As for faith and prayer, although the context of verses 22-25 is the false piety of the Jews and the destruction of the temple, these verses make several points about faith and prayer that are true in themselves and in the larger context of biblical teaching.

In verse 21, Peter marvels that the fig tree that Jesus has cursed has withered, even from the roots. Jesus apparently wishes to push his disciples' thinking further and tells them that if a person has faith, he can even command a mountain to be uprooted and to be cast into the sea, and it will happen. From what we understand about the location of the group as this is spoken, "this mountain" is the Mount of Olives and "the sea" refers to the Dead Sea. For our purpose, it matters little which mountain or which sea Jesus is pointing to. However, that Jesus is referring to a particular mountain carries some significance, as we will see below.

Commentators of all varieties and persuasions immediately scramble to assert that Jesus' statement is not to be taken in the literal sense, but that the mountain is symbolic of some difficulty or obstacle (Zechariah 4:6-7). Although I agree that the mountain represents something more than just the physical mountain referred to in the statement, and indeed to "move mountains" is a common rabbinic expression, I would insist that we must first take the statement in its fullest literal sense, and then acknowledge those things that the literal mountain symbolizes.

It is sheer foolishness to think that if something is a symbol for something else, then the symbol itself has no literal status. The Passover lamb represents Jesus Christ, the true and final sacrifice, but there is indeed a physical lamb at the Passover Feast. Verse 23 itself is couched in the context of the cursing of the fig tree. For certain, the fig tree represents something else, but there really is a fig tree, which Jesus curses, and which then withers from the roots.

How, then, can we say that because the mountain is a symbol for difficulties and obstacles, therefore the mountain is not literal? The same commentators would say that Jesus is pointing to the Mount of Olives as he makes his statement. So, when he says "this mountain," does he mean this mountain or not? Or does he mean, "If you have faith, you can say to this mountain, but not really any mountain"? No, if X is a symbol for Y, then a statement using X to make a point about Y would apply to X and Y, not Y minus X.

(to be continued)

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