“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
- KJV And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of 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.”
- NLT “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus traces their failure to little faith, teaching that even mustard-seed faith can move mountains. The point is the power of God to whom genuine faith clings, not the size of the believer's faith.
Overview
Using vivid hyperbole, Jesus says that faith as small as a mustard seed makes the impossible possible, because faith lays hold of the limitless power of God. 'Moving mountains' was a proverbial image for overcoming great obstacles. The promise is not a blank check for any whim but assurance that trust in God accomplishes his purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Luke 17:6And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
- Mark 11:23“Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him.
- Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Luke 18:27But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
- Matt 21:21“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
- Mark 9:23“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!”
- 1 Cor 13:2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
- Matt 13:31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.
- John 11:40Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
- Mark 4:31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
- Matt 14:30–31But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
- Heb 3:19So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.
- 1 Cor 12:9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
- Matt 17:17“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”
- Matt 17:9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 17:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.