A People of Little Faith

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again" (Matthew 20:17-19).

We’ve been away from Matthew’s Gospel for 9 days briefly exploring some aspects of God’s grace. We return now to Jesus and His final journey to Jerusalem to be crucified. This is the 3rd and final time Jesus tells the disciples of His impending death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23). This is the heart of the Gospel in Scripture. It was initially revealed in Genesis 3:15 and is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus’ sinless life was lived in full obedience to the Father’s will, making Him the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin. (Romans 3:23-26) . . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

Jesus made clear His intent in going to Jerusalem. His statement is explicit. He wanted the disciples to understand His coming suffering for sin and to prepare them for their coming suffering as well. He wanted to remind them that His Kingdom was not of this world, that He was not a political Messiah sent to restore Israel to the glory days of Kings David and Solomon. He wanted them to know what had happened to Him and to them during the course of His public ministry was all a part of God’s great plan of redemption. Nothing was accidental or incidental. All of it was according to God’s plan and purpose. None of it was orchestrated by Satan or the elders of Israel. But the disciples were slow to understand. It would not be until after the resurrection that these things would become clear to them.

We, like the disciples, are quite often people of little faith. We believe mentally but we stumble along in unbelief practically. Our faith in the plan and purposes of God for our life goes only as far as we are able to see or control. Yet we are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We are to trust in the leadership of the Holy Spirit whom the Lord has sent to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). We are to seek the Lord’s will in all that we do (James 4:13-15). We cannot criticize the disciples for their lack of understanding when we walk with them in weak faith.

“Lord Jesus, like the father of the boy who was possessed with a demon, I confess my belief in You and ask that You help me in my unbelief. I am in need of Your wisdom and guidance every moment of every day. I long for the faith that is unhindered by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Open my understanding to the truth that I might serve You faithfully. To Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor