Glory Won’t Carry You — Faith Will - Matthew 17:14–22

Scripture: Matthew 17:14–22

Date: May 10, 2025

📺 Watch the Full Lesson Here 

Hey Everyone,

Thank you for taking a moment to explore this scripture together. This week’s lesson took us down from the mountaintop of transfiguration — into the valley of disappointment, suffering, and spiritual struggle. It’s a shift that mirrors more than just the disciples’ journey — it mirrors ours.

There’s a sobering thread that runs through this passage:

God’s glory doesn’t always shield us from hardships, but it does prepare us to face them.

Let’s dig in.

📖 Scripture Reading – Matthew 17:14–22 (ESV)

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said,

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly.

For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.

And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”

And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you?

How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said,

“Why could we not cast it out?”

He said to them, “Because of your little faith.

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,

you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move,

and nothing will be impossible for you.”

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them,

“The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,

and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”

And they were greatly distressed.

🧭 Context & Background

This story echoes the haunting story of Exodus 32 — the golden calf.

• In Exodus 24–31, Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive the covenant law.
  

• Meanwhile, Israel — who had just witnessed God’s deliverance, provision, and glory — panics in his absence. They convince Aaron to make them a god they can see. He crafts a golden calf, and the people worship it.
  

• Moses returns to find chaos — covenant broken, and trust abandoned.
  

The parallels to Matthew 17 are staggering:

• Jesus goes up a mountain and is transfigured in glory before Peter, James, and John.
  

• While He’s gone, the nine disciples are approached by a father begging for healing.
  

• But they fail. The boy remains bound. The crowd is watching. The disciples are powerless.
  

And just like Moses, Jesus comes down to find a people spiritually disconnected, disoriented, and disillusioned.

✨ Key Lessons & Takeaways

1. Miracles Alone Don’t Produce Mature Faith

Israel saw plagues, parted seas, and bread from heaven.

The disciples cast out demons, multiplied food, and saw storms silenced.

But in both cases — the moment the leader stepped away — they failed.

📊 Let this land:

📍 Conclusion: Miracles stir awe — but without intimacy and spiritual practice, they won’t sustain faith.

2. Absence of Leadership Revealed Absence of Depth

Moses was gone, and the Israelites built an idol.

Jesus was gone, and the disciples lost their power.

The presence of the leader had been a substitute for real dependence.

And when that crutch disappeared, so did their confidence.

📍 Conclusion: God allows moments of absence to show us what we’ve built on — leadership proximity, or God’s presence?

3. Participation Without Cultivation Is Dangerous

Faith that is not practiced will wither.

Mark 9:29 clarifies what happened:

“This kind only comes out by prayer.”

Jesus wasn’t saying they didn’t try — He was saying they didn’t abide.

They weren’t walking in prayer.

They weren’t living in dependency.

They were running on memory — not intimacy.

📍 Conclusion: Kingdom power isn’t a formula. It’s the overflow of a life anchored in God.

4. Both Groups Were Being Prepared for a Greater Story

Israel was being formed into a holy nation.

The disciples were being formed into the Church.

Their failure wasn’t final. It was formative.

God wasn’t looking for flawless execution.

He was forming faithful endurance.

📍 Conclusion: Failure doesn’t disqualify you. It reveals the scaffolding that can’t hold — so God can build it stronger.

Challenge for the Week

Here are three questions to carry into the week:

1. Where have I mistaken spiritual memory for spiritual maturity?
   
   

2. When was the last time I really prayed — not out of routine, but out of intimacy?
   
   

3. What am I doing daily to cultivate mustard-seed faith — the kind that moves things when no one is watching?
   
   

The valley is still filled with need.

The hurting are still waiting.

Let’s be the kind of people who carry the mountain down with us.

Final Word

The disciples failed — not because they lacked experience, but because they lacked connection.

They had walked with Jesus.

They had operated in power.

They had seen miracles with their own eyes.

But in this moment… they were empty.

And Jesus doesn’t shame them.

He doesn’t revoke their calling.

He doesn’t replace them with more qualified followers.

He teaches them.

He reminds them that power in the Kingdom doesn’t come from momentum — it comes from intimacy.

Not from hype.

Not from being around the right people.

But from real, cultivated trust.

“This kind only comes out by prayer.”

In other words:

There are some mountains that won’t move until you’ve learned to kneel.

There are some victories that won’t come from charisma or confidence — but from a life that stays connected to the Father when no one’s watching.

This week, may we be people who don’t just remember the glory —

but bring it with us into the grit.

May we not just celebrate the mountaintop —

but carry its weight into a world that is desperate for deliverance.

And may we not be satisfied with proximity to Jesus —

but press in to know Him, walk with Him, and move in His power again.

He’s still healing.

Still delivering.

Still calling.

And He’s still using mustard-seed people to move impossible things.

Let’s stay connected.

Let’s stay faithful.

And let’s go.

Grace, peace, and grit to you this week,

— Michael