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Matthew Chapter 17

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¹ And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

² And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

³ And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

⁴ Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, 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.

⁵ While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

⁷ And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

⁸ And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

⁹ And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

¹⁰ And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

¹¹ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

¹² But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

¹³ Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

¹⁴ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

¹⁵ Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

¹⁶ And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

²⁰ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, 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.

²¹ Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

²² And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

²³ And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

²⁴ And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

²⁵ He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

²⁶ Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

²⁷ Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

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View All Matthew Chapter 17 Comments...

Richard H Priday's Matthew Chapter 17 comment on 6/21/2024, 7:29pm...

In this chapter we see Jesus once again referring to His upcoming death burial and resurrection and the extreme sadness it caused the Disciples. We could see 3 reasons for this sudden interruption in the narrative and story for Jesus to say this:

1) The distraction of the events thus far of what was already most of Jesus' earthly ministry would make the Disciples complacent in thinking this would go on for many more years.

2) The main goal and focus was on His sacrifice for the sins of man to be accomplished on Calvary. Only at that point could men be able to enter heaven immediately upon death; whereas before they would have to be in Sheol (in the pleasant side).

3). In His departure; they would be the ones to continue to carry out the ministry through leadership after the Spirit came down at Pentecost and changed them. They would have to be stripped of all their confidence and all die a martyrs death exept for John. None of them would be ready when Jesus was arrested as they all ran away along with Peter. Only the Lord would get them through that.

In all honesty it is hard here just as it is contemplating what He said in Gethsemane as to the weakness of their flesh and their falling asleep due again to sorrow. God assures us that every tear is known (Psalm 56:8). No doubt in eternity there will be reward for suffering in faith; we have consolation in what the world can't have. We have to believe that even in our own martryrdom if it comes to that or natural death is to glorify Christ and there are rewards for martyrs (James 1:12). Paul also was given a reaction of great sorrow when he announced his imprisonment (Acts 21:10-14). It would appear his death came at a much later date but Paul always focused on ministry and looked forward to being with the Lord; no wonder after the brutality he had to endure on and off for years in various imprisonments beforehand. He knew when his departure was near (2 Tim. 4) and Peter as well (2 Peter 1:12

GiGi's Matthew Chapter 17 comment on 10/22/2022, 5:46pm...

Hello Jude,

In this chapter Jesus had sent his disciples out to preach the gospel of the kingdom and to cast out demons, heal people, and do other signs and wonders. When a youth was brought before Jesus with a demon who terrorized and injured the youth, Jesus cast the demon out with His authority, which the demons must obey.

But the disciples had already tried to cast out the demon from this person and it did not come out. When they asked why this was so, Jesus first replied that it is because of their unbelief but then goes on to say that this type of demon does not come out except through prayer and fasting.

So, perhaps Jesus was saying that one must have faith that the demons will obey the command (as Jesus did) and second, that if a demon does not remove themselves from a person, even when commanded in faith, then one may need to spend time in prayer and fasting to be strengthened spiritually before confronting this demon again. It may have been a more powerful demon than the ones the disciples were able to cast out. Or maybe the disciples needed to learn humility through prayer and fasting so as not to confront such a demon with arrogance and self-will.

Whatever the reason for the prayer and fasting, Jesus was certainly teaching that one who is called to cast out demons should not walk away from the person if the demon does not come out when they first command. The called one is take these additional steps and continue to command the demon to leave until it does. The one called is to have compassion for the one possessed, seeking to bring relief and restoration to the person more than seeking to see a miracle happen. Jesus instructed His disciples to persevere and labor in prayer, denying themselves physical food in order that they will be spiritually submitted to God's strength in them when they feel physically weakened by the discipline of prayer and fasting. This may also indicate that demons are much stronger and more clever than humans.

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