Matthew 17:1-8
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and
John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did
shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and
Elias talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is
good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one
for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their
face, and were sore afraid.
7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise,
and be not afraid.
8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no
man, save Jesus only.
Six days later, Jesus took
Peter, James, and his brother John up to a high mountain. It was just the four of them. There on that mountain Christ He was
transfigured (Gr. metemorphoothee-metemorfeqh), transformed before (Gr. emprosthen-emprosqen) them, or in their
presence.
It is difficult for us to
imagine how Christ was transformed. Peter, James, and were given a preview of
what was to come in the resurrection.
Christ’s face was beaming
like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
talking with Christ Jesus.
Peter spoke up and said to
Jesus, “Lord, it is good (Gr. kalon-kalon) for us to be here.
If You desire, I will make three tabernacles (Gr. skeenas-skhnaV/a tent dedicated to
worship) here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While Peter was speaking, a
bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is
My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.
Listen to Him!”
The voice from heaven did not
tell them to listen to Mary!
When the three disciples
heard this, they fell on their faces in fear.
Jesus came and touched them, and then said, “Get up! Don’t be afraid!”
“Be not afraid” is a
recurring theme throughput the Bible!
As they looked up, they saw
none except Jesus. Moses and Elijah had
gone.
Matthew 17:9-13
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus
charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen
again from the dead.
10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say
the scribes that Elias must first come?
11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly
shall first come, and restore all things.
12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and
they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise
shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto
them of John the baptist.
As they came down from the mountain,
Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell about the vision until the Son of Man has risen
from the dead.” Keep in mind that at
that time, they did not believe that Jesus would die or be raised.
His disciples asked, “Why do
the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus answered, “Elijah is
coming (erchetai-ercetai/present-indicative) first. He shall restore (Gr. apokatasteesei-apokatasthsei/future
indicative) all (Gr. panta-panta). But, Elijah has come, and they did not recognize
him. Instead, they did whatever they
wished to Him. The Son of Man must also suffer at their hands.”
Then, those disciples
understood that He had spoken about John the baptist. The work of John the baptist cannot be
degraded.
Matthew 17:14-18
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there
came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and
sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could
not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and
perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?
bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of
him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
They came upon a crowd, and a
man approached Christ. He fell on his
knees before Jesus, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He is a lunatic, and
is very ill. He often falls into the
fire, or into water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not
restore him to health.”
Jesus admonished his
followers, “O, faithless and perverted generation, how long shall I be with
you? How long must I endure you? Bring him to Me.”
Jesus rebuked the demon, and
it came out of him, and the boy was immediately cured.
There is no biblical evidence
of a demon disobeying a direct command from Jesus.
Matthew 17:19-21
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said,
Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief:
for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall
remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting.
The disciples came to Jesus
privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”
Jesus told them, "It was
due to your lack of faith. Truly, I tell
you, if your faith is only as large as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain,
‘Move!’ And, it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you. However, this kind does not go out except by
prayer and fasting.”
Some unscrupulous preachers
use that to undermine faith. None among
us today have been able to speak to actual mountains and move them.
“Mountain” (Gr. orei-orei) speaks of a raised
place. This indicates something raised up against Christ. The Devil was raised against Christ, but not
above Christ.
However, what if Christ was
speaking about a real mountain?
Would you have the faith to
attempt something that is seemingly impossible?
If you think something is impossible, to you…it is!
Jesus absolutely believed
that with God all things are possible.
He did not doubt. Unfortunately
we do.
The reference in verse 21 is
to “prayer and fasting,” or is it?
Could it be that prayer and
fasting concerns the cure for the disease of unbelief and not how to cast out a
particular demon?
Matthew 17:22-27
22 And while they abode in
23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall
be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
24 And when they were come to
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house,
Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of
the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith
unto him, Then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go
thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up;
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that
take, and give unto them for me and thee.
While they were still in
The disciples were very
upset.
When they arrived at
Peter answered, “Of
course!” But, when Peter came to Jesus’
house, Jesus asked, “Simon, what is your opinion? Do the kings of the earth collect customs or
Temple-tax, from their sons or from foreigners?”
Peter answered, "From
strangers."
Then Jesus told him,
"So, the sons are exempt.
However, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the first
fish that comes up. When you open its
mouth, you will find a coin. Give it to them for you and Me.”