Matthew 17:14-21 (2)

Stuck in the Valley

We usually tell the stories of our successes. I can imagine Peter, James, and John were excited to share what they had seen - even though Jesus had instructed them to keep quiet.

Eagerly approaching the other nine Jesus and the three with Him were looking forward to hearing accounts of their experiences.

What they heard was not about a success but about a failure.

Earlier, as recorded in Matthew 10, Jesus had granted these twelve men authority to ‘drive out demons’ as they taught in the communities Jesus was about to visit.

They Could Not...

Yet, while Jesus and the three were bathed in light, enveloped in a cloud, listening in on a conversation with Moses and Elijah, a father had approached the nine left behind with a desperate plea:

Matthew 17:15–16 HCSB

“Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

Having the authority to ‘drive out’ demons the remaining nine found themselves powerless in this circumstance.

How Long?

Jesus’ initial response reveals His frustration. He clearly remembered giving these men power and authority to drive out demons.

Yet, He found them powerless in the presence of the enemy.

No wonder Jesus was more than a little frustrated!

A disciple was expected to stand in for his teacher when the teacher was absent. These men had been given the resources they needed to act in place of Jesus. Yet, when the opportunity came, they could not act.

A Simple Rebuke

Jesus, demonstrating His authority commands the demon to leave the child. The demon, though opposed to everything Jesus represented, knew full well he was accountable to God. The demon had to flee.

A Simple Solution

Matthew 17:19–21 HCSB

Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” “Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I assure 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. [However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.]”

The Quantity of Faith

People often say things such as ‘if only I had more faith.’ If someone falls into sin, if a disease takes the life of a fellow-believer we might ask, did they really have enough faith?

A mustard seed, among the smallest seeds used in a family garden, produces a plant that can often reach 10-12 feet tall.

Obviously, it’s not an issue of the quantity of faith.

A mustard-seed sized faith, according to Jesus, can move a mountain!

He wasn’t telling His followers they could literally move mountains. As one scholar reminds us:

Ancient peoples thought of mountains as rooted far beneath the earth … so “moving mountains” was a typical Jewish teacher’s image for “doing what was virtually impossible.

Jesus Himself reminds them: “Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The Quality of Faith

These followers had been with Jesus nearly eighteen months. They had seen Him heal the sick, confront the enemy, even raise the dead. As His disciples, they had been given authority to heal the sick and drive out unclean spirits.

Jesus has given them all that they needed. Their problem, their failure, is rooted in a simple problem: they (and we) often don’t accept the responsibility and authority we’ve been given!

When that father brought his son to the nine disciples waiting for Jesus to return, they panicked. Jesus wasn’t there! What were they to do? Jesus was gone! Now what?

Instead of believing they had all they needed to act, they doubted.

James, the step-brother of Jesus explains:

James 1:6–8 HCSB

But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.

By prayer and fasting

Many modern translations note that this part of vs 21 is not found in the most reliable, ancient manuscripts. It is, however, found in Mark’s account of the same incident:

Mark 9:29 HCSB

And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer [and fasting].”

What is the role of prayer in deepening and exercising our faith?

A word about ‘fasting’ at Thanksgiving:

Fasting was (and is) a common practice of many who set aside times and choose to give up certain activities in order to devote quality time to deepening their relationship with God.

Fasting may mean going without food. It can also mean giving up anything that may hinder you from spending more time with Jesus in prayer.

Back to the issue of prayer:

Prayer is the most significant privilege we have as believers.

Let me share with you a description of prayer that I find helpful:

“God’s face is the essence of who He is. God’s hand is the blessing of what He does. God’s face represents His person and presence. God’s hand expresses His provision for needs in our lives. I have learned that if all we ever ask for is God’s hand, we may miss His face; but if we seek His face, He will be glad to open His hand and satisfy the deepest desires of our heart.”

Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer (Minneapolis, MN.: Bethany House Publishing, 2011), 27.

Let’s revisit Jesus’ instruction to the disciples:

Mark 9:29 HCSB

And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer [and fasting].”

Jesus identified prayer as the essential need for facing the enemy and accessing the authority He has already given His followers .

Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 HCSB

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Prayer, genuine seeking the presence of God as made known in Jesus, as the Holy Spirit indwells us, is what these men missed.

They, like you and I too often, assumed that yesterday’s promise is sufficient for today’s challenge.

So What?

Matthew 17:19 (HCSB)

Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

Jesus assured them they could move mountains.

Jesus promised them nothing would be impossible for them.

Yet they had failed at a basic and simple assignment: do what they had been given authority to do.

Shortly before the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection Jesus spent one last Passover with these twelve men.

Let me share just one statement from that evening that can change the way we live and pray:

John 14:12–14 HCSB

“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Charles Spurgeon, an English pastor of the mid-1800’s made this observation about this promise:

Now that [Jesus] has gone up on high [that is , He has ascended to the Father] he does greater wonders by his servants that he himself, personally did, for he said to a few poor fishermen, ‘Go and break up the Roman Empire’ and they did it!

They preached the gospel and the gods of the heathen …were cast to the moles and they bats! And there are greater victories yet before the church of God!

Charles Spurgeon, The Spurgeon Study Bible (Nashville, TN.: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), on John 14:15-17.

How has the enemy been defeating you?

In what ways are you still struggling to find peace?

What mountains are keeping you from moving forward in your life?

What in your life, in the lives of your family, in the lives of our community, is impossible?

“When faith is lacking the antidote is not introspective self-examination but contemplation of the object of our faith: Jesus Christ, our Sufficient Savior.”

Graeme Goldsworthy, Prayer and the Knowledge of God (Downers Grove, ILL.: Intervarsity Press, 2003), 71.

In short: PRAY!

Keep PRAYING!

As you pray, start seeking to know God, to experience His presence and He will open His hand…That is His promise!