So far as our evidence at present goes, the expression “little-faith” (it is only one word in the Greek) appears to come to us fresh minted from the heart and lips of our Lord Himself. Before Jesus Christ we have no evidence that any one ever used the word “little-faith.”
In these days when papyri are constantly reversing our judgments about rare words and proving them to have been of frequent usage, it is hazardous to say that Christ coined the term. Nevertheless there is at present no evidence of its use by any one before Him. And indeed since His day it has been little used. John Bunyan caught the echo of it in Bedford Jail and gave us a very vivid portrait of Little-faith and his troubles.
It shows us a little man set upon by footpads, robbed of his ready money, though not of his jewels, which happily for him were too securely hid for their fingers to purloin. He had to beg his way, and went through life gloomy, yet came to the Heavenly City in the end. And though we may have some hard things to say of Little-faith, let us not forget that he is a hundred times better than No-faith, who is never found in the royal precincts at all. Yet Little-faith is plastic and plaintive and poverty-stricken at the best. The name is a coin from the Royal Mint. It is not only of Christ’s coinage but of His currency, and we owe it largely to Matthew the professional penman who caught it from the Master’s lips, that we can trace the occasions when the Lord used it. I cannot help feeling that it owed some of its weight to an inflexion of tone, serious and mocking all in one. His voice is loving yet reproachful, tender but troubled. There is a gentle banter, which was well calculated to make the disciples hang their heads. We can almost hear Him as He halts upon it, this five-syllabled bye-word, oligopistos. It is love’s appeal to love for more trust. It indicates a spiritual side-slip in regard to His Person. He is not here talking of doubt as mere incredulity in regard to a fact, but as a moral surrender in which they have quailed before the adversary and failed in adversity. [Note: H. C. Lees, The Sunshine of the Good News, 169.]
1. Little faith is better than no faith. The woman with an issue of blood, who could but summon courage to touch the hem of the Lord’s garment, and who, when called into His presence, came fearing and trembling, was apparently not strong in faith. And yet her faith did a great thing for her. It availed for her immediate and thorough cure: “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” So our Lord declares it to be with the believer whose faith is “as a grain of mustard seed.” It is far from being a completed faculty or exercise, but the least in the Kingdom of God have in their actual, sympathetic, transforming confidence in a higher world a most precious source of vision and energy.
I am always so afraid, as you come up to Oxford from the public schools to face, as you have often to face, doubts and difficulties you have never known before, lest you should despise that little mustard seed of faith which you bring with you., As I look over your future and see you going forth from Oxford and out into the battle of life, I know that the one thing you have brought here to church which is of ten times the value of your intellectual power and your social qualities is that mustard seed of faith; because as I see a world that is full of people dying every day and night, and full of temptations which perhaps are hard to realize, I know that your usefulness to that world all depends upon whether that mustard seed of faith is lost, or whether you are putting it to good use in this tempted, and suffering, and dying world. [Note: A. F. W. Ingram, The Gospel in Action. 116.]
I have read, that, when the first cable of the suspension-bridge that now spans the Niagara was about to be laid, a thin thread was attached to a kite and both sent, on a favouring wind; to the other side of the river. By means of that thread, a heavier string was pulled across, and by it a heavier one still, and then a rope, and then a tow, and then the cable, and the other parts of that mighty bridge that enables the people to pass in safety, from one side to the other, over the roaring cataract beneath. Let but those who doubt or disbelieve fasten the tiny thread of faith that lingers in them still to the spiritual side of life, and gradually it will become stronger and stronger until it will grow into a mighty bridge that will carry them safely, over the seething and hissing abyss of doubts and perplexities, unto the yonder peaceful shore. [Note: J. Krauskopf, in Sermons by American Rabbis, 302.]
He will not enter hell, who hath faith equal to a single grain of mustard seed in his heart: and he will not enter paradise, who hath a single grain of pride, equal to one of mustard seed, in his heart. [Note: The Sayings of Muhammad, 87.]
2. Little faith can pray, if it cannot do more. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that when King Herod had put Peter into prison, after the death of James, “prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” That was clear evidence of the faith of the Church in God and in the power of prayer. Yet when their prayer was answered, and an angel had been sent and had delivered the apostle from prison, and brought him to the gate of the house where the assembled disciples were praying so earnestly, they would not believe that it was he. They told the damsel who kept the door that she was mad when she said that Peter was there; and when she insisted upon her tale, they said “It is his angel.” They had faith, but it was accompanied by much doubt. They had faith enough to pray.
And God responds with grace to help. If God made no response except to perfect faith, who could hope for help? But God has regard for beginnings, and His eye perceives greatness in the germ. The hand of the woman in the crowd trembled as it was stretched toward Jesus, and the faith behind it was superstitiously reverent, trusting in the virtue of the robe rather than in the One who wore it; yet the genuineness of that faith, feeble though it was, triumphed in God’s loving sight. Real trust is real power, though the heart and hand both tremble.
To Nicodemus our Lord revealed the mystery of the Kingdom of God: the new life which marks the entrance into that Kingdom, and the uplifting on the cross—the pledge of the Divine love by which that life is secured (John 3). To the Samaritan woman He revealed directly the secret of His Messiahship, but this was only after He had first claimed from her the acceptance of His statement that worship is to be no longer in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerizim, but wherever man shall worship in spirit and in truth (John 4). That was not an easy statement for her to accept; but Christ claimed that she should do so on the basis of personal trust in Him. “Believe me” (Joh_4:21). The case of the nobleman in Cana is still more remarkable. Our Lord treated him first just as He treated the Jews in Jerusalem. “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (Joh_4:48). Yet as soon as the agonized cry broke from the father, “Sir, come down ere my child die,” (Joh_4:49) Christ granted him his heart’s desire. We are left to conclude that between the first and the second appeal of the father something had broken down in the man’s heart. He was now more dependent upon Christ than he had been at first. The venture of his soul upon the Christ was more complete than it had been; and He, who knew what was in man, found in that complete dependence an element of surrender to which He could respond, and the Christ was self-committed in that blend of power and love in which the sick child was restored to life.
Whether it is a tree that will not bear or a devil that will not go, whether your life is dwarfed or dominated, the solution is always the same, the glorious grace of Jesus Christ. John Bunyan said that when the thieves were robbing Little-faith they saw Great Grace coming down the lane, and they ran away. So may He come to us even if it be upon the waves of the storm, and leave us in possession both of our spiritual jewels and ready money, that life may be not a toil but a triumph, a pilgrimage and a progress in one. [Note: H. C. Lees, The Sunshine of the Good News, 188.]
3. But little-faith must not be content with its feebleness Every time that it is mentioned by Christ it receives His rebuke.
There are five occasions.
(1) The first is Mat_6:30 : “But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” It is a rebuke of worry, of needless anxiety. Mr. Harrington Lees agrees with Col. Mackinlay that the trouble probably arose from the fact that they were in the sabbatic year, in which they could not reap or harvest their corn, nor was the flax to be gathered in.
Christ points His warning finger saying, “Little-faith, who made the provision that gives the birds such a royal feast this year? Was it not your Heavenly Father? If He clothes the countless grass-blades in their flinty coat of mail, will He not find raiment for a few millions of His children? Does not your Heavenly Father know that your clothes wear out, and that your food runs short?”
There is a charming legend which tells us how an angel was sent to comfort Eve when she was banished from the Garden of Eden and was mourning over the barren wilderness outside. No flower grew upon the soil cursed for man’s sin, and the snow fell and covered the earth with a dreary shroud. It seemed as if it were the funeral of the world. But while the angel was speaking to Eve he caught a flake of falling snow, breathed upon it, and bade it take form and live. Ere it had reached the ground it had turned into a beautiful flower, which Eve prized more than all the fair blossoms she had left behind in Paradise; for the angel told her that it was the earnest of a happier time, when the lost joys should be restored and the summer that had vanished should come again. [Note: H. Macmillan, The Gate Beautiful, 207.]
(2) The second occurrence is Mat_8:26 : “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” It is a rebuke of fear. The storm, says Dr. Morgan Gibbon, burst into the disciples’ souls, and blew their faith away. They rushed in panic to the stern, and with clamours that rose above the howling of the wind, they cried, “Master! carest thou not that we perish?”
He rebuked their fear, yet He granted their prayer. For the Lord is full of pity and merciful. He will not always chide. To men who missed their chance He gave another. After Pentecost Jesus again went into a boat, and His disciples, great and small, followed Him. Tempests rose, the boat was often covered with waves, and He slept. But there was no panic. The sea rose higher. The boat filled. Still He slept; and still they trusted. Great seas of persecution broke over them, sweeping many away, but no cry of panic, no shriek of despair, greeted the world’s ear. Rather a peace that passed all men’s understanding possessed them in life and in death. A faith yet nobler than the Centurion’s spoke; in their silence earth as well as heaven marvelled and said, “Great is your faith.” (Mat_15:28)
“I was staying with some friends in Wilmington, Delaware. On my bed was a coverlet made of old brown linen spun in the old days. Over it were worked the lines:—
‘God’s greatness
Flows around our incompleteness,
Round our restlessness His rest.’
When I came down in the morning they asked me how I had slept, and my answer was, ‘How could I have slept other than well with such a text as that on top of me.’ The open sea was like the harbour that night. A voice through Mrs. Browning had said, ‘Peace, be still.’ ” [Note: J. Rendel Harris, in Experience, July 1910, p. 229.]
(3) The third time we come upon little-faith is in Mat_14:31 : “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” The rebuke is of cowardice. There is another storm, but the same lake. There were crowds that had gathered round Him, and when it grew late in the day the disciples in their selfishness said, “Send them away.” Now the Master stays with the multitude, and sends away the disciples. Then came the storm. But the Master had not forgotten them. He came across the water to them. Gradually there dawned upon their consciousness the fact of His presence. They feared it was a ghost, but they hoped it was Jesus. Peter asked for a sign. Little-faith is fond of signs. Christ said, Come; and Peter stepped out. It was an act of daring faith. Then he wished he were back in the boat; that was a piece of cowardice. But if he failed he sought the best means of recovery. If he had overestimated himself, he did not make the mistake of under-estimating his Master. He cried, “Lord, save me!” Instantly the strong hand shot out and Peter was saved.
After the deliverance the Lord spoke to him. We should have rebuked and then saved him. The Lord saved and then rebuked him. What was the cause of the fiasco? The old trouble, “Little-faith. Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Not “Wherefore didst thou come?” Christ never reproaches faith for being too audacious. Wherefore wast thou drawn in two directions? Peter’s trouble was distraction. He tried to look both at the storm and the Saviour at one time. So distraction is a third source of trouble. Little-faith was robbed of his ready-money, says John Bunyan, but not of his jewels. Those were safe in a sure place. And many a soul today is secure in Christ, but has yet to learn how to be serene through Christ. Look not at wind or storm. Look to Jesus the author and finisher of faith, the antidote and foe of little-faith. [Note: H. C. Lees, The Sunshine of the Good News, 174.]
(4) The next rebuke is of materialism. The passage is Mat_16:8 : “And Jesus perceiving it said, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have no bread?” “If you are going to buy bread,” says Christ, “do not buy it from the Pharisees or Sadducees. The is infection in it.” They wonder what He means, and what is the reference of the saying. “It cannot be to the Pharisees, for there are no Pharisees here. It cannot be to the Sadducees, we are not tainted with ‘modern thought.’ It must be to the bread. He is annoyed because we have forgotten to bring bread.” He looks up again, and says, “Little-faith, will you never understand? The very last thing you have to think about when you are with Me is bread. Have you not seen five thousand men and their families fed with only five loaves and two fishes; and do you not remember how much there was left over? Is it likely then that I would ask you to make sure that you have brought plenty of provisions? When will you learn that man does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God? ” It is the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees that He is concerned about. They teach for doctrines, not the Word of God but the commandments of men, as Touch not, taste not, handle not.
(5) There is yet another occurrence of the word. It is in Mat_17:20 : “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast it out? And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith.” We owe it to the Revised Version. It is a direct rebuke of little-faith itself—simple half-belief.
We are sometimes treated by the native Chinese evangelists to illustrations truly Eastern in character, as the following example will indicate. It was accepted by the audience as a solemn exhortation, as was the preacher’s intention, the missionaries being the only ones present to whom the humorous side was evident. The subject was the importance of a wholehearted acceptance of the Gospel, and the foolishness and uselessness of a half-hearted belief. A man, we were told, was begging by the roadside; he was very ill, and a passing doctor had pity on him, and gave him some medicine which the man promised to take. Questionings, however, arose in his mind as to the reliability of the said doctor, and yet he could not but take the drug, as he felt so ill. A compromise was decided upon, and he took half the dose. For a few hours he felt wonderfully well, and rejoiced in his restored condition; towards night the pain was more acute than before, and he was at his wits’ end. How he regretted his folly, for his illness was certainly more serious. A few months later the same doctor, travelling over the same road, met the same man now reduced to a bag of bones.
“What!” said he; “are you not the man to whom I gave medicine last time I came this way?”
“I am,” he replied, “and I have been much worse ever since.” “Worse!” exclaimed the physician; “how is that?”
“I only took half the dose,” said the man; “I did not venture to take the whole.”
“Alas! alas!” he replied, “how terrible! Your illness is the result of parasites attacking your vitals. That medicine would have killed them all. Had you taken the full dose you would have been well; had you tasted none there would have been hope for you. You took a small dose, and the parasites were sent to sleep, and later, when the effect of the drug had gone over, they awoke more lively than ever. Having once tasted of the drug and experienced its effect, nothing will induce them to be trapped a second time. Return home, and prepare for a lingering death.”
In the moral drawn, the folly of an endeavour to serve two masters was made clear—a truth which all present felt to have been powerfully interpreted. [Note: A. M. Cable, The Fulfilment of a Dream, 164.]
