SEV Biblia, Chapter 17:20
Y Jess les dijo: Por vuestra infidelidad; porque de cierto os digo, que si tuviereis fe como un grano de mostaza, diris a este monte: Psate de aquí all; y se pasar; y nada os ser imposible.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 17:20
Verse 20. Because of your unbelief] Are we preachers of the Gospel? Do the things of God rest upon our minds with a deep and steady conviction? Can we expect that a doctrine which we do not, from conviction, credit ourselves, can be instrumental in our hands of begetting faith in others? So we preached, end so ye believed. The word preached generally begets in the people the same spirit which the preacher possesses. Instead of apistian, unbelief, the famous Vatican MS. and Cod. Cyprius, six others, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic, Origen, and Chrysostom, read oligopistian, littleness of faith. The disciples had some faith, but not enough-they believed, but not fully. As a grain of mustard seed] Some eminent critics think this a proverbial expression, intimating a GREAT DEGREE of faith, because removing mountains, which St. Paul, 1 Cor. xiii. 2, attributes to ALL FAITH; i.e. the greatest possible degree of faith, is attributed here, by our Lord, to that faith which is as a grain of mustard seed. However this may be, there can be no doubt that our Lord means, as BISHOP PEARCE well remarks, a thriving and increasing faith; which like the grain of mustard seed, from being the least of seeds, becomes the greatest of all herbs; even a tree in whose branches the fowls of the air take shelter. See WAKEFIELD'S Comment, and the note on chap. xiii. 32.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief , etc.] The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, because of your little faith, or the smallness of your faith; and so does one Greek manuscript; and which is what is doubtless meant by their unbelief; for they were not altogether destitute of faith, but their faith was very low, and their unbelief very great.
Christ says, not because of the unbelief of the parent of the child, and those that were with him, though that also was a reason; but because of their unbelief, being willing to convince them of their unbelief, as he had done the father of the child, who had confessed it, and desired it might be removed from him: but lest they should think they had lost their power of doing miracles, Christ adds; for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed ; which was a very small seed, the least of all seeds, and is used very often proverbially by the Jews, to signify anything of a small quantity or weight f965 , and is sometimes used of faith, as here; so speaking of the congregation of Edom, meaning the Christians, they say, they have not ldrj l y[rg wmk hnwma , faith as a grain of mustard seed.
And it is used in like sense in other eastern nations; and by Mahomet in his Alcoran f967 , who says, We will appoint just balances in the day of resurrection, neither shall any soul be injured at all, although the merit or guilt of an action be of the weight of a grain of mustard seed.
So that it has no reference to the quality of mustard seed, being hot and acrimonious; which has led some interpreters wrong, to compare faith unto it, for its liveliness and fervency: when our Lord only means, that if his apostles had ever so small a degree of faith in exercise, which might be compared for its smallness to this least of seeds, such an effect as he after mentions would follow; and which therefore is to be understood, not of an historical faith, by which men assent to all that is in the Bible as true; nor of a special, spiritual faith, by which souls believe in Christ, as their Saviour and Redeemer; for of neither of these can the following things in common be said; but of a faith of miracles, peculiar to certain persons in those early times, for certain reasons; which such as had but ever so small a degree of, as the apostles here spoken to might say, as Christ observes to them, ye shall say to this mountain ; pointing perhaps to that he was just come down from, which might be in sight of the house where he was, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove : meaning, not that it would be ordinarily or ever done in a literal sense by the apostles, that they should remove mountains; but that they should be able to do things equally difficult, and as seemingly impossible, if they had but faith, when the glory of God, and the good of men, required it. So that it does not follow, because the apostles did not do it in a literal sense, therefore they could not, as the Jew insultingly says f968 ; since it was meant that they should, and besides, have done, things equally as great as this, and which is the sense of the words. So the apostle expresses the faith of miracles, by removing mountains, ( 1 Corinthians 13:2) i.e. by doing things which are difficult, seem impossible to be done: wherefore Christ adds, and nothing shall be impossible to you ; you shall not only be able to perform such a wonderful action as this, were it necessary, but any, and everything else, that will make for the glory of God, the enlargement of my kingdom and interest, the confirmation of truth, and the good of mankind.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 14-21 - The case of afflicted children should be presented to God by faithfu and fervent prayer. Christ cured the child. Though the people wer perverse, and Christ was provoked, yet care was taken of the child When all other helps and succours fail, we are welcome to Christ, ma trust in him, and in his power and goodness. See here an emblem of Christ's undertaking as our Redeemer. It encourages parents to brin children to Christ, whose souls are under Satan's power; he is able to heal them, and as willing as he is able. Not only bring them to Chris by prayer, but bring them to the word of Christ; to means by whic Satan's strong-holds in the soul are beaten down. It is good for us to distrust ourselves and our own strength; but it is displeasing to Christ when we distrust any power derived from him, or granted by him There was also something in the malady which rendered the cur difficult. The extraordinary power of Satan must not discourage ou faith, but quicken us to more earnestness in praying to God for the increase of it. Do we wonder to see Satan's bodily possession of thi young man from a child, when we see his spiritual possession of ever son of Adam from the fall!
Greek Textus Receptus
ο 3588 T-NSM δε 1161 CONJ ιησους 2424 N-NSM ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S αυτοις 846 P-DPM δια 1223 PREP την 3588 T-ASF απιστιαν 570 N-ASF υμων 5216 P-2GP αμην 281 HEB γαρ 1063 CONJ λεγω 3004 5719 V-PAI-1S υμιν 5213 P-2DP εαν 1437 COND εχητε 2192 5725 V-PAS-2P πιστιν 4102 N-ASF ως 5613 ADV κοκκον 2848 N-ASM σιναπεως 4615 N-GSN ερειτε 2046 5692 V-FAI-2P τω 3588 T-DSN ορει 3735 N-DSN τουτω 5129 D-DSN μεταβηθι 3327 5628 V-2AAM-2S εντευθεν 1782 ADV εκει 1563 ADV και 2532 CONJ μεταβησεται 3327 5695 V-FDI-3S και 2532 CONJ ουδεν 3762 A-NSN αδυνατησει 101 5692 V-FAI-3S υμιν 5213 P-2DP
Vincent's NT Word Studies
20. Unbelief (apistian). But the better reading is ojligopistian, littleness of faith. Hence Rev., Because of your little faith.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
17:20 {Little faith} (oligopistian). A good translation. It was less than "a grain of mustard seed" (kokkon sinape"s). See #13:31 for this phrase. They had no miracle faith. Bruce holds " this mountain" to be the Mount of Transfiguration to which Jesus pointed. Probably so. But it is a parable. Our trouble is always with " this mountain" which confronts our path. Note the form metaba (meta and bthi).
