Matthew 17 · WEB
The Transfiguration and Faith Like a Mustard Seed
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After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.
2He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.
3Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.
4Peter answered, and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let's make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him."
6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid.
7Jesus came and touched them and said, "Get up, and don't be afraid."
8Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.
9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Don't tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."
10His disciples asked him, saying, "Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11Jesus answered them, "Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things;
12but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn't recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them."
13Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.
14When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying,
15"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him."
17Jesus answered, "Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, "Why weren't we able to cast it out?"
20He said to them, "Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
21But this kind doesn't go out except by prayer and fasting."
22While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men,
23and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up." They were exceedingly sorry.
24When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the didrachma?"
25He said, "Yes." When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?"
26Peter said to him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Therefore the children are exempt.
27But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you."
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Summary
Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on a high mountain, where Moses and Elijah appear and the Father's voice declares Jesus as his beloved Son. After descending, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy whom the disciples could not cure, teaching that even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. He predicts his coming death and resurrection, and miraculously provides a temple tax coin from the mouth of a fish.
Themes
- Divine glory and the deity of Christ
- Listening to and obeying Jesus
- Faith and unbelief
- Suffering before glory
- God's provision
Key verses
- Matt 17:2 — “He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light.”
- Matt 17:20 — “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
- Matt 17:5 — “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Context & background
The Transfiguration traditionally occurred on either Mount Tabor in Lower Galilee or Mount Hermon on the modern Israel-Lebanon-Syria border, both in northern Israel. The appearance of Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) confirms that Jesus fulfills both. Capernaum, where the temple tax episode occurs, sat on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee in modern northern Israel and served as Jesus' ministry headquarters. The didrachma was an annual half-shekel temple tax required of every Jewish male, supporting the Jerusalem temple.
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 1:16-18 — Peter recalls eyewitnessing Jesus' majesty on the holy mountain
- Exodus 24:15-18 — Moses on Sinai with cloud and glory parallels the Transfiguration
- Exodus 30:13 — Origin of the half-shekel temple tax referenced in verse 24
- Malachi 4:5-6 — Prophecy that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord
- Mark 9:2-29 / Luke 9:28-43 — Parallel accounts of the Transfiguration and healing