the person who has faith in God and his agenda, no matter how small the faith might be, nothing is impossible
Those are important qualifiers, brethren:
We have to harmonize them:
Things like:
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done...
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
We need to be inspired by texts like ours...
And tempered by texts like these!
That’s the balance of the Christian’s life of faith.
-Final word goes to Ryken:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Mustard-Seed Faith
Jesus used this illustration to show that we need to trust God to do what only God can do. This is what it means to have faith: it means believing that God is able to do what is impossible for us.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Mustard-Seed Faith
Jesus is not saying that faith will give us magic powers, like some kind of supernatural force. Nor is he saying that we should use our faith to do something trivial, like transplant a tree. Moving the tree is simply an illustration of something we cannot do, but God can.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Mustard-Seed Faith
The point is that if God calls us to do something impossible (like forgiving someone seven times a day), we need to trust in his enabling power
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Amen?
Let’s pray
