Matthew 17:14-27
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 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.”
22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
Reflection
While Jesus, Peter, James, and John were with Jesus on the mountain (Matt. 17:1–13), the other disciples were down below, attempting to free a boy from the oppressive attacks of a demon. Because of their “little faith,” however, they were unable to help him (v. 20). The problem with their faith was not its intensity, but its quality. Only a little of the right kind of faith is necessary to accomplish the work of the kingdom (v. 20; see also 4:24; 7:22; 8:16, 28–34; 9:32–34; 10:8; 12:22–23, 28; 15:22). The work of God’s kingdom depends on the power of God, not on the power or intensity of believers. The disciples’ faith was probably faulty because they were trusting in themselves (perhaps they were focused on using the right technique) rather than on God.
When believers today seek to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks in the work of God’s kingdom, God will come to their aid, enabling them to do greater things than they thought possible. Believers must rely on God rather than themselves to accomplish the goals of God’s kingdom. We don’t need to be timid in our expectation of what God can do. After all, he has done the hardest thing— he has rescued us from our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:14-21
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written,“Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Reflection
Paul’s expectations are high (Rom. 15:14) because he knows these believers have received the gospel. But they need to be pushed (v. 15), because they play a part in Paul’s spread of the gospel (v. 16). That gospel’s work, through Paul (v. 17), has accomplished a great deal (v. 18), as it continues to do today. The Holy Spirit is drawing Gentiles (non-Jews) into the kingdom in fulfillment of the “ministry of the gospel of Christ” (v. 19). God has been true to his ageold gospel promises, and he will be faithful to the end of the age (vv. 20–21; cf. Matt. 28:20).
Psalm 20:7
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Sometimes Christians think that having great faith is a matter of producing enthusiasm within themselves, when in fact it requires them to look away from themselves, to Christ. Cultivate your faith in Christ by focusing your prayers on him, not on your faith.