"Of Little Faith" in the NT

Of Little faith: Part 5

The Greek word “Oligopistos” translated “of little faith,” is found in 5 passages; four in Matthew and once in Luke and we have examined 4 of them. Our study today looks at the 5th occasion this word is used, which involves an incident that is recorded by two Gospel writers: Matthew 15:3939 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

- 16:12 and Mark 8:1010 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

- 2110 And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?

18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.

20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

. But although both Matthew and Mark record this incident, only Matthew uses the word “Oligopistos” translated “of little faith.” In the context leading up to this Jesus fed 4000 men, in addition to women and children with only 7 loaves of bread and a few fish, Matthew 15:32 - 3832 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

; Mark 8:1 - 91 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,

2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:

3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.

4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?

5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.

7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.

8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.

9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

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Jesus and his disciples then took a ship to the other side of the lake, Matthew 15:39; Mark 8:10, where they encountered a group of Pharisees and Sadducees who asked Him to show a sign from Heaven; attempting to try/test or tempt Him, Matthew 16:11 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

; Mark 8:1111 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

. Jesus knew they were unbelieving hypocrites but Mark records that “He sighed deeply in His Spirit,” Mark 8:1212 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

a, indicating He was hurt or deeply touched by their unbelief and callousness. Matthew indicates Jesus pointed out to them that they were able to read the signs of nature to determine coming weather conditions but yet they couldn't discern the signs of the times, Matthew 16:2 & 32 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

. Mark adds that Jesus said: “Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.” Mark 8:12b.

Jesus had been healing the sick, casting out demons, miraculously feeding thousands with a few loaves and fishes, all of which indicated He was Israel's Messiah, as promised in Old Testament prophesy. But the Pharisees and Sadducees coveted their power as leaders of Israel. They used the Law of Moses to justify themselves and condemn others. They were jealous and envious of the attention Jesus was getting from the multitudes and cared not He was healing the people of all kinds of debilitating, filthy disease. Jesus was popular with the masses because of the good He didHe and they had already expressed a desire to make Him King, John 6:1515 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

, which of course made the Pharisees and Sadducees feel threatened in their positions of prominence and power. From the fact Jesus “sighed deeply in His Spirit,” Mark 8:12a, we conclude He spoke matter-of-factly, not condescending or harshly, but they had to have resented and hated Him all the more when He responded: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.” Matthew 16:44 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

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By alluding to the sign of Jonas (Jonah,) in the Old Testament, who spent 3 days in the belly of a big fish or whale, Jesus made two things clear. First, he validated the story of Jonah proving that event was not an allegory or parable but a factual historical event, Jonah 1 - 4. Second, and most importantly, Jesus announced the sign of His own death, burial and resurrection from the grave. And so we compare Jonah, a sinful imperfect human being; the type that pointed to Jesus who was God and thus the only perfect man without sin. In the book of Jonah we read that God told Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh in order to give them a chance to be saved from destruction. They were so wicked God said they would be destroyed in 40 days unless they repented of their evil ways. Jonah was one of God's people and he feared the Lord, Jonah 1:99 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

, nevertheless he thought he knew better than God. He judged the people of Nineveh sinful and unworthy of salvation and refused to do God's bidding. He was typical of the natural man (or woman) who believies they know best and unless they have an affinity for a person who has done something wrong they pronounce judgment and condemnation. (We see this trait when a child, favored by a parent, does evil but the doting parent sticks up for him anyway. On the other hand, this same parent will condemn to death someone else's child who does the same evil thing.)

In the case of the people of Nineveh, God knew their hearts and even though they were terribly evil He wanted to give them a chance to repent and be saved. But Jonah wrote them all off; he had no love for them. So he ran away on a ship. But the ship encountered a horrific storm. Jonah knew the storm threatened them all because of him and willingly offered to be cast overboard, which would save the others on board but would surely result in his death, Jonah 1:1212 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

, and they finally did so. God had a mission for him to accomplish and so had him swallowed by a whale to spend 3 days praying to God from within its belly Jonah 2. After the whale threw him up on land Jonah finally did God's will. He preached to Nineveh and they responded in repentance. But instead of rejoicing, Jonah was despondent. He thought they should have been destroyed and so he had to be instructed about God's omniscience, sovereignty and mercy and the fact there were thousands of innocent children and cattle in Nineveh, Jonah 4.

But whereas Jonah displayed a total lack of obedience by faith in God's Word, Jesus Christ was God's Word personified, John 1:1 & 141 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

; He was the Author and Finisher of Faith, Hebrews 12:22 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

. He came to do God's will, Hebrews 10:7 & 97 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

. And as the Son of God and the Son of Man, He willingly went to His death, spent 3 days in the grave/Hades and was resurrected to new life for a world of sinful people who deserved nothing but death, Isaiah 41:2626 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

; Romans 3:10 & 2310 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

; 6:23; etc.

The sign of Jonah was the sign God gave Israel that Jesus Christ was their Messiah. After He died, spent 3 days in the grave and was resurrected and ascended, His Apostles and disciples preached this to Israel, as recorded in the first few chapters of Acts. However Israel rejected Him and killed His messengers. But then God reached down and saved one of the fiercest persecutors of those who followed Jesus, the Pharisee Saul. He became the Apostle Paul and to him God revealed that the Gospel or good news for us today is that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:1 - 41 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

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But now we return to the main point of our study. The disciples had witnessed the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees and with this fresh in their minds they entered a ship with Jesus to go to the other side of the sea or lake where they realized they had forgotten to bring enough bread for dinner as they had only one loaf, Matthew 16:55 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

; Mark 8:13 & 1413 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.

. “And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.” Mark 8:15 & 1615 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

; Matthew 16:6 & 76 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

. “Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?” Matthew 16:88 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

. Thus we see that the Spiritual lesson Jesus gave to the Pharisees and Sadducees, which they rejected, also went over the heads, so to speak, of His own disciples. The parallel passage of this incident in Mark is a commentary on part of what it means to have no faith because Mark does not use the Greek word “Oligopistos” translated “of little faith,” to describe the disciples condition. Instead, Mark records: “And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?” Mark 8:2121 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

. Thus we learn that understanding is an element of faith. That is, those of little faith have little or no understanding.

Jesus went on to say “Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew 16:9 - 129 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

. The leaven of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees was sin that manifested itself in unbelief. That is, they had no faith. But, the Disciples of Christ had “little faith” at that time. They were only thinking only about their next meal and had no insight into the lesson Jesus was giving the Pharisees and Sadducees, as they had no idea of what Jesus was going through and would go through on the cross.