The Teachings of Jesus

The Teachings of Jesus

Sermon Sixty-Nine

Matthew 17:14-23

Jim Bordwine, ThD

Introduction

We have had the opportunity to study the Gospel of Matthew for well over a year. This prolonged examination has given us a greater comprehension of this book than we otherwise would have had. We have, for example, a better understanding of the issues Jesus faced because we have looked at them every week during our time of worship. I would imagine that we also have an improved conception of the themes found in all the Gospels since Matthew is one of three books that record basically the same period of the Lord’s life.

These reoccurring themes include the opposition of the Jewish leaders. These men opposed the Savior at every turn. They tried to trick Him, deceive Him, and discredit Him in the eyes of His followers. This opposition is constant and is never diminished until those same leaders see Jesus on the cross.

Another theme that can be traced through this Gospel is the frequent training of the disciples through stories, exhortations, and sometimes rebukes. Those men were with Jesus a relatively short time and they were appointed to oversee the founding of His Church on earth. They needed and received continual guidance in one form or another. Our text for today’s sermon includes an episode where Jesus is found expressing His disappointment in the lack of maturity among His disciples; but we also read of His correction and exhortation.

Later Biblical records show that the disciples did eventually become fearless and wise leaders for the Church. The passage we’ll consider this morning illustrates the manner in which Jesus prepared the disciples for their vitally important calling.

The Text

Matthew 17:14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. 22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going 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 deeply grieved.

The Teaching

There are times when asking a question results in an answer we really don’t want to hear. Sometimes, those answers are quite plain, and had we paid closer attention to the circumstance, we would have had no need to ask. This passage illustrates this predicament. The disciples observe an event and then ask Jesus about the details. In asking the question of the Savior, they show how disconnected they are from what Jesus has been demonstrating and teaching. His answer puts a spotlight on them and emphasizes one important fault they all apparently shared.

What Jesus tells them had the potential of greatly enriching their service to Him and one another. The fact that the disciples do not “catch on” does not negate the usefulness of what the Savior taught. Therefore, we have an opportunity to benefit from the response of Jesus even though His disciples did not.

In this passage, Jesus gives a rebuke to the disciples and it is not mild. It is major and stinging because it has to do with a fundamental aspect of discipleship, which is the character of our faith. Based on what Jesus says, the disciples should have reached a level of spiritual development where their problem would not exist. Instead, circumstances show that the disciples were well behind where they should be by now. As I noted in the Introduction, this is one of those themes running through this book—the disciples are constantly being corrected and give little evidence of a growing insight regarding Christ’s mission and their place in His Kingdom.

At the same time, this passage serves to encourage us regarding our relationship to Christ and the subsequent rejection of worldly expectations and conduct. Jesus shows that His way is the right way; and that is something we frequently need to remember. This world challenges our Christian convictions constantly and it is helpful for us to hear the Savior speak about the reliability of His approach to life. Being reassured from time to time is something everyone needs because, as noted, we are engaged in a lifelong struggle and the struggle is living as a citizen of heaven here in a place that is governed by other than heavenly principles.

This story begins with Matthew’s report that Jesus and the disciples have encountered a crowd, which was the typical context at this point in the Lord’s ministry. As we have seen recently in other stories, the people are flocking to Jesus whenever they can because of what they’ve heard about Him and, in many cases, seen Him do. This time, Matthew says a man came up to Jesus and, falling on his knees, begged the Lord for mercy. (vv. 14, 15) Without another word, we know this man’s situation was grave. When he found Jesus and fell on his knees before the Savior, we understand he was adopting a posture of complete dependence on Jesus and complete surrender to whatever Jesus was willing to do in response. We soon learn that this man’s son was currently subjected to the torments of a demon. His father refers to him as “a lunatic and very ill.” And, as in other similar accounts, the father tells Jesus that his dear son “often falls into the fire and often into the water.” The other Gospel accounts paint an even more disturbing picture of this boy’s experience, including the fact that he was unable to hear and unable to speak. The miserable existence of the son created a miserable existence for the father who loved his son.

The word “lunatic” comes from a Greek term meaning “moon-struck.” The term reflected the superstition that the moon somehow triggered convulsions in some people. Although that wasn’t the common belief of the day, the term continued in use and had come to refer to uncontrollable fits, such as those described by the father which resulted in frequent injuries to his son. Soon, Jesus explains that the boy is being troubled by a demon. Like so many other situations, we have here someone in great need and we have someone desperately seeking help for the one in need. With other resources exhausted, we might imagine, the boy’s father finally is able to locate Jesus and ask for His help.

The father then adds some interesting information and it is this information that leads to a rebuke: “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” (v. 16) Suddenly, this is more than the typical request for the Lord’s help. With this additional fact now known, this episode takes on a unique character. Before coming to Jesus, the father went to the disciples, but they were unable to help. For reasons Jesus will soon state, the disciples were not able to do anything about the son’s situation.

The implication is that the disciples did all they knew to do and failed. Although the father doesn’t specify what remedy the disciples attempted, the coming response of Jesus certainly leads us to believe that the disciples were unable to use their delegated authority to rid the boy of the demon. Although Matthew doesn’t include details, you have to wonder why the disciples had not spoken to the Savior themselves. If they tried to help the boy, as the father says, and were unable to change his condition, why didn’t the disciples take him to Jesus? Why was it necessary for the father to do this?

We can only speculate, but even without venturing too far in that direction, I think it’s safe to say that the disciples fell short of their responsibility. It is not until after the matter is made public that the disciples then seek the Lord’s input. Did pride stand in the way? Were they simply indifferent to the boy’s suffering? Did the disciples want to avoid the scolding they assumed would come from their Master? We don’t know, but we do understand that Jesus was not pleased with their conduct. That is abundantly evident when He speaks: “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” (v. 17)

This is an expression of frustration. Rather than see progress in the ministry of His disciples, Jesus learns of this situation in which the disciples appeared to be powerless. And on top of that, He learns of it from a stranger who is bowing before Him begging for His mercy. When Jesus responds, therefore, He does not hide His righteous displeasure.

Let me add that this sounds like a denunciation of that whole generation, which it is to an extent. Later, however, the attention focuses on the disciples and that is when Jesus speaks even more sternly. He is saying, therefore, that something about the spiritual character of those people is tied to this incident. Jesus calls them “unbelieving” and “perverted.” That phrase means a lack of faith and an abundance of sin—that is what Jesus has in mind.

It seems clear that Jesus is speaking generally about what He has encountered in His ministry. The people were, as a group, distinguished not by faith but by doubt, and not by obedience but by law-breaking. The boy’s demon possession was a sign of the times; it testified to the terrible spiritual climate. The hearts of God’s people were far from Him; there were few who were truly faithful in Israel. And when Jesus came into their midst offering truth and deliverance, He was still, for the most part, rejected. People came to Him, not because they believed He was Israel’s Messiah, but because of what He could do for them. This wasn’t true across the board, but it certainly was true of the majority.

For us to better understand the Lord’s assessment of that culture, we might think of our own culture. Anyone who does an honest analysis of American culture would have to conclude that we are a people marked by a great amount of perversion—this is especially evident if you compare our present state to our past. We’ve never been a society free of sin, of course, but in our past, we see far less toleration for sin and far less tendency to flaunt wickedness than is the case today.

I read an article this past week in which the author argues that Christians are wrong when they claim there has been a moral slide in America since prayer and Bible reading were banned from the public school system, which happened in the early to middle 1960’s. The writer is trying to show that there has not been a sudden increase in immoral behavior since those decisions were made; therefore, he reasons, the connection between the absence of God from school and the moral character of this nation have no definite link.

The big problem is that this writer remains oblivious to the implications of the statistics he cites. Rather than agree that we have seen a rapid increase in wickedness in the past forty years, he successfully demonstrates through his statistics that we have been a culture in moral decline since the beginning of the 20^th century. This writer makes the Christian assessment more convincing; if anything, he shows that Christians have underestimated the rate of our degeneration as a culture. Our decline is much more severe than we think and has been going on for much longer than we might realize. It’s always an encouragement when your enemies prove your point and do a better job of it!

We are not as far down the path as Israel was when Jesus came and we cannot press a comparison too far since Israel’s relationship to God was based on a particular covenant, but words condemning our culture for its unbelief and perversion would be entirely appropriate. We have become more and more callous toward righteousness and when that happens, the only thing to fill that gap is sin. In speaking of Israel, the Savior is not denying the presence of faith and obedience any more than a Christian would be denying the presence of faith and Godly obedience in our culture, even though he might speak bluntly about our moral decay.

What comes next in our passage brings us to a significant transition. When the boy was brought to Jesus, the text says “Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.” (v. 18) The Lord’s rebuke was not against the boy, though it was spoken to him. Jesus was obviously addressing the demon who was residing in the child. And, Matthew records, the demon left immediately. What the disciples could not do is done by Jesus in a matter of a few seconds.

I mentioned we are at a transition point. Here is what I mean: When you condemn a culture, as Jesus did, what are you doing in reality? Are you not condemning the people who form the culture? If you’re going to criticize a culture, you are going to criticize the people who make up that culture. A culture is not an entity by itself; it is what results when people live and work together. Take note, therefore, that the Savior’s denunciation of that generation becomes criticism of a few in that generation, namely, His disciples. Rather than speak in a general fashion, Jesus speaks specifically—He spoke broadly of that generation, now He speaks specifically of a few in that generation, namely, His disciples once again:

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

As just noted, a culture’s spiritual health comes down to the spiritual health of those who make up the culture. Jesus instantly did what His disciples could not do and it wasn’t because they lacked authority. Something else stood in the way. Something about the spiritual character of the disciples prevented them from commanding that demon and releasing that poor boy from his torment. Those disciples shared in the moral weakness of their generation—Jesus now makes this point unmistakably.

When the disciples asked their question, “Why could we not drive [the demon] out?”, they set themselves up for a much-needed rebuke. “In simple terms, here is your problem,” Jesus says in essence: “Your faith is too small.” What does that mean? Faith is something you have or don’t have—isn’t that what we believe? Haven’t we assumed that there is no such thing as a “big” faith or a “small” faith? What is Jesus saying to His disciples? Listen to Him again: “You could not drive out that demon because of the littleness of your faith . . .”

We might spend a lot of time trying to understand the idea of a “big” faith versus a “little” faith because it sounds like Jesus is describing size. We can be thankful, however, that Jesus helps us with a short illustration: “ . . . truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” In case the disciples thought Jesus was actually talking about the size of their faith, He quickly shows that size is not the point of His comment. After all, if you can have faith as small as a mustard seed and still move a mountain, then clearly the size of faith is inconsequential.

If He is not talking literally when He speaks of the “littleness” of the disciples’ faith, what exactly is the Lord talking about. I would suggest that He is talking about the quality of faith. If you can have faith “the size of a mustard seed” and do what Jesus describes here, then the size of your faith is irrelevant, as I noted. Jesus teaches here that it is not the amount of faith that matters—since there is no measuring of faith’s size—what matters is the character or genuineness of that faith—that is, it is an authentic faith, faith based on what the Scriptures teach, or is it a faith—a false faith in reality—based on human assessment?

Jesus is answering the question from His disciples by telling them their faith is weak, its foundation is shallow, its strength is minimal; their faith was still dominated too much by worldly thinking and worldly expectations. Biblical faith is belief—it is believing to be true what God says. This means that the disciples failed because they did not really believe they had the authority to command that demon, which means they did not really believe Christ had given them that authority, which means they had doubts about His authority.

Ultimately, the condition of the disciples’ faith indicated that they still didn’t know what to make of Jesus and still didn’t know how to process all He did and said. They remained immature and that kind of faith on their part left them with doubt, as noted. It’s not that the disciples refused to believe Jesus; they certainly were not His enemies. But they had yet to reach that point where they could banish doubt in the face of opposition; they were not yet able to look beyond the world and see as Jesus saw.

In your Bible, there should be some indication that v. 21 is suspect. The best manuscripts do not have v. 21. Most scholars think it was a scribal addition sometime during the history of transmission. It was probably added when the copyists noticed that Mark recorded a statement from Jesus about the necessity of prayer. We can take as genuine Mark’s inclusion of the Lord’s emphasis on prayer, even though we are better off not taking v. 21 here in our passage as genuine. In the end, of course, there is little to worry about. Since Mark does include the Lord’s statement about prayer, we haven’t lost that part of the story.

All this means we have evidence of the immaturity among the disciples, as I’ve suggested. Jesus did exhort His disciples regarding the situation they recently faced. The command of a demon requires an unshakeable faith, the kind the disciples had not yet developed. Steadfastness in prayer is an aspect of a mature faith and the Lord is making the point that the disciples were in need of greater self-discipline so that they nurtured their faith and, as a result, their ability to be of genuine use to the Lord in His mission.

This passage concludes with Jesus once again warning His disciples about what will happen in Jerusalem. For a moment, at least, the disciples must have contemplated the Lord’s words—unlike previous occasions. Matthew says they were “deeply grieved.” (vv. 22, 23)

Application

Looking back on this story, what chief lesson should we take with us? What can we learn from this passage that will help us serve the Lord with greater consistency? I would say there are several lessons to be gleaned, but one in particular qualifies as vital. I’m referring to what this passage teaches about faith.

When the father who brought his suffering son to Jesus he reported that the disciples had been unable to help. Without offering an elaborate analysis, Jesus explained that His disciples failed because of the character of their faith. They were not living consistently as men of faith—faith in Christ, faith or trust in His teaching, faith or belief in His words and plans. Being inconsistent in the matter of their perspective in life led to blunders and missed opportunities and embarrassing failure like being unable to apply the authority of Christ in this circumstance and free that boy from torment.

When Jesus heard about their failure, He was no sympathetic, nor was He puzzled. As I said, He immediately cited the weak faith of the disciples as the cause of their inability. It wasn’t that the disciples had no faith or belief in Christ; the problem was that they were inconsistent. One day they could make grand claims about Jesus and the next be found complaining and expressing doubt to Him. Inconsistency leaves us trying to live in two worlds—the world of thankful service to Christ as we submit all of life to Him, and the world of fearing the consequences if we do attempt to submit all of life to Him. This is a struggle that engages most Christians.

We must never forget that the world needs Christ. This lesson has been set before us many times in our study of Matthew. Time after time, miserable people, people suffering from all kinds of physical maladies, people who have exhausted all hope, come to Jesus because they believe He can offer relief. Is it not a grand privilege, therefore, to know Him as we do? By God’s grace, we have been given saving knowledge of His Son and we are allowed to live out our days with that knowledge.

The chief lesson for us, therefore, has to do with our own faith. While we claim to belong to Christ, does our life support that claim? This is the big challenge for Christians. Living consistently according to what we have learned from our Savior is a never-ending struggle this side of heaven. We all know this is true. The father who feels convicted about his lack of leadership in the home knows this is true because his redeemed heart urges him to set aside useless things and things that offer no reward so that he might concentrate on the nurturing of his wife and children—and that is a pursuit that offers eternal rewards.

The mother who senses the pull of the world as she attempts to put her husband and children first knows this struggle well. The young person who truly wants to honor God knows this struggle exists. He goes to the campus and has to listen to foul language and see immodest dress—he knows there is a struggle to live for Christ consistently. Regardless of where you are in life, if you desire to live a life of faith, you are going to be challenged and you will find this goal very difficult to meet.

The disciples tried, but they were still weakened by the world in which they lived. I have no doubt that they wanted to do the right thing at all times and live victorious lives in the face of every challenge and every temptation. But they failed sometimes. The answer Jesus gave was not “Ok, give up. You did your best.” His answer was a harsh, though quite necessary, rebuke. “Your faith is small,” He said. He meant that they were still struggling with worldliness. They had not yet reached that point where they could see the end of their journey in blessedness with their Savior even though the road before them was full of obstacles.

That, by the way, is the essence of a life of faithfulness. It is living according to what God says is the outcome, rather than living according to what our circumstances seem to be saying. And that is a challenge. That is the heart of the struggle I’m referring to right now. I need help to live each day with an eye on the goal provided by the Savior without being sidetracked by the many obstacles this fallen environment puts in the pathway of any man, woman, young person, or child who is attempting to live for God’s glory above all else.

We are wise if we simply accept the truth that living in a fallen world is going to be a daily and sometimes painful challenge to us as God’s people. And having accepted this truth, we will be most effective if we never stop preparing for the encounters we have with wickedness, with unbiblical goals, with worldviews dramatically opposed to our own. A big part of succeeding in this struggle is accepting it as the way life is for now. And we follow that acceptance with dedication. We train ourselves at all times, as I said, and we train the children. We don’t ignore our own need to be in the Word and our own need to be exposed to Biblical instruction, and we, if God has put us in a place of responsibility for a family, we don’t ignore those needs where our children are concerned.

It is possible to live a life of faith on this earth, but it requires constant vigilance and steadfast commitment to principles of righteousness. We all know what I’m saying is true, and we all know the opposition to this kind of life is formidable. Beginning with our own flesh, we encounter tireless resistance. But our calling remains. We are people of faith, people who believe what God has revealed and all that He has revealed is true. And if we have come to that realization, we also know only too well that we must have God’s help, we must have the companionships of the Holy Spirit, and we must have our Savoir interceding for us. Therefore, I’d like to close by praying for this congregation with these thoughts about faithfulness in mind.

Let’s pray…

Reception of new members and baptisms…

The primary place where faithful living is taught is in the home. Long before the Church exerts helpful influence on us, our homes begin shaping our character. That is why the Bible puts so much emphasis on the blessings of Godly marriages and Godly parenting.

Today, we are going to receive into membership the Bradley family. As they unite with us, they will present their children for baptism—that sign of inclusion in the covenant household of God. This step includes a commitment from the parents to create a home and a relationship with their children according to what God reveals in His Word.

First, we would like to take a moment to introduce the Bradleys to you.

Communion hymn…

Conclusion

As you receive the bread and wine today, remember that this is a time for you to take inventory of your life, so to speak. This is an opportunity for you to look back over this past week and examine your life. Did you live faithfully? Did you live according to the teaching of the Word? When you sinned, did you seek God’s forgiveness and did you ask Him to strengthen and sanctify you?

Each time you participate in this sacrament, you have an obligation to ask yourself if you are living in a manner that reflects the truth being portrayed. Am I living as one redeemed from sin? Am I living as one given a new heart and a holy disposition? Did I honor my Savior this past week? Having asked yourself these question, you will be ready to thank the Lord for His grace and, if necessary, ask for His help in particular areas as a new week begins.

We read of the establishment of this sacrament in Matt. 26:

28 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”