The Meaning of “Faith as a Mustard Seed”

In this article, we will uncover the actual meaning of “faith as a mustard seed”. 

There are two different records in the Gospels where Jesus said this to His disciples. 

Matthew 17:19-20

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Luke 17:5-6

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

What did Jesus actually mean? 

Clearly, He was addressing the faith of His disciples, but what does the mustard seed represent here? To uncover this, let’s first learn more about the mustard plant. 

The mustard seed was known for its rapid growth. If we read up on the general info of the mustard seed and plant, we will learn that the mustard seed grows exponentially fast and it can reach maturity in a short period of time. 

So, what Jesus really meant was…

“If your faith grows as quickly as a mustard seed grows, you will do the impossible.”

In order to prove that this perspective is correct, let’s consider how many times Jesus addressed the “little faith” that His disciples had.

Matthew 6:30

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Matthew 8:10

10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 

Matthew 8:26

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Jesus was always concerned about the level of faith that the disciples had! The above verses are just a few of the many examples from the gospels where Jesus addressed the lack of faith that the disciples had. 

Therefore, the interpretation of “having faith the size of a mustard seed is good enough” is wrong. This is a wrong perspective. 

So, in saying “if you have faith as a mustard seed” to His disciples, Jesus was encouraging them to stretch and grow their faith. And not only that, Jesus was pushing them to grow it quickly! The growth of our faith depends on us! A great example would be that of the centurion. He was not a disciple of Christ, but yet his faith reached unbelievable levels so quickly. It goes the same with Abraham too, whose faith rocketed overnight after receiving news from God to sacrifice his son. 

Here’s the takeback for us:

While faith is a gift to us (Romans 12:3), what do we do with this “seed” planted in us? Do we invest and grow it? Faith is a living thing. If we do not exercise it, it’s like a muscle that shrinks. But if we work on it proactively, it grows quickly. 

May we all continually be equipped and grow towards the unity of faith (Ephesians 4:13) and may our faith be found pleasing before the Lord (Hebrews 11:6).