Faith to Move Mountains

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the en­trance” (John 20:1, NIV).

Was ever a mountain so “large” as the great stone which sealed Christ’s tomb? Truly, as miracles go, no miracle has been or could be so great as the one that caused this “very large” (Mark 16:4, NIV) stone to be removed, and thus proclaimed Christ’s tomb to be open, forevermore.

Jesus had told his followers,

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him” (Mark 11:23, NIV).

Of course, we have trouble with moving literal mountains, even as we have trouble explaining this passage.

But seen from a spiritual perspective, isn’t the greatest “mountain” of difficulty, which no man can move, the figurative “mountains” of death and the grave? En­gineers with bulldozers and explosives can move even literal mountains. But who among them can move the mountainous “stone” that covers the grave? Not a one!

Even the disciples of Jesus could not move such a stone from the mouth of his sepulcher, not at that time; they were weeping in sorrow, and hiding in fear. It was the faith of Jesus alone — though he was dead and unconscious in the tomb — that moved the hand of the angels of God, who in turn rolled back the stone. It may be said that the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performed was this: the blood of this wholly righteous man cried out from the depths of the earth, and the Father heard!

Do we, today, have faith to move mountains? The answer, I believe, is really another question: ‘Do we have faith that the greatest “mountain” has already been moved?’

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24, NIV).

Our faith ought to be, not just a prospective, but also a retrospective faith: we look backward, and ask, ‘Do I really believe that the “mountain” has been moved?’ If we truly believe that, then — it is absolutely sure and certain — all things are possible for us!