Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 16:28, 17:7-13)

August 27, 2021

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What is the only way to escape the dread of this evil world while we are still here?
2. What is necessary to make the future kingdom more accurate and this world less natural?
3. What did the transfiguration show the disciple concerning the future?
4. Why did Jesus not want the disciples to tell anyone what they had seen on the mount of transfiguration?
5. What change did the resurrection of Jesus bring about in the lives of the disciples?
6. Why is it so essential to discover your spiritual gifts? Have you found yours yet?
7. What is meant by the imminent return of Christ?

Introduction

In our previous study, we were with Jesus and His disciples on a high mountain somewhere; we are not quite sure exactly where in northern Judea. Here we  saw, through the Scripture, first-hand the power and glory of our Lord. Let’s go back and review that fantastic event:

Matthew 17:1-6, “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.”

The transfiguration took place just six days after Jesus promised the disciples in Matthew 16:28 28 this: “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.” So, this is a fulfillment of that promise. Jesus did not promise that they would see the second coming when He will come in power and glory but that they would get a glimpse of it, and that is what they saw in His transfiguration.

Now they come to the end of the transfiguration, and Jesus comes to them and touches them:

Matthew 17:7-9, “But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8When they looked up; they saw no one except Jesus. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The disciples had just witnessed how Jesus will appear as He comes in His power and glory to rule and reign over all the world in His kingdom. Jesus had been transformed from His earthly appearance to His heavenly appearance, the appearance He will have when he returns to earth the second time. Jesus tells them not to reveal it until after He has been raised from the dead. Along with the disciples, we have just seen Jesus, the king, as He will appear at the second coming in all His power and glory.

Peter, who rebuked Jesus for talking about dying, was there to see why the death of Jesus was necessary to bring in the glory of the future kingdom. Sometimes we may be like Peter, unable to see past the present world to the beauty of the eternal kingdom of God. When that becomes a reality, we can say with the Palmist, “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.” If anything takes priority over declaring the works of the Lord, that means we cannot see past this present world. That is the greatest challenge we face as believers: to see past this present world and experience the eternal perspective. The kingdom to come matters the most and not the current world with all its troubles. Looking to the eternal is living in the glory of the world to come, and that is the only way to escape the dread of this present evil, fallen world; this is what Jesus meant when He said, “I come that ye may have life and have it more abundantly.” Some are trying to make this world their heaven and ignoring the world to come, but they will fail because, as King Solomon declared, it is all in vain.

Sone are forever trying to fill the vacuum of the heart with pleasures and material things, and consistently failing to find the peace for which they are searching. The only way that emptiness can be filled is with Jesus the Lord, who gives peace and joy and eternal life. It is easy to spend our life trying to make the most of it by gaining the most money, the best career, the most prominent house, the new car, and a huge retirement account. That is, living like this world is all there is. There is more so much more. This life is only a blip compared to eternity. However, Jesus promises more than future peace and joy; He came that we may even have an abundant life while on earth. The only way that can happen is to set our eyes on the eternal and make it our #1 priority. More than ever the world around us is falling apart.

We need to have our face set like a flint on eternity, and to do that; we must focus our attention on studying God’s Word consistently. The Bible teaches us to have the same mind as Christ, and there is no other way than to get to know Him through the study of the Bible. When our minds are filled with the Word of God, we will begin to see things in God’s way; this was Peter’s problem that we discussed earlier. His eyes were on the world and its ways. He did change and accept the priorities and values of Jesus, so much so in fact that he was willing to lay down his life. The more Peter learned from Jesus, the more real the future kingdom became and the less real the world. That can also be true for each of us when we surrender to Jesus and commit ourselves to learn His ways.

Through the transfiguration, Jesus gave His disciples a look at the glorious future when His kingdom would become a reality here on earth. It was a motivation that carried a new perspective in the world and into the kingdom’s work. We see this later in Peter’s eternal mindset when writes to the church: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear,” 1 Peter 1:13-17 (KJV).

We used to sing that old hymn, “I surrender all to thee.” We don’t anymore; I think too many realized it was a lie; we haven’t surrendered all the Christ. However, that is what the Apostle Peter is talking about in the reference above. As we realize this world is swiftly passing by, that which makes the most sense is committing ourselves to the Lord and living accordingly, a holy life glorifying the God of heaven.

After the transfiguration, when God was silent and the vision was gone, the disciples found themselves alone with Jesus with His normal appearance. Now, as they descend, the mountain Jesus informs the disciples not to speak of their experience there that day until after His resurrection from the dead. Matthew leaves off there, but Luke tells us that the disciples obeyed Jesus’ request and did not speak of their fantastic experience until after the resurrection.

Jesus was teaching the disciples for their future ministry. Why did He not want all of them to know of the transfiguration? One good reason Jesus did not wish the experience shared at present was probably because the other disciples were not yet prepared concerning His impending death. The time after the resurrection was when the disciples would need an explanation of what had happened.

The resurrection of Jesus transformed these fearful and cowering men; they made an about-face and went forward with incredible courage, teaching and preaching Jesus until they laid down their own life for him. It would be another 50 days before the Holy Spirit, their strength and helper, would descend upon them on the day of Pentecost. Then it would be their motivation and power to continue their ministry of proclaiming the resurrected Christ as Lord and savior, and it did just that.

In the meantime, as the leaders of the disciples and the future church, Peter, James, and John, could give the assurance to the others that all was well. It is good to acknowledge that Jesus did not select Peter, James, and John because they were superior to the rest; they were all just simple fishermen not qualified at this time, but men who needed leadership, and the three were selected for that purpose. It is good to know that God does not pick us as His ministers because we are qualified, outstanding, knowledgeable leaders, but because we have trusted in Him as our Lord and savior, and now He can make us into that person He wants us to be.

When we accept Jesus, we receive a new heart, and then He equips us to serve Him. We welcome the spiritual gifts we need to assist us in the exceptional service God calls us to do. That is the why it is so essential that we discover our spiritual gifts and then begin to use them in the Lord’s service. As we read and study His Word, we gain the knowledge that equips us for service; it is God who fits those He calls for service. We all have our specific ministry though it may seem minor compared to others; it is a ministry that only we can perform. If we don’t yield to the ministry God assigns us, no one else will fill in for us, and it will go undone. One day we will stand before God and answer why we did not complete the assignment He gave us while on earth. Some are called to a greater service, which carries more responsibility; according to the Bible, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Now, as they continue down the mountain to meet the rest of the disciples, a question arises:

Matthew 17:10-17, “And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” We see this inMalachi 4:5 (KJV), ” Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:”

Is Elias, the disciples ask Jesus, about the same person that appeared in the transfiguration with Jesus that the disciples had just witnessed? Yes, the same person. Elias is the Greek form of Elijah’s name, while Elijah is the Hebrew form. However, they have two different meanings. The literal translation of Elijah’s title is “Jehovah is my God.” Elias means forerunner of the preparer. John the Baptist is assigned that name as the disciples understood by His answer to them in verse 12: “But I say unto you, That Elias comes already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.”

What Jesus said sounds as if Elijah has already come, and therefore Malachi 4 has already been fulfilled. I verse 13, Matthew clarifies: “Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” Jesus was not equating Elijah with John the Baptist; John himself denied it in the Gospel of John 1:21. Jesus was only pointing out the similarity in their purpose and mission. John’s purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus’ first coming. Instead of accepting John’s announcement of Jesus as the Messiah, Israel rejected it and killed John. It was to be expected that they would also kill Jesus.

Being the forerunner of Jesus’ first coming, John was a type of Eligah who will be the forerunner of Jesus’ second coming, which is yet in the future. When Elijah returns to Israel, the effect will be entirely different than that of John’s ministry. According to Malachi 4:6, Elijah’s return to Israel will result in the hearts of the fathers being restored. That means he will restore the hearts of fathers “to sons.” That is, the religious leaders of that day will become like little children with a child-like faith in Jesus as Lord and savior. They will turn back to their forefathers of the past like Moses and David, who were faithful to the Lord. There will be a rebuilding of the temple and a restoration of worship and sacrifice, preparing the way for the return of the Messiah and the setting up of His kingdom at the end of the age.

That’s what Jesus meant when he answered the disciples, although disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist and not of His return and the setting up of the kingdom. Neither did they know the ministry of Elijah when he returned to turn Israel back to God and reestablish orthodoxy. Jesus quickly moves on without going into detail about the far future and centers on helping the disciple understand his imminent death, which was at hand. The disciples had no reference point to help them understand those things which lay in the distant future as we do today with the full inspiration of Scripture.

If we today don’t understand, it is because of our illiteracy of the Bible. However, even though we should be looking for and anticipating the savior’s return, our focus should be on our present walk with Jesus, one that pleases Him. Jesus said in Luke’s gospel, “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Will you be faithfully serving Him if He comes in your time on earth? We should live as if Jesus is coming at any time. That is what is meant by His Imminent return; it could happen at any time. In Mark 13:33, we read, “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.” An again in Mark 13:35, “Therefore, be on the lookout — for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning.”

God help us if He finds us sleeping, occupied in the pursuit of this world, oblivious to the reality of His second coming. Our purpose in a study like this is to help prepare us; don’t miss the intended lesson and go merrily on your way. Today is the appropriate time to seek the necessary changes in your life and make preparations to meet the Lord. Start by asking yourself, “Am I living for the world to come or am I fully engaged in the present world?” Jesus is coming soon; so be ready for His return.