1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. 2He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. 3Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.
4Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. 7Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” 8Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.
9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
10His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things; 12but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” 13Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.
14When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, 15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
17Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
20He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”
22While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, 23and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.”
They were exceedingly sorry.
24When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” 25He said, “Yes.”
When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”
26Peter said to him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt. 27But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”
Moving Mountains
MOVING MOUNTAINS
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
20 He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.21 But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”
A certain man came to the disciples, bringing his son who was in real trouble. The boy would go into fits and then would try to kill himself by throwing himself into water, fire, or some other thing. The reader should note that the behavior was satanic. A demon within the boy caused it. We will learn later in Jesus’ ministry that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. He does that to you and me. Once saved, Satan cannot have our souls, so he seeks to steal our love, joy, and peace. To clarify, believers can’t be possessed, but they can sure be oppressed. This boy was actually possessed. He had a demon living with him, and the disciples had attempted to cast it out, but they failed.
Jesus explains to them that they were not able to do so because of their unbelief. He includes that all that is required is a tiny amount of true faith. With that amount of faith and the power of God, even mountains can be moved. I interpret that to mean that things we think are impossible can become possible with faith. Yet, they are impossible to overcome with our own power. However, it requires a certain amount of spiritual work alongside that seed of faith to overcome the seemingly insurmountable. It sometimes takes prayer and fasting. We may encounter all kinds of things in our lives that seem overwhelming and destructive. Jesus is there to deliver, but we must first believe that He is able to deliver, and secondly, it will require some brutal in-the-foxhole kind of spiritual warfare. It must be bathed in prayer and involve intense focus, much like fasting does.
If you’ve encountered a mountain in your life, put on the whole armor of God (see Ephesians 6), and start praying. You might even focus on that mountain through fasting and prayer. Fix your eyes on it, hit it with everything you have physically, then call out the big guns. The “big guns” are the Holy Spirit, and it doesn’t hurt to ask the Lord to send a host of big, bad angels to help. However, God wants to do battle; He can do so. Some obstacles are so significant that they require all of our spiritual attention, and spiritual help on high is available at our bidding. Call on Jesus and fall to your knees. Do this believing with all of your heart that HE is able to deliver and make a path forward. He is faithful. It is He who can move those mountains that come into our lives. Or, alternatively, He can give us the strength to get over that mountain pass and bring us to a gentle place of green pastures and still water. (Psalm 23) Copyright © 2026 Faber F McMullen III. All rights reserved.