Repetition to Revelation (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 17:20; 21:18-22; Luke 17:3-6; Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:53-58; Luke 4:16-22ff )

In Mark 11:22-24, we have the familiar passage of Jesus responding to Peter's observation about the fig tree dried up from the roots; withered away. Jesus response is "Be constantly; continuously having the faith that is sourced in God; that God possesses, because, when you have that kind of faith, whoever you are, it is an established fact, of definite certainty, that you will be able to say to this mountain, that you can see, right here in front of you, 'be uprooted; removed; torn away from the ground, and throw yourself into the sea', without doubting in your heart; without having any difference between what your spirit knows, and your soul (mind) believes, because when there is no difference between these two parts of your heart, but you, as a whole person, are constantly; continuously, having faith, that those things that you are saying right now, are happening, right now; then you will have what you are saying. Therefore, because of this, I (Jesus) say to you, whatever; doesn't matter what it is, that you ask; demand, for yourself, not for someone else, but specifically, what you demand, or ask, for you, when you make bold assertions, or declarations, be constantly; continuously believing, that you have received what you said; that there is an immediate consequence; a change that happened immediately, because of your words, and you shall have, what you spoke".

THE SAME TEACHING

The account of this interaction is recorded here in Mark 11:20 - 24, but it is also recorded in Matthew 21:18 - 22. Not the same event, but the same teaching is also in Matthew 17:20, concerning the father's demon possessed boy, that the disciples were unable to deliver, where Jesus said to the disciples, [to paraphrase], "...if you have any faith at all, you will speak to this mountain and tell it to move from here to there; and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you". Again, the same teaching, not the same event, is in Luke 17:3 - 6, where the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith, so that they would be able to forgive those who constantly offend; or trespass against them. Jesus says to them, [to paraphrase], "...if you have any faith at all, you will say to this sycamine tree, 'Pluck yourself up from the root; uproot yourself, and be planted in the sea', and it will obey you".

TWO OBSERVATIONS:

1) The first point is that you either have this God kind of faith, or you don't. When Jesus spoke of a grain of mustard seed, He was speaking of something that is hardly visible. You have it, or you don't.

2) The second observation, is that Jesus repeated the same teaching over and over again. We have at least 3 passages where exactly the same teaching is recorded, during different events. It is safe to conclude that Jesus did not just reiterate this principle once or twice, but He constantly was reinforcing these spiritual realities to His disciples.

JESUS IN NAZARETH

Similarly, we have the account of Jesus going into Nazareth, in Luke 4:16 - 22ff, and reading from Isaiah 61:1-2, declaring that the passage was fulfilled in Him, and that He was there to perform those things written of Him. But, in Matthew 13:53 - 58, we have a totally separate account of Jesus in Nazareth, telling them that He could do mighty works (54), but He couldn't do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief, or the fact that they had no faith in what He said (58). On a totally separate occasion, Jesus was in Nazareth, teaching the same message, that He was anointed with wisdom from God, and mighty works could be performed by His hands (Mark 6:1 - 6).

A SEPARATE TIME

This occurrence in Mark, was evidently the 2nd time He was in Nazareth, teaching, after the first recorded event in Luke 4:16ff. We know that it was a separate time from the Matthew account, because right after what happened in Mark 6:1 - 6, the scriptures say that Jesus "began" to send out the 12, two by two, with authority over unclean spirits (Mark 6:7), yet, in Matthew 13:53 - 58, Jesus had already sent out the 12 disciples, back in Mathew 10:1ff.

Chronologically, the events in Luke 4:16ff happened first; next the recorded events in Mark 6:1ff; and finally, the events of Matthew 13:53 -58.

In the 3 accounts of Jesus teaching in Nazareth, and the results, we see a couple of things:

1) First, there is a progression, demonstrating that Jesus teaching was actually having an impact. Initially, they wanted to throw Him off a cliff (Lk.4:29), but in Mark, even though most of them do not believe, He did lay His hands on a few sick people, and healed them, but scripture says, "...He could there do no mighty work...", and then He went round about the villages teaching (Mk.6:5-6). In Matthew's account, He told them that He could do mighty works (Matt.13:54), but the scriptures say that "...He did not many mighty works...", but the implication is that He did do some mighty works, just not many; whereas, in Mark's account, He couldn't do any mighty works.

2) The other important observation, is that, like the repetitive teaching on faith, using different illustrations, but the same message, Jesus declared the same message in Nazareth, at least 3 times, and presumably, everywhere He went, He declared the same thing....the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me...mighty works can be demonstrated as I lay my hands on blind people; deaf people; paralyzed people; etc...and then "...He went round about the villages teaching" (Mk.6:6).

OVER & OVER

The point is this: There has to be constant repetition, over and over again, for your mind to come into agreement with spiritual reality, to the point where you have faith in that part of your heart where your soul resides, so that there is no doubt, or no difference between what your soul (mind) believes, and what your spirit knows. Jesus taught His disciples the same thing, over and over again. Jesus taught the same message in Nazareth, and presumably, everywhere He went, over and over again, until people started to receive the revelation of spiritual reality, that we call faith. You either have it or you don't, but once you have received revelation/faith, in any area, you are unstoppable!

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours