Matthew 17
- Who wrote it
- Traditionally Matthew
- Who it was for
- Jewish followers of Jesus
- What was happening
- On a mountain, then back among the crowds and in Capernaum
What’s happening
Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, where he is transfigured: his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as light. Moses and Elijah appear, talking with him. Peter suggests making three tents, and while he is speaking a bright cloud covers them and a voice says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." The disciples fall on their faces, terrified, until Jesus touches them: "Get up, and don't be afraid." They see only Jesus. As they come down he tells them to tell no one until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. They ask why the scribes say Elijah must come first; Jesus says Elijah has already come and was mistreated, and they understand he means John the Baptist. At the foot of the mountain a man kneels and begs for mercy for his son, who has seizures and often falls into fire or water; the disciples couldn't heal him. Jesus calls the generation faithless and twisted, rebukes the demon, and the boy is healed. Asked privately why they failed, he says it was because of their little faith: with faith like a mustard seed they could say to the mountain, "Move," and it would move. In Galilee he again says he will be betrayed, killed, and raised, and they are greatly distressed. In Capernaum the collectors of the temple tax ask Peter whether his teacher pays it. Jesus tells Peter that kings' sons are free, but so as not to cause offense, he should go to the lake, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish he catches to find a coin worth enough for both of them.
Why the setting matters
The mountain isn't named. Tradition points to Tabor, but Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi where the last scene took place, is often proposed. Mountains in Israel's story were places where people met God, and Moses and Elijah both met him on Sinai (Horeb). A bright cloud recalls God's presence at Sinai and in the tabernacle. Moses and Elijah were also expected figures: Moses as the prophet to come (Deuteronomy 18:15, echoed in "Listen to him") and Elijah as the one sent before the Lord's day (Malachi 4:5-6). Tents may recall the festival of Tabernacles; that link is debated. The boy's condition is described with a word that literally means "moonstruck," often taken to mean epilepsy, though a modern diagnosis can't be certain. Uprooting or moving a mountain was a proverbial image for the impossible. The half-shekel temple tax was an annual levy on adult Jewish men for the temple's upkeep (Exodus 30:13-16). The coin in the fish's mouth, a stater, was worth four drachmas, roughly four days' wages, enough for two people.
Who’s in this chapter
Simon Peter
Offers to build tents, then is asked to pay the temple tax.
James
One of the three taken up the mountain.
John
One of the three taken up the mountain.
Moses
Appears with Jesus, the lawgiver who met God on Sinai.
Elijah
Appears with Jesus, the prophet who met God at Horeb and was expected to return.
A boy with seizures and his father
A father begs mercy for his son after the disciples couldn't help.
The temple-tax collectors
Collectors in Capernaum who ask whether Jesus pays the half-shekel.
Talk it through
- Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. What might their presence say about how he fits into Israel's story?
- The voice repeats what was said at the baptism and adds "Listen to him." Why might that be added here, right after Jesus spoke of his death?
- The disciples couldn't heal the boy, and Jesus points to "little faith." What do you make of the mustard-seed answer?
- Jesus says the sons are free but pays the temple tax anyway. What does that say about rights and generosity?
Read Matthew 17
World English Bible
1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. 2He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. 3Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.
4Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. 7Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” 8Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. 9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
10His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things, 12but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” 13Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.
14When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
17Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18Jesus rebuked him, the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
20He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”
22While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, 23and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.”
They were exceedingly sorry.
24When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” 25He said, “Yes.”
When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”
26Peter said to him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt. 27But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources