Jesus had begun in Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to show 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 on the third day. Then he takes Peter and James and John with him to pray. Jesus is transfigured and in Matthew 17:3 “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him”. Peter speaks out and is interrupted in Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!”. As they go forward, the disciples are not able to cast out a demon and Jesus explains their failure in Matthew 17:20 And he said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like 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.” Then they want to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven and Jesus says in Matthew 18:3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven!” His disciples were no different from us. We want to speak when we should be listening. We want God to do what he has given us the authority to do. And, we often are looking for position, approval from people rather than pursuing the mission Jesus began in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost.”
Let Him Deny Himself and Take Up His Cross
This Is My Beloved Son Listen to Him!
Matthew 17:1–13
Jesus often went off to pray and there are only a few places where we find insight into his private times of prayer. Here, Jesus takes three disciples with him in
Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus took along Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
Then, Jesus changed in appearance as he connected with the realm of heaven in
Matthew 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became bright as the light.
Now, they were all talking together, not just Jesus and his disciples, but in
Matthew 17:3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.
Peter, as he often did and offered to make shelters in Matthew 17:4 but this was not the time to be talking, but the time to be listening and another voice interrupts Peter in
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
These three disciples were in the middle of a conversation about the most important event in history, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross yet didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the moment. Jesus instructed them in
Matthew 17:9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
If You Have Faith Like a Mustard Seed
Matthew 17:14–23
Jesus has taught and demonstrated the power of the kingdom and his disciples have witnessed it. Jesus had sent the twelve in Luke 9:1-2 “he gave them power and authority over all the demons” and sent the seventy two who returned in
Luke 10:17 And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
yet now, as this man comes, the disciples had not been effective in
Matthew 17:15–16 and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely, for often he falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.”
Jesus simply rebuked the demon in
Matthew 17:18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him and the boy was healed from that hour.
and when his disciples asked “Why were we not able to expel it?” in Matthew 17:19, Jesus answers in
Matthew 17:20 And he said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like 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.”
The power of God was there to heal, to expel the demon. The authority had been given to the disciples, yet they didn’t believe it. Their faith was weak.
So That We Do Not Give Offense To Them
Matthew 17:24–27
Who Then Is the Greatest
Matthew 18:1–5
Woe To the World Because of Causes for Stumbling
Do Not Despise One of These Little Ones
Matthew 18:10–14
The disciples had asked Jesus in
Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
and rather than naming them and ranking them as his disciples, Jesus calls a child and in
Matthew 18:3–4 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven! 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”
Then he goes on to say how important children are in
Matthew 18:10 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
so what is it that is important in heaven? That none perish in
Matthew 18:14 In the same way it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Jesus said the humble one is great in the kingdom of heaven, the one that gathers in or as in
Jude 21–23 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt, 23 and save others by snatching them from the fire, and have mercy on others with fear, hating even the tunic stained by the flesh.
Study Verses
- Matthew 17:1–13 This Is My Beloved Son Listen to Him!
- Matthew 17:14–23 If You Have Faith Like a Mustard Seed
- Matthew 18:10–14 Do Not Despise One of These Little Ones
Today’s Reading
- Matthew 16:21-28
- Matthew 17:1-27
- Matthew 18:1-14