Matthew 17:24-27

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24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" 26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." ~ Matthew 17:24-27

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 17 where the Lord Jesus was engaged in the process of discipling the twelve disciples. As pointed out before, the most important concept taught in this chapter is that we listen to the Lord Jesus. That we listen to His definitions of things and that we allow those concepts to govern our thinking and our choices. As indicated in today's passage, God always tailor makes His curriculum for each disciple. The key is that we are being defined by Him and we know that we are being defined by Him when we obey Him.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, 'Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?'"

After their five month trip all around the areas where the Gentiles lived, the Lord Jesus and His twelve disciples arrived back in Capernaum which was located on the north most point of the Sea of Galilee. It was there where Peter grew up and the Lord Jesus did most of His preaching, teaching, and healings. After arriving in Capernaum, the tax collectors asked Peter, who was probably returning from running an errand by himself, if the Lord Jesus had paid the Temple tax which was an OT requirement issued in Exodus 30. This tax was collected from everyone twenty years old and older. It was collected for the construction and maintenance of the Temple.

In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 He said, 'Yes.' And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?' 26 Peter said to Him, 'From strangers.' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are free.'"

When Peter entered the house, the Lord Jesus asked Peter, "From whom do kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" This is the way of discipleship, ask a question creating an internal process which will ultimately deliver an answer. Notice the Lord Jesus asked Simon the question even though the Lord Jesus changed his name to Peter. After Peter responded,  the Lord Jesus said, "Then the sons are free." 

The point is God is our Father and we are His children. In fact, we are joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. God doesn’t take from His children, He gives to His children. And, just as this principle is true for human kings and their children, it's also true for God and His children. In saying this, the Lord Jesus made the point that not everyone who is a child of Israel is in fact a child of God. Only those in right relationship with the Lord Jesus are in right relationship with God. As the Lord Jesus was there to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, the temple tax was now obsolete for the disciples. 

When the Lord Jesus asked Peter the question, He referred to Him as "Simon" which means listening. As we have mentioned before, the theme of this chapter is listening. The one we listen to the most is the one who defines us the most. The word "listen" shows up over 400 times in the Bible, and in many of those, God is pleading with His people to listen, or reprimanding them for not listening. We were created to know God in a deep and personal way. He never intended for our relationship with Him to be distant, formal or mechanical. He has a plan for each of us that is unique, incredible, adventurous and significant. And most of all, He created us to have fellowship with Him.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

So as to not to be offensive, the Lord Jesus ordered Peter to go fishing without bait just a hook. And, once he caught a fish, Peter would discover enough money to pay the tax for both of them. Through this incident the Lord Jesus discipled Peter to always seek to give no unnecessary offense, especially to those with whom he differ. The tax was not the issue, having a sincere heart not to offend others was the issue. Although the Lord Jesus couldn't control whether He was an offense to others or not, here He was teaching Peter to avoid the offense if it were at all possible.

This miracle reminds us of God’s grace in paying the price for our redemption through the cross of His Son. This coin reminds us of what the Lord Jesus did when He died for the penalty for our sins. This story pictures Matthew's journey with God and our journey with God and how His grace has always sustained us. This story reveals the curriculum of God for the disciple and the fact that God does not require His disciple to pass the course before he has enrolled in it. Mercifully, God does not allow us to choose our own curriculum. God’s curriculum, tailor-made for each of us, will always include lessons we wish we could avoid. But, His wisdom is always perfect. He uses everything, the good and the bad, our successes and our failures to teach us of His kingdom. Increasingly, His discipleship program is inculcating His culture into our hearts and souls. And, we are wise to let Him do this, even when it is painful.

Matthew 17:22-23

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22 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up." And they were exceedingly sorrowful. ~ Matthew 17:22-23

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 17 where the Lord Jesus taught His disciples on how to be disciples. Discipleship happens when we walk through life learning to listen to Him more and more closely. Discipleship happens when we live in harmony with God's definitions of all things. Discipleship happens when having been taught by God, His influence spills out through our yielded lives into the lives of others. Essential for discipleship to happen is that we listen to the Lord and give safe haven to His truth in our souls. 

In Ecclesiastes 5:1 we read, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know they do wrong." 

In today's passage the Lord Jesus reiterated to His disciples that He was headed to Jerusalem to deal a death blow to sin and death by dying on the cross Himself. Although the cross was the means by which the Lord Jesus conquered sin and death, for the disciple the cross teaches us the concept of death to self. The reality is that dying to self is essential for discipleship and it is through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that the disciple is positioned to be most effective for God's glory in this world. 

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.'"

This was the second of three times the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem to die and be raised from the dead. He reiterated this fact before He dove into the details of discipleship. He did this to show a clear difference between the believer's justification and sanctification. Christ's cross ushered in our justification while our cross ushers in His sanctification. Our justification and our sanctification must be kept separate because if we teach that our sanctification factors into our justification, then we would be guilty of heresy. We cannot earn God's favor and to teach such is false teaching. Whereas our justification makes us right in God's eyes, His sanctification is the process whereby we learn to die to our selfish desires and thus allowing Him to define us. Discipleship is one tool God uses in our lives to deliver His sanctification into the life of the yielded believer. Justification is a one-time act, never to be repeated, whereas, sanctification is an on-going process that will not end until the Lord calls us to Himself.  

The word "betrayed" is the very same word used later to describe the betrayal of the Lord Jesus by Judas. This, of course, would not be a surprise to the Lord Jesus for He knew that the eternal status of every human who has ever lived and will ever live was dependent upon Him being judged for all sin on His cross. After the Lord Jesus told the disciples about His death and resurrection, they struggled to understand it. They couldn't comprehend it because they clung to the idea that during His first coming He would set up His eternal kingdom in this world. His kingdom in this world. They ignored the teachings of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 among many others that underscore the fact that during His first coming the Lord Jesus would deal a death blow to sin and death by dying Himself on the cross of Calvary. It will be at His second coming that the Lord Jesus will usher in His eternal kingdom.

At this point, the disciples simply were not ready for a suffering Christ, especially One who would die. The disciples undoubtedly also struggled to understand the fact that He would be raised from the dead. Through this teaching, the Lord Jesus made it very clear to His disciples that there is no discipleship without the secondary teaching of the cross. It is the cross that teaches us God's ways and aids us in our growth as His disciples. In order for our faith in the Lord Jesus to grow, we must be trained by the Lord to say "no" to the evil desires that are still in us and which beckon us daily.

According to Mark's account the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "Listen carefully" before He taught them that He was "going to be delivered into the hands of men." Once again, listening to the Lord Jesus is the main idea in this chapter. Listening is one of the easiest things we will ever do, and yet, one of the hardest. In Romans 10:17 we read, "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." This type of hearing is not easy because as disciples we are being trained in a culture that is not normal for us. Our default mode, even though we have been born again, is the flesh. The answer is hearing Him with faith which accentuates the achievements and the life of the Lord Jesus. It is through His grace that the disciple is sustained in the faith. 

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up." And they were exceedingly sorrowful."

Here, the Lord Jesus reiterated a second time that He would be killed in Jerusalem. The disciples did not understand that His atoning death had been highlighted throughout the Old Testament sacrificial system. For some reason they did not connect the dots. As we read in Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." The death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary was designed of God from eternity past to provide for undeserving and sinful man a personal relationship with God. It was through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead that the deal was sealed. His death happened because in His body God judged sin and rendered it nullified. His life overcame death on the behalf of all who would confess Him as our Savior and Lord. 

Interestingly, the response of the disciples to this teaching this time was entirely different than it was the first time. In Matthew 16:26 all of the disciples responded indignantly at the words of the Lord Jesus vowing to not allow it to happen. But, this time the disciples were "exceedingly sorrowful." The disciples were now learning to listen to the Lord who speaks to us through His Word, through our conscience, and through His creation. The disciples were yet to learn that the hardest and most difficult messages that God gives us come through the most unwanted moments of life. They would soon learn that His most profound message would come on the heels of being plunged into their greatest grief over His violent death on the cross of Calvary.

Matthew 17:19-21

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19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.'" ~ Matthew 17:19-21

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 17 where the Lord Jesus had been up on Mount Hermon with three of His disciples. While up there, the Lord Jesus had a conversation with Moses and Elijah after which the Lord Jesus alone was enveloped in the glory of the Lord. It was then that God the Father spoke out of heaven saying, "This is my Beloved Son, listen to Him." Listening to the Lord Jesus is the emphasis in this chapter. The presence of Moses and Elijah emphasized the idea that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. While this was happening, down in the valley the other nine disciples could not fulfill the request of a desperate father to deliver his son from a demon. Perhaps this happened because the disciples were not listening to the right One.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?'"

Mount Hermon illustrated the bigness of God while the disciples' inability to deliver the boy from the demon illustrated the smallness of their faith. It was their failure that prompted the disciples to ask the Lord why they couldn't "force the demon out?" Faith is not a substance, meaning the more we have the more power we have. Nor is faith a kind of magic to be manipulated. God is not a servant who does man's selfish biddings. Faith is confidence in the God of the Bible to do what He has promised in His Word. In Psalm 37:4 we read, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." As we delight ourselves in the Lord His will becomes more and more important to us. This is why the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 40:8, "It is my delight to do your will, O God." When we pray to God we find ourselves finding more delight in His word as we bend our will to His. After all, even though prayer is conversation with God, it is ultimately the bowing of our will to His will. When we position our will in accordance with God's will, His will will comes to pass. C.S. Lewis once said, "We say that we believe God to be omniscient; yet a great deal of prayer seems to consist of giving him information." 

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 So Jesus said to them, 'Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.'"

Earlier the Lord Jesus sent His disciples out and gave them power to deliver people from demons. The disciples saw great results but here they had gotten to a point where they lacked not quantity of faith, but quality of faith. The frustration and the fear of the disciples prevented them from placing their full trust in the Lord Jesus. Due to the fact that the disciples encountered a task that seemed to them to be impossible, they waned in their faith. This was clearly the meaning the Lord Jesus intended, because he concluded for those who have the faith of a mustard seed, all things are possible. 

Through the use of the illustration of the mustard seed, the Lord Jesus was not saying if the disciples had more faith, they could pray and impossible things would happen. The disciples failed to cast out the demon because they lacked faith in the Lord. Their problem was unbelief. When the disciples encountered this demon and were not immediately successful, their faith wasn't qualitatively up to the challenge. Their initial lack of success ushered in the sin of unbelief.

God can and will move mountains when we have faith in Him and we seek Him according to His will. The parable of the mustard seed illustrates that something small like the faith of the disciples in the Lord Jesus which was known to waver has the ability to overcome impossibilities. The emphasis must be on the power and the will of God rather than the disciples' faith. The disciples didn’t need an abundance of faith, all they needed was just a little bit placed in the Lord Jesus. It was clearly the Lord's will to deliver the boy from the demon. God moves most powerfully when we believe and place our trust in Him in accordance with His will. The key is that our faith is placed in Him which demonstrates we desire His will to come. All we need is mustard seed faith in a big God.

The Lord Jesus then said that prayer and fasting is the way of interceding for those who are demon-possessed. But the disciples didn't have the time to fast. The primary goal of fasting is intimacy with God. This intimacy enables us to be more sensitive to Him and His will. This intimacy enables us to recognize the false from the real. The idea of fasting has always been a voluntary restraint from food in order that we might give our hearts to the Lord more fully. It has never been about our performance, it has always been about our yieldedness to the Lord and His will. So, rather than being driven by the need for food, we do well to be led by God's Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. When we do this, we position ourselves to be defined by God most. This is the eternal life the Lord Jesus came to deliver to us. As a result of learning to tap into this life through our growing intimacy with God, we will begin to understand life in the way He intended it to be.

Matthew 17:14-18

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14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but 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 bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. ~ Matthew 17:14-18

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 17 where on Mount Hermon the glory of the Lord was overwhelming. Meanwhile, down in the valley, darkness was in full view. The disciples who had not gone up the mountain with the Lord could not cast a demon from a man's son. They had previously cast out demons and healed the sick, but this time they could not. They had demonstrated on several occasions that they struggled to believe during the feeding of the 5,000, the feeding of the 4,000 and during the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Their faith had not developed beyond the kind that trusts God when life is going well. Such small faith is not uncommon today.  

In v.14-16 of today's passage we read, "14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 'Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.'"

While Peter, James and John experienced the exuberance of the glory of God up on the mountain, the other disciples struggled down in the valley below. Even though they had experienced great success before at casting demons out of people, here, they failed to deliver a man's son from a demon. We must always remember that failure is not always the opposite of success with God. He has often been known to use our failures to bring about His successes. The key is that we learn that He is the One who brings about the success. And, we must be careful to yield to His will and to give Him all of the glory for every success.

As soon as the Lord Jesus arrived on the scene with Peter, James and John, a man ran to Him kneeling down in worship of Him. Due to all of the miracles He had been performing, the people treated the Lord Jesus as if He were God but they had yet to believe in Him as God. The desperate father of the demon-possessed boy addressed the Lord Jesus as "Lord" revealing His deepest respect for the Lord Jesus. He believed that the Lord Jesus could heal his son. As a result, he asked the Lord to have mercy on his son and to instantaneously heal him.

This man brought his son to the Lord Jesus for deliverance. This should be the goal of every father; to get his son or daughter as close to the Lord Jesus as possible. And, even when His followers aren't able to help, we must not relent from bringing them to Him. And, we get them the closest to the Lord Jesus by living out of a meaningful and intimate relationship with the Lord for ourselves. It is much easier for our children to trust and to love the Lord when we are demonstrating our trust and love in Him for ourselves. As the old saying goes, "More is caught than is taught."

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus answered and said, 'O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.'"

According to the other gospels, the desperate father said to the Lord, "I do believe, help my unbelief." Unlike the disciples, the man understood his faith was not great and that is why he confessed it and asked the Lord to intervene where his faith was weak. This man illustrates for us that it doesn't do any good to deny reality. And, we must remember that we will never reach perfection at trusting the Lord this side of heaven. We may be at various levels of spiritual maturity, but all of us are still subject to human frailty with its fears, anxieties and doubts. We simply need to confess the truth and ask for the Lord’s help. The Lord Jesus consistently responds with compassion to those who are honest enough to admit their inabilities and who are humble enough to cry out to Him for help. The Lord Jesus granted the request to heal the man’s son while also strengthening his faith. Our faith becomes greater in amount and depth as the Lord takes us through the various trials of life and we see His faithfulness to fulfill His promises. 

It was out of the father's honesty of his weakness that he cast himself on the Lord. The moment he cast himself in his weakness back on the Lord, his son was delivered. We learn from this father that our focus must not be on us or the problems we face or not even the demon. Our focus must be on the God of the Bible. This sad story is about the importance of believing what God has said and the power that flows from the promises that He has given. This story took place on the heels of the mountaintop transfiguration of the Lord Jesus. It provides a contrast between being defined by the light or by the darkness. The deliverance of the young son took place in the contrast of the disciples mountain top experience and this man's valley experience.

The disciples did not fail because they did not expect anything to happen. They had seen people delivered before from demons. Back in Matthew 10 "they were given the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons." When they returned from their assignments, they reported to the Lord Jesus about their success. But this time it did not turn out that way. On this day, they learned that faith is not merely a sense of expecting something to happen. They had faith, but perhaps, the object of their faith had changed from faith in the God of the Bible to faith in the process they were following. Perhaps, they thought that if they followed the right ritual, that the demon would leave. As it was for the disciples, we find it so easy to take our eyes off of the Lord. The Lord Jesus said to the disciples that their faith must be in God Himself, if it is to be effective. 

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour."    

Peter, James, and John saw the greatness and the power of God on Mount Hermon. Down in the valley, the other nine, as well as the crowd, saw His greatness and power in a different way. If we desire to see our faith in Him grow, we must have contrast. We like comfort, yet it is when we are most uncomfortable that we depend upon Him most. We need constant reminders of His greatness and power to keep our faith fueled. It is always His faithfulness that fuels our faith and it will always be. The reality is we live in the valley right now, and we will never see, for ourselves, His greatness and power until we are more and more dependent upon Him. Of course, this is the role of those unwanted trials that come into our lives. Thank God for those trials, because it is through the trials that we are enabled to see Him more clearly and to depend upon Him more deeply.

Matthew 17:9-13

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9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. ~ Matthew 17:9-13

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 17 where the Lord Jesus Christ led three of His disciples up Mount Hermon to meet with two Old Testament figures who represent the Law and the Prophets. The presence of Moses and Elijah highlight the fact that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament. This is why God the Father said, "listen to Him" because He possesses all the answers we seek. I'm sure these three disciples thought life would be easier as a result of going up that mountain that day and I am sure in some ways it was. But, as we grow in our understanding of the culture of God, the greater the difficulties will become. This is primarily due to the fact that our faith does not grow apart from being made uncertain.

I am comforted by the fact that complete understanding is not necessary for following the Lord Jesus. In fact, it is the suspense of following the Lord that makes it so hard and yet life-giving. If we had certainty, we would have no need for faith. It is the nature of faith to be incomplete in our understanding of God and His ways. Faith in the God of the Bible is truly our heart's ability to see God. And, it is the nature of faith to anticipate the next revelation about Him. This is what deepens us in our walk with Him. And, I might add, knowing God and His ways means more than just a conscious effort to avoid sin. It is in the giving of our being to Him that propels us best in our walk with Him.

In v.9 of today's passage we read, "Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, 'Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.'"

Peter, James and John, all experienced the exact same event, but of the three, only Peter wrote about it. The Lord Jesus told them not to tell anyone about the vision atop Mount Hermon until His resurrection because after it the world would know that He didn’t come to conquer their political enemies, He came to conquer death. After His resurrection the disciples began seeing everything differently. In fact, they were granted the ability to see spiritual reality rather than the obvious. 

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus didn't make any sense to the disciples because they had no room in their theology for His death on the cross. They believed He was going to usher in His political and economic kingdom with force and with might. But, God does not do things like we do them. His is a kingdom that is inside out and upside down. In fact, as is underscored in the gospel according to Mark, the Lord Jesus Himself is the Servant who rules and the Ruler who serves.

In v.10 of today's passage we read, "And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'"

As they came down Mount Hermon that day, the disciples had a discussion. They entertained their questions, and eventually, they brought those questions to the only One with the real answers. This is discipleship when we are taught by the Lord Himself. Discipleship is not keeping a regimen that requires us to get up at 5:00 am to meet with the Lord. But, if you are wired to have the best discussions with the Lord at that time, go for it. But, do not allow that time to be the only time you have a conversation with Him in your day. We do best to get into the habit of talking with Him as often as we can during each day, for this is the context where He trains us in His ways.

In v.11-12 of today's passage we read, "11 Jesus answered and said to them, 'Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.'"

The Lord Jesus clearly stated that the coming of Elijah is two-fold with the first being past tense, he has come already. And, the second is yet to happen, he is coming. The first coming of Elijah was realized in the coming of John the Baptist. When John was being dedicated in the temple at his birth, the priest Zechariah quoted Malachi saying, "This is the one who comes in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the hearts of the children back to the fathers. Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." John the Baptist was an Elijah-like forerunner of the Lord Jesus, but the prophet Elijah will come, according to Malachi 4, at the end of days "before the great and terrible day of the Lord" which will come at the end of the Tribulation.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist."

The timing of the Lord Jesus coming as their Messiah which means Savior didn’t fit the disciples theology. They expected Him to be in His first coming what He will be in His second. Their timing of the return of the Messiah to restore all things and set up His earthly kingdom was off by 2,000 years. This is the primary reason the religious leaders rejected the Lord Jesus as the Messiah as well. They were blinded by their theology. They also did not understand the unique characteristic of prophecy, that it can have duel meaning and fulfillment. It can relate to both the first and the second return of Christ.  

Biblical prophecy is designed to require of us to walk by faith and not by sight. It always makes sense when looked at in the rear view mirror, but looking ahead is like driving into dense fog. Down in the valley of life we determine to live by that which we experience on the mountain with the Lord. This, I am sure, was the thought of these three disciples. But, following the Lord Jesus is hard, and sometimes, this is good, because if we were so successful at it we would lose sight of our dependency upon Him. 

Dethroning and denying self leads us to the most important revelation of all: the determination to walk with the Lord Jesus. And, we must operate out of the fact that without the cross and the resurrection, there is no good news, there is no salvation, and there is no kingdom. What we love, we worship. When we marry these two ideas of worship and love, we discover the key to discipleship or following the Lord. Learning to love and worship Him is the tool God uses to solidify our souls in relationship to His Son. The deepening relationship that follows provides for us the moorings that enable us to go deep in a love relationship with Him. Discipleship is the deepening of our faith in Him which is learning to see Him with our hearts.

Matthew 17:5-8

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5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. ~ Matthew 17:5-8

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 17 where the Lord Jesus has led Peter, James and John up Mount Hermon to meet with Moses and Elijah through whom God gave us the Law and the Prophets. He was transfigured before these five so that the disciples would be more convinced of His identity. The Lord had Matthew to open his account of this gospel with the words, "After six days." God gave to Moses revelation on Mount Sinai where a cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day God called to Moses from the midst of the clouds. Both Moses and Elijah were on Mount Sinai. Elijah was specifically on Mount Horeb which is part of Mount Sinai. That was on the heels of running from Jezebel and when he arrived at the mountain he heard the still small voice of the Lord.  

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'"

As Peter was still making his suggestion that they should remain on the mountain indeterminately, the Father spoke from heaven. Yet again, Peter missed the mark. He missed the mark because he wasn't all that often defined by the Father. It was at that point that the Father defined the Lord Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. Our Heavenly Father spoke directly about and to the Son on three specific occasions in the Gospels: at His baptism, at His transfiguration, and in response to the Greeks' request to see the Lord Jesus later. In these instances, a divine voice from heaven declared the Lord Jesus as His beloved Son, confirming His identity and authority to the various audiences. 

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid."

When the disciples witnessed the Father speak to and of the Son, they fell down in worship because they knew God to be infinitely holy. They also knew themselves to be hopelessly sinful. They felt naked and exposed before God. Similarly, after Adam and Eve sinned, they saw that they were naked. And they covered themselves and they ran off and hid themselves from God. 

After God spoke only to the Lord Jesus, the disciples only worshipped the Lord Jesus. When Peter had suggested three tents for the three, he placed Moses and Elijah on the same par with the Lord Jesus. This is why spoke to and of His Son as He did. Peter had listened to Moses and Elijah his whole life, and their message was the same: worship God only.

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "But Jesus came and touched them and said, 'Arise, and do not be afraid.'"

It was then that the Lord Jesus touched the disciples. The Lord Jesus touched Peter’s wife’s mother on the hand and took away her fever. He touched the eyes of two blind men and gave them sight. He touched the ears and the tongue of a deaf mute and gave him hearing and speech. He even touched a leper to make him clean. That day the man who was full of leprosy availed himself to the Lord Jesus. His desperation led him to worship the Lord first before he made his request of Him. He did this because he understood the soul is more important than the body. It was then that the Lord Jesus touched him. Since the leper had not felt the touch of another human for quite some time, when the Lord Jesus touched him he felt much belonging.

Like this man and the disciples, we all want to belong. True belonging only happens when we embrace our imperfect selves and avail ourselves to the touch of God. Belonging is the essence of life. Everything else rests on it. Every other gift celebrates it, in its own way. His touch of us proves we belong to God. And, like the disciples that day on that mountain, until we recognize this, we will never know our place in this world or the one to come.

In v.8 of today's passage we read, "When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."

Moses and Elijah were gone because they are not equals with the Lord Jesus. Simon Peter had earlier confessed the Lord Jesus to be the Christ and the transfiguration underscored the fact that He was the Christ. But, when they went down from the mountain and into Jerusalem to the cross, the Father spoke the loudest. Oh, He didn't speak with words but He spoke loudly through the darkness that came upon the whole earth for three hours. He also spoke loudly through the earthquake and the tearing of the Temple curtain from top to bottom. And, the Father spoke most loudly through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. At His first coming, the Lord Jesus came to be the King over our sin. At His second coming, He will come to be the King over all of His creation.

Matthew 17:1-4

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1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ~ Matthew 17:1-4

Today, we transition into Matthew 17 where we see the event the Lord Jesus had previously predicted that there would be certain disciples who would see the coming of the kingdom of God before they died. The disciples thought the Lord Jesus was saying that He was about to set up a political kingdom on earth immediately. Like us, they had eyes but they had difficulty seeing and they had ears but they had difficulty hearing. It is so hard to get beyond the old saying "seeing is believing." With God seeing with our hearts is believing. I love the words given to us by Kevin O’Brien who said, "If we persist on the journey, with its signposts in the form of questions, we might discover something remarkable: this God whom we seek and question is actually seeking us more."

Six days after the events in Caesarea Philippi the Lord Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain in elevation of 9,000 plus feet. The mountain presented practical lessons which are designed to yield sanctification in the life of the disciple. I'm reminded in the Bible the number six represents incompleteness. According to Luke's gospel they went up on the mountain to pray. There is no better answer to our  incompleteness than prayer. At the bottom of the mountain it was sunny and predictable while at the top of the mountain it was snowy and most unpredictable. And, the Lord Jesus took three disciples up the mountain in order to pull the curtain back allowing them to see the really real. Such is the nature of our faith in the God of the Bible, and, these three saw the kingdom come.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light."

Six days after Simon Peter acknowledged the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God and the first time the Lord Jesus openly told His disciples that He would die in Jerusalem, this big event took place. It was on the highest mountain in Israel on Mount Hermon that the transformation of Christ took place. The Lord Jesus and His disciples had just departed from Caesarea Philippi, a place of much spiritual confusion. It was fitting that the promised transfiguration took place on Mount Hermon which is just above 9,000 feet sea level. Always triumphing over the kingdom of the evil one is the kingdom of the Christ.

In v.2 is used the Greek word from which we get our English word "metamorphosis." It is used to describe the transformation which was more than a change in the appearance of the Lord Jesus. Similar to a caterpillar that emanates from its cocoon and is changed into a butterfly so was the Lord Jesus changed. Peter, James and John saw Him that day on that mountain in His post-resurrected body which was a preview of His post-resurrected form. Peter, James and John had been asleep and were unaware of all that was going on. When they awakened they saw the glory of God rest upon the Son of God and their faith was informed quite a bit more. But, there is no such thing as a Master's degrees in faith. His glory came to them in glimpses. He revealed His glory in glimpses and not in details. And, we think the best revelation comes on the top of the mountain. No! No! No! The best revelation comes when we are in the valley. The faith of the mountain begins with the faith acquired in the valley.

The disciples did not belong in this context. The only way they were there was due to their relationship with the Lord Jesus. This is where faith in the Lord Jesus takes us. Faith in the Lord Jesus takes us to levels that we otherwise would not and do not belong. This is like that which God described of Himself in the Old Testament. He manifested Himself in the Old Testament as light. Throughout the Scriptures, light is synonymous with eternal life. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." And, while on that mountain these three disciples were given an incredible glimpse of eternal life. This is what eternal life looks like when it is translated into light. And it permeated through His transfigured body so that literally He was ablaze like a flame from the sun at its peak. Throughout the Bible, light is used as a metaphor for purity, holiness, and divine truth. The purity of Christ was vividly illustrated through the imagery of light, emphasizing His sinlessness, moral perfection, and divine nature. This concept is woven throughout the Bible, highlighting Christ as the ultimate embodiment of purity and righteousness.

In v.3 of today's passage we read, "And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him."

On Mount Hermon that day, God provided for these three disciples an audio-visual to authenticate His Son in their eyes further. Moses was there representing the Law and Elijah represent the Prophets. The purpose of the audio-visual was to show that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. In addition to many other things, Moses and Elijah represent the two ways by which people enter heaven. Moses entered through the normal, natural process of death while Elijah, on the other hand, was caught up to heaven without death. We will enter heaven through the means of death or by the rapture.

The Lord Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah of how He would leave the earth by means of the cross and the resurrection. Moses perhaps spoke of how the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament sacrifices which the Law demanded, picturing His death that would follow. Elijah, perhaps spoke of how the Lord Jesus was the Promised Messiah who would free us from the penalty and power of our sin and ourselves.

This mountain top experience took place about six months before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. The crucifixion took place at Passover which means it was the springtime of the year. God's timing placed this event during the month of October, the very month that the Feast of Tabernacles takes place. The Feast of Tabernacles encouraged the Jews to look back to God's provision particularly for them while they were in the wilderness, and, it encouraged them to look forward to the Millennium when they will live in complete peace. During the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel celebrated what God did and they anticipated what God will do at the end of time as we know it. According to the Old Testament prophet Zechariah, during the Millennium, we will join the Jews in keeping the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem annually.

In v.4 in today's passage we read, "Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'"

Peter was so clued in to the really real that he lost sight of himself. He had no thought of himself and he wanted to make tents so that the Lord Jesus, Moses and Elijah could remain there for an indeterminate amount of time. But, that is not God's goal for His people to remain on the mountain top. Oh, we need the mountain top experiences! But, real reality is really discovered in the application of the mountain top to the valley. Peter's reaction highlights the fact that the Lord Jesus is the fulfillment that we have all longed for all of our lives, and, this is the point of our sanctification. The conversation the Lord Jesus has with Moses and Elijah was about His cross. It is only through the cross of the Lord Jesus that we have a correct understanding of who we really are and why we are here and where we are going. 

God had used Moses as His instrument to introduce the whole sacrificial system to Israel. And, Elijah delivered the message of the prophets that the Messiah would provide salvation through His death for sinners. As we grow in our understanding of God's heart for us, He will transform us from within. His goal is in changing us is to save us from being conformed to the patterns of this world. As we behold Him in life through His Word, we will be transformed by His Spirit. This is sanctification, the process by which our minds, wills, and emotions are being defined more and more by the God of the transfiguration. 

Matthew 16:26-28

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26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. ~ Matthew 16:26-28

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 16 where the Lord Jesus revealed, for the first time, the startling revelation that He was going to Jerusalem to die on a cross. On the heels of that explosive announcement, the Lord Jesus began to give to His disciples a portrait of the disciple. The disciple is one who is growing in the discipline of being defined by God. Being defined by God translates into obedience. Of course, our obedience to God will never be perfect, but the disciple will grow in his yieldedness to God. In fact, he gladly is defined by God's culture to the degree that he recognizes that the things of this world aren't real. This process is known as sanctification which will increasingly become the means by which the disciple is taught what is really real. 

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

This verse is best understood in the context of the previous verse which reads, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." It is obvious that the life that is lost here is the false life that we have been led to believe yields ultimate satisfaction but the only life that brings true satisfaction is the life the Lord gives us. Simon Peter thought he had arrived when he was the first to acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is until he tried to prevent the Lord Jesus from going to the cross. Peter did this because his definitions did not align with God's. This is why discipleship is necessary, in order to redefine our understanding of life. This, we know to be sanctification.

Discipleship is the primary tool that God uses to bring about our sanctification which is the process through which we acquire God's wisdom. Sanctification is all about acquiring God's way of thinking and living out of His culture in this world. Note the usage of the word "soul." The Lord Jesus used it to draw a distinction between it and our spirit. Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions. Those who are willing to be defined by the Lord Jesus will find the life they have always longed for and as they find they will be surprised by how counter-cultural God is to our natural way of thinking. His life is an abundant life that satisfies in ways that we could not before imagine.

When we lay down control of our lives, we discover He gives them back with so much more added to it. When we sacrifice our preferences, we discover that our hearts are awakened even more to God and His ways. As this happens our eyes are opened to the truth and we begin to learn that through the process of sanctification we gradually learn to dethrone self from being the god of our lives. The idea isn't denying things for ourselves, the idea is that we have come to the place where we are not living for ourselves anymore. It means that we are gradually learning to dethrone ourselves from the throne of our lives, giving to God the place of the decision making. We will never be perfect at this, this side of heaven. But, the more we dethrone self, the more God will express Himself through our yielded lives. 

Following the Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate adventure of them all. In fact, it is the greatest of all adventures because we grow in our experience with Him. The Lord Jesus will always call us beyond ourselves. And, as His followers, we will struggle with serving two masters which have access to our souls. Inside the believer in Christ are the Spirit of God and the flesh. The flesh is the wicked desires within us which will always make life about us. The indwelling Spirit of God will always push God's agenda in our lives through which we will experience the transformation that we all long for. In fact, this is why we long for heaven.

In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

At His first coming the disciples expected the Lord Jesus to set up a very different kingdom. The Lord Jesus surprised the disciples daily, just He does you and me. The surprise is most often due to our poor theology. This explains why the Jews looked at Gentiles with contempt because they were unable to see that God had always had a heart the Gentiles. The disciples expected the Lord Jesus to set up a political kingdom here on earth but they were not regularly defined by God. Those who are being defined by God realize that God's work with the Jews was and is different than His work with the Gentiles. Here, the Lord Jesus confirmed for His disciples that the kingdom they expected was coming later. In fact, He will bring it at the end of the Tribulation. And, in that kingdom God will give to each believer certain responsibilities based upon the yieldedness to Him that we embraced while here on earth as believers.

The Lord Jesus assured the disciples that some of them would see the kingdom before they died. This happened on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James and John witnessed the glory of God come upon the Lord Jesus. On that mountain the Lord Jesus spoke with long-dead Old Testament figures Moses and Elijah who represented the Law and the prophets respectively. Both, the Law and the Prophets point us to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of them both.

Essentially, the fulfillment of the law and the prophets by the Lord Jesus is about revealing its true purpose and significance. That is, He is the embodiment of the law and He fulfills the prophecies. By doing so He not only underscores His identity but establishes the means by which we are afforded a personal relationship with God. This is unfathomable that the God of all creation would think of insignificant you and me in such a way. It only shows what a mighty God we gladly serve having been redeemed and regenerated by His very life.

Matthew 16:24-25

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24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." ~ Matthew 16:24-25

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 16 which has a few firsts. These firsts include the Lord Jesus' first encounter with the Sadducees, the first prediction of His death, the first prediction of His resurrection and the first confession by Simon Peter that the Lord Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the Living God." These "firsts" come in the context of learning what it means to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. We do not become disciples in order to become sons of God, we become sons of God in order to be His disciples.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

This passage provides for us some of the characteristics of a disciple. Some have said that if the Lord Jesus is not Lord of all of your life then He is not Lord at all. This quote sounds good but it is inconsistent with the Scriptures. The context is key here in today's passage because the Lord Jesus was in the middle of teaching His disciples about discipleship, not sonship. We are not saved because we deny ourselves certain things and take up a cross and follow the Lord Jesus. We are made right in the eyes of God only through believing that the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross paid the penalty for that which separated us from God in the first place and that is our sinfulness. But, after we have become sons of God, then we become disciples of the Lord Jesus. The first is all about our justification and the second is all about our sanctification.

Now, the four gospel accounts were written that we might believe that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that believing in Him we might have life through Him. We unlock the kingdom or the rule of God in our lives with the gospel. If we want to follow Him or be His disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. By no means do we follow Him to provide forgiveness of sin for anyone. Oh, we can choose not to deny self, take up our cross, and follow Him but that will only make us miserable. That is if we are born again and have entered into a personal relationship with Him through His work on the cross.

Discipleship is a tool to accomplish our sanctification which involves daily discipline on our behalf. It was once said "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep (this life and all the pleasures it offers), to gain what he cannot lose (our eternal life through Christ.)" We learn to follow the Lord Jesus one step at a time, one a day at a time. Following the Lord Jesus or walking through life with Him at the helm our lives requires of us self-denial. Discipleship is not about our comfort or our self-fulfillment. The idea that we should have no troubles and our salvation is a guarantee of health, prosperity, and happiness, is just not consistent with His Word. When our theology is God-centered and not man-centered, we will see this world as He does and we will fulfill our calling, transcendently, as we are being defined by God.

The phrase "Take up your cross" was understood by every Jew who heard it. They knew that the cross was a cruel tool of death. Crucifixion started first with the Persians and then Alexander the Great introduced the practice to the Greeks, where it was picked up by the Romans. The Romans started using it around the time the Lord Jesus was born. In fact, the Romans perfected it as a punishment designed to maximize pain and suffering. It wasn't about killing somebody, it was about killing them in a really horrible way. Someone who was crucified suffered the maximum amount of pain. 

To deny self is to deal a death blow to our selfish desires. In God's economy, we live by dying. According to God's way of thinking and living, we are the living dying. Living to Him and dying to self is at the epicenter of discipleship. When we say "yes" to the leading of His indwelling Holy Spirit and say "no" to our flesh or our sinful desires, we experience His life. In Ephesians we are told that we have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. As we transcend and gain the transcendent view of the Lord Jesus and follow Him, we will see that He uses all things in our lives for our good, even the bad.

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." 

According to God's culture the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ gains by giving. This has nothing to do with being made right with God, we can't earn God's favor. This has everything to do with accessing the life that the Lord Jesus died to give us now. And, His life is transcendent and full of wisdom. Since the author of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, so must we but not to earn our rightness before God. No, we do this because we have been made right before God through the cross of the Lord Jesus. When we experience His kingdom and His wisdom, we grow in His wisdom and His holiness.

Now, a disciple is not someone who simply gets a new priority, a disciple is one who finds a new identity. This involves the gift of God's holiness applied to us through the Lord Jesus. The mark of a disciple is his ability to hear the Master’s voice and to be defined by Him! This is what enables him to shirk the definitions of this world which are most often contrary to the Lord's. The more we are defined by the Lord the more we will live according to His culture. The world screams at us, but the Lord Jesus whispers. Few hear His voice. Fewer still open the door to the leading of His Spirit to be defined by Him in such a way that the world will see our witness and be drawn to the Lord Jesus for themselves. 

Matthew 16:21-23

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21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." ~ Matthew 16:21-23

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 16 where after Simon Peter's amazing confession that the Lord Jesus was "The Christ, the Son of the Living God," the Lord Jesus for the first time explicitly told the disciples about His cross. The Lord Jesus will accentuate to the disciples the fact that He came to go to the cross two more times before He will actually go to the place of suffering and death. The disciples did not understand the teachings of the cross even though the cross is accentuated subtly throughout the Old Testament.

In v.21 of today's passage we read, "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

From the opening verses of the Bible, God is presented as eternal, independent, holy, loving, righteous, and good. One crucial implication of this is that He, by nature, is the moral standard. This is why God’s law is not external to Him. The God of the Bible is the law and it is His very nature that determines what is right and wrong. He is the ultimate definer of all things. So, even though the cross was a foreign idea to the disciples, the Lord Jesus knew from eternity past that He would end up in Jerusalem to die a horrific death. He agreed to do this in order to pay the penalty for that which separated us from God. As a result of His death, burial and resurrection, justification will have been provided for all who place their trust in His finished work.

A biblical view of God is foundational to understanding the cross of Calvary. God's righteousness, justice, and holiness are a threefold cord which largely makes up His nature. This is why God cannot overlook man's sin. This is why He cannot just wink at sin and dismiss it. Sin had to be dealt with, otherwise sin and death would have triumphed. God’s holy justice demands that He punish all sin. 

As a result of mankind's rebellion in the Garden of Eden, all people are conceived sinful and therefore guilty before God. As a result of our sinfulness man has been separated from God and under His judgement. Based upon God's moral perfection and man's imperfection, God decided to send His Son who willingly came to suffer the punishment for all of mankind's willful rebellion against God. And, in order to redeem mankind, Christ had to become the ransom for our sin. The result of Christ's work is that man is able to enter into a personal relationship with God. All we have to do is to request it from God.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!'"

Peter took the Lord Jesus aside and tried to turn Him from the cross and His destiny. In doing so, Peter the rock became the Peter the stumbling stone. It is unimaginable that Peter tried to turn around the execution of a plan that has always been eternal. He did this because he thought he was doing a noble thing, he thought he was doing the work of God. Oh, the deceit of the evil one. It was the flesh that caused Peter to propose such an evil idea. This is why the Lord Jesus emphasized His cross from this point forward. 

It is only through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are set free from the penalty of our sin. But, God doesn't stop there, He is also setting us free from the power of sin. Involved in this process is that, like Peter, we must be beaten down by the power of the flesh in order to depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit. After Peter failed egregiously in the Garden of Gethsemane by cutting off Malchus' ear and when he denied knowing the Lord Jesus in the courtyard three times, it was then that he began to learn the real difference between feeding the flesh and feeding the Spirit. Until the Lord Jesus comes and delivers us from the presence of sin, we must be wise to not feed the flesh and to feed the Spirit who has made us alive to God.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

After Peter spoke those words, the Lord Jesus responded with some serious words that I am sure threw Peter into an emotional tailspin. Peter did not understand the vortex into which he stepped when he tried to rebuke the idea that the Lord Jesus would die on the cross. But, a careful study of the Scriptures makes it clear that it was always God's plan for His Son to go to the cross. Beginning in Genesis all the way through the book of the Revelation of Christ, the cross is like a beautiful gem that can be looked at from many angles. It is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that is central to the New Covenant which results in the transformation of the willing human heart. 

We have all been tempted with Satan's philosophy on life, and, his message is based upon arrogance, pride and selfishness. The deceiver will always tempt us to put ourselves first. Satan never tries to get us to follow him or to worship him, He always appeals to our arrogance, pride and selfishness. He knows that if he can get us to worship ourselves, we will be found indirectly worshipping him. When Peter resisted God's plan for the cross, he was siding himself with Satan without even knowing it. We live in a day when the evil one is lurking, seeking whom he may devour. We must be diligent to be defined by God's word, thus we will resist Satan's deceitful lures. We must be diligent to stay close to God by talking to Him often and reading His word daily. God not only wants to rescue us from the diabolical schemes of the evil one, He wants to include us in on His rescuing efforts of those who are yet lost.

Matthew 16:17-20

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17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. ~ Matthew 16:17-20

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 16 where the Apostle Peter has just said of the Lord Jesus that He is "the Christ the Son of the Living God." This was the first time anyone other than a demon acknowledged the Lord Jesus as the Christ which is Greek for Messiah. Messiah literally means "to smear." It comes from the days when kings were smeared on the head with oil, thus, they were the anointed one. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's Anointed One, the One chosen by God to take away the penalty of mankind's sin.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

After Simon Peter acknowledged the Lord Jesus as the Christ the Lord Jesus reminded him that he didn't arrive at that on his own. This was a revelation that came to Simon Peter's heart from the Heavenly Father. I find it striking that all of Simon's life experiences led him to that discovery. Preceding this moment, Simon Peter had many encounters with the Lord, most of which he knew not. When I look over my life, I realize that it took many experiences, namely, the death of my mom when I was five years old and the death of my dad when I was seventeen years old to come to the realization that the Lord Jesus Christ is the real pursuit of all of my heart's desires. It just took a lot of pain and hardship to get me to entertain the right questions and to run to the right One with those questions.

In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

While our Catholic friends believe this passage teaches that Simon Peter was the first Pope and that the church was built on his primacy, the Bible puts forth a different understanding. In the book of Acts we quickly learn that Peter was not in charge of the early church. In fact, it was James who was noted as the leader of the church at Jerusalem and Peter submitted to his leadership. Then, it is noteworthy that Peter was rebuked by Paul in the book of Galatians for racism. 

This is the first mention of the church in the New Testament. This passage includes all the markings of the church, primarily, the confession that the Lord Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." The foundation of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ and it is not built on anything other than a right view of the nature and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is on the example and confession of Simon Peter that the Lord Jesus builds His church. No man builds the church which is made up of "born again" people not buildings. The example of humility and dependence upon the Lord Jesus as indicated in the mention of the name "Simon Peter" that drives this point home. The construction of the name "Simon Peter" illustrates that he was a changed man who was utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus. It was out of that posture that enabled him to conclude the Lord Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

When the Lord Jesus told Peter and the other disciples that day that He was going to build His church, He meant that His "called out ones" would assemble together throughout history, not on Simon Peter but on the conclusion Peter made about the Lord Jesus. The church is made up of those people who confess and believe the Lord Jesus to be the Christ sent by the Heavenly Father. And, even though Peter's name means "rock," God has always built His church on the Only One who is the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In 1 Corinthians 3:11 God tells us that there is "no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." The church is built on the Lord Jesus Christ and everyone who confesses that He is the Christ has been made a part of the church, the family of God. The Lord Jesus granted Peter and the other disciples the keys to the kingdom. A key is a symbol of authority, if you have the key you can get into something. You can also lock something up. You have control of it or better yet, you're a steward of it. In Revelation 3:7 the Lord Jesus says, "I have the keys of David and I open what no man can shut and I shut but no one can open." 

It was Peter on the day of Pentecost who opened the doors wide as 3000 souls confessed the Lord Jesus to be their Savior.  Peter opened that door by preaching his first sermon about the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter never urged anyone to believe in him. No, he consistently pointed others to the Lord Jesus. It was Peter who went to Cornelius and opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. The key or the stewardship was given to Peter and the other disciples. The church has never been built on Peter but God used Peter as a steward to open wide the door of faith for Jews and Gentiles to enter the Open Door who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.  And, we join Peter every time we share the gospel with the unsaved and they believe. 

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."

The Lord Jesus gave to His disciples this warning for two reasons. The first, it could have been dangerous for the disciples to do so. It could result in the crowd starting a revolt against Herod and the Romans. Also, the crowd had already tried to make the Lord Jesus a king by force. Oh, He will be the King one day, but this wasn't the time for Him to wear a crown, this was the time for Him to bear a cross. 

Second, is that He wants everyone to come to this revelation for themselves. Just as Peter and the other disciples had been led by the Holy Spirit who always works in tandem with God's Word to draw us to the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus referred to Simon Peter in v.17 as "Simon Bar-Jonah," He was reminding Peter that flesh and blood had not enabled him to see this greatest truth of all. No, It was God Himself who revealed it to him.

Matthew 16:13-16

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13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ~ Matthew 16:13-16

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 16 where the Lord Jesus has dealt with the deceptive attack that came from the Jewish religious leaders who had come to Galilee from Jerusalem. They came due to the fact that the Lord Jesus popularity was rising so quickly that they were threatened by it. So, they traveled 95 miles in order to try to find a way to discredit the Lord Jesus in the eyes of the people. Although the Jewish religious leaders continuously tried to discredit the Lord Jesus, they were never successful. This underscores the fact that the Lord Jesus is the sinless Son of God who came to take away the penalty for our sin.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'"

After their encounter with the Jewish religious leaders, the Lord Jesus and His disciples traveled twenty-five miles to Caesarea Philippi where there were fourteen temples to different false gods. These temples were dedicated to the likes of Caesar and Baal among other false gods. There was even a temple dedicated to the god Pan, a false Greek god who was half man and half goat. Pan played a little flute called a pan flute. All of the dedicated temples reflect the fact that Caesarea Philippi, which stood in a lush area near the foot of Mount Hermon, was a city dominated by pagan worship and immorality.

The Lord Jesus deliberately took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi in order to draw the contrast between the false gods and the one true God. It was in that context that the Lord Jesus asked the disciples the most important question that we could ever entertain: "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The Lord Jesus didn't ask that question because He did not know what people said about Him.  No, He wanted to hear the disciples verbalize whom they knew Him to be. Verbalization, the act of putting thoughts and feelings into words, holds significant power for emotional regulation, improved communication, and enhanced cognitive processing. By verbalizing the fact that the Lord Jesus was God, enabled the disciples to gain clarity on whom they believed Him to be. 

The Lord Jesus used the term "Son of Man" to communicate the idea that He was God. In Daniel 7 the prophet used this term in his nighttime vision of "The Ancient of Days" a description of God Himself. The "Son of Man," according to Daniel was ushered into the presence of the Ancient of Days, and was given dominion, glory, and power. As a result, everyone served and will serve Him, and His kingdom will never end. In other words, the Son of Man is God. 

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'"

The people knew the Lord Jesus had to be from out of this world and they believed He was at least the forerunner of the Messiah. They had not finalized on the fact that He was the promised Messiah. They couldn’t deny that He was at least a prophet, and they couldn’t deny that He had marvelous supernatural power, but they had not definitively accepted that He was the Messiah. They got as close as they could without getting to the truth. Like Judas they kissed the door to heaven and yet they missed their eternity with God in heaven.

In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' 16 Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"

Simon Peter spoke on the behalf of the twelve when He identified the Lord Jesus as "The Christ the Son of the Living God." The name Simon Peter carries significant meaning, reflecting a transformation in the apostle's identity. Simon was too emotional and impulsive to be worthy of such a name as "Peter". When the Lord Jesus tried to wash his feet, Peter refused to allow his Master to stoop before him and to do so. But then the Lord Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me," Peter suddenly wanted a full-body bath. When soldiers came to arrest the Lord Jesus, Simon drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus the servant of the High Priest. But then, after the arrest of the Lord Jesus, all of Simon's ear-cutting bravado vanished. To avoid being arrested himself, he denied even knowing the Lord Jesus, not once, but three times. And, on the third time be said a curse word trying to disguise himself before his accusers. 

Before Simon became a follower of the Lord Jesus, he was a brash fisherman whose mouth and choices got him into a lot of trouble. After Simon became a follower of the Lord Jesus, he indeed became Peter, a bedrock believer because the Lord Jesus is still in the business of making us what we are not. It is from this posture of humility and dependence that we conclude accurately about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus called Himself "The Son of Man" so that people would trust Him no less than they trust God the Father, indicating thus to His equality with the Father.

Matthew 16:5-12

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5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." 8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ~ Matthew 16:5-12

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 16 where the Lord Jesus had just fended off an attack from the religious leaders from Jerusalem. They came to Galilee after the Lord Jesus had just fed 4000 people with a few fish and seven loaves of bread. He performed miracles on the behalf of the people so that they could gain an inroad into a deeper understanding for their need to repent of their sin and enter into a personal relationship with Him. And, of course, no one can enter into a personal relationship with God until our sins are forgiven and we are "born again." 

In v.5 of today's passage we read, "Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread."

After the Lord Jesus had fed the 4000 there were seven baskets full of the leftovers. Initially the disciples thought they had left all of the leftovers but according to Mark's account, when they arrived on the other side of the lake, they discovered they had one loaf of bread. Similar to the religious leaders from Jerusalem, the disciples primarily functioned on the physical level. They were in the presence of God Himself who had just fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish and they forgot the one thing that would have reminded them of the most important thing. 

In v.6 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus said to them, 'Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.'"

The one loaf of bread made it natural for the Lord Jesus to warn His disciples of the negative influence of the Jewish religious leaders. He drew their attention to leaven or yeast that was used to make the bread to make His point. Yeast is a biblical illustration of influence. Yeast makes dough rise by bacterial corruption. The Lord Jesus used the illustration of yeast to warn the disciples of religion or religious corruption. It was to the heart of religion's problem that the Lord went that day which is the lack of involving our hearts in the process. The disciples were in danger of doing what the religious leaders had long ago done, they failed to give their hearts to the Lord. They strove to meticulously obey God in everything but their hearts weren't engaged. The religious wrongly thought their attempts at self-improvement made them right before God. 

In v.7 of today's passage we read, "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have taken no bread.'"

Previously, the people had eaten so much bread and fish they were satisfied physically. The disciples were not that much different than the people that were fed that day, they primarily based their satisfaction upon the physical. We do the same, we seek material and emotional blessing far more than we seek spiritual blessing. They were so in tune to the physical that the spiritual went unnoticed by them. This is also our problem, to be defined by the thinking of our fallen selves. The disciples did not understand the Lord Jesus because the word "leaven" was not often used among the Jews to warn of faulty doctrine which leads to faulty thinking which leads to faulty living. Like the disciples, we were born dead in our sins which means we were born dead to God. And, if we are never "born again" or made alive to God by His Spirit, we remain in our sinful condition. This is why the Lord Jesus came to remove that barrier which was created by our sin.

In v.8-11 of today's passage we read, "8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'"

We tend to be reactive. When a problem presents itself, we focus on the problem until it gets solved. When we focus on the immediate, we can easily miss out on the ultimate. The disciples fell into this trap. This is why the Lord Jesus called out their lack of understanding and then brought attention to their lack of faith. Learning to be defined by God and to think His way takes time. It requires a process whereby we continually learn that His way of thinking is diametric to the way we have always thought. Everyone has faith, the difference is the object of our faith and we will always be most defined by the object of our faith. Very often, we lack understanding like the disciples. Understanding the ways of the Lord is key and is not learned over night because His way of thinking is upside down, inside out, and backwards compared to ours. He calls us not to be served but to serve, and to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. In order to do this we must look to the Lord Jesus to satisfy our deepest longings. This is hard because the flesh will always court us to follow its way.

The process of learning to be defined by the God of the Bible is called sanctification. While our justification gets us into heaven, our sanctification gets heaven into us now. Most believe this life is about the acquisition of answers. Most believe our exclamation marks are more important than our questions. The Lord Jesus reveals in this story that our questions are more important. If our pursuit is for the truth, we will discover the secrets to life by entertaining the deeper and most of the time unwanted questions. Like the disciples, we need spiritual healing, and questions help in the process of being healed spiritually. Those who do not entertain questions are like those who have eyes, but cannot see, or, ears and cannot hear. It is strategic that in the very next passage in the parallel chapter in Mark that the Lord Jesus open the eyes of a blind man.

The disciples had witnessed the feedings of the 5,000 and the 4,000, but, they had missed the point. When the Lord Jesus fed the 5,000, there were twelve baskets of leftovers: one for each disciple. With the feeding of the 4,000, the disciples collected “seven” baskets of leftovers: the number for completeness or wholeness. We are only completed when we throw ourselves into an abandoned relationship with the Lord and we are consistently being defined by Him. The Lord Jesus strategically asked the disciples questions, giving them the chance to dive deeper with Him. This is what He does with all who follow Him. 

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

When we feed the flesh we reduce our sensitivity to the culture of God. This was the problem for the disciples and it was the problem in the book of Galatians. Paul points out there that they had started out being defined by God by walking in the Spirit. Then they reverted back to their old ways when they tried to perfect themselves in the flesh. This is what steered them into legalism. They had not figured out the answer God had given them which is the indwelling Holy Spirit who always works in tandem with the word of God to inculcate the culture of God into us. It is the Holy Spirit who through God's word leads us into the truth. And, as we learn to be taught and are led by the Holy Spirit we are found to be defined by God. This is the goal of choosing to avoid the leaven of the religious leaders of Israel who were defined by the self life which is contrary to the Lord's culture.