"So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20, NKJV)
Jesus speaks these words to His disciples upon their failure to heal a boy who suffered with symptoms of epilepsy. After Jesus heals the boy, the disciples asked why they could not heal him. Jesus responds, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Most people when they hear the words of Jesus, “have faith as a mustard seed,” believe Jesus is speaking about the size of the mustard seed. Indeed the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds known to man. Thus, people assume Jesus is saying, in essence, “if you just have a small bit of faith, the impossible becomes possible.” Yet, I believe Jesus is speaking about more than the size of the seed. I believe the message Jesus is teaching us is concerning the inherent qualities of the seed. Jesus is saying, “If your faith has the same qualities of the mustard seed, you can move mountains.”
There are three qualities of the mustard seed that our faith must possess. One, the mustard seed is small, but if houses great potential. Large plants grow from this small beginning. So too must your faith believe for and reach for greatness. Believe yourself, with God’s help, to be and to do great things. Second, the seed is placed underground and in darkness, but the plant within pushes toward the light. So too your faith must be of such that even in the darkness, in a place that you cannot see your way, you believe and trust God, with everything in you, that He will inevitably get you through the darkness into the light. And third, the mustard seed is placed under great pressure from dirt, rocks and trampling but it still pushes through. Your faith must be of such that no matter what the pressure, you are determined to push through, to, not only survive, but to thrive. Don’t give up my brothers and sisters. Just HAVE FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED.