17
Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah
1 Now after six days Jesus takes Peter, James and his brother John and leads them up on a high mountain, in private. 2 And He was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun, while His clothes became as white as the light. 3 When wow, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. 4 Then Peter reacted and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us* make three booths: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”† 5 While he was still speaking a brilliant cloud overshadowed them, and then, a Voice‡ came out of the cloud saying: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am always well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 As the disciples heard it they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 Then Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, don't be afraid.” 8 So lifting up their eyes they saw no one but Jesus only.
Elijah and ‘Elijah’
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of the Man is risen from the dead.” 10 So His disciples questioned Him saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 In answer Jesus said to them: “Elijah is indeed coming first, and he will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that ‘Elijah’ has come already, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. Thus also the Son of the Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptizer.§
A tough kind of demon
14 As they came to the crowd a man approached Him and kneeling to Him said: 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he is moonstruck and suffers badly! For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then in answer Jesus said: “O faithless and perverse generation,* how long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why were we not able to cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them: “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed has, you (ye) will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.† 21 However, this class does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”‡
22 While they were staying§ in Galilee Jesus said to them, “The Son of the Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised.” And they were seriously grieved.
Money from a fish
24 When they entered Capernaum those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25 He says, “Yes.” So when they entered the house Jesus anticipated him saying: “Simon, what do you think? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 Peter says to Him, “From the strangers.” Jesus said to him: “Well then, the sons are free. 27 But, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And opening its mouth you will find a ‘stater’ [a coin]; take that and give it to them for me and you.”*
* 17:4 Instead of “let us”, perhaps 0.5% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, have “I will” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). † 17:4 So how did Peter know who they were? Photography had not yet been invented. Luke 9:37 makes clear that they spent the night on the mountain. Evidently what has been recorded here (and in Mark and Luke) gives but a thumbnail sketch of all that took place. ‡ 17:5 Peter never forgot that Voice (2 Peter 1:17)! He even coined the phrase, Magnificent Glory, to describe the source. Evidently what happened on that mountain was totally overwhelming. § 17:13 At this point John is already dead, but in verse 11 the Lord declares that Elijah is still going to come—John performed the function for Christ's first advent that Elijah (literally) will perform for the second advent. * 17:17 Why “perverse”? To reject the truth and the evidence is to be perverse. This word was presumably directed to the disciples, who should have known better by now. So how about us—are we living on the basis of the truth and the evidence? Really? † 17:20 What kind of ‘faith’ might a mustard seed have? Albeit so small, it reacts without question to the climactic circumstances, and grows to remarkable proportions. If we reacted similarly, without question, to the Holy Spirit's promptings, our spiritual ‘climactic circumstances’, we should indeed move mountains, literally. Or to put it another way, a seed has the faith to die, like the Lord said in John 12:24: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone”. In 1 Corinthians 15:31 Paul said that he died daily. How so? Obviously he did not die physically; he died to himself, his own ideas and ambitions, so as to embrace God's will. Dying to self is a prerequisite for moving mountains. ‡ 17:21 Less than 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit this whole verse (as in NIV, [NASB], LB, [TEV], etc.). I take it that this was true up until the Lord's victory on the cross and the resurrection. Now we are in Christ at the Father's right hand, far above all principality and power, etc., which includes Satan and all classes below him in rank—Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:6. (There is nothing wrong with Christ's victory and authority, but our spiritual condition does not always permit us to make full use of that victory.) § 17:22 Instead of “staying”, perhaps 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, have ‘gathering together’ (as in NIV, NASB, TEV, etc.). * 17:27 The stater was the exact amount for two people. Presumably somebody had lost the coin in the water.