Increase our Faith
October 6, 2013
A young boy walked into a neighborhood church for the first time. He sat down and looked around at all the posters, announcements and pictures along the walls. When he came to a group of photographs of men in uniform, he asked a nearby usher, “Who are all those men in the pictures?”
They usher replied quietly, “Why, those are our boys who died in the service.”
Dumbfounded, the youngster asked, “Was that in the morning service or the evening service?”
The most often quoted line from our focus scripture of Luke 17:5 through 10, is about the mustard seed-sized faith that can cause a mulberry tree to leave its place in the soil and go to the sea. A similar statement is made in Matthew 21:21 where a fig tree is the object of movement, plus a mountain. Matthew 17:20 also involved mountain moving and mustard seeds. Additional references are found in Matthew 13:31 and 32, Mark 4:30 through 32, Luke 13:18 and 19 plus several places in the apocrypha. However, the message in this passage is about service expected of Messiah’s followers—servants of the Teacher. First, let’s examine why the mustard-seed example was used, going beyond the size of the seed, which is tiny.
The request by the apostles, the group of seventy who were on assignment for Yeshua was, “Increase our faith.” We are not told what happened that led to the request, yet it’s easy to deduct that the apostles had seen the Master perform miracles, and had been told by Him they too could do these and even greater things, but found themselves short of the faith required to do what Jesus did. To their credit, the apostles did want to do what their Teacher did and recognized their problem.
Understanding what was actually asked is critical to this story and understanding the answer, which is different than what most think. The word “faith” as used by the apostles, comes from the Greek pis’-tis, which means persuasion, credence, conviction and reliance upon Christ for salvation. The root word is pi’-tho, that adds to the word’s meaning; to have confidence, make friends, obey, persuade, trust and obey. Contrary to the Biblical definition of “faith” which is; the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, the apostles were asking for something different, stronger persuasion powers while using the truth of Christ. The apostles were not asking to have a stronger belief in Yeshua; they were with Him in the flesh and had witnessed His miracles. There was no question about believing in Messiah, they were asking for more knowledge, ability and persistence to increase effectiveness. Now, the request and answer makes sense.
The response involving mustard seeds was understood because society of the time was agrarian by necessity, since food on the table was ultimately each person’s responsibility. Since so many in the population were involved in growing food, the example was instantly understood. So Yeshua using the mustard-seed example was a good choice and here’s why.
The mustard plant was what we call “black mustard,” which is a small bush-like tree that typically grew to nine-feet from a remarkably small seed. This mustard plant was not grown in gardens since the distribution of seeds meant they wound up in places not desired and were prolific, much like mesquite trees grow in areas of our Southwest region. Because the plants grew into trees, birds loved them for nesting, and ate the seeds, which were not digested by the birds. When the birds relieved themselves, the seeds along with important fertilizer were deposited on the soil.
Palestinian farmers hated the mustard plant since it would take root in any fertile soil, such as vineyards and where crops had been planted. As we used to chop weeds out of cotton rows, farmers of the time would pull up the plants before they grew large, but it did little good since more birds would fly in to feed on crops and leave more mustard seeds behind. This very persistent, fast-growing, fast-spreading plant aggravated farmers. Without specific chemicals to attack the mustard plant, it was going to be a part of the landscape no matter how hard you tried to stop it. The persistence of the mustard plant was an example of how our determination should be as we spread the Gospel of Christ through the Word of God.
So even very little faith, or persuasion ability, like the size of a mustard seed, widely distributed, becomes a major force in the lives of humanity, just as mustard plants growing over a mountain or field would soon change the landscape. In the face of growing faith as mustard plants would spread, what chance would a problem, such as a mulberry bush, have when confronted with a superior and repeated application of faith, such as that of the mustard seed?
Messiah is saying in the passage of Luke 17, that there are enough of the apostles to spread faith like the birds spreading mustard seeds, which means they would have a dramatic effect on the spiritual landscape if they were persistent with their contacts and presentations. This is what the apostles understood from verse six. Still, this understanding extended more deeply into the issue of service.
Immediately Yeshua followed the comment about the ability of a mustard seed with, “Now which of you has a servant who ploughs or feeds sheep, and if he should come from the field, would say to him, enter in and sit down?” Servants were frequently sent to the fields to plow out the pesky weeds so crops would flourish on nutrition not absorbed by the likes of the mustard plant. When servants were not plowing they were feeding sheep. The apostles knew this, so Messiah was putting them in the place of the servants with a specific job to do. Then, He allowed the apostles to understand the position of the master of the field by asking if a servant finished his assigned job should he be allowed to come in, sit down and relax? Not at all! Rather, the master would tell the servant to make dinner to serve him. Then, the question; Will that servant receive praise because he did what he was commanded to do? Jesus answers His own question with; “I think not.” Doing the extra work is an expectation of persistence.
The directive to the apostles and Christians today is; when you have done all you are told to do, will you relax and say you have done what was expected, we can now rest and enjoy life? What if the birds stopped nesting in mustard plants or flying; would the seeds be spread, or by example, belief in God be increased?
Consider the additional context of what was happening. The apostles and disciples had been directed to be the advance party for Immanuel, setting up meetings, events and activities to literally make the way straight and smooth for the Savior in His quest for Jerusalem. They were voluntarily serving at the bidding of the Savior. His message was new and meant change for the majority of society and certainly the Temple. There were many approached by the apostles who refused to hear and some who outright challenged the new message. The apostles, desiring to prove their point as Yeshua did with signs and miracles, were having a positive effect but not quite the same as that of the Savior when he healed someone or taught the Word of God. Who could blame them for wanting to be as effective as the Master? Do we not have the same attitude today? How many of us really want to do what Jesus did and even greater, but lack the persistence to make it happen? Are we then content to come in after a hard day’s work and relax? Not according to Messiah’s words. There is so much more to do.
When we hear reports of what a missionary has accomplished through token giving, we need not congratulate ourselves just yet because our job is not finished. The world is in big trouble because we are far from God’s will when we give an occasional obligatory offering. Then, there are some ministries promoting themselves for the purpose of becoming bigger yet serve only a few as a gesture to their legitimacy. Regardless of ministries for show, like the Pharisees who blew trumpets to get attention before giving alms, we must bring our efforts in line with Messiah’s instructions. We must realize that our job does not end when we drop a bill in the offering plate. We must not be like the servant, who has been working in the field and is instructed to also make dinner for his master, but doesn’t want to. Work in the field is our job, dinner is our service. We cannot metaphorically sit down at the end of the day to relax when the world needs the Good News of the Gospel, or food, or clothes or comfort or safety.
In the book, Who Really Cares, Arthur C. Brooks writes, “Just as America the Charitable spills abundance over to the rest of us, America the Selfish threatens our prosperity as a nation through the policies it supports and the culture it nourishes.” Then Brooks adds, “It is in all our interest to figure out what makes people charitable, and then what makes them uncharitable.” The comparable statement should be posed to Christianity as a question; what makes Christians servants to the needy, and what makes us selfish, desiring servants to deliver good feelings to us? Have we become a religion of takers when God has given us the abundance and ability to give?
To paraphrase Brooks admonition to the nation, but in the context of Christianity, we need to consider; “Our strength as the Body of Christ is affected by our ability to bring more people into the ranks of servant hood—for their good and ours.” Have we not become so comfortable in the glory of God’s love and earthly abundance that we fail to share Him? What will motivate us to take action to meet needs placed before us? Last week we learned of the rich man who saw the poor, hungry and infected man, Lazarus, at his gate every day and did nothing. The mistake was fully realized when they both died. Will our reward be like that of the rich man, or will we recognize the issues before us and act for their good and ours?
Are we like apostles in Yeshua’s time; people given assignments to carry out but needing more power? To answer the question, let’s go back to the Greek and meaning of the word translated to “faith” in our English Bibles. The Greek word again is “pis’-tis,” a word that sounds like our English, “piston”. Sure enough, they are related. “Pis’-tis” is root for pistol, as in a handgun, and piston as in an engine. The Latin word means to crush and to break asunder, as is used in Jeremiah 23:29 and Job 16:12. A Hebrew word sounding very much like it is used in Middle Hebrew that means explosion, detonation and bomb. In Jewish Aramaic and fasala it means “split or separated”. However, considering the way the apostles used “pis-tis” when asking for more of it, they desired more power to witness and testify so their efforts would be increased. This is the same as a piston moving as the result of a controlled explosion in an engine, or a controlled explosion within a pistol to project a bullet to a target. They were asking for more power and more results for Yeshua’s ministry.
When we today ask for more faith, we usually mean we are just short of fully believing in God and His Son, which was not the issue for the apostles. Remember that their faith was made complete by sight, in that they saw works and miracles for themselves as they were directly taught by the Teacher. For those of us who are fully invested, believing in the majesty of the Anointed One and God the Father, our prayer should be for pis’-tis, or a “controlled explosion within us to motivate and push us to be the hands and feet of God to the needy and lost in our world. This is the witness expected of us by God and even those in our world who don’t know Him, yet intuitively know James 2:26, which reads, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Here, as in our focus scripture of Luke 17, the Greek for “faith” is “pis’-tis,” meaning power to complete a mission. So, a relationship with God without power is—useless. What happens when you pray for more power within, receive it but do nothing with it? Without release that power becomes a bomb, sending energy in all directions without specific purpose.
So, we pray for more power within to move us to greater works; what do you plan to accomplish? If you realize that a very small amount of God’s power, even in mustard-seed amounts, produces incredible potential and energy for service, plan on something big and believe it. We are notified in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a good hope at the end. Then you shall call upon me and pray to me, and when you shall seek me with all your heart, you shall find me.” Your “something big” will result in peace and not evil, plus instill hope in all around you, strong enough to be with you to the end.
What have you been called to do? How deep is your devotion to service of humanity in God’s name? Will the result be peace and hope or something selfish, worth nothing to the kingdom of God? Does your motivation cause something great and good, or something destructive? If so, are you willing to change your plans for good instead of evil?
In light of the issues facing our Christian community and our nation, we, as did the apostles, must ask for and willingly receive more power to represent God to the hurting and needy, showing them the way to a greater life in the example of Jesus, then equipping them to also become disciples so all of humanity will prosper. The goal is to have more power so we can teach truth, and in turn live in love, exercise forgiveness since humanity is imperfect, then be willing to go beyond the job and serve dinner as well.
We may not be called to move mountains or trees, or die in service, as the boy thought of service in our opening story, but if we are, God has that covered too. There is no loss to be in the service of God and build His kingdom; a fact that is not only a promise but guarantee.
Before the end of this day, pray for the power in faith to do what God has asked you to. Amazing blessings will be your reward.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
©2013, J. Tilton
