Devotionals

Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me" (Matthew 17:26-27).

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me" (Matthew 17:24-27).

History, especially that of ancient customs and laws, is necessary to understand this text.

And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved (Matthew 17:22-23).

We need to consider the parallel passage in Mark 9:30-32 which reads, From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later." But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. ["But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."] (Matthew 17:19-21).

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly (Matthew 17:18).

We must appeal again to Mark’s Gospel for information that is absent from Matthew’s account. And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose (Mark 9:25-27).

And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:21-24).

This is the parallel text to Matthew 17:14-18. John Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, was not a disciple of Jesus, but a disciple of Peter, who was the spokesman for the 12 disciples. This added information on the event of the demon possessed boy came from Peter as he mentored John Mark many years later.

And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? (Matthew 17:17).

Rarely do we see such indignation in the spirit of Jesus. He became angry at the money changers in the Temple courtyards. He became disheartened at those who stopped following Him when He outlined the difficulty of being a disciple. He was broken hearted at the tomb of Lazarus. But here, with the disciples and the Scribes, He is spiritually indignant.

Jesus did not give into the petty and childish attitude of name-calling by calling the disciples, Scribes, and other Jews ‘unbelieving and perverted’. He was exposing the spiritual condition of the people.

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water” (Matthew 17:14-15).

From the parallel passages in Mark 9:14-29 and Luke 9:37-43 we learn of the severity of the boy’s condition resulting from demon possession: he was deaf and mute, he had violent seizures, convulsions, foaming at the mouth, grinding of the teeth, uncontrollable physical actions that threw him to the ground, into the fire, into water, contorting his body muscles, causing him to shriek and scream. Demonic possession is no trifling matter. It is evil and does evil to anyone who has yielded to the power of the devil.

And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13).

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone (Matthew 17:5-8).

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone (Matthew 17:5-8).

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone (Matthew 17:5-8).

As the Son of God, the Father declared Jesus to possess the same nature, character, and essence that He has. In other words, the Father declared Jesus Christ to be God as He is God. Christians are also declared to be children of God. 

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (Matthew 17:4).

A ‘tabernacle’ was a tent made by fixing posts into the ground, stretching cloth over them, and fastening it together with cords. In some instances they were made of tree branches as a temporary shelter from the sun and rain. These tents were also houses common to the nomadic tribes in the ancient Middle East.

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him (Matthew 17:1-3).

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him (Matthew 17:1-3).

In the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly, the transformation is progressive and permanent. In the transfiguration of Jesus, the transformation was immediate, yet temporary. The glory of Christ in heaven was cloaked or concealed in human flesh at His incarnation (when He became the baby born to Mary in Bethlehem). For 33 years the glory of Christ was not seen by men other than through His transfiguration. 

Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom (Matthew 16:28).

When I was a child I was confused over this verse. Like many of the Christians in the church in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11), I had thought that Jesus had already come and we missed it! If the coming of Jesus Christ in His Kingdom would be seen by those standing in front of Him, then what are we doing here? Let’s take this verse a bite at a time.

First, Jesus said that before they die, some of the disciples would see Him coming in His kingdom. However, all 12 of the disciples are dead, and it’s been 2,000+ years since these words were spoken and Jesus still has not returned. So, what gives?

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ‘will then repay every man according to his deeds’ (Matthew 16:27).

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ‘will then repay every man according to his deeds’ (Matthew 16:27).

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:25-26).

The words ‘life’ and ‘soul’ in this passage come from the same Greek word, psuche. Some say the ‘life’ is the basic ‘spirit’ or ‘vitality’ of a person (the ‘lower’ self) whereas the ‘soul’ is the ‘rational’ or ‘immortal’ (the ‘higher’ self) that is eternal. Together they make up the ‘real’ you.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

The word ‘sanctify’ and its related terms ‘sanctified’, ‘sanctification’, and ‘sanctifying’ describes the process whereby the Holy Spirit progressively distances a Christian away from sin and toward righteousness. When a person is saved, God declares the person saved, justified, holy (sanctified) and righteous. The work of the Holy Spirit is to make these truths a reality in the Christian’s life. In other words, God declares a Christian righteous before Him and the Holy Spirit makes the Christian righteous before the world.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

To deny self is to genuinely, sincerely, honestly, and seriously believe you have nothing in you, or are nothing in yourself to commend before God. It is utter and complete humility before holy God. It is to truly believe as the tax collector (Luke 18:13), God, be merciful to me, the sinner! It is to realize and accept that . . . all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6).

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).

For the Christian, discipleship is more than being saved and attending church every now and again. Christian discipleship is following Jesus. The New Testament is replete with exhortations and examples of the need for the Christian to press on in Christian faith and Christian life.