Matthew 14:31 Why did you doubt?

Five times in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells people they had little faith.  Meaning, they are either worrying about things they shouldn’t, or powerless to change things they should, but God is more than willing to meet their needs in these areas.  If we see ourselves having small faith in these matters, the answer is not to try to work up more faith, but to focus on God’s desire to act in these matters.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said that it’s not possible to serve God and mammon.  Mammon means wealth or property.  If you pursue one or the other, the things you do for the one will seem to go against the demands of the other.  For example, a person who pursues wealth will tend to consider giving to others as contrary to the goal of gaining wealth.  How can you give and still gain?   where God wants us to always be considerate of the needs of others.

So Jesus said, BECAUSE OF THIS, stop worrying about your life, what you’re going to eat, drink, or wear.  The lilies of the field are adorned more than King Solomon in all his glory.  If God takes care of them, will He not much more so do for you, ye of little faith?

Our problem is that we see this all as dependent on our labors, on things that we do.  Ultimately, apparently it is not.

The second time, the disciples were in a boat during a very severe storm, and they were afraid of dying.  Jesus calmed the storm, but He asked them why there were timid, ye of little faith.  (Matthew 8:26)  If they were supposed to be brave because Jesus was in the boat, it seems though that Jesus expected them to be brave without having to wake Him up.  That was what made Him ask them why they were timid in the first place.

There is nothing in the text to suggest that the disciples were fearful.  They have a problem, and they ask Jesus to help them out.  What’s wrong with that?  It seems that that revealed that they were afraid.  And He asked them why they were.

In Matthew 14, the disciples were again in a boat crossing the lake.  This time they see Jesus walking on the water.  At first, they’re afraid, thinking they’re seeing a ghost or an apparition.  Nope, it’s Jesus.  So Peter says: If that’s really you, tell me to come out there with you, and Jesus says: Come.

So Peter gets out of the boat and finds that he wasn’t sinking.  He starts walking toward Jesus, but he looks around and sees the storm and becomes afraid.  And suddenly he is about to drown and cries out for help.

Jesus immediately takes hold of him but then asks him: You of little faith, why did you doubt? 

Why?  Because I’m walking on water, and nobody walks on water.  But Jesus asks him: WHY did you doubt?

In Matthew 16, the disciples had forgotten to bring food.  Humans aren’t perfect.  We forget things, we make mistakes.  Jesus asks them why they are even thinking about that, ye of little faith.  (Matthew 16:8)  He then reminds them of the times he fed thousands of people with only a few loaves and fishes.

The fact that they had forgotten something so essential shouldn’t have given them cause to worry.   

The question, of course, is whether this is because Jesus was physically present, or because they were children of God, and when Jesus is gone, they should have responded in the same way. 

In John 16:7, Jesus tells them that it is better that He goes away, because then He will send the Holy Spirit to be with them and be with them forever.  (John 14:16)

In the last passage, Matthew 17, a man brings his son to Jesus who had been (we learn from Mark 9:21) possessed of an evil spirit from childhood.  So, a very long time.

He asked the disciples first if they could cast the spirit out, but they were unable.  Jesus was not there, but now He is. 

Jesus’ answer seems strange: Matthew 17:17 (NASB95) “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

Jesus spares nobody here.  The whole generation was unbelieving and perverted.  The word ‘perverted’ may mean more today than Jesus did.  It’s like a tool that is bent out of shape.  The whole society has gotten away from a norm established in God.

Jesus rebukes the spirit, and the child is delivered. 

Later the disciples asked Him privately:  So why couldn’t we do that?  In Matthew 10:1. Jesus had given them authority to cast out unclean spirits, but now they failed.

His answer:  Matthew 17:20 (NASB95) “Because of the littleness of your 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 to you.”

The five circumstances run the gamut from the day-to-day (food) to the life-threatening (danger at sea), from things that can involve our failures to things that seem impossible, and then to the needs of our neighbors who may need a miracle themselves.

In each circumstance, Jesus expected them to be brave and confident of God’s help.

Please note, I wouldn’t say that Jesus was condemning anyone, even in his harshest statements.  These were all far above normal, common responses to these situations, but God wants us to see things, life, everything differently than we were used to. 

It may take time, but we first need to see where we need to go.