Thursday
Evening Bible Study
February 1,
2007
Introduction
In our last study we ended with this verse:
(Mat 16:28
NKJV) "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."
It’s too bad there’s a chapter break here because the fulfillment of this
verse happens right away in the next chapter.
Matthew 17
:1-13 The Transfiguration
:1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led
them up on a high mountain by themselves;
a high mountain – apparently there is a church on Mount
Tabor (located southwest of Galilee)
that claims to be the spot where Jesus was transifigured. But the disciples had just been in Caesarea
Philippi (Mat. 16:13), and now six
days later they’re on this mountain.
Caesarea Philippi is in the foothills of Mount Hermon,
the more likely spot of the transfiguration.
by themselves – Jesus didn’t take any of the other disciples, just
these three.
Sometimes we can get so concerned about being “impartial” in loving one
another that we feel that we can’t have any close friends. We can get to thinking that if we invite one
couple out to dinner, that we have to invite everyone in the church out to
dinner.
But Jesus had his “favorites”. Jesus
had one level of relationship with the crowd.
He was closer with those that chose to follow Him. He was even closer to the “Twelve”. From the twelve, this group went with Him
just about everywhere.
:2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and
His clothes became as white as the light.
transfigured – metamorphoo (“metamorphosis”)
– to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure
The disciples are getting a glimpse of Jesus’ “glory”.
The word for “glory” in Hebrew is:
glory – kabowd – glory, honor, glorious, abundance; splendor
Ex 24:17 The sight of the glory
of the LORD [was] like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the
eyes of the children of Israel.
The word in Greek is:
glory – doxa – one of the
definitions of this Greek word is: splendor, brightness, like the sun, moon, or
stars
2Co 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of
darkness, who has shone in our hearts to [give] the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
Paul tells us a little about Jesus’ nature:
(Phil 2:5-8 NKJV) Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, {6} who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, {7} but made Himself of
no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. {8} And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
From eternity past, Jesus had the same kind of glory as the Father. When Jesus took on human flesh, He “emptied”
Himself (“made Himself of no reputation”).
This doesn’t mean that He gave up being God, but that He “veiled” His
glory, covering His glory while in His human body.
It’s here on the mountain that Jesus allows His glory to peek through.
Illustration
There’s an old Ron Howard movie, Cocoon, where a group of elderly people
meet “aliens”, though they don’t know at first that they are aliens. At one point in the movie you see these
aliens unzip their skin and you see the bright light of their true nature peek
through.
That’s a little like what is happening here.
When John was an old man, he would once again get a glimpse of Jesus in His
glory:
(Rev 1:14-16 NKJV) His head
and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; {15} His feet were like
fine brass, as if refined in a furnace,
and His voice as the sound of many waters; {16} He had in His right hand seven
stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
:3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
While this amazing phenomenon occurs with Jesus glowing in the dark, two
more people show up.
How does Peter, James, and John know that these guys are Moses and Elijah?
Perhaps they have name tags? Maybe Jesus is calling them by name?
Lesson
Heavenly identity
We do not lose our identity in heaven.
Sometimes we can give people the impression that when we get to heaven we
all get a number, a white robe, and become part of the faceless multitude in
heaven.
Yet Moses and Elijah are still Moses and Elijah. And Peter, James, and John recognize them.
Lesson
Complete Testimony
Why were Moses and Elijah the ones chosen to appear with Jesus?
Moses represents the “Law”. Elijah
represents the “Prophets”.
Together, they represent the whole of the Old Testament. With them appearing together we have the
symbolism of the entire Old Testament declaring who Jesus was.
: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."
tabernacles – skene –
tent, tabernacle
Peter might be thinking of a religious type of “tabernacle”, but he might
be simply talking about making tents for everyone to stay in.
Perhaps Peter is thinking about what Jesus had said earlier,
(Mat 16:28
NKJV) "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."
Maybe Peter is thinking that the kingdom has come, it’s time to settle
down.
Mark, who we believe is writing based on things he’s been told by Peter,
tells us why Peter came up with this idea:
(Mark 9:6 NKJV) because he did not know what to say, for they were
greatly afraid.
Luke tells us that Peter simply didn’t know what he was talking about (Luke
9:33)
Notice that nobody pays attention to Peter’s comment.
It might have been a nice idea, but there were other things that needed to
happen first.
Luke tells us a little about the conversation Jesus was having with Moses
and Elijah:
(Luke 9:31
NKJV) who appeared in glory and spoke of
His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Before anyone would be setting up camp in the Kingdom,
Jesus needed to die first for our sins.
We too would like to set up camp when we get to a really good place.
If you’ve ever been on a retreat, you don’t want to leave the mountain.
Sometimes we’ve seen God working in wonderful ways, and we look back fondly
to those times, wishing we could go back.
But God doesn’t want us camping on a mountain. God isn’t finished yet.
: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!"
Not only does the entire Old Testament give a witness to who Jesus was, but
so does God Himself.
bright cloud – in the Old Testament, this “bright cloud” is known as
the “Shekinah”, the glory of God’s presence.
(Exo 40:34 NKJV) Then the
cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the
tabernacle.
Peter will recall this event later in life when he writes,
(2 Pet 1:16-18 NKJV) For we
did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. {17} For
He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him
from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." {18} And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were
with Him on the holy mountain.
Lesson
Well pleasing
Jesus is the only one in history of whom God has spoken up and said these
things. Jesus was God’s Son. Jesus was perfect. Jesus was well pleasing to God.
When we come to trust in Jesus, something happens to us as well. Paul talks about how God’s grace has affected
us:
(Eph 1:6
NKJV) to the praise of the glory of His
grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
God now sees you as a part of Jesus Christ. You are “in” the Beloved. And you are now pleasing to God.
:6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were
greatly afraid.
They were freaked out just seeing Jesus in His glory and then seeing Moses
and Elijah. When God speaks, it’s too
much and the guys fall on their faces.
Let me add a little “color” to this picture…
Illustration
A black minister and a white minister were the best of friends. Many years of similar pastoral experience in
the same town had really bonded them together.
The only problem was that the black minister insisted that God was a
black man and the white minister insisted that God was a white man. They would get into furious arguments over
this, trying to establish their points w/ the most arcane of Biblical
texts. One day, they were driving
somewhere and the old argument came to life: Is God black or white? They got so steamed up that they crashed the
car and died and found themselves standing at the gates of heaven with Peter
before them. At first, they didn’t know
that they had died, for they continued to argue the merits of their case with
one another. They finally realized where
they were and who it was they were standing before and so they asked Peter if
he could settle this argument once and for all.
Peter said, “Gentlemen, I think I can definitively demonstrate whether
God is white or black. Wait right here.” In a few moments they heard a deep, booming
voice, “Buenos dias, senors.”
: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.
As glorious as it was to see Moses and Elijah, as glorious as it was to see
the cloud and hear the Father’s voice, all that remains is all that is
important.
They saw no one but Jesus only.
: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?"
There was a prophecy of this in Malachi 4:5
:11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first
and will restore all things.
Before the Second Coming, Elijah will make an appearance.
: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.
John the Baptist was an initial fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy.
John’s father Zacharias said,
(Luke 1:17 NKJV)
"He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
There will be an appearance of Elijah himself before the Lord comes. I think Elijah, along with Moses may be the
two witnesses described in Revelation 11:3-6.
The two witnesses will be doing the same kinds of miracles that Moses
and Elijah were famous for.
:14-21 Faith – Prayer and Fasting
: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.
epileptic – seleniazomai –
to be moon-struck or lunatic; to be epileptic; in reality, this boy was not
epileptic, but demon possessed.
fire … water – the demonic influence on the boy made him suicidal.
Mark records that the boy also would become rigid, clench his teeth, and
foam at the mouth (Mark 9:18).
:16 "So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure
him."
As parents, we want nothing but the best for our kids. But sometimes when we bring our kids to a
doctor or a counselor, they don’t find the help they need.
This dad didn’t stop after the disciples failed. He brought his son to Jesus.
Bring your kids to Jesus.
: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."
Who is Jesus referring to as faithless?
When I read all the accounts of this event, it seems that Jesus is
talking about everyone. He’s talking
about the father. He’s talking about the
crowd. He’s talking about the disciples.
:18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was
cured from that very hour.
: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.
Lesson
Lack of faith
It seems that just about everything surrounding the failure to help this
boy had to do with a lack of faith.
It seems that the father of the boy lacked faith, and Mark tells us that
Jesus was encouraging the man to trust, to have faith:
(Mark 9:21-24 NKJV) So He asked his father, "How long has
this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. {22}
"And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy
him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." {23}
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes." {24} Immediately the father of the child cried out and said
with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
The man admitted he wanted to have more faith.
It is clear from our passage that Jesus is also concerned about the
disciples and their own lack of faith.
I don’t believe that the teaching about a mustard seed
faith and moving mountains is supposed to impress us with the awesome power of
faith.
I think the point is that it doesn’t take much faith for
God to do amazing things. It doesn’t
take much.
But often we are so focused on the problem, all we can see
is the demonic boy foaming at the mouth.
Like Peter, we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on the
wind and the waves.
Faith is not about your ability to produce an effect. Faith is about trusting God’s ability to
work.
(Heb 11:1 NLT)
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is
going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
Faith is trusting in someone you don’t see (like God).
Faith if counting on God even when the circumstances are
so extremely difficult.
I wonder how many things we fail at, or even worse, things we don’t ever
try because of our own smallness of faith.
:21 "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and
fasting."
The insinuation is that there are some kinds of things that require
stronger faith than others.
Stronger faith is linked with prayer and fasting.
So what is Jesus saying? The next
time a demon possessed person is brought to the disciples, are they supposed to
tell the person to wait while they pray and fast?
The idea isn’t that prayer and fasting are the answer to the immediate
situation.
The idea is that a lifestyle of prayer and fasting produces a life of faith
that is able to handle the situation.
Lesson
A Lifestyle of Prayer
If we’re not careful, we can relegate prayer simply to those “emergency”
situations:
The doctor calls and the test results aren’t good.
A friend gets into a car accident.
Someone runs into a bad situation at work.
And someone asks us to pray for them.
It’s good to respond by praying for the person.
It’s better if I’ve cultivated a life of disciplined prayer.
If I’ve got some big, heavy furniture to move, I’ll get things done quicker
if I ask for help from big, muscled bound guys.
We had some problems last week with our washing machine. We called a repairman who knows how to fix
our washing machine because that’s what he does all day – fix washing machines. Then we developed plumbing problems – I
learned a long time ago that I am not smart enough to do plumbing problems, so
we called a plumber.
My point is not to be selective in who you ask to pray for you (though that
might be something to think about).
My point is to encourage you and I to develop our “prayer muscles” by
learning the discipline of regular, intentional, intercessory prayer.
Start by making a list of your family members. Find out how you ought to be praying for
them. And pray for them each day. Perhaps stretch your prayer stamina by adding
a few other people.
Lesson
A Lifestyle of Fasting
Right away I can tell you that this is not something that I practice very
often. I should. But that doesn’t mean that I still shouldn’t
encourage us to stretch ourselves in this discipline.
Praying attaches us to God.
Fasting detaches us from the flesh.
Fasting teaches us that we don’t need all the things that our flesh tells
us we need.
When your stomach is growling and you don’t feed it, you will find that you
won’t die missing one meal.
Fasting teaches us that we can learn to depend more upon God.
I can survive skipping a meal and God will sustain me.
Warning: Fasting (and prayer) can develop a legalistic
attitude.
(Mat 9:14
NKJV) Then the disciples of John came to
Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples
do not fast?"
I know that sometimes in my life when I feel a conviction
over something, and I deny myself that certain thing, I can become resentful of
other people who don’t deny themselves the same thing.
I wonder if this isn’t what was happening with the
disciples of John. I wonder if they were
resentful that they were being required to fast, when Jesus and His disciples
weren’t fasting as often.
We need to be careful that we don’t allow the disciplines like prayer and
fasting become something that we become proud in or want people to recognize
and pat us on the back over.
These are disciplines that we need to cultivate to grow
closer to the Lord and become more useful to Him.
It’s all about being used by the Lord, not about getting
attention.
Jesus taught us how to avoid the trap of allowing prayer and fasting to
become a thing of pride:
(Mat 6:5-6
NKJV) "And when you pray, you
shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. {6} "But you, when you
pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly.
(Mat
6:16-18 NKJV) "Moreover, when
you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they
disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I
say to you, they have their reward. {17} "But you, when you fast, anoint
your head and wash your face, {18} "so that you do not appear to men to be
fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you openly.
May our faith be stretched as we grow in these disciplines.
:22-23 Son of Man to be betrayed
: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.
The last time Jesus told this to the disciples; Peter got up and rebuked
Jesus for being so negative. This time
they hear what He says and are just sad.
What’s amazing is that they were still so surprised when Jesus was actually
betrayed and put to death.
God prepares us for what’s ahead, even when we aren’t paying too close
attention.
Jesus was prepared. Remember that
Moses and Elijah had been talking with Jesus on the mountain about His coming
death
(Luke 9:31
NKJV) who appeared in glory and spoke of
His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus has been thinking about His coming death
while on the mountain, but still stops at the bottom of the mountain to
minister to the man and his son?
:24-27 Taxes
: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?"
temple tax – this was not a Roman tax, but a tax by the Jews to help
take care of the needs of the Temple. It comes from:
(Exo 30:13 NKJV) "This
is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel
according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The
half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD.
half shekel – about $64.00 per person, whether rich or poor, all
were to pay. The “gerah” was a
Babylonian weight. Later this became the
basis for the “temple tax” (Neh.10:32).
In Jesus’ time, it was given annually (Matt.17:24).
: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?"
Does a king ask his son the prince to pay taxes? No. A
king collects taxes from his subjects, not his family.
:26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him,
"Then the sons are free.
The implication could be made that since God was the King of the Temple
and Jesus was God’s Son, that Jesus was exempt from this Temple
Tax.
: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."
Lesson
Pay your taxes
There are some so-called “Christian” groups that tell people that they
shouldn’t pay taxes.
Keep in mind this isn’t a “Roman” tax, but a Jewish tax. For us, this would be more like asking people
to contribute to help take care of the church building.
Christians are SUPPOSED to be paying their taxes.
(Rom 13:7 NKJV) Render therefore to all their due: taxes to
whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom
honor.
Lesson
Fishing for taxes?
We might all want to think about
taking up fishing before April 15 – is that what this is saying?
Keep in mind who Jesus is talking
to. He’s talking to His disciples. Peter is mentioned specifically. What was Peter’s profession?
Peter was a fisherman.
Jesus was telling Peter to work at
his job to pay the tax.
The lesson isn’t about finding some
magic fish with a coin in its mouth. The
lesson is about going to work, earning a living, and paying your taxes.