Matthew 17 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son,¹ with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 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.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon,² and it³ came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.⁴ 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 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.”⁵

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 As they were gathering⁶ in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.⁷ Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Footnotes

[1] 17:5 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
[2] 17:18 Greek it
[3] 17:18 Greek the demon
[4] 17:18 Greek from that hour
[5] 17:20 Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting
[6] 17:22 Some manuscripts remained
[7] 17:27 Greek stater, a silver coin worth four drachmas or approximately one shekel

Commentary

v1-2: Only three disciples are taken to see Christ transfigured; a privilege and preparation. His brightness is emphasised; the glory of John 1.14; the majesty of 2 Pet 1.16.

The Jews emphasise law and prophets; Christ supersedes both; here is the revelation of Christ, who is greater.

v3: Moses represents the law, and Elijah the prophets; each are fulfilled in Christ, and are perfected and superseded; Christ is God's final and perfect revelation of Himself, Heb 1.1-4.

v4: Again, Peter's comments indicate an expectation of a Messianic kingdom.

v5-8: The voice of the Father, testifying to Christ's deity. The cloud and the voice bring fear to the three disciples. In time, they look up from the ground and see Christ only. Any loyalty to the past is to be changed, as they are to be His followers.

v9: The incident to be kept private until after the resurrection.

v10-13: See Luke 1.17; John Baptist the 'second' Elijah. The disciples have seen Scripture fulfilled in John Baptist. This is a further strong implication that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

v14: Coming down from the mountain, they are flung into daily tasks and trials.

v15: The man's diagnosis is very different from Jesus,' who spoke of the demon of a particular kind (v21, see NIV margin). We see Jesus' perfect understanding of the problem, and His power to deal with it. We see too the seriousness of the problem. Unless we see the real nature of situations, there is a real danger that we only deal with the symptoms.

The boy is epileptic, lit. 'moon-struck,' see Ps 121.6.

v16: The disciples are unable to deal with the boy, see 10.1, 7-8, due to their unbelief.

v17-20: The matter of faith, to identify the problem, to understand the situation, and to bring the power of God into play. The disciples' question, 'Why couldn't we cast it out?' is a question from a warfare mindest, not a rationalistoc mindset. Starting with a proper mindset or worldview means we don't ask questions we cannot answer. And it motivates us and equips us to fight battles we can win. (Stef Liston: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGxWCXaamX0

v21: Some work is harder than others; and nothing is to be achieved except by the power of Christ. This power is available to us;

In witness Acts 1.8;
In our lives, Eph 3.20;
In the preaching of the gospel, 1 Cor 1.18;
It is the power of God, Rom 1.16; 1 Cor 1.24.

Such incidents are essential is developing the disciples' faith, not to discourage, but to train.

v22-23: Jesus' further statement as to His intention. They are still in Galilee, beginning the journey to Jerusalem.

v24: The temple tax, Ex 30.11-16. Christ is, of course, not obliged to pay the tax, since He is greater than the temple. The so-called temple tax, originally a one-off payment had become an annual tax, collected prior to the Passover.

v25-26: Although the "sons" of the king are exempt from tax, to avoid offence, Jesus and Peter pay the tax.

Since the other eleven are not required to pay, this is an indication that they are below 20 years of age.

v27: Given the power of Christ, it is no surprise that the amount of money is exactly right, being sufficient for Jesus and for Peter.