Matthew 17
Matthew 17:1-27 (NLT)
1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.
2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.
9 As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
10 Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”
11 Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready.
12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”
13 Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
22 After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.
23 He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”
26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!
27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
Here is Jesus, the incarnate Word, entertaining and fellowshipping with prophets and demonstrating superior authority over demons, yet having to mentor these men who had no clue what He was really about and were yet to be His replacements. He is at the end of 30+ years of intense focus on scriptures and learning at the feet of His Father, while they are just responding to a call to leave the secular vocations they had given themselves to. They appear to be nowhere ready for this, speaking out of turn and being told they have zero faith. That they were told point blank 2 times in this chapter alone He would rise from the grave seemed to go right over heads that later could not believe He had risen. With Jesus exclaiming about their lack of faith, He still continued with them, lovingly knowing just how naive they were and yet how perfectly they would carry out their missions with a power that was not their own. So far above them in every way, He maintained an embrace of them as partners in a world-transforming venture that would require many, many more just like them. If it were up to them, even at their highest level of education and gifting, there would be no hope for the world. But by the Spirit, each one of them would carry His own glory, possess His mind, and walk in His same anointing, operating in His name just as if He Himself were present, as He would actually be in them.
There is really nothing that we bring to this mission, this relationship, or this kingdom that is anywhere close to qualified for what is before us. We, however, are not alone. We have the Great Teacher ever-present on the inside, guiding us into all truth and understanding. We receive wisdom, understanding, and revelation from the very heart and mind of God as we wait in His presence, seek His face, and ask in faith. We may be newbies with a long way to go, but hey, we have all the time in the world with the One who promised to never leave or forsake us. May seem a bit slow now, but never ceasing pursuit, we will never stop growing, transforming, and taking on the very image and likeness of the One with Whom we’ve become one. Every moment in His presence and Word is gestation time for faith’s growing way beyond the simple mountain-moving mustard seed size. It will never be how we arrive that matters, but how we become in Him. He’s the Qualifier, the Embracer, and the One who determines that we’re ready to show up as Him by the power of the Spirit.