Can our Faith Move Mountains?

We have heard it often proclaimed, ‘Your faith can move mountains.’ You may have quoted that verse in Mathew 17:20. These are the words of Jesus Christ to his disciples. But did Jesus mean that we can move mountains if we have faith?

The context: Faith can move mountains

To understand this passage, it is important we look at the context in which Jesus says these words. Chapter 17 of Mathew starts with a narration of Jesus Christ’s transfiguration on Mount Olive. His Disciples had witnessed his glorious transfiguration which made them fall on their faces and very afraid. Jesus comes and tells them not to be afraid. Then He charges them not to tell anyone. (Mathew 17:1-13)

Then as they came to a multitude, a man approached Jesus kneeling down and telling Jesus to have mercy on his son who was troubled by an evil spirit that would make the son fall into fire and into water. The disciples had not been able to cure the son. (Mathew 17:14-16)

Then Jesus turning to his Disciples, said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? After that, he ordered that the son be brought to him. Jesus rebuked the devil and it departed out of the child and the child was cured from that very hour. (Mathew17-18)

Disciples ask why they could not cast the devil out. Jesus says it is because of their unbelief for if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed, Jesus said, ‘You shall say to this mountain, ‘Remove from here to that place and it shall remove and nothing will be impossible for you’’ Then he says that kind does not go out by prayer and fasting. (Mathew 17:20-21)

The Meaning of faith can move mountains

The Bible employs different genres and forms of literature, from historical narratives, to proverbs to songs to letters to prophetic symbolic books. All these take many forms like irony, hyperbole, personification, etc to name a few. It is thus important to understand the passage in its native context and understand the style employed to avoid misinterpreting the scripture.

In this passage, Jesus does not literally mean that faith can move mountains literally but can overcome great obstacles which he equates to being like mountains. The disciples could not heal the young man because of unbelief for if they had a little faith they would have cast out the devil out of the young man.

Therefore Jesus’ statement that faith can move mountains does not mean that we can literally move mountains but rather how even weak and small faith -just like the size of a mustard seed – can overcome mountainous obstacles in our life.

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