Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 16:28, 17:1-6)

August 20, 2021 

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. Which CommonBible verse is the best evidence that the gospel is for the whole world, not just Israel?
2. What did Jesus mean when He said that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church?”
3. What did Jesus mean in the opening verse today,“Truly I say to you?”
4. How was the transfiguration a fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to the disciples just six days before?
5. Is it possible that we could speak to an angel today and not realize it? If so, how can we know that could happen?
6. What did Luke mean when he said concerning the transfiguration, “it came to pass?”
7. What is the meaning of the word “transfiguration?”
8. Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah in the transfiguration. How did the disciples recognize them?
9. What was the purpose of the transfiguration?
10. Why did Jesus not come in all His glory the first time?
11. How did Zechariah the prophet explain the difference between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming?
12. What was Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah about in the transfiguration?
13. How did Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfill the Passover?
14. What was Peter’s mistake in suggesting they set up three tabernacles in remembrance of the transfiguration?
15. What was Jesus’ final lesson to the disciples and each of us as believers in today’s study?

Introduction

After Israel rejected the offered Kingdom, Jesus turned to His disciples and began to teach them many things concerning their future ministry with the church and Kingdom. The disciples would become future leaders after Jesus ascended into heaven. The surprising news came in chapter 16 when Jesus revealed to the disciples that now He was no longer offering His Kingdom, but He now brought something entirely new to the disciples, the church. His church and the gospel would not be for Israel alone but would include all the people of the world that believed in Him. John 3:16 is the evidence of this truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should no perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus assigned the task of being frontrunners in leading the future church to Peter and the disciples, which included its extension to all people across the known world and in the future to the entire world. According to Jesus, the church would be a powerful organism that even “the gates of hell could not prevail against,” according to Matthew 16:18, which means that the gates of hell could not overpower it. Then Jesus gave them the method by which the church would be born; it was through His suffering and death. That is what the Apostle Peter rebelled at, and Jesus rebuked him for it. This news was hard for the disciples to bear. They still were not able to handle it when Jesus went to the cross. To them, it seemed like the end rather than the beginning of a glorious ministry; they ran away and hid until it was all over. When Jesus rose from the dead, they couldn’t believe it until they saw for themselves even though Jesus had informed them earlier.

In the section we are now entering, we see Jesus addressing the concerns of the disciples:

Matthew 16:28, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus opens by saying, “Truly I say to you,” which means believe what I’m saying to you. Jesus expected the disciples to believe Him when He taught them. He is telling them to pay close attention to what is being taught because it is crucial. Jesus had just finished a significant subject in verse 27 when He announced that at His second coming, He would set up the Kingdom; those who served Him faithfully would receive their heavenly rewards. Jesus emphasized the priority of looking forward to the future life over the present one, which eventually they were willing to do, laying down their lives for their faith in Jesus.

Jesus also ensured the disciples that His death was part of God’s plan, and they needed to understand and accept it. Jesus then gives them a promise that they would see fulfilled in their day, assuring them that His death would not stop His future Kingdom from coming in due time. It is true they did not understand this at the time and would not until the resurrection, at which time they were renewed in their faith and went forward proclaiming Jesus and His Kingdom even until their martyrdom. 

The disciples would be disheartened at Jesus’ death, thinking it was all over. Jesus promised them something to be remembered in verse 19: “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Some are confused about the meaning of this verse. Jesus was not speaking of the literal Kingdom He would set up at His second coming but of the hope of the Kingdom at His resurrection from the dead. Jesus is not referring to the fulness of His second coming, which He talks about in Matthew 24, which has not yet come after nearly 2,000 years. He is talking about a glimpse of it as seen in the transfiguration and later as He appeared in His glorified body after the resurrection as well as the preparation of the kingdom through the building of the church. Some say that Jesus is speaking of that generation living at the time of His second coming, but that does not fit the context of this verse. He was speaking directly to His disciples. The disciples were concerned over Jesus speaking to them of His forthcoming death. So, Jesus is assuring them that His death will not stop the arrival of the Kingdom. At that time, they would see and be aware of His “Royal Power.” They will see Jesus’ reign over the power of death and of sin. The disciples had that renewed hope after the resurrection. They boldly went forth proclaiming Jesus and His Kingdom though it put them in jeopardy of death, which they would eventually face because of their stand for Christ. This one of the great Bible proofs of the resurrection. Would the disciples have sacrificed their own life for a dead leader. No of course not!

To seal this promise in the minds of His disciples, Jesus treats three of the disciples with an exceptional event where they will see His glory and power first hand:

Matthew 17:1-3, “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.”

This scene took place six days after the events of chapter 16. This timing lets us see how this event, the transfiguration of Jesus, is connected to the previous one when Jesus promised they would see Him coming in power and glory. What a wonderful thing this is. Two Old Testament saints, after hundreds of years, appear on earth. I’ve often wondered if God sends saints back to the world today to carry out specific missions. I realize that is only a supposition with no evidence from Scripture that it happens other than in the transfiguration. However, there is Scriptural proof that angels do come to earth: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2 (KJV). That old TV series, “Highway to Heaven,” starring Michael Landon, may not be too far off after all.

Peter, James, and John are taken with Jesus to the top of a high mountain alone. The Bible does not say what mountain, only a high mountain. They had just a week before been to Philippi, where Mount Hermon is located, the highest mountain in Galilee. Quite possibly, this is the mountain in view here. The exact place is not the issue. It is what takes place there.

Luke introduces this event in a little different way by saying, “and it came to pass….” In other words, this is meant to be the occasion when Jesus fulfilled His promise to give the disciples a glimpse of His coming in power and glory. Matthew puts it this way: They saw Jesus transfigured into glory. The Greek word used here for transfigured is “metamorphoo,” similar to metamorphosis; it means a complete change took place right before their eyes. They saw Jesus as He would appear when He comes in His glory at the second coming. 

John gives us a full description in Revelation 1:13-16 (KJV): “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in strength.” Now, this is a description in symbolism, but it shows the glory and power of Jesus when He comes in glory and power at His second coming.

Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah in the transfiguration, but how did the disciples recognize them? There is little doubt that there were no pictures or paintings of them in those days. It was given them by divine insight. We may wonder why the transfiguration took place. What was the purpose of it? If we go back to when Peter questioned Jesus when Jesus said that He must die, we see that the disciples did not expect this. They were counting on Jesus; presence and even the coming of His Kingdom. To go it alone was too overwhelming. So, Jesus gives them a view of what was to come to encourage them in the mission that lay ahead, and He took three representees to give evidence of it to the others. There is a message for us also here. This life is not all there is; the best is yet to come. Our sacrifices now in this life are to preserve the rewards to come in the next life. The Kingdom will be a reality in the future, and we who know Jesus as our savior will rule and reign with Him at that time. We have heard that a picture is worth 1,000 words; Jesus gave them an image that would be hard to match with words alone. He gave them a preview of His power and glory at His second coming.

We might wonder why Jesus did not appear in all His glory the first time. Would this not have convinced even the scribes and Pharisees of who He was? Why did Jesus come as a lowly, humble carpenter? The reason is, He came to die for the sins of men to provide a rescue from this evil world for as many as would accept His gift, which by the way is “the greatest gift of all” and the greatest gift He could ever give, the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven.

Zechariah the prophet puts it this way: The Messiah would be endowed with salvation as he came humbly riding a donkey, speaking of His first coming. He goes on to say that the Messiah would do the most amazing things. For example, He would stop wars, bring peace and exercise dominion from sea to sea; this speaks of His second coming. The example Jesus gave in His transfiguration on the Mount was a revelation of the glory to come and assurance to the disciples that His death by no means was the end.

Jesus was talking to Moses and Elijah. What was He saying to them? According to Luke, He was “talking about His soon departure to take place at Jerusalem, when He would die on the cross; His exodus from earth would result in His return to Heaven.” The Greek word for departure is the exodus, a reference to the Passover. Jesus and the disciples celebrated the Lord’s supper right before His crucifixion on the day of the celebration of the Passover. Today we still celebrate the Lord’s supper, the communion, which is a celebration of the fulfillment of the Passover before Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The lamb’s blood, a symbol of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, was applied to the door posts and those in the house were saved when the death angel passed over. Jesus’ blood applied to our hearts now keeps us and gives us life eternal.

The transfiguration proved to the disciples that the Death of Jesus did not defeat but was the fulfillment of Israel’s celebration of the Passover, the victory over slavery and death. The literal exodus freed Israel from years of slavery and death from the 10th plague that God brought on Egypt. Jesus’ death frees all who trust in Him and gives freedom from the slavery of sin and spiritual death, also giving them eternal life. In the literal exodus, Moses was the deliverer, a type of Christ, redeeming Israel. Jesus’ death and departure back into heaven is our redemption through His shed blood. 

The missions of Moses and Elijay match that of Jesus in the form of symbols. Moses led Israel out of bondage pictures Christ’s redemption of those who trust in Him as the Lamb of God. At the same time, Elijah’s ascension into heaven is a picture of the resurrection and assertion of Jesus into heaven. Elijay, as told in Micah, is to return before the tribulation to the earth. That is a symbol of Jesus returning to the world at the end of the age. So, there was a real purpose for Moses and Elijay to meet with Jesus on the Mount of transfiguration. They represent the two-fold nature of Christ’s ministry on earth, enabling and preparing His disciples to see the glory to come and making that glory possible through His death on the cross.

Those who serve the Lord will receive glory even now on earth before Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom. Jesus said, “I am come that ye may have life and have it more abundantly,” John 10:10 (KJV). The Disciples were not able to fully comprehend all that the transformation implied at the time, as we see in the following verse:

Matthew 17:4, “Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”

Outspoken Peter assumed that the Kingdom was at hand and was ready to celebrate it by establishing three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. Peter is too ambitious before it is time. The time of the Kingdom has yet to come in nearly 2,000 years, and we don’t know when it will come. The time to celebrate the Kingdom is when Jesus comes for the second time to set it up. Jesus’ final lesson for the disciples is their responsibility for ministry for the meantime as they await His second coming, which by the way, is our responsibility given to the disciples and the church by Jesus just before He ascended into heaven. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19 (KJV).

That lesson is ordained by the voice of the Father in the following verses:

Matthew 17:5-6, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.”

Before Peter could finish speaking, the glory of the Lord appeared, and a voice from heaven declared the approval of Jesus the Son of God, and then God said. “Listen to Him!” When the disciples saw and heard this, they fell on their faces in fear. This fear goes beyond ordinary fear and includes respect for Almighty God. The disciple had been paying some attention to Jesus, but they did not fully understand the things He taught them. Today we still need to be listening to Jesus even though He is in heaven at the Father’s right hand. Our sole concern is listening to Jesus through His Word, and by His Holy Spirit teaching us and guiding us in all things. That was the disciple’s mission, and that is also our mission, to pursue the message from God’s Word and live by it while sharing its good news to others. That is a simple plan but one a lot of believers are yet to practice. How about you? Are you practicing those things in your Christian walk today? Are you telling others of the saving power of Jesus? If not, you are not obedient to the final command that Jesus gave the church before He departed into heaven.