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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have taken no bread.' But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?’” (Matthew 16.7-8; emphasis mine, jb). Sometimes little faith describes the amount of trust one has; at other times it describes the lack of understanding one has. In today’s text and the final installment of this 4X4, Jesus uses the expression “little faith” in reference to little understanding.
O You of Little Faith
The disciple’s lack of faith on this occasion was the result of faulty reasoning. This prompted Jesus to ask four rapid-fire questions: 1) “Why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?” 2) “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?” 3) “Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?” and 4) “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?” (Matthew 16.8-11). Each of His questions pertained to the erroneous conclusions his disciples reached as opposed to the ordinary usage of the word faith, i.e. conviction or trust. This usage of the word faith demonstrates that the word has many shades of meaning as do multitudes of words. “Little faith” was, at least in this incident, their failure to reason correctly on the evidence that was before them.
On three other occasions, Jesus used this exact same term to refer to the amount of trust that others had in Him or in God. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus chided His followers for placing too much emphasis on the material things of life. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6.30). Once Jesus was awakened by His disciples in the midst of a great storm. There was no safer place on earth than the small boat even thought it was being tossed mercilessly by the waves. “But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8.26). In a similar circumstance, Jesus walked on stormy seas toward the seemingly imperiled boat of His disciples. Peter requested that Jesus might bid him to walk toward Him on the water; Jesus said, “Come!” Peter walked toward Jesus until he became fearful seeing the wind and waves. He cried out for Jesus to save him “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'” (Matthew 14.31).
A couple of practical applications are in order. First, Jesus did not hesitate to say exactly what needed to be said regardless of how it might be received. He could have beat around the bush in each of these incidents and His disciples could have gone away not really knowing that they had issues that needed to be corrected. Jesus truly believed that “...Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.” (Proverbs 27.5). Secondly, we see His willingness to help man even in his [man's] weakest moments. To use a modern phrase, He does not “throw His disciples under the bus” because they fail or have weaknesses. His patience is excelled only by His love for us; it never ends!
When faith is weak, it is time to refocus our eyes on the source of our faith, Jesus Christ. This is no time to move away from Him but it is all the more reason to move closer to Him. We know that He will not refuse us or chastise us needlessly, but will receive us with open arms when we turn to Him in faith, even faltering or weak faith!
Questions:
1. What is the typical meaning of faith as it is used in the Bible?
2. What does Jesus' usage of the word in Matthew 16.8 demonstrate about the word and its meanings?
3. Do you think it was pleasant for a disciple to hear Jesus tell him that he was a person of weak faith? Do you think it was easy for Jesus to say that to a disciple? Was it needful?
4. Chastening by the Lord is evidence of His __ __ __ __ ? (see Hebrews 12.6).
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