Faith to Move a Mountain

February 1

Exodus 7-8

Psalm 18:7-12

Proverbs 3:33-35

Matthew 21:18-27

Faith to Move a Mountain

“Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Matthew 21:21-22 NIV

There are lots of possible theological meanings that can be drawn from the incident with Jesus and the fig tree.  A fig tree that was filled with leaves should be bearing fruit.  It looked good from a distance, but when Jesus got close and looked for something to eat, there was no fruit on it.  He had just left the temple that was filled with religious leaders who looked great on the outside.  They had the appearance of being very spiritual and godly, but when you looked closely, they had no fruit.  This seems to be an obvious lesson He could teach His disciples, but He chose to talk to them about faith.  He told His disciples that if they believed, whatever they asked for in prayer would be accomplished.  He wanted them to bear fruit.  He wanted their faith to be substantive and have depth and power.  He did not want them to be like the religious leaders who looked good on the outside, but whose prayers were meaningless because they lacked faith.  He got down to the real heart of the matter.  He wanted them to understand that performing miracles and seeing God accomplish amazing things in and through your life has nothing to do with how spiritual and religious you look on the outside.  It comes through faith and faith alone.  And that kind of faith comes through intimate, personal knowledge of Him through prayer.  That kind of faith can say to a mountain, “Go throw yourself into the sea,” and it will be done.