Continuing a Bible study of the gospels:
(Matthew 17:1) And after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain alone.
In the last chapter, Peter had confessed his knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus had then told the disciples more about what He was to endure during His time on earth. He discussed with them His church, His kingdom on earth. Six days after that, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into a mountain to be alone.
(2) And was transfigured before them, and His face did shine as the sun, and His clothing was white as the light.
Jesus was transformed before Peter, James, and John. The indwelling Deity of Jesus Christ darted out its rays of light, and His face shone like the sun. His body so radiated light that His clothing shone a bright white light.
(3) And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Him.
Moses and Elijah appeared before the three disciples, talking with Jesus. Moses had been God's law giver and Elijah one of the chief prophets. Now they appeared with Jesus, in whom the prophecies and law were fulfilled. They were having a conversation with Jesus; the account in Luke says they discussed "His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem."
(4) Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "It is good for us to be here; if You want, let us make here three tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Much more can be learned about this incident from reading the same account in the other gospels. Luke informed us that the disciples had fallen asleep on the mountain and awoke to see this glorious transfiguration of Christ. It seems they woke up well into the event with Moses and Elijah in conversation with Jesus. Luke tells us it was as the two men were leaving Jesus, that Peter spoke out. Mark tells us that Peter didn't know what to say for the disciples were afraid. But being the impetuous person he was, Peter had to say something! He said it was good for he and the other disciples to be there. It's hard to know exactly what he meant, and perhaps even he didn't know exactly, as Mark said he didn't know what to say, and Luke would later report he didn't know what he was saying. You can be sure he was very excited and in awe of what he was witnessing, and seeing it was about to end, probably wanted to continue it. His idea, if Christ was willing, was to set up three tabernacles or tents, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. As usual, in his zeal, he was missing the point and purpose of this transfiguration. It is also interesting to note that he knew who the other two men were, as it's not like they had photographs with which to compare. Either it was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit, or by deduction from the conversation they were having.
(5) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"
As Peter was proposing his tent idea, Father God interrupted, His voice coming from a bright cloud that overshadowed the three transfigured men. Luke's account tells us it was at first over those three, but as the disciples entered under it, they were afraid. God's voice came out of the cloud and confirmed that Jesus was His beloved Son, not merely a servant as were Moses and Elijah. He added that He was well pleased in Him, meaning His mission and service there on earth were acceptable and well pleasing to God. The entirety of the Mosaic Law and the Old Testament prophets, represented by Moses and Elijah, was a precursor to the plan for the ultimate perfect sacrifice and atonement in Jesus Christ. God commanded that they listen to and really hear His Son. His teaching was superior to those of Moses and Elijah. In Him alone was the fulfillment of all that came before; in Him alone was salvation and eternal life.
(6) And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
When the disciples heard the voice of God, they were understandably afraid, and fell on their faces, partly out of reverence for the Lord, but probably more of real fear of the Lord, for no man could see God and live.
(7) And Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."
Jesus came and touched the disciples, reassuring them that they need not be afraid. That was not the voice of an angry God, but the voice of His Father, their Father God, confirming that Jesus was their much anticipated Messiah, and that they should continue to follow and listen to Him. God was well pleased with Jesus, and they should be encouraged and confident that they could have full faith and trust in Him as Divine God in human form on earth.
(8) And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
When the disciples raised their faces from the ground after Jesus had come and touched them, they saw no one there except for Jesus only.
(9) And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."
Jesus and the disciples then went down from the mountain, and Jesus commanded the three not to tell anyone about what they had seen, That is, not until He had risen from the dead, at which time it would be confirmed and more readily believed and accepted. The account in Mark says that they did indeed keep it to themselves. That is, of course, until Christ rose from the dead, and then Peter wrote of it, as well as the gospel authors.
(10) And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
Those three disciples were surely satisfied that He was the Messiah, but they had been taught by the scriptures to expect Elijah to come first before the Messiah (Malachi 4:5). They did not recollect that Elijah had come again before that time, so they understandably were confused about their understanding of that prophecy.
(11) And Jesus answered and said to them, "Elijah truly shall come first and restore all things."
Jesus answered by saying that it was true that Elijah was to come first, and he would restore or complete all things that were prophesied of him.
(12) "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him, but have done to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of man shall also suffer by them."
Jesus told them that Elijah had already come, but no one recognized him. As Jesus had said in Matthew 11:14, Elijah had come in the form of John the Baptist. It occurs to me that the life of John the Baptist was a sort of parable as Jesus used frequently. He had said in Matthew 13:11 that that was because it had been given to His disciples to know the mysteries of heaven, but it had not been given to everyone. The truth was only revealed to those who could accept it and understand it; it seemed to be gibberish to those unwilling to understand. The fact that John the Baptist was actually the expected Elijah could only be understood by those to whom it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus told the disciples that the people did not understand that John the Baptist was the coming of Elijah, and they did not believe what he said about repentance and preparation for the coming Christ, but did to him whatever they wished. Of course, that wound up being his imprisonment and ultimate beheading. Jesus said that He Himself would likewise suffer at the hands of such people.
(13) Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
The disciples then understood that Elijah who came before Him was John the Baptist who had indeed suffered at the hands of King Herod and his people.
(14) And when they had come to the multitude, there came to Him a man kneeling down to Him, and saying, (15) "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and severely vexed, for oftentimes he falls into the fire, and often into the water."
Luke tells us this was the next day when they had come down from the mountain and joined the other nine disciples where a multitude of people had congregated. A man came out of the crowd to Jesus and knelt before Him. He asked Jesus to have mercy on his son who suffered a form of lunacy. Actually, the meaning often meant epileptic, and clearly from the man's description of his son's seizures that would send him into a fire or into water, it indeed sounds like the son had epilepsy. In Biblical times, people did not know about epilepsy, but as "lunatic" referred to insanity that was affected by the phases of the moon, it seemed epileptic seizures were somewhat affected by the moon, as well.
(16) "And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him."
The man went on to tell Jesus that he had brought his son to Jesus's disciples, but they were not able to 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 here to Me."
Jesus then spoke, Mark says answering the man, but it is apparent the message was for all who were there. He called them a faithless and perverse generation. However, the "faithless" was the multitude, as Jesus usually referred to His disciples as having little faith, not no faith. The original word for "perverse" was "diastrepho," and it meant "distorted, misinterpreted" or "turned away, corrupt." At the very least, the people had a distorted view of the truth, and in many cases, as with the scribes and Pharisees and the like, it was even corrupt and completely averse to the truth. Jesus lamented about how long it would be before people could see the truth. It was because of their faithlessness that they could not obtain the blessings from God that they otherwise might have had. Likewise the disciples had too little faith and a limited view of what God could do. Jesus then told the man to bring the child to Him.
(18) And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
The description of this event is greatly expanded in the other gospels. Matthew, being a numbers man as a tax collector, wasn't always very prolific. We understand from Mark that the disease was demon-caused. Also a discourse took place between Jesus and the father of the child regarding the father's faith which was the most important aspect of this incident. Jesus did ultimately rebuke the demon and cast it out, and the child was cured.
(19) Then the disciples came to Jesus apart, and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, apart from the crowd, and asked why it was that they were unable to cast out the demon and heal the child.
(20) And Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief, for verily I say to you if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to over there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
Jesus replied that it was because of their unbelief. It wasn't that they had no belief that they could heal by the power of Jesus, but they surely faltered when it became difficult. Even though Matthew didn't tell us this, we learned from the other gospels that the father's faith, or lack thereof, came into play, also. The disciples should have had faith enough to know they could heal the boy by the authority of Jesus, and convince the father of his unbelief. It is because of our unbelief that we bring so little to pass in our churches. They say that often in more primitive lands when the gospel is brought to the people, that they are able to perform mighty miracles because they believe what they are taught, and put no limits on the word, as so many of us "more civilized" people do.
Jesus indeed said that if the disciples had faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, they could move mountains! Nothing would be impossible for them. Jesus had given His disciples the power to work miracles in His name for confirmation of the gospel they taught. Jesus gave them the power...period. They had the power, but they had to have faith in that power. It is very likely the nine disciples may have had doubts about their power in their Master's absence, especially when a first attempt failed. Jesus told them it was all because of their lack of faith that they had been unable to heal the boy. I think it is important to note that the disciples had the power to move mountains because Jesus had given it to them. I feel like the Word of Faith movement takes this too far, and believes one can do anything if he just believes he can. The faith is not in one's self to have faith enough; the faith is in God to do what He has purposed or led us to do. We must be led by the Holy Spirit to move a mountain if God says it must be moved.
I have come to love a certain scripture that has long been difficult for me to completely understand. Today it all clicked and it is very relevant here. I have long loved Romans 8:28, but it was the verses before it that were hard to understand. Romans 8:26-28 follows:
"Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
We don't always know the proper way to pray. We often pray for tangible things, but the Holy Spirit helps us and makes intercession for what is really needed according to the will of God. We pray to help ourselves or some loved one out of trouble when the Holy Spirit knows that God's will is that person be saved, and He knows what it takes to get him there. God searches the heart and He knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit is making intercession for us according to God's will. They are on the same plane, if you will. And God works all things together for good to those who love God and have the Holy Spirit directing them along the path of His purpose. God doesn't necessarily work everything out for what we consider to be good at the time, but for the ultimate good according to His always perfect purpose.
(21) "However, this kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting."
It seems Jesus was saying that some demons were harder to cast out than others. Was it because this one also caused epilepsy, a serious neurological disorder in the brain? Whatever the case, Jesus said that sometimes it took diligent earnest prayer and fasting to cast out certain demons. I believe the idea is that we must stay anchored to God for our strength. While Jesus was on the mountain with the three disciples, He had been in prayer long enough that the three disciples had fallen into deep sleep. Jesus often took time to be alone and pray and fast for hours. Being in complete undistracted communion with God gives us strength and the faith to move mountains. While Jesus and the three were on the mountain, the other nine disciples had perhaps been feasting and indulging themselves with the people, and therefore not with the proper sobriety of mind to perform such an extraordinary miracle. Although Jesus had given the disciples the power needed to perform miracles, and He has given us the Holy Spirit which gives us power, He shows us our need to stay anchored and in constant communion with God.
(22) And while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, (23) And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again." And they were exceedingly sorry.
While Jesus and the disciples were in Galilee, passing through, according to Mark's account, He once again foretold His death and resurrection. Luke went into a little more detail quoting Jesus as saying He would be delivered into the hands of sinful men and crucified. Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that Jesus was intimating that He would be betrayed by the Jews into the hands of the Gentiles, which to the Jews was the most vile crime, as their law stated:
"It is forbidden to betray an Israelite into the hands of the Gentiles, whether in his body or in his substance; and though he may be a wicked man, and a ringleader in sin, and though he may have oppressed and afflicted him; and everyone that betrays an Israelite into the hands of the Gentiles, whether in his body, or in his substance, has no part in the world to come.''
Jesus went on to tell His disciples that He would be raised again on the third day after His death. They were exceedingly sorrowful to hear of His coming death.
(24) And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received tribute money came to Peter and said, "Does your Master not pay tribute?"
When Jesus and His disciples had come to Capernaum, those who collected voluntary tribute money, also called a temple tax because it was collected for the service of the temple, came to Peter and asked if his Master, Jesus, paid tribute money for the temple.
(25) He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus spoke before him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? From their own children or from strangers?"
Peter answered that Jesus did pay temple tax. When he went into the house where Jesus already was, Jesus spoke before Peter had the chance to tell Him about the temple tax being collected. Jesus asked Peter whether he thought the kings of the earth collected taxes or tribute from their own natural children of from strangers, meaning those other than his own immediate family.
(26) Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the children are free."
Peter answered that they would collect from strangers, not those of the kings' own families. Jesus answered with the natural conclusion that the children would be free. Of course, the sense of what He was saying was that since He was the Son of God, He should not be asked to pay tribute.
(27) "Nevertheless, lest we should offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the fish that comes up first; and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money. Take that and give to them for Me and you."
Even though Jesus could have maintained His right of exemption from payment, He chose to forego it rather than offend anyone. I love this law of love demonstrated by Jesus. Had Jesus been legalistic adhering strictly to law, He could have rightfully denied paying tribute, but rather than offend others, He agreed to pay it. In 1 Corinthians 8:13, Paul would also say that if eating meat would offend his brother, then he would not do it, even if lawful to do so. Acting in love is more important than strict adherence to the law. This is perfectly aligned with Jesus's teaching of the true spirit of the law, rather than man's strict legalistic adherence to laws of man which have no regard for God's law of love for one another. Jesus instructed Peter to go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish that came up, and in its mouth he would find money to pay tribute for Jesus and for him, also. It was a loving courtesy to Peter that Jesus also paid for him. Jesus was not bound by any obligation to pay tribute for Peter, but once again Jesus teaches us that it is good to be loving and kind when in our power to do so. What is having all the money in the world really good for other than enabling one to do more good in the world? Imagine the good that could be done if we all lived by this example?
