Jesus didn’t say faith could move a mountain. He said it could move this mountain.
And “this mountain” may have been more than a motivational metaphor.
Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, the city built on a mountain and crowned by the temple. Just before this, he had entered that temple looking for prayer and wasn’t happy with what he actually found. Then he left and approached a fig tree covered with leaves but bearing no fruit.
The tree becomes a living parable of the religious landscape. It was impressive from a distance, but empty where it mattered. There were plenty of leaves, but no love. Plenty of religion. No righteousness.
Then Jesus tells his disciples that prayerful faith can move “this mountain.” Scholars interpret the mountain in different ways, so we should be careful not to claim too much. But within Matthew’s story, Jesus may be pointing beyond a difficult situation to an entire religious system that had stopped producing the fruit of God’s kingdom.
Pause with that today.
Jesus is preparing his disciples to continue his work. Jerusalem’s religious establishment may look immovable, but prayerful faith can reshape an entire landscape. What no longer bears fruit can give way to something alive.
Isn’t that what the church needs today?
We have lost trust, influence, participation, and, in some places, our way. Our instinct is to develop more programs, polish more leaves, so to speak, and work harder to appear alive. But Jesus calls us back to the roots.
We do not pray so God will restore the church’s former power. We pray that God can form a church that bears fresh fruit.
Through prayerful, faithful discipleship, even mountains can move, and something fruitful can grow in the space they leave behind.
Stay blessed...john
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