The Church of the Servant King. Thursday Night Bible Study. The Gospel of Matthew. (Thurs_Matthew 17)

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1 The Church f the Servant King Thursday Night Bible Study The Gspel f Matthew (Thurs_Matthew 17) THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS (17:1-13) 1 Six days later Jesus tk with Him Peter and James and Jhn his brther, and led them up n a high muntain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured befre them; and His face shne like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behld, Mses and Elijah appeared t them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said t Jesus, "Lrd, it is gd fr us t be here; if Yu wish, I will make three tabernacles here, ne fr Yu, and ne fr Mses, and ne fr Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, a bright clud vershadwed them, and behld, a vice ut f the clud said, "This is My belved Sn, with whm I am wellpleased; listen t Him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face dwn t the grund and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came t them and tuched them and said, "Get up, and d nt be afraid." 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw n ne except Jesus Himself alne. 9 As they were cming dwn frm the muntain, Jesus cmmanded them, saying, "Tell the visin t n ne until the Sn f Man has risen frm the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then d the scribes say that Elijah must cme first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is cming and will restre all things; 12 but I say t yu that Elijah already came, and they did nt recgnize him, but did t him whatever they wished. S als the Sn f Man is ging t suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understd that He had spken t them abut Jhn the Baptist. The chapter break in ur Bibles is unfrtunate fr it causes sme t make a mental discnnect between Jesus statement in 16:28 ( Truly I say t yu, there are sme f thse wh are standing here wh will nt taste death until they see the Sn f Man cming in His kingdm ) and the transfiguratin recrded in chapter 17. Chapter 17 cntinues six days after Jesus statement in 16:28. 1 The high muntain was prbably ne f the spurs f Munt Hermn (9,400 feet) perhaps Munt Mirn (3,926 feet) which lies between Caesarea Philippi and Capernaum (17:24). At any rate, it evidently tk Jesus and His disciples abut six days t travel frm Caesarea Philippi t this muntain. Only Peter, James, and Jhn went with Jesus t the high muntain. On this muntain, Jesus was transfigured. The Greek wrd fr transfigured is frm the verb metamrfw and means metamrphsis r t change in frm. These disciples were witnesses t a manifestatin f Jesus preincarnate glry (Jn 1:14; 17:5; Phil 2:6-7) and His pst-resurrectin exaltatin (2 Pet 1:16-18). And the Wrd became flesh, and dwelt amng us, and we saw His glry, glry as f the nly begtten frm the Father, full f grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) Nw, Father, glrify Me tgether with Yurself, with the glry which I had with Yu befre the wrld was. (Jn 17:5) 1 Luke recrds that there were eight days that passed (Lu 9:28). This is likely due t Luke having included the beginning and ending days as well as the six days in between. The Church f the Servant King Page 1 f 7

2 Wh, althugh He existed in the frm f Gd, did nt regard equality with Gd a thing t be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the frm f a bnd-servant, and being made in the likeness f men. (Phil 2:6-7) 16 Fr we did nt fllw cleverly devised tales when we made knwn t yu the pwer and cming f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses f His majesty. 17 Fr when He received hnr and glry frm Gd the Father, such an utterance as this was made t Him by the Majestic Glry, "This is My belved Sn with whm I am well-pleased" 18 and we urselves heard this utterance made frm heaven when we were with Him n the hly muntain. (2 Pet 1:16-18) Mses and Elijah appeared als and they were speaking with Jesus. There are a number f bservatins and explanatins assciated with Mses and Elijah appearing with Jesus at the transfiguratin that have been prffered by thelgians and cmmentatrs. Fr instance: N ne witnessed the death f Mses. And Elijah was immediately translated frm earth t heaven (Deut 1:37-38; 3:23-28; 34:1-8; 2 Ki 2:11-14). Bth Mses and Elijah had eschatlgical prphecies cnnected with their ministries. Mses was a type f the Prphet t cme, i.e. Jesus (Deut 18:15-18). 15 "The LORD yur Gd will raise up fr yu a prphet like me frm amng yu, frm yur cuntrymen, yu shall listen t him. 16"This is accrding t all that yu asked f the LORD yur Gd in Hreb n the day f the assembly, saying, 'Let me nt hear again the vice f the LORD my Gd, let me nt see this great fire anymre, r I will die.' 17 "The LORD said t me, 'They have spken well. 18 'I will raise up a prphet frm amng their cuntrymen like yu, and I will put My wrds in his muth, and he shall speak t them all that I cmmand him. (Deut 18:15-18) Elijah was prphesied t be a frerunner f the Messiah (Mal 4:5-6). 5 "Behld, I am ging t send yu Elijah the prphet befre the cming f the great and terrible day f the LORD. 6 "He will restre the hearts f the fathers t their children and the hearts f the children t their fathers, s that I will nt cme and smite the land with a curse." (Mal 4:5-6) Jhn the Baptist served in an Elijah-like rle as a predecessr t Jesus in assciatin with His 1 st Advent (Matt 11:14). 13 "Fr all the prphets and the Law prphesied until Jhn. 14 "And if yu are willing t accept it, Jhn himself is Elijah wh was t cme. 15 "He wh has ears t hear, let him hear. (Matt 11:13-15) An Elijah-type figure in the Tribulatin will precede Jesus 2 nd Advent and will fulfill Malachi s prphecy. (Mal 4:5-6) Bth experienced a visin f Gd s glry. Mses at Sinai (Exd 19:18-20; 31:18). 18 Nw Munt Sinai was all in smke because the LORD descended upn it in fire; and its smke ascended like the smke f a furnace, and the whle muntain quaked vilently. 19 When the sund f the trumpet grew luder and luder, Mses spke and Gd answered him with thunder. 20 The LORD came dwn n Munt Sinai, t the tp f the The Church f the Servant King Page 2 f 7

3 muntain; and the LORD called Mses t the tp f the muntain, and Mses went up. (Exd 19:18-20) 18 When He had finished speaking with him upn Munt Sinai, He gave Mses the tw tablets f the testimny, tablets f stne, written by the finger f Gd. (Exd 31:18) Elijah at Hreb (1 Ki 19:8-18). 8 S he arse and ate and drank, and went in the strength f that fd frty days and frty nights t Hreb, the muntain f Gd. 9 Then he came there t a cave and ldged there; and behld, the wrd f the LORD came t him, and He said t him, "What are yu ding here, Elijah?" 10 He said, "I have been very zealus fr the LORD, the Gd f hsts; fr the sns f Israel have frsaken Yur cvenant, trn dwn Yur altars and killed Yur prphets with the swrd And I alne am left; and they seek my life, t take it away." 11 S He said, "G frth and stand n the muntain befre the LORD " And behld, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strng wind was rending the muntains and breaking in pieces the rcks befre the LORD; but the LORD was nt in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was nt in the earthquake.12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was nt in the fire; and after the fire a sund f a gentle blwing. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went ut and std in the entrance f the cave And behld, a vice came t him and said, "What are yu ding here, Elijah?" 14 Then he said, "I have been very zealus fr the LORD, the Gd f hsts; fr the sns f Israel have frsaken Yur cvenant, trn dwn Yur altars and killed Yur prphets with the swrd. And I alne am left; and they seek my life, t take it away." 15 The LORD said t him, "G, return n yur way t the wilderness f Damascus, and when yu have arrived, yu shall anint Hazael king ver Aram; 16 and Jehu the sn f Nimshi yu shall anint king ver Israel; and Elisha the sn f Shaphat f Abel-mehlah yu shall anint as prphet in yur place. 17 "It shall cme abut, the ne wh escapes frm the swrd f Hazael, Jehu shall put t death, and the ne wh escapes frm the swrd f Jehu, Elisha shall put t death. 18 "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have nt bwed t Baal and every muth that has nt kissed him." (1 Ki 19:8-18) Mses represented the Law and Elijah represented the Prphets, therefre tgether n the Munt f Transfiguratin, they symblized the Law and the Prphets which Jesus fulfilled (Matt 5:17 D nt think that I came t ablish the Law r the Prphets; I did nt cme t ablish but t fulfill ). Finally, tw witnesses f the Messiah will prphesy during the Tribulatin fr a three and ne-half year perid. These tw witnesses have lng been identified as resuscitated Mses and Elijah due t the linkage between the miracles that they perfrm and thse perfrmed by Mses and Elijah f antiquity (Re 11:3-14) They can prevent rain (Rev 11:6) like Elijah whse prayer caused it nt t rain fr three and ne-half years (1 Ki 17:1, 7 cf. Lu 4:25; James 5:17). They can turn water int bld (Rev 11:6) like Mses did with the plagues upn Egypt (Exd 7:17-21). In verse 4, Peter expresses a desire t build three tabernacles ne fr Jesus, ne fr Mses, and ne fr Elijah. Peter s suggestin is nt as ridiculus as sme have suggested. The idea f a tabernacle was assciated with the Jewish Feast f Tabernacles when Jews built shelters fr themselves and lived in them fr seven days (Lev 23:42-43). The Feast f The Church f the Servant King Page 3 f 7

4 Tabernacles (Bths) was designed t be prphetic f Israel s Sabbath rest whereby the kingdm f heaven is tabernacled (dwelling) amng men n earth. What Peter desired, the dwelling f heavenly and earthly peple n earth, was nt pssible at that time, but will be pssible during the Messianic kingdm prtrayed by Christ in the transfiguratin. The bright clud f verse 5 is assciated with the departure f the Jews frm Egypt via Mses (Ex 13:21-22; 16:10; 19:16; 24:25-28; 40:34-38) and with the shekinah glry f Gd in the Hly f Hlies (e.g. the glry f the Lrd departing frm the Temple in Ezek 10:3-5, 18-19; 11:22-23). 3Nw the cherubim were standing n the right side f the temple when the man entered, and the clud filled the inner curt. 4Then the glry f the LORD went up frm the cherub t the threshld f the temple, and the temple was filled with the clud and the curt was filled with the brightness f the glry f the LORD. 5Mrever, the sund f the wings f the cherubim was heard as far as the uter curt, like the vice f Gd Almighty when He speaks. (Ezek 10:3-5) 18 Then the glry f the LORD departed frm the threshld f the temple and std ver the cherubim. 19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rse up frm the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they std still at the entrance f the east gate f the LORD'S huse, and the glry f the Gd f Israel hvered ver them. (Ezek 10:18-19) 22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glry f the Gd f Israel hvered ver them. 23 The glry f the LORD went up frm the midst f the city and std ver the muntain which is east f the city. (Ezek 11:22-23) The vice frm heaven had a significant effect upn Peter. He referred t it in his epistle years later (2 Pe 1:17-18). Als, these are the identical wrds that were spken at Jesus baptism by Jhn the Baptist in Matthew Fr when He received hnr and glry frm Gd the Father, such an utterance as this was made t Him by the Majestic Glry, "This is My belved Sn with whm I am well-pleased" 18 and we urselves heard this utterance made frm heaven when we were with Him n the hly muntain. (2 Pet 1:17-18) In verse 9, Jesus knew that the crwds wanted a type f Messiah different frm that prtrayed in Jesus public ministry. Jesus knew that the event wuld nly stir up superficial and fleshly empwered attempts t enthrne Jesus. Furthermre, if Jesus clsest disciples fund it hard t understand a suffering and dying Messiah, the crwds wuld have even mre difficulty. After all, the message f Jhn the Baptist had already been rejected (17:11-12). 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is cming and will restre all things; 12 but I say t yu that Elijah already came, and they did nt recgnize him, but did t him whatever they wished. S als the Sn f Man is ging t suffer at their hands." (Matt 17:11-12) A BOY IS HEALED (17:14-21) 14 When they came t the crwd, a man came up t Jesus, falling n his knees befre Him and saying, 15 "Lrd, have mercy n my sn, fr he is a lunatic and is very ill; fr he ften falls int the fire and ften int the water. 16 "I brught him t The Church f the Servant King Page 4 f 7

5 Yur disciples, and they culd nt cure him." 17And Jesus answered and said, "Yu unbelieving and perverted generatin, hw lng shall I be with yu? Hw lng shall I put up with yu? Bring him here t Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demn came ut f him, and the by was cured at nce. 19 Then the disciples came t Jesus privately and said, "Why culd we nt drive it ut?" 20 And He said t them, "Because f the littleness f yur faith; fr truly I say t yu, if yu have faith the size f a mustard seed, yu will say t this muntain, 'Mve frm here t there,' and it will mve; and nthing will be impssible t yu. 21 ["But this kind des nt g ut except by prayer and fasting."] Mark s parallel accunt in 9:14-29 prvides mre detail. When Jesus, Peter, James and Jhn returned frm the Munt f Transfiguratin, a crwd had evidently gathered arund the ther nine apstles. A man with a demn pssessed sn had sught healing help frm the nine. They had nt been able t cast ut the demn. Nte the fllwing pints f bservatin: The Greek wrd fr knelt is used nly fur times in the NT (Matt 17:14; 27:29; Mk 1:40; 10:17) and has n vertnes f wrship. It simply suggests humility and entreaty. It is presumed that the disciples wh were unable t heal him were the nine wh were left behind when Jesus tk Peter, James and Jhn t the Munt f Transfiguratin. The disciple s failure t trust is a recurring theme thrughut this sectin (14:16-21, 26-27, 28-31; 15:16, 23, 33; 1 6:5, 22; 17:4, 10-11). 14:16-21 the feeding f the five thusand and the disciples failure t trust the Lrd t prvide (i.e. the five laves and the tw fishes) 14:26-27 Jesus walks n the water and the disciples fear a ghst 14:28-31 Peter tries t walk n the water 15:16 Jesus is frced t explain His statement that it isn t what ges int the muth, but what prceeds frm the muth that defiles a man t his disciples because f the disciples lack f understanding 15:23 the disciples urge Jesus t send the Canaanite wman away instead f dealing with the situatin as they had been cmmissined in Matthew 10 15:33 the disciples fail t recgnize Jesus as the surce f the prvisin f the needs f the fur thusand after the feeding f the five thusand had already ccurred 16:5 the disciples frget t adequately prepare with fd 16:22 Peter thinks he can prevent the Lrd s Own prphecy regarding his manner f death frm being fulfilled 17:4 Peter desires t cnstruct a tabernacle in rder t perpetuate the Transfiguratin event 17:10-11 Jesus must explain the cming f Elijah that will precede His Cming in respnse t the disciples failure t understand the OT prphets Jesus had clearly given the disciples (apstles t Israel) the pwer t heal and cast ut demns (10:1, 8) The failure f the disciples t exercise this authrity and perfrm kingdm miracles was related t their wn walk f faith. Jesus reinfrces this principle in verse 20. Jesus cmments were directed t His disciples (nt the Church Age believer) and must be understd in view f His cmmissining f them in Matthew 10 One f Matthew s themes: The cntrast between the glry f the Transfiguratin and Jesus disciples unbelief is part f the munting tensin that magnifies Jesus uniqueness as he mves clser t his passin and resurrectin. This theme f Matthew is emphasized by his missin f the statement made by the father f the demn pssessed by in Mark 9: In verse 17, the juxtapsitin f perverse with faithless r unbelieving implies that the failure t believe stems frm failure t recgnize the truth, nt frm a lack f evidence, but frm a willful neglect f the evidence. The Greek wrd fr generatin is genea (genea) and in this cntext it refers t the sum ttal f thse brn at the same time, expanded t include all thse The Church f the Servant King Page 5 f 7

6 living at a given time. [See Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicn f the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 154]. Therefre, this wrd refers t the Jews first as the recipients f the ffer f the kingdm and then t the Gentiles wh als had the pprtunity t accept Jesus as the Messiah f Israel (e.g. the Canaanite wman in 15:21-28 and the Rman centurin in 8:8-12). In verse 20, Jesus says that it is because f the disciples unbelief (actually ligpistia - little faith in terms f quality in cntrast t faith as a grain f mustard seed) that they were nt able t cast ut the demn. The disciples did have sme faith fr they had expected t be able t exrcise the demn, but they were unsuccessful. Hwever, they were treating the authrity that had been given t them like a gift f magic. In cntrast t their understanding, Jesus tells them that a life bathed in prayer (even fasting t give time fr mre prayer) was needed (see verse 21). Remval f muntains was prverbial fr vercming great difficulties (e.g. Is 40:4; 49:11; 54:10). In this cntext, Jesus is referring t the accmplishment f the wrks f the kingdm fr which they had been given authrity (Matt 10). There is a similarity between the pwer available t the Church Age believer (e.g. Phil 4:13) and that which was available t the apstles t Israel; hwever, the fcus f that pwer is different, i.e. witnessing t Gentile and Jew alike fr the frmer verses t the Jew first fr the latter. Jesus is in effect telling his disciples that what they need is nt giant faith, but a faith derived frm persnal trust. Questin fr persnal applicatin: In yur wn persnal ministry t thers, can yu say with Paul that yu can d all things thrugh Christ wh strengthens yu? Or d yu find yurself discuraged by adversity, distracted by self-centered thinking, and withut fcus in yur spiritual life? Gd has given each CA believer a spiritual gift and places the yielded believer in a ministry with that gift. Have yu learned t tap int the spiritual pwer that is available t yu as a Church Age believer? (See 1 Cr 1:4-9; 2 Cr 1:3-7; Eph 1:3-23; Phil 1:3-11; Cl 1:9-14; cf. 1 Cr 9:3-14; 2 Cr 10:4-5; 11:22-28; 1 Tim 1:18-20; and Phil 1:27-29 as examples f Paul s prayers fr CA believers and his persnal example f enduring in the midst f adversity because f a spiritual visin). Principle: Withut a spiritual visin fr ne s life that is built upn the truths pertinent t this dispensatin f the Church and the cncmitant appreciatin and mtivatin derived therefrm, the believer will remain a slave t his/her wn selfish interests and in a perpetual state f spiritual babyhd. This believer will be frever relegated t a system f thinking that fcuses nly upn his wn self-interest much like the undisciplined child wh never learns t set aside self in the interest f thers r a greater cause. This is the blindness that characterizes the wrld and is similar t the blindness frm which the disciples wh were apstles t Israel (Matt 10) had t escape. At this pint, these disciples had nt given prper attentin t their spiritual lives (i.e. neglect f the truth presented t them and prayer), therefre they had n pwer t push thrugh the spiritual adversity pertinent t their ministry t Israel, i.e. a demn pssessed by. Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrectin (17:22-23) 22 And while they were gathering tgether in Galilee, Jesus said t them, "The Sn f Man is ging t be delivered int the hands f men; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised n the third day." And they were deeply grieved. This is Jesus secnd actual predictin f His death and resurrectin (cf. 16:21-24) even thugh there have been earlier allusins t His death (9:15 bridegrm t be taken away; 10:38 thse wh d nt take up their crss are nt wrthy f me; 12:40 cmparisn t Jnah being three days and nights in the belly f the fish; 17:12 the Sn f Man is abut t suffer at the The Church f the Servant King Page 6 f 7

7 hands f the religius leaders). Jesus is abut t end His ministry in the area f Galilee and begin His jurney suth t Jerusalem. Bth f the parallel accunts in Mark and Luke state that the disciples d nt understand Jesus. Matthew alludes t this when he ntes the disciples grief. The disciples have begun t understand that He will die, but they still d nt understand the resurrectin. THE TEMPLE TAX (17:24-27) 24 When they came t Capernaum, thse wh cllected the tw-drachma tax came t Peter and said, "Des yur teacher nt pay the tw-drachma tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he came int the huse, Jesus spke t him first, saying, "What d yu think, Simn? Frm whm d the kings f the earth cllect custms r pll-tax, frm their sns r frm strangers?" 26 When Peter said, "Frm strangers," Jesus said t him, "Then the sns are exempt. 27 "Hwever, s that we d nt ffend them, g t the sea and thrw in a hk, and take the first fish that cmes up; and when yu pen its muth, yu will find a shekel. Take that and give it t them fr yu and Me." This tax was nt a civil tax levied by Rme, but a Jewish tax that was levied n every male Jew between the ages f twenty and fifty in supprt f the temple and its services. It was a tw drachma (half shekel) tax cllected annually (Ex 30:13-15; Neh 10:32) and is well attested by Jsephus and the Mishnah (the first sectin f the Talmud, a cllectin f the early ral interpretatins f scriptures cmpiled by 200 A.D.). Jesus acknwledges the temple tax t be an bligatin t Gd; but since He is Gd s Sn, He is exempt (v. 26). This passage has nthing t d with their bligatin t Caesar. Jesus was teaching Peter that in the same manner that kings d nt cllect taxes frm family members neither shuld Jesus as King nr the disciples as true sns f the Kingdm be required t pay the tax. They had a privileged psitin as true sns f the Kingdm; hwever the Lrd did nt desire t make an issue (ffend them, v. 27) ver such a pint regarding the Law and its fulfillment. used. This is the nly place in the NT where a fish is caught with a hk. Nrmally, nets were The Church f the Servant King Page 7 f 7