From Mountains to Valleys | Sunday, March 15, 2026

Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. (Luke 9:37-42)

Coming down from the glory of the mountain, the disciples discover that past victories cannot sustain present ministry—only Christ can.

Luke 9: A Pivotal Transition

If you have been with us the last several weeks, we have been slowly making our way through the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which is a pivotal inflection point in the gospel. The first three chapters set the story from the birth of Christ to His baptism, the beginning of His ministry. From chapter four through chapter eight, we see the bulk of His ministry—His preaching, His parables, His miracles—as He ministered among the multitudes.

As Jesus ministered, a minority of people began to follow Him closely from city to city around the Sea of Galilee. The Bible calls them disciples—pupils, students, learners, interested followers of Jesus. I would say more than a few of you here today would call yourselves that.

But at chapter nine the gospel turns. Jesus takes His twelve disciples and appoints them to a task. Before He sends them, the text says He gave them power and authority over demons and diseases. When they return in verse 10, they are no longer called disciples but apostles—from the Greek apostolos, one sent with a message. They have moved from interested followers to ambassadors.

From Reception to Rejection

Everything in Luke 9 is preparing the disciples for the day when Jesus would no longer be physically present, when they would carry on the mission—what we call the great commission—without Him. From chapter ten on, the gospel takes the long path toward Jerusalem for Christ's last Passover.

That word Passover goes back to Exodus, where God redeemed the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob out of Egypt. It began with the sacrificial lamb and the blood on the doorpost. All of it is typological, pointing to the ultimate fulfillment when Christ, the sacrificial lamb, would come to redeem us who were enslaved to sin and death.

Just as Moses had his exodus, so Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration spoke with Moses and Elijah of His own "exodus," His decease that would soon be accomplished at Jerusalem. From this point on, Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem, and nothing gets in His way. As verse 51 says, "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." This begins the long march not only toward Calvary but toward rejection—from reception to rejection.

Jesus Knew His Mission

Keep in mind that Jesus knew exactly what His mission was. Do not think for a moment that what we commemorate on Good Friday took Him by surprise. Revelation 13:8 calls Him the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. In Genesis chapter three we see the first hint, when God tells the serpent that a male child born of the woman would crush Satan.

So in this passage Jesus is preparing His followers for His rejection. In verse 44 He says, "Let these words sink down into your ears. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men"—but they did not understand this saying. He came to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and now He is readying His disciples to carry the message of the kingdom to the uttermost parts of the world without His manifest physical presence.

Three Ingredients for Kingdom Work

As Jesus prepares them, He gives them a series of things. First, power and authority—power is a dynamic ability, authority is jurisdiction over an area. Then He teaches them the importance of continual dependence upon the Lord.

We saw this in the feeding of the multitudes. When the disciples wanted to send the crowds away to find food, Jesus said, "You feed them." They protested that they had nothing. He taught them a great lesson of dependence: yes, He gives the requisite power and authority, but He also requires us to continuously depend upon heavenly resources. With five loaves and two fish blessed in His hands, everyone ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of fragments remained.

This morning we add a third ingredient: spiritual disciplines. These are the three necessary components of effective, fruitful kingdom work—power and authority from God, constant dependence on heavenly resources, and spiritual discipline. And if you are a Christian today, the great commission extends to you. The temptation, once we are endowed with power and authority, is to think, "I've got this." But power and authority by themselves are not enough.

Mountaintops Are Always Followed by Valleys

Notice the opening words of verse 37: "when they had come down from the mountain," on the very next day. Immediately before this, Jesus was on a mountaintop with Peter, James, and John—either Mount Tabor or, as many believe, Mount Hermon at the northern tip of the nation. They had gone up to pray, but they slept while He prayed. They were awakened by an amazing sight: Jesus transfigured, His true identity shining forth, Moses and Elijah speaking with Him.

Peter said, "Lord, it's good for us to be here. Let's build three tabernacles." But a cloud overshadowed them, and they heard the voice of God the Father: "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him." The glow of that glory had not even begun to wear off before they came down the next day.

The point could not be simpler. Point number one: mountaintops are always followed by valleys. This is not only a practical truth but a spiritual reality. I got my start in youth ministry, taking junior high and high schoolers to mountain camps. We witnessed many mountaintop experiences—real encounters with God. But always we had to leave the mountain. In the valley here, the disciples move from the awesomeness of God's glory to a demon-possessed depression, confronted by wickedness and evil.

A Father's Desperate Cry

The disciples had been on a string of high highs—granted power and authority, agents of the miraculous feeding, witnesses of the Transfiguration. And then, suddenly, a man from the multitude cried out, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child."

Underline that phrase, only child. It is the Greek word monogenes, the same word used in John 3:16, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." Less than twelve hours earlier, Peter, James, and John heard a Father say, "This is My beloved Son." Now they hear a father begging with tears, "Look on my son, he is my only child." The juxtaposition is striking, and it is there intentionally by the inspiration of the Spirit.

The father had already implored the disciples to cast out the spirit, "but they could not." Wait a minute—weren't these the disciples given power and authority over diseases and demons? The accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe both a supernatural component and a natural one, reminding us that the world is more than what we perceive with our senses. Yet at this moment, their power, their authority, even their dependence on heavenly resources proved ineffective.

The Limit Situation

The father had slammed up against what the German philosopher Karl Jaspers called a limit situation—the point at which we are brought to the edge of our ability, our resources, our control. The situation cannot be fixed by willpower, intelligence, ingenuity, money, strength, or strategy. No amount of determination can break through.

And he is not the only one. The disciples also hit their limit; they could not cure the boy. Point number two: our limitations glorify God's limitless power and grace. Part of this reveals why God does not always immediately intervene—He is bringing us to the place of total dependence.

Sometimes it seems like God delays far too long. Exodus 34 says God is slow to anger, but I have observed He is also sometimes slow to show up—or it feels that way to me. God is never late, rarely in a hurry, and very frequently shows up at just the right time, even when that is much later than I think He ought to. But do not mistake the delay of the Lord for apathy, indifference, ineptitude, or impotence. Remember Daniel, who prayed fourteen days; when the messenger finally came, he explained, "I was withstood by the prince of Persia." There was a spiritual battle delaying the moment.

More Than Church—Christ Himself

Then Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." Now, I am a church man. I have been part of this church since I was about eleven years old. This is where I came to know God and the Scriptures, where for twenty-seven years I have served on the ministry team, and where my wife and I are raising our kids. I believe one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family is to be part of a good church.

But at the end of the day, what is needed more than pastors and churches and buildings is Christ. He is the necessary and essential ingredient. I was listening to a debate between Ross Douthat of the New York Times, a Catholic believer, and Steven Pinker, a Harvard cognitive psychologist and author of Enlightenment Now. Pinker said there is no need for religion or church, yet he kept insisting we desperately need places to gather in community—essentially a secular church, church without God.

As smart as Steven Pinker is—and he is no fool—he misses the core ingredient. We are one in Christ. That is what makes us a body, the people of God. Remove that, and this does not happen. Look around—we are weird people, people you would not spend time with apart from Jesus. But we are one in Christ. I think the idea of one nation is impossible without the "under God," and we will likely see more fracturing and division. Community and fellowship are good things, but Christ is the answer.

Jesus Is the Answer

If you think simply bringing your kids to church or going yourself will fix you or them, do not miss the subtle indication of this text. More than anything, this man—and you and I—need Christ. Point number three: Jesus is the ultimate answer to every question and the solution to every problem.

That sounds simplistic, but I believe it is true. I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of others. People come to this place a total, complete, utter mess, having deconstructed their lives in every possible way—and a year or two or three later, they are an entirely different person. As 1 John says, those who used to run with them think it strange. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away.

How does that happen? It is in Christ. He has all power and authority. John 1:14 says He is full of grace and truth. Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him"—which means without Him you are incomplete. In John 15 He says, "Apart from Me you can do nothing."

The Devil's Last Throw

Notice what happens when the man brings his child to Jesus. Verse 42: "And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him." It got worse. Charles Spurgeon called this the devil's last throw. Satan often attacks hardest as someone is finally drawing near to Christ.

Some of you are in that very situation. Someone invited you to church as you described your problem, and then things got all the more worse. Why? You need to acknowledge, as the Scriptures indicate, that there is a supernatural realm with an adversary who opposes God and all His works—a lion seeking whom he may devour.

Mark's record is phenomenal. The man says, "Often this demon has thrown the boy down, both into the fire and into the water, to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus responds, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father cried out with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief"—one of the greatest prayers of the Bible. Lord, I believe, but only a little. I have much unbelief. Help me.

He Does Not Rebuke Little Faith

Here is what I love about this text: Jesus does not rebuke little faith. He helps us overcome unbelief. Remember verse 41, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?" We tend to read that as an exasperated sigh, the way a tired parent might sigh, "How long shall I bear with you?" I read it that way because I know me.

But is that how Jesus said it? The language is hard to tell, but the context is not, because His action answers the question. The man says, "Lord, I believe; help my faithlessness"—the same Greek word Jesus used. "O faithless generation... how long must I bear with you?" And the man essentially answers, "I am faithless. Will You bear with me?" That is the remarkable question being asked.

How does Jesus respond? He rebukes something—but look at verse 42. "Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit," not the man's little faith. "And He healed the child and gave him back to his father, and they were all amazed at the majesty of God." His question in verse 41 is answered by His grace in verse 42. The question reveals the difference between Jesus and us. We are given to impatience and exasperation, even with those we love. Jesus is not. He does not tire of unbelief or weary of our feeble failings—and there are many; I see more in myself all the time. Instead He says, "Bring your son to Me," and He helps us overcome our unbelief.

Prayer and Fasting: The Spiritual Discipline

One final key is not found in Luke but in Mark. After these events, in Mark 9:28, the disciples asked Jesus privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" You wonder what they tried. They had power and authority; they had watched Jesus; they were emptying the arsenal. He answered, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." You can be sure they tried everything—but they did not try that.

Point number five: gospel effectiveness requires a divine endowment, a heavenly dependence, and a spiritual discipline. That word discipline is hard for us; we wish there were an easier way. But this is the inflection point of Luke's gospel. Jesus is preparing His disciples for the time when He will no longer be physically present, explaining how the task is done: power and authority, heavenly dependence, spiritual discipline.

He is readying them for His departure. In verses 43-44, while everyone marveled at His works, He told His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." In effect: I will not always be here for you to bring the child to Me. I will not leave you orphans—I will give you the Spirit who abides forever—but you will need power and authority, heavenly dependence, and spiritual discipline.

They could not be sustained by past experience or ride on borrowed momentum or reflect back on past victories. Kingdom ministry requires present faith, fresh dependence, ongoing communion with God. The valley exposed what the mountain did not: that they still needed prayer, still needed fasting, still required total and utter dependence upon God. And so do we.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for this text and the important lessons it teaches. Help us to understand and comprehend them, take them to heart, and make them applicable this week, because You have for each of us opportunities and situations in which we will be stretched to our limit. And in that moment when we see our limitations, I pray that we would recognize Your limitless power and grace and rely upon it, for You ultimately are the answer to every question and the solution to every problem.

Thank You that in this text You did not rebuke the man's little faith but helped him overcome his unbelief. Help us to learn effectiveness by relying on the power You give and the resources You extend, and as we spend time with You in prayer and even fasting, removing our focus from the desires of this flesh so that we might fix our gaze upon You—because in You dwells all the fullness of the Godhead and we are complete in You. Help us learn that lesson, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, Amen.