“Can faith really move mountains?”……In order to correctly interpret a passage such as…Matthew 17:20…20 "You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]"…Lets first look at the overall context of the passage. Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, had just come down from the “mount of transfiguration,” and they encounter a man with a demon possessed child. …The man tells Jesus that he brought his son to Jesus' disciples, but they couldn't cast the demon out (earlier in Matthew 10:1Jesus gave his disciples the authority to cast out evil spirits). Jesus then chastises them for their lack of faith and then casts the demon out of the boy. When His disciples inquire as to why the demon didn't obey their command, Jesus replies with the statement in Matthew 17:20. Their faith, He says, is small and weak. If it were the size of even the smallest of the seeds, the mustard bush, they would be able to "move mountains." ……The first thing that needs to be considered is the Bible's use of literary techniques. That was the reason why it was important for me to learn the method where by one specifically concentrated on understanding Scripture and the interpretation of Scripture,

The Bible is first and foremost God's revealed word; we want to be clear on this point …2 Timothy 3:16…16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.…The Bible is God's revealed word, it is revealed to us by way of language. God condescended-He lowered Himself-to speak to us in ways in which we would understand. Consider a father trying to communicate with his young child. The father has to condescend in order to be understood by the limited intellect and understanding of the child. This is analogous (though not identical) to the way in which God speaks to us.……The Bible employs many forms, or genres, of literature. …There is historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic writing, and epistolary literature (The epistle letters).

Among these various literary genres, several literary techniques are used- metaphor, simile, imagery, parable, allusion, irony, personification, paradox, and hyperbole. …When trying to understand a passage in Scripture one should recognize when these techniques are being used in order to properly interpret the meaning. …For example, in John 10:7 Jesus says, " I am the door of the sheep." How are we to interpret this verse? If we are too literal, we might start looking for a doorknob hidden somewhere on His body. …However, if we understand this to be a metaphor, then we can begin to understand His meaning (Jesus is the way of access to eternal life, much like a door is the way of access into a room).……Another thing to consider in biblical interpretation is the context of the passage. More often than not, when we take a single verse out of its native context, we end up misinterpreting the verse. …In this context,( Mark 11:23-24 and Matthew 17:20) the question was why did they not succeed to drive the demon out?…Jesus rebukes the disciples for their weak faith and says that even if they had mustard seed sized faith, they could command the mountain to move.…Contextually, the mountain must refer to the demon that was afflicting the man's son. Jesus tells His disciples that if their faith was stronger, they could have commanded the demon to leave the boy, and it would be so. …This was clearly the case in Matthew 10 when Jesus sent them out to cure diseases, cast out demons and spread the gospel. …Therefore, it is clear from the context that Jesus does not intend to state that mustard seed sized faith can literally move mountains.

Rather, the expression Jesus uses was a common informal expression used in biblical times (colloquialismof that time period) to a Jew of Jesus' day, a mountain is a metaphor signifying a seemingly impossible task. So in order to find the true meaning the vernacular used in bible times should be taken into account. ……Faith that can move mountains is not meant to imply a faith that can literally move literal mountains. Was there ever a individual that literally moved a mountain in the Bible?…. No …. why would one want to do it anyway? The point Jesus was making is that even a little bit of faith, the size of a tiny mustard seed-can overcome mountainous obstacles in our lives.