Matthew 17

Notes for BSF

JESUS TRANSFIGURES IN FRONT OF HIS DISCIPLES (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36)

Peter misses the importance of Jesus as the Lamb of God

Matthew 17:4
Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

When witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus and His meeting with Moses and Elijah, Peter muttered the above and was silenced fairly quickly by God.

Peter may have suggested to erect tabernacles because he was sleepy and did not know what he was saying. Or, Peter may have made that suggestion because he thought that moment in time was perfect and therefore wanted to make that moment last. Again, we see Peter not thinking about God’s will as he spoke. God’s will was to provide salvation for mankind, not for us to be gathered with great men of God and dwell with just happy events in the past!

Zondervan NIV Footnote:

Luke 9:33
The three tabernacles were temporary structures to prolong the visit of the three important persons: lawgiver, prophet, and Messiah. The idea was not appropriate, however, because Jesus had a work to finish in his few remaining days on earth.

Mark 9:5
Peter may have desired to erect new tents of meeting where God could again communicate with his people (see Ex 29:42). Or he may have been thinking of the booths used at the Feast of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:42). In any case, he seemed eager to find fulfillment of the promised glory at that moment, prior to the sufferings that Jesus had announced as necessary.

God announces Jesus, the Son of God
Before Peter could continue down his erroneous earthly-based thought process, God spoke:

Matthew 17:5
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!

Peter wanted to preserve the moment, to make it last for a while. However, that was not God’s will. God’s will was to lead Jesus to provide salvation for mankind. The transfiguration revealed Jesus as the Son of God, and Jesus has a great mission to accomplish. Therefore, LISTEN to Him and HEAR Him -- not just with our minds but with our hearts!

Peter's faith is solidified by his eyewitness of Jesus' transfiguration

2 Peter 1:16-17
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

"Seeing is believing," goes the old adage. Here, we can understand why Peter's faith was strong, because he has witnessed Jesus in His glorified form. Although we might be tempted to pray for the same revelation, because we, too, want to see to believe, but consider the following:

1. Thomas remained doubtful until he saw -- He never allowed his faith to grow

John 20:29
Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed

2. Peter did not count his eyewitness as the most important reason for his faith -- Peter's faith is founded in the Word of God

2 Peter 1:19
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.

Comparing his eyewitness of Jesus' transfiguration, he calls the Word of God to be "more fully confirmed"! The Word of God is, of course, the Bible. But most importantly, Jesus is the Word made flesh.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We do not believe because we see it with our eyes. We believe because it is in our hearts to believe. There are plenty of people who choose to ignore what they see because they would rather hold on to the truths they have been comfortable with. Some people refuse to see the doctor because it's better for them to be blind than to hear the news that they are sick. Bottom line, for some, it is more comfortable to remain blind than having to deal with the truth. And so, the old adage is really more accurate when worded thus: "Seeing is what we want to believe."

We see what we want to see, but the Word of God remains faithful and true despite what we want to see/believe. This is why eyewitness is inferior to the actual Word of God. This is also why, when the Rich Man asked Abraham to send warnings to his brothers about eternal death, Abraham responded, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (Luke 19:31). 


JESUS MEETS WITH MOSES AND ELIJAH (Matthew 17:1-13)

According to Luke 9:31, Jesus met with Moses and Elijah about His death that was to occur at Jerusalem. It is interesting that numerous transliterations of this passage phrased Jesus' coming death as an event that Jesus would "accomplish" -- And indeed, Jesus' death on the Cross was a GREAT accomplishment! Without His blood, our sins would still bind us in eternal death, apart from God!

Many scholars also speculate Jesus met with Moses and Elijah to discuss the End of Days and therefore draw the link between this event and the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11). The Bible does not elaborate on this, so it's all speculation, and we should not over-dwelt on the subject. But in brief, the main reasons scholars believe Moses and Elijah could be the Two Witnesses because of the following:

1. Elijah never died. He was raptured (2 Kings 2:1). He also has the same "powers" as one of the Witnesses.
2. Moses died before he could enter the Promised Land (Exodus 32:48-52); Satan fought with Michael over Moses' body (Jude 1:9) (Now, why would Satan want Moses body if the body has no significance?); and he, too, has the same "powers" as the other Witness.

Elijah is coming first

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Luke 1:17
And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

John came in the spirit of Elijah and prepared the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah. Everything that John preached and did pointed the people to Jesus. John thus partially fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5 -- in the spirit but not in the flesh. The full fulfillment will happen in the End of Days ("the great and dreadful Day of the LORD"), culminating in the preaching of the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11). Just as John pointed to Jesus, so too will the Two Witnesses point to Jesus.


UNBELIEF IS OUR GREAT OBSTACLE (Matthew 17:14-21)

Matthew 17:17-18
O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

When the disciples wondered why they couldn't heal the demon-possessed boy, notice what Jesus told them. He didn't tell them it was because they didn't have the "power" but that they had unbelief -- the doubt that they could do the work of God. In previous passages, Jesus has stressed multiple times that we are healed by our faith. Here, we see the flip side of the same message: Unbelief -- the lack of faith -- prevents us from doing the Will of God! We may say we believe, but our words don't matter if our hearts doubt.

Mark 9:24
Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

When we truly want to change but do not know how, pray for help! We live in a fallen world and are born of the flesh. We are flawed and are bathed in sin -- This is precisely the reason why we need Jesus to save us. We cannot do it alone; we cannot do it ourselves. All we need to live in the presence of God is to have the sincere heart to want it. The rest, God will guide us through the Holy Spirit. When we put our trust in Christ, when we have great faith, the Holy Spirit is then able to work completely through us. As long as there is pure faith in Jesus, to know that He is God and that He alone is mighty and powerful, that faith can start out small but grow magnificently, just like the mustard seed grows from a tiny seed to a great big tree. Great faith does not happen overnight. It is the accumulation of small faith, that when we walk step by step with small faith, we eventually will build our faith into great faith. And when we are in God's will, then nothing is impossible for us to achieve.  


THE DISCIPLES START TO UNDERSTAND JESUS AS THE LAMB OF GOD (Matthew 17:22-23)

Upon hearing Jesus again prophesy His own death, burial, and resurrection, instead of fighting against and just not really hearing what Jesus had to say, the disciples became extremely sad -- a sign that the disciples were beginning to not just listen to Jesus with their ears but with their hearts as well.


THE SONS GO FREE (Matthew 17:24-27; cf. Exodus 30:11-16; 38:25-26)

The temple tax was an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the people. This offering is then used to fund temple-related events.

We learn a few things from Jesus' interaction with those who collected temple tax:

1. Jesus respected the law of the land, just as He has taught us (Romans 13:1-7)
We may not always agree with the people who are in the government, but we must still respect the law.

2. God always provides
Even though the disciples were poor and did not know where they would next live or eat, God provided for them, allowing them to pay the temple tax.

3. The sons go free
When we are in Christ, we are the children of God -- And just as the greatest inheritance is reserved for the children of kings, we are also promised great treasures/rewards in God's Kingdom.