Three Disciples See Jesus Transformed, And Hear God Tell Them To Listen To Jesus
17 And after six days, Jesus takes-along Peter and James and John his brother, and brings them up on a high mountain privately. 2 And He was transfigured[a] in front of them. And His face shined like the sun, and His garments became white as the light. 3 And behold— Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And having responded, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three dwellings[b] here— one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”. 5 While he was still speaking, behold— a bright[c] cloud overshadowed[d] them. And behold— a voice out of the cloud saying “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I was[e] well-pleased. Be listening-to Him”. 6 And having heard it, the disciples fell on their face and became extremely afraid. 7 And Jesus came to them, and having touched them, said, “Arise, and do not be afraid”. 8 And having lifted up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
Jesus Tells The Three Disciples That John The Baptist Was Elijah
9 And while they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the sight[f] to no one until which time the Son of Man is raised from the dead”. 10 And the disciples questioned Him, saying, “Why[g] then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And the One, having responded, said, “Elijah is coming[h] and will restore all things— 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came. And they did not recognize him, but did with[i] him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer by them”. 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Boy His Disciples Could Not Heal Because of Their Little Faith
14 And they having come to the crowd, a man came to Him, kneeling-before Him, 15 and saying, “Master, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and is suffering badly. For he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to Your disciples and they were not able to cure him”. 17 But having responded, Jesus said, “O unbelieving[j] and perverted generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear-with you? Bring him here to Me”. 18 And Jesus rebuked it, and the demon departed from him, and the boy was cured from that hour. 19 Then the disciples, having come to Jesus privately, said, “For what reason were we not able to cast it out?” 20 And the One says to them, “Because of your little-faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a seed[k] of a mustard-plant, you will say to this mountain, ‘Pass from-here to-there’, and it will pass. And nothing will be impossible for you. 21 [l]
Jesus Again Predicts His Death And Resurrection
22 And while they were being gathered[m] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed-over into the hands of men. 23 And they will kill Him. And He will be raised on the third day”. And they were extremely grieved.
Jesus Pays His Temple Tax With a Coin From a Fish He Sent Peter To Catch
24 And they having come to Capernaum, the ones[n] taking the double-drachmas[o] came to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the double-drachmas?” 25 He says, “Yes”. And Peter having come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What seems right to you, Simon— from whom do the kings of the earth take taxes[p] or a poll-tax[q], from their sons[r] or from the strangers?” 26 And Peter having said “From the strangers”, Jesus said to him, “Then indeed, the sons[s] are free! 27 But in order that we may not offend[t] them— having gone to the sea, cast a hook. And take the first fish having come up. And having opened its mouth, you will find a stater[u]. Having taken that, give it to them for Me and you”.
Footnotes
- Matthew 17:2 Or, transformed.
- Matthew 17:4 Or, tents, tabernacles.
- Matthew 17:5 Or, full of light.
- Matthew 17:5 Or, covered, hovered over.
- Matthew 17:5 Or, am well pleased. See 3:17.
- Matthew 17:9 Or, vision, what was seen.
- Matthew 17:10 That is, since you are the Messiah, where is Elijah, whom Mal 4:5 says comes before You?
- Matthew 17:11 coming... came. Jesus may mean Elijah is coming in the future, but already came in John the Baptist; there are two comings of Elijah, just as with the Messiah. Or, the scribes rightly teach that Elijah is coming, but in fact he has already come in John; just as Jesus was not what the Jews expected, so with Elijah. Compare Mk 9:12.
- Matthew 17:12 Lit, in, in connection with, in his case.
- Matthew 17:17 Or, faithless.
- Matthew 17:20 That is, the tiniest amount, since it is God that does the work. But their ‘little faith’ did not issue in them using any at all on this occasion.
- Matthew 17:21 Some manuscripts add as v 21, But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
- Matthew 17:22 Or, gathering-themselves.
- Matthew 17:24 These are Jews commissioned by the Temple, not the hated ‘tax collectors’.
- Matthew 17:24 This was the yearly half-shekel (equivalent to two drachmas, the silver double-drachma coin) temple tax required of all male Jews 20 to 50 years old throughout the world. One Greek drachma was equivalent to one Roman denarius (one day’s wage).
- Matthew 17:25 That is, local taxes.
- Matthew 17:25 That is, a tax paid to the Emperor, based on a census.
- Matthew 17:25 Does the king’s family pay taxes, or the families of his subjects?
- Matthew 17:26 That is, the sons of the Father, Jesus and the disciples, are exempt from their Father’s temple tax.
- Matthew 17:27 Or, cause them to fall.
- Matthew 17:27 This Greek silver coin was worth four drachmas, enough for both of them.