12 But I say to you that Elijah has come, and they had no knowledge of him, but did to him whatever they were pleased to do; the same will the Son of man undergo at their hands.
For whose coming John made ready the way by preaching to all the people of Israel the baptism which goes with a change of heart. And when John was completing his work, he said, What do I seem to you to be? I am not he; but one is coming after me, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo. My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent. For the men of Jerusalem and their rulers, having no knowledge of him, or of the sayings of the prophets which come to their ears every Sabbath day, gave effect to them by judging him. And though no cause of death was seen in him, they made a request to Pilate that he might be put to death.
But you would have nothing to do with the Holy and Upright One, and made request for a man of blood to be given to you, And put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses.
Men made sport of him, turning away from him; he was a man of sorrows, marked by disease; and like one from whom men's faces are turned away, he was looked down on, and we put no value on him. But it was our pain he took, and our diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God's punishment had come. But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed: he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well. We all went wandering like sheep; going every one of us after his desire; and the Lord put on him the punishment of us all. Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word. They took away from him help and right, and who gave a thought to his fate? for he was cut off from the land of the living: he came to his death for the sin of my people. And they put his body into the earth with sinners, and his last resting-place was with the evil-doers, though he had done no wrong, and no deceit was in his mouth. And the Lord was pleased ... see a seed, long life, ... will do well in his hand. ... ... made clear his righteousness before men ... had taken their sins on himself. For this cause he will have a heritage with the great, and he will have a part in the goods of war with the strong, because he gave up his life, and was numbered with the evil-doers; taking on himself the sins of the people, and making prayer for the wrongdoers.
But he gave them special orders, not to say this to any man; Saying, The Son of man will undergo much and be put on one side by the rulers and the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and be put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life. And he said to them all, If any man has a desire to come after me, let him give up all, and take up his cross every day, and come after me. For whoever has a desire to keep his life will have it taken from him, but whoever gives up his life because of me, will keep it. For what profit will a man have if he gets all the world, but undergoes loss or destruction himself?
There is another who gives witness about me and I am certain that the witness he gives about me is true. You sent to John and he gave true witness. But I have no need of a man's witness: I only say these things so that you may have salvation. He was a burning and shining light, and for a time you were ready to be happy in his light. But the witness which I have is greater than that of John: the work which the Father has given me to do, the very work which I am now doing, is a witness that the Father has sent me.
The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men? give me an answer. And they gave thought to it among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not have faith in him? But if we say, From men--they were in fear of the people, because all took John to be truly a prophet.
And he said to them, Truly, Elijah does come first, and puts all things in order; and how is it said in the Writings that the Son of man will go through much sorrow and be made as nothing? But I say to you that Elijah has come, and they have done to him whatever they were pleased to do, even as the Writings say about him.
And king Herod had news of him, because his name was on the lips of all; and he said, John the Baptist has come back from the dead, and for this reason these powers are working in him. But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even like one of the prophets. But Herod, when he had news of it, said, John, whom I put to death, has come back from the dead. For Herod himself had sent men out to take John and put him in prison, because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had taken for himself. For John said to Herod, It is wrong for you to have your brother's wife. And Herodias was bitter against him, desiring to put him to death; but she was not able; For Herod was in fear of John, being conscious that he was an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And hearing him, he was much troubled; and he gave ear to him gladly. And the chance came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and did a dance, Herod and those who were at table with him were pleased with her; and the king said to the girl, Make a request for anything and I will give it you. And he took an oath, saying to her, Whatever is your desire I will give it to you, even half of my kingdom. And she went out and said to her mother, What is my request to be? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in quickly to the king, and said, My desire is that you give me straight away on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was very sad; but because of his oaths, and those who were with him at table, he would not say 'No' to her. And straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison, And came back with the head on a plate, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority? And Jesus said to them in answer, I will put one question to you, and if you give me the answer, I will say by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where did it come from? from heaven or from men? And they were reasoning among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why then did you not have faith in him?
For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her. And he would have put him to death, but for his fear of the people, because in their eyes John was a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her. So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for. And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was sad; but because of his oaths and because of his guests, he gave the order for it to be given to her; And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison.
But why did you go out? to see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it has been said, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way before you. Truly I say to you, Among the sons of women there has not been a greater than John the Baptist: but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way in, and men of force take it. For all the prophets and the law were in force till John. And if you are able to see it, this is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him give ear.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Matthew 17
Commentary on Matthew 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 17
Mt 17:1-13. Jesus Is Transfigured—Conversation about Elias. ( = Mr 9:2-13; Lu 9:28-36).
For the exposition, see on Lu 9:28-36.
Mt 17:14-23. Healing of a Demoniac Boy—Second Explicit Announcement by Our Lord of His Approaching Death and Resurrection. ( = Mr 9:14-32; Lu 9:37-45).
The time of this section is sufficiently denoted by the events which all the narratives show to have immediately preceded it—the first explicit announcement of His death, and the transfiguration—both being between His third and His fourth and last Passover.
Healing of the Demoniac and Lunatic Boy (Mt 17:14-21).
For the exposition of this portion, see on Mr 9:14-32.
Second Announcement of His Death (Mt 17:22, 23).
22. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them—Mark (Mr 9:30), as usual, is very precise here: "And they departed thence"—that is, from the scene of the last miracle—"and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it." So this was not a preaching, but a private, journey through Galilee. Indeed, His public ministry in Galilee was now all but concluded. Though He sent out the Seventy after this to preach and heal, He Himself was little more in public there, and He was soon to bid it a final adieu. Till this hour arrived, He was chiefly occupied with the Twelve, preparing them for the coming events.
The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men … And they were exceeding sorry—Though the shock would not be so great as at the first announcement (Mt 16:21, 22), their "sorrow" would not be the less, but probably the greater, the deeper the intelligence went down into their hearts, and a new wave dashing upon them by this repetition of the heavy tidings. Accordingly, Luke (Lu 9:43, 44), connecting it with the scene of the miracle just recorded, and the teaching which arose out of it—or possibly with all His recent teaching—says our Lord forewarned the Twelve that they would soon stand in need of all that teaching: "But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, He said unto His disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears; for the Son of man shall be delivered," &c.: "Be not carried off your feet by the grandeur you have lately seen in Me, but remember what I have told you, and now tell you again, that that Sun in whose beams ye now rejoice is soon to set in midnight gloom." Remarkable is the antithesis in those words of our Lord preserved in all the three narratives—"The son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men." Luke adds (Lu 9:45) that "they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not"—for the plainest statements, when they encounter long-continued and obstinate prejudices, are seen through a distorting and dulling medium—"and were afraid to ask Him"; deterred partly by the air of lofty sadness with which doubtless these sayings were uttered, and on which they would be reluctant to break in, and partly by the fear of laying themselves open to rebuke for their shallowness and timidity. How artless is all this!
Mt 17:24-27. The Tribute Money.
The time of this section is evidently in immediate succession to that of the preceding one. The brief but most pregnant incident which it records is given by Matthew alone—for whom, no doubt, it would have a peculiar interest, from its relation to his own town and his own familiar lake.
24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money—the double drachma; a sum equal to two Attic drachmas, and corresponding to the Jewish "half-shekel," payable, towards the maintenance of the temple and its services, by every male Jew of twenty years old and upward. For the origin of this annual tax, see Ex 30:13, 14; 2Ch 24:6, 9. Thus, it will be observed, it was not a civil, but an ecclesiastical tax. The tax mentioned in Mt 17:25 was a civil one. The whole teaching of this very remarkable scene depends upon this distinction.
came to Peter—at whose house Jesus probably resided while at Capernaum. This explains several things in the narrative.
and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?—The question seems to imply that the payment of this tax was voluntary, but expected; or what, in modern phrase, would be called a "voluntary assessment."
25. He saith, yes—that is, "To be sure He does"; as if eager to remove even the suspicion of the contrary. If Peter knew—as surely he did—that there was at this time no money in the bag, this reply must be regarded as a great act of faith in his Master.
And when he was come into the house—Peter's.
Jesus prevented him—anticipated him; according to the old sense of the word "prevent."
saying, What thinkest thou, Simon?—using his family name for familiarity.
of whom do the kings of the earth take custom—meaning custom on goods exported or imported.
or tribute—meaning the poll-tax, payable to the Romans by everyone whose name was in the census. This, therefore, it will be observed, was strictly a civil tax.
of their own children, or of strangers—This cannot mean "foreigners," from whom sovereigns certainly do not raise taxes, but those who are not of their own family, that is, their subjects.
26. Peter saith unto him, Of strangers—"of those not their children."
Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free—By "the children" our Lord cannot here mean Himself and the Twelve together, in some loose sense of their near relationship to God as their common Father. For besides that our Lord never once mixes Himself up with His disciples in speaking of their relation to God, but ever studiously keeps His relation and theirs apart (see, for example, on the last words of this chapter)—this would be to teach the right of believers to exemption from the dues required for sacred services, in the teeth of all that Paul teaches and that He Himself indicates throughout. He can refer here, then, only to Himself; using the word "children" evidently in order to express the general principle observed by sovereigns, who do not draw taxes from their own children, and thus convey the truth respecting His own exemption the more strikingly:—namely, "If the sovereign's own family be exempt, you know the inference in My case"; or to express it more nakedly than Jesus thought needful and fitting: "This is a tax for upholding My Father's House. As His Son, then, that tax is not due by Me—I AM FREE."
27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend—stumble.
them—all ignorant as they are of My relation to the Lord of the Temple, and should misconstrue a claim to exemption into indifference to His honor who dwells in it.
go thou to the sea—Capernaum, it will be remembered, lay on the Sea of Galilee.
and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shall find a piece of money—a stater. So it should have been rendered, and not indefinitely, as in our version, for the coin was an Attic silver coin equal to two of the afore-mentioned "didrachms" of half a shekel's value, and so, was the exact sum required for both. Accordingly, the Lord adds,
that take, and give unto them for me and thee—literally, "instead of Me and thee"; perhaps because the payment was a redemption of the person paid for (Ex 30:12)—in which view Jesus certainly was "free." If the house was Peter's, this will account for payment being provided on this occasion, not for all the Twelve, but only for him and His Lord. Observe, our Lord does not say "for us," but "for Me and thee"; thus distinguishing the Exempted One and His non-exempted disciple.