Luke 17:1-10 Pentecost 17
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace-Tucson, AZ
October 5, 2025
Mustard Seed Size Faith A week and a half ago, the representative from the company that manages our parking lot was sitting in my office with our Administrative Assistant and me, and he says, That took me a lot longer to get than it should have. He kind of laughed and said, My pastor back home would be ashamed of me for not getting that sooner! I had no idea what he was talking about at first, but he was looking at this little container of mustard seeds for cooking that sits on the bookshelf in my office. Apparently, all during our meeting, it was really throwing him until he figured out that it was there as a reminder of what Jesus talks about in these words in front of us this morning—faith the size of a mustard seed. It was funny for the three of us. But when you look at what Jesus said to his disciples after they asked for greater faith, his mustard seed talk might be, not funny, but frustrating to hear. “IF you had faith like a mustard seed…” If you are aware that those words are meant for you and me every bit as much as they were for the men who followed our Savior, and you aren’t a little wounded by those words at first blush, I’m a little surprised. Maybe you think it sounds a little cold to hear that in the face of pleading for greater faith! Is he talking bad about their faith even while they’re begging for him to help them be stronger?! Let’s see if that’s what he was doing. But first we have to back up and see what brought all this on. Jesus’ disciples were gathered around him, and he said, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Watch yourselves. Have you ever been on either the giving or receiving end of, “Watch yourself!”? I’m thinking a teenager getting a little too smart with a parent. Or an employee forgetting who they’re talking to when meeting with the boss. “Watch yourself!” certainly stops you in your tracks. You better think about what you’re doing and saying. You think if Jesus said it to you, it would startle you and make you think about what you’re doing? I hope so. Jesus hoped so, that’s why he said it to those listening. What were they to watch in themselves? This: don’t give offense by the things you say. If you aren’t watching what you’re doing, other people might be led to sin right along with you. Temptations to sin will continually come in this world, but if you are in any way responsible for someone else being led into sin—and maybe unbelief—well…. you know what a millstone is?