MARKAN MEDITATIONS

Meditations in the Gospel of St. Mark

St. Mark 11:20-26

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THERE IS no doubt that this passage is full of difficulty. There is the obvious one that verse 26 is left out in the NIV because it does not appear in the best ancient manuscripts. This is not a difficulty that need worry us. Verse 26 may have been a clarification added later. Its presence or omission does not alter the meaning of the passage in any way.

The much greater difficulty arises as to what Jesus means by faith moving mountains. How are we to take this? I feel we must say straight away that Jesus is not advocating moving mountains for the sake of doing it. This would be a very arbitrary and destructive action. Surely we must believe that God's power will only be exerted when and where his will is engaged. If this is so the moving of a mountain is simply Jesus telling his disciples of the unlimited power of God which is available to the Christian who is engaged in the will of God. Where God directs there is nothing that is impossible as long as our faith does not waver.

I cannot limit these words as one commentator I have read does to something said only to the Apostles. 'Anyone' or 'whosoever' surely is a much more all inclusive word. Jesus must be speaking to the disciples a truth and encouragement which holds for the Lord's people at all times, as we come up against impossible circumstances in the doing of the will of God.

The question immediately which enters our minds is the one of how such faith is achieved. How can we prevent ourselves from doubting in our hearts (v23)? How can we have the faith that does not doubt? We are thrilled by stories of faith such as shown by people like George Mulleur in Bristol in the last century, who raised up more than a dozen orphanages in Bristol simply by believing that God would provide the money and wherewithal to open and run them. That God looks for faith which does not doubt, and that the exercise of his power is dependent on this, is what this passage plainly indicates. Without faith we cannot please God.

Before we seek to answer this question it is important to realise that faith is not a magical force which a Christian wields. Jesus clearly states in the phrase in verse 23 "it will be done for him" that it is God's power that performs the impossible. This is not in the hands of the Christian, but remains in the hands of God. It is God who works the impossible. This gives us the deduction that what Jesus is talking about is not unlimited power in the hands of believers at will, but is talking about the availability of the power of God when the purpose of God as he guides his people demands it.

From all these comments made so far we must come to the conclusion that great faith is dependent on being in the will of God, knowing the will of God, and living in the will of God. Spiritual impotence, our inability to work the works of God, is illustrated in Chapter 9 where the disciples could not cast out a devil. When the disciples asked where they could find this power, Jesus says there that this comes only with prayer. The AV says 'prayer and fasting'. So faith comes from dwelling much in the presence of God, so that we grow to know God, his power, his authority and rule in our world, his nearness; but also to so enter into his will and purpose that we are always living in his will. From this we will know when the impossible as it confronts us is in God's will, and we will know not only that God can do this impossible thing, but that it is his purpose that it should be done. Thus, as we pray, there is faith created by God in us which does not doubt.

Thus we come to the conclusion that faith which moves mountains, that is which does not stagger at achieving the impossible, is a gift that is created by God in the heart and mind and spirit of the Christian who seeks to dwell much in the presence of his Lord, and so in obedient service is discerning and going forward in the will of God. Then when some impossible obstacle confronts the Christian faith is strong for the impossible to be done by God, because the Christian knows that it is the will of God.

Verse 25 is a very important codicil to what Jesus has been saying and confirms our interpretation of this passage. We can only dwell deeply in God when we are acting like God. God forgives us through the merit of Christ freely. There is no sin we commit which ever is unforgivable. God in his infinite love has given his Son to fulfil all the just punishment for our sin. God sacrificed so greatly in order that he may justly forgive us always and continually. If we have experienced this forgiving love then it will rub off on us and we will want to forgive in like manner. We can't be in the love of God if we are unforgiving. The fact is, however, there are times when we have been hurt by others and in consequence this Christlike forgiveness is so hard for us. Jesus says here that we can't dwell deeply in communion with him while we are not forgiving as he forgive us, and urges us not harbour unforgiveness to anyone however badly they have treated us.