Matthew 17

1-8 Jesus takes Peter, James and John and bringeth them into a high mountain and that must have been a journey to get there. When they arrive at the spot in the mountain, the bible says that Jesus was praying and seeking strength to be able to endure the trial before Him. This is where He was praying with strong cry's and tears (Hebrews 5:7) and praying for His disciples that their faith fail not. As Jesus is praying, He is asking that a manifestation of His glory that He had with the Father will be revealed to human eyes. Christ was praying for this, so that His disciples will be strengthened and comforted that when the hour of darkness would come, they would remember that He was indeed the Son of God. Heaven heard the prayer and the bible says Jesus was transfigured. What does this mean? in Luke 9:29, it says the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. So Jesus was changed into glory and His Divinity was flashing through humanity and there was Moses and Elias or Elijah talking with Jesus. 

Why these two? Moses represents those who will die and be resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ. Elijah who was translated without seeing death, represent those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s Second Coming and will be changed at the twinkling of a eye and meet the Lord in the air. They will be translated as Elijah was translated, without seeing death.

They came to speak with Jesus to encourage Him and comfort Him Luke 9:30-31. They also had their experience of trial and conflict and sorrow and now they are giving assurance to Jesus to endure the suffering. If Jesus does not go through it, Moses, Elijah and Enoch will have to return to earth because they are their base on the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The disciples thought that Moses and Elijah came to announce Jesus as king on earth and to setup a kingdom. Which is why Peter said "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." Then a bright cloud came over them and a voice saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" the voice of the Father was heard and the disciples fell on their face and were afraid until Jesus came and touch them and said "Arise, and be not afraid" Moses and Elijah had left and Jesus was not anymore transfigured. 

9-13 As they are coming down the mountain, Jesus tells them not to share what they saw until after his resurrection. The disciples asked Jesus a question regarding Elias by saying "Why then say the scribes that Elias must come first?" (John 1:19-22) Jesus said that Elias must come first and restore all things. Restore meaning John the Baptist would make ready a people prepared for the Lord Luke 1:17, to accept Jesus as the Messiah Matthew 11:10, 13-14. Jesus told John the baptist at his baptism to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus came to restore all things. When John was preaching repentance and remission of sins, the people can asking "What shall we do then?" Luke 3:3, 10 and John was sharing not to be selfish 11-14. John also shared the truth with Herod regarding his brother’s wife and reproved him verse 19. Trying to restore the home.

  Elijah restored the widow’s dead son back to her 1 Kings 17:22-24 and also told King Ahab that he has forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed Baal and showed Israel on Mount Carmel that if the Lord be God then follow Him, but if it is Baal then follow him. Fire came down from God out of heaven to show and prove that the Lord is God 1 Kings 18:38 and for what purpose, it says in verse 37, "that thou hast turned their heart back again." 

Jesus said when John the Baptist came they knew him not and they killed him, likewise I (Jesus) shall also the Son of Man suffer as well. Then the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist. 

14-23 In the morning, there was a multitude looking for Jesus and there was a situation while the other disciples that were not with Jesus was trying to heal a boy possessed with a devil, but they could not heal him. The father of the boy runs to Jesus and kneels before him and ask for mercy regarding his boy. For he told them that the disciples could not cast the demon out of the boy. Jesus called them a faithless and perverse generation including his disciples and he said this with a heart of sorrow. The father of the boy was desperate and said to Jesus "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us" The father of the boy was losing hope and Jesus said unto him "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."  Jesus is compassionate and a loving God, He cares for each person and their situation. He asked that they bring the boy to him and the boy started to foam and fell on the ground and the demon was not trying to let him go and Jesus let the demon do it’s work to demonstrate a might deliverance that is about to be brought. Jesus rebuked the devil and the demon departed out of him and the child was cured. Jesus wants us to bring our sins and all our sorrows and cast it at his feet and like the father cry unto the Lord saying "Lord, help mine unbelief" and He will never forsake you.

After a while the disciples who could not heal the boy asked Jesus why could they not heal him? Jesus said, because of your unbelief. But they were also other things as well.  When Christ told the disciples that He must be put to death they were not please with this saying. Also, the nine disciples were harboring jealousy because Jesus took the three disciples with him into the mountain. They were focusing on grievances and who is the greatest Luke 9:46 and this lead them into a state of mind where darkness comes in. They didn’t recognize that they were in this state or spirit and will have no faith. When entering into conflict the spirit of God must be present, the Holy Spirit must be in the person and self is out of the way. If the disciples would have recognize what spirit they were in, they should have prayed and fasted, seeking earnest supplication to God for strength and faith, which lead to total dependence upon God. This is why Jesus told them that this comes only by praying and fasting. 

"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."

Then Jesus tells them again "The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again, and they were exceeding sorry"

There is a certain way of thinking that can keep us from understanding the truth. Society influences us into a certain way to think. The disciples thought just like what everyone else was thinking. That the Messiah would come and be king, to be removed from the yoke that was over them from the Romans. This is why Jesus told them plainly that He was going to suffer and be killed. He even shared with them regarding the John the Baptist Matthew 17:12. We need to take heed the words of the Lord and believe them so He can prepare us to endure the trial. He told us it will come beforehand and He can tell us how to prepare when it comes.

24-27 When they came into the town of Capernaum, a collector for the temple approach Peter and said, "Doth not your master pay tribute?" and Peter immediately said yes without first speaking about it with Jesus. By Peter’s response, saying yes, Peter thought the collector was insinuating that Jesus was not a faithful contributor to the temple. Jesus is the one that created and instituted it, but Peter was zealous in for Jesus honor. The collector also had other motives as well, the temple was looked upon as highly valued and not paying tribute to it was a sin. Every Jew was to pay this every year to support the temple. The religious leaders looked at Jesus as a threat to overthrow the temple. The bible says that the Levi’s was set apart for the service of the sanctuary and that the Lord is their inheritance Deuteronomy 18:1, 2. The Lord has always had priest and prophets together. This is the law and the prophets. Deut 18:1, 15; Acts 3:22; Ezekiel 7:26; Zephaniah 3:4; Lamentations 2:20. So, both Levites and prophets were exempt from paying a tribute to the temple.  We see clearly that the priest were not getting along or agreeing with Jesus because the priest failed to recognize Jesus as the sacrifice. Jesus said in Matthew 13:57-58,

….But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Here we see that Jesus was a prophet and it is also mentioned in Acts 3:22. So the collector was trying to put Jesus in a predicament. If Jesus was to pay the tribute, the priest would reject Him as a prophet and they would think Jesus denied his divinity. If Jesus didn’t pay the tribute, they would have looked on Him as a heinous sinner and disloyalty to the temple. When Peter and Jesus had come into a house Jesus ask Peter a question "What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children or of strangers?"

We see Jesus doesn’t even address Peter about what he said to the collector, but in a form of a question. Peter answered and said strangers are the ones that pay tribute. Jesus answered, then the children are free. The point Jesus is making, while Israel were required to support the temple services, Jesus, who is the Son of God does not, because the temple belongs to his Father. If priest and Levites are exempt, how much more should Jesus be exempt, who the whole temple service represents. Peter also acknowledged earlier that Jesus is the Son of God 16:16. The rulers and scribes also thought Jesus was trying to overthrow the temple and they sought opportunity to make Jesus look like He was against the temple. The bible says in Hebrews 3:3-4,

For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who have builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

Jesus is more honorable than the temple, even the one that Moses built in the wilderness. Jesus saw it good to pay the tribute to show that He is the Son of God and deny the claim that He is trying to over throw the temple. In verse 27, He says that He doesn’t want to offend them and ask Peter to go to the sea and cast a hook and take up the fish that first comes up and open it’s mouth and Peter will find money to pay the tribute both for Peter and Him. In this miracle, Jesus demonstrated His divinity. Jesus did not enter into controversy with the Jews over paying the tribute.

While Jesus made it plain that He was under no obligation to pay the tribute, He entered into no controversy with the Jews in regard to the matter; for they would have misinterpreted His words, and turned them against Him. Lest He should give offense by withholding the tribute, He did that which He could not justly be required to do. This lesson would be of great value to His disciples. Marked changes were soon to take place in their relation to the temple service, and Christ taught them not to place themselves needlessly in antagonism to established order. So far as possible, they were to avoid giving occasion for misinterpretation of their faith. While Christians are not to sacrifice one principle of truth, they should avoid controversy whenever it is possible to do so. DA 434.4