Footnote

b Jesus used the expression “of little faith” only with regard to his disciples. It appears also at Matthew 8:26; 14:31; 16:8 and Luke 12:28. The phrase is found in rabbinical writings, indicating that it was well known. For example, the Babylonian Talmud relates: “R[abbi] Eliezer the Great declares: Whoever has a piece of bread in his basket and says, ‘What shall I eat tomorrow?’ belongs only to them who are little in faith.”