1734 | Matthew 17:5
5 While he was still speak ing, a bright cloud cov ered them, and a voice from the cloud said,“ This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. e Lis ten to him!” f
6 When the dis ci ples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, ter ri fied. 7 But Jesus came and touched them.“ Get up,” he said.“ Don’ t be afraid.” g 8 When they looked up, they saw no one ex cept Jesus.
9 As they were com ing down the moun tain, Jesus in structed them,“ Don’ t tell any one h what you have seen, un til the Son of Man i has been raised from the dead.” j
10 The dis ci ples asked him,“ Why then do the teach ers of the law say that Eli jah must come first?”
11 Jesus re plied,“ To be sure, Eli jah comes and will re store all things. k 12 But I tell you, Elijah has al ready come, l and they did not rec og nize him, but have done to him ev ery thing they wished. m
In the same way the Son of Man is go ing to suf fer n at their hands.” 13 Then the dis ci ples un der stood that he was talk ing to them about John the Bap tist.
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
17:14-19pp— Mk 9:14-28; Lk 9:37-42
14 When they came to the crowd, a man ap proached Jesus and knelt be fore him. 15“ Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said.“ He has sei zures o and is suf fer ing greatly. He of ten falls into the fire or into the wa ter. 16 I brought him to your dis ci ples, but they could not heal him.”
17“ You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied,“ how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus re buked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that mo ment. 19 Then the dis ci ples came to Jesus in pri vate and asked,“ Why couldn’ t we drive it out?” 20 He re plied,“ Be cause you have so lit tle faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith p as small as a mus tard seed, q you can say to this moun tain,‘ Move from here to there,’ and it will move. r Nothing will be impossible for you.” [ 21 ] a
17:5 e Mt 3:17; 2Pe 1:17 f Ac 3:22, 23
17:7 g Mt 14:27
17:9 h Mk 8:30 i Mt 8:20 j Mt 16:21
17:11 k Mal 4:6; Lk 1:16, 17
17:12 l Mt 11:14 m Mt 14:3, 10 n Mt 16:21
17:15 o Mt 4:24
17:20 p Mt 21:21 q Mt 13:31; Mk 11:23;
Lk 17:6 r 1Co 13:2 17:22 s Mt 8:20
17:23 t Ac 2:23; 3:13 u Mt 16:21 v Mt 16:21
17:24 w Ex 30:13
17:25 x Mt 22:17-21; Ro 13:7
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
22 When they came to gether in Gal i lee, he said to them,“ The Son of Man s is go ing to be de liv ered in to the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, t and on the third day u he will be raised to life.” v And the disciples were filled with grief.
The Temple Tax
24 Af ter Jesus and his dis ci ples ar rived in Ca per naum, the col lec tors of the two-drachma temple tax w came to Pe ter and asked,“ Doesn’ t your teacher pay the tem ple tax?” 25“ Yes, he does,” he re plied. When Pe ter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.“ What do you think, Simon?” he asked.“ From whom do the kings of the earth col lect duty and taxes x— from their own chil dren or from oth ers?” 26“ From others,” Peter answered.“ Then the chil dren are ex empt,” Jesus said to him. 27“ But so that we may not cause
a 21 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 9:29.
17:5 voice from the cloud. It echoes the words from Ps 2:7 and Isa 42:1 as at Jesus’ baptism( see Matt 3:17 and note on 3:16 – 17). 17:6 – 8 The entire scene would leave most anyone terrified. Jesus, though, does not want to scare his followers but wants to encourage them so that they can face the challenges ahead. At the same time, this experience is not to be prolonged, so Moses and Elijah disappear as suddenly as they appeared. 17:9 Don’ t tell anyone. Here is the final injunction to keep quiet about Jesus’ Messiahship. Jesus also clarifies that the restriction is lifted after the resurrection. Then it will be much clearer what type of ministry Christ came to fulfill. 17:10 – 13 Having seen Elijah reminds the disciples of Mal 4:5 – 6. If Jesus is the Messiah, what about the prophecies that Elijah will be his forerunner? John the Baptist has already played that role in his ministry and martyrdom( see 3:4 and note; 14:3 – 12), foreshadowing Jesus’ own mission. 17:14 – 21 The inability of the nine remaining disciples to deal with a demon-possessed boy— one of the maladies they were commissioned to handle( 10:8)— contrasts sharply with the mountaintop experience of the three who accompanied Jesus. But Jesus salvages the situation. 17:15 has seizures. Perhaps caused by epilepsy. 17:17 Interestingly, Jesus rebukes the crowd for their“ unbelieving and perverse” nature, not the disciples for their failure. Perhaps the general spiritual malaise of this“ generation” was also a cause of the number of demonized people afflicted at this time. 17:18 Not all seizures were the result of demon possession, but these were. 17:20 With only a very little faith, the disciples could have exorcised this demon. No spiritually elite status is necessary. mustard seed.
See note on 13:31 – 33. To“ move a mountain” was proverbial for a great accomplishment( cf. 1 Cor 13:2). 17:22 – 23 Jesus predicts his death a second time. The disciples have moved from denial to grief. See notes on 16:21 – 28; 20:17 – 19. 17:24 – 27 The temple tax will no longer be incumbent on Jesus’ followers because he is inaugurating a new age in which the law is fulfilled( 5:17) and something greater than the temple is here( 12:6). 17:24 two-drachma temple tax. A half-shekel temple tax was levied on all Israelites 20 years of age or older( Exod 30:13 – 16; see photo, p. 2024). A drachma, like a denarius, was one day’ s minimum wage. 17:25 – 26 Just as kings do not tax their own children, but only their subjects, Jesus’ followers should not have to pay a religious tax to their heavenly King and Father. 17:27 Jesus gives Peter a creative way to obey the law and not cause unnecessary“ offense”