Luke 17
v.5-6
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
This was the disciple’s response to Jesus’ high call for them to be generous in forgiving those who sin against them. Yet, when the disciples recognize their great lack in faith to forgive, Jesus does not demand such great degree of faith from His disciples; he desires sincere faith. The smallest faith, as long as it is sincere, can do accomplish great things as it is already.
jj can’t remember where I read this insight from
The apostles may have felt that this kind of forgiveness would demand more faith than they had. The black mulberry tree grew quite large, to a height of some thirty-five feet, and would be difficult to uproot. The mustard seed is proverbially small, a suitable metaphor for the amount of faith needed to do the seemingly impossible (cf. Mt 17:20; Mk 11:23). Jesus’ answer to the request for additional faith seems to be that they should use the faith they had to partition God.
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v.10
So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”