Moving Through Matthew (Matthew 17:1-13)
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As we finished Matthew 16, we can look back and see some very important things that occured.
Matthew 16:1-4 Jesus was confronted by the Scribes & the Pharisees asking for a sign.
Matthew 16:5-12 Jesus warns about the leaven of the Pharisees
Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus ask who people say that he is. Then he asks, whoo do “you” say I am?
Matthew 16:21-23 Jesus that he must go to Jerusalem and be put to death, then raised on the third day, but Peter does not agree.
Matthew 16:24-28 Jesus talks about the price of eternal life
As Jesus is moving closer and closer to the cross, and the resurrection that he promised, he is molding the disciples, who would become apostles to carry out the good news. This was God’s plan. Jesus would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world, he would be raised back to life and ascend into heaven. But that wasn’t the end. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles would then be the instruments to tell…proclaim…and preach the salvation that everyone needs.
So with what we saw from Chapter 16, now moving into Chapter 17, Jesus again brings his students, another lesson, to prepare the for what they were to do.
Read Matthew 17:1-13
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Three Sections to the Text
Section #1: The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3)
Section #2: The Response of Peter (Matthew 17:4-8)
+ Peter’s words to Jesus
+God’s statement from the cloud
+Jesus’ words to Peter, James and John
Section #3: The Question about Elijah and the answer (Matthew 17:9-13)
SECTION #1 The Transfiguration
Look at verse 1:
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And after six days… Matthew states that six days had passed since the closing of Chapter 16 when Jesus had told them --that if a man wants to save his life he will lose itBoth Mark and Luke record this story in their gospels, and there are a couple of things that are seen there that are not seen here. One of them has to do with the mount of days. Mark says 6 also, but Luke says 8 days. Why the difference. It could be because in the Greek way of speaking saying “after six days or eight days” meant about a week later
Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother… These three were considered the inner circle of the twelve, the three most closest to Jesus. Peter, the one that would boldly proclaim the gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41) and was there when the first Gentile believed, John, the beloved disciple, who would be the last Apostle to die and would write down the words of Jesus in the book of Revelation, and James. Now this is not James, who wrote the book of James, that was Jesus’ earthly brother. This James is the brother of John who would later die at the hand of King Agrippa in Acts 12:2.
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.... This mountain, because they were near to Caesura Philippi was probably Mount Hermon, which was the tallest mountain in Israel. So the four of them, Jesus, Peter, James, John went up to this mountain.
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. … “he” being Jesus was transfigured. This word transfigured means to “change into another form.” So in a moment Jesus’ human body is changed back into his glorious body. In other words, what he would look like as if he was in heaven. One day, when believers enter into heaven, we will see him like this. ...his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Now the Apostle John was standing there, and maybe he had this moment in mind when he wrote this many years later: 1 John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
As Peter, James, and John saw the transfigured Lord, they were seeing him as he is, pure, perfect, bright, shining....God in his real form....PURE. And as the are seeing this...
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him… Now I told you that Mark and Luke also tell this story, but Luke adds something that Matthew or Luke doesn’t. Luke 9:30-31
30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Matthew only says that they appeared and talked, but Luke tells us what they were talking about. He states that they “spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
Now this is interesting because they all would have different departures: Jesus would ascend through the clouds as the disciples watched (Acts 1:9), Moses died before entering the Promised and, but only God knew where he was buried (Deut. 34) and Elijah was taken up to heaven without dying by flaming chariots and horses (2 Kings 2). Maybe they were standing around swapping stories about how they left the earth.
But what is important here is what Moses and Elijah represent. Moses represents the Law from the Old Testamant. Elijah, represents the prophets from the Old Testament. Why is this important? Keep your finger here in Matthew 17, but flip back to Matthew 5. Look what Jesus says in Matthew 5:17
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus was the ones the prophet were pointing to. The entire Old Testament points to Jesus. And as these three Jewish men where standing there, this is another way of Jesus preparing them to proclaim who he is and what he will do. He is the Messiah, he is the promised one, and there is no one else who can give them life. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
But then, someone interrupts the conversation...
SECTION #2 The Response of Peter (3 different speeches)
#1
4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
#2
5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
#3
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Verse 4:
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Maybe because they were on top of a mountain, maybe because it was cold up there, but Peter asks is he should build three shelters for the Lord, Moses and Elijah. But just as these words came out of his mouth. Some people believe that this idea of making tents or shelters points back to the Feast of the Tabernacle. The Feast of the Tabernacle was a celebration of the Jewish peoples 40 years in the wilderness. They would make tents and stay in them for 7 days, then on the eight day come out for a big feast. That 8th day was a celebration. So Peter could have seen this transfiguration as the time that Jesus was about to rule. SO maybe that’s why he mentioned building tents. But while he is speaking something happens...
Verse 5:
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, Do you remember when God appeared in a cloud before? Remember when he would lead the children of Israel through the wilderness or when his presence would descend on the mountain when meeting with Moses? In was in a cloud.
and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
The Lord just didn’t say....this is my Son. he didn’t only say I am pleased with him… he also said Listen to Him. Jesus had taught them many things i teh last three years, but the lessons he would speak over the nect six months leading up to the cross would help change the world.
Verse 6:
they fell on their faces terrified.
Can you imagine, a cloud falls, but then a voice speaks. I don’t know what the voice of God sounds like, but it must be strong, because Peter, James and John fell to the ground and very very afriad.
Verse 7-8
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Jesus came and touched them saying, Rise and have no fear.
they saw no one but Jesus only.
I think this statement is so important, and if we are not careful, we will miss it. When they looked up, there was only Jesus. There was no need to look at the Law (Moses) and there was no need for another prophet (Elijah) because he was now here. He was the fulfillment of everything they had talked about.
Section #3: The Question about Elijah and the Answer
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Tell no one- It wasn’t his time. It wasn’t the Lord’s time
Elijah- So many times in the Old Testament prophecy’s are given, but because it is hundreds of years before the actual event, people don’t fully understand the prophecy. Here is a time that this happened...
They are speaking from Malachi 4:5
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
By the time Malachi wrote this, Elijah had already gone into heaven 400 years before. SO the thought was that he was going to return. But the prophecy of Elijah returning was actually fulfilled by John teh Baptist. He was the one spoken of. So John the Baptist was a type of Elijah.
Another example of a prophecy that was told many years before that was not understood until it came true was the words of Isaiah:
Isaiah 53:5–6 (ESV)
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We know today that those verses point to what happened to our Savior 2000 years ago.
Even with all that is revealed to them on top of that mountain… Jesus is still teaching them, he is still preparing them for what we see happen in the book of Acts.
What we see here is a historical account. Just like all we have seen so far in the entire book of Matthew. We can look back at every chapter so far and what we see is the things happened in real life. They are history from 2000 years ago. They are important history. But we just cant look at these events and appreciate what happen “back then,” we also need to understand how they can affect us now.
A few things that stand out for you and me today, living here in 2022 in Opi.
The transfiguration shows us what it will be like one day in heaven. Not only will Jesus be glorified, but we will too. For the believer, standing in heaven one day, you will not look like yourself. I will not be six feet three inches tall. I will not have white skin and you will not have black. For the believer when we look at the transfiguration, we get an idea about what heaven will be like.
The response we see from Peter James, and John will be one of awe when we see Jesus. His majesty will make us fall down and worship him, but until then, the words of God remind us to “obey him.” If he truly is teh Beloved Son that God says he is… our life should display worship and obedience before him.
Just like he touched Peter, Jesus wants to touch your life today. He wants to assure you that he loves you and there is no fear for the future. If you will live yoru life for Jesus, fear of the future will not be a problem. Because if you focus on him, worshipping him, obeying him… your life will end up in the presence of him. A gloried presence where there is no pain and no sorrow, only an eternity with the God of Creation.
Because in that day…just like Peter, Jame, and John… if you follow Christ....we shall see him as he is.