What does Matthew 17/20 teach us?
Nothing will be impossible for you. ' Matthew 17:20, ESV: He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
idiom saying. if someone's beliefs and confidence are strong enough, they can achieve something that is very difficult.
The mustard seed is known for its faith because, having no other option, it must choose to trust God and give everything it has to either become a tree or die trying.
Matthew 17 begins with the fulfillment of Jesus' prediction at the end of the previous chapter: that some of those present would not die before seeing Him coming in His kingdom. Jesus casts out a demon, predicts His death, and commands Peter to pay a temple tax with a coin from the mouth of a fish.
Do not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them. This proverb is adapted from a saying of Jesus from the Gospels, “Cast not pearls before swine.” Jesus appears to be warning his disciples to preach only before receptive audiences.
Proverb. live by the sword, die by the sword. One who uses violence can expect a violent response; it is better to try to use peaceful means wherever possible. (figuratively) One can expect dire outcomes from any vice; used to convey a sense that poetic justice is inevitable.
Hunger and thirst represent the desperate longing of the previous Beatitudes (the poor in spirit, the mournful and the meek in Matthew 5:3-5). "It means if you thirst after righteousness, you want to live a godly life," says Morgan, 10. "It also means you would act like God would want you to live."
Formerly, when the Disciples had gone out, on mission, they had not lacked anything. Now they would need a purse, a bag and even a sword. The saying is heavily ironical, for Jesus knew that now He would have to face universal opposition and be put to death.
This week we will examine the phrase “seek my face.” The Bible uses this phrase many times, sometimes substituting “face” for “presence”, both meaning to be in God's company. The invitation is compelling for the child of God who can name many times in the past when God's presence has been life altering for him or her.
Salting the earth, or sowing with salt, is the ritual of spreading salt on the site of cities razed by conquerers. It originated as a curse on re-inhabitation in the ancient Near East and became a well-established folkloric motif in the Middle Ages.