Matthew 17

Devotional:
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matt. 17:20)

As this verse demonstrates, Jesus occasionally uses intentional overstatements to give his teaching heightened intensity. There are other examples in the Gospel of Matthew: “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (5:29); and “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away” (5:30). Jesus uses hyperbole to shake us awake and startle us into sensing the seriousness and utmost importance. In today’s verse, he shocks us by stating that the exercise of even a minuscule measure of faith can produce earth-shattering results. It is indeed astonishing to realize that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, emphasis added).

Pray it:
Father, I praise you that my hope is not built upon the size and strength of my faith but rather the size and the strength of the one in whom I believe. Help me remember that you make all things possible and praise you for working wonders through mustard seeds of faith in your people. Amen.

Share it:
Who is someone you can share a verse or thought from this passage with?