Matthew 17: Glory and the Grind (2)
Pray Psalm 96.1-4.
Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
Sing Psalm 96.1-4.
Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above
Sing to the LORD! O, bless His Name! All nations tell His glory!
Salvation’s tidings loud proclaim; let earth rehearse His story!
For God is greatly to be praised; His throne above all gods is raised!
Fear Him and sing His glory!
Read Matthew 17.1-13; meditate on verses 9-13.
How is your vision of Christ enriched by “the vision” He mentions here?
Prepare.
1. What did the disciples ask Jesus?
2. What did they understand from His answer?
Meditate.
Peter, James, and John had just seen a wonderful vision of Jesus (vv. 1-8). They had heard Him talking with Moses and Elijah about His death. They’d been enveloped in a cloud of glory and heard the voice of God commanding them to hear Jesus and listen to Him. This was undoubtedly the most exciting experience of their entire lives. And yet, Jesus forbade them to speak about it (v. 9). That would certainly be a test of their willingness to hear Him.
His goal, of course, was to make sure that nothing would get in the way of His realizing the full glory of why He’d come—His suffering, death, and resurrection. Only after that would the vision on the mountaintop make proper sense. The disciples had glimpsed His glory for a few moments there; in the aftermath of His resurrection, His glory would increase in and through them to the ends of the earth.
The disciples had just seen Elijah with Jesus on the mountain. It was first time they’d seen him, so naturally they wondered why the religious leaders taught that Elijah must come first, before the coming of the Messiah (v. 10). Jesus’ answer cleared matters up: John the Baptist was Elijah, albeit symbolically (vv. 11, 12). His ministry, in preparing the way for the coming of Christ, was to “restore all things.” Here Jesus indicated that the time of the restoration of all things began with John the Baptist. John’s role in that was twofold: To set forth repentance and good works as the essence of restoration, and to point to the Messiah Who would take away the sins of the world. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus reconciled the fallen world to God (2 Cor. 5.18, 19). On that basis, God gives to all disciples—including us—the ministry of reconciliation, of working to restore the world by seeking the Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying…” (Matt. 17.9).
Jesus knew that He had only three years to prepare these men for being those “who have turned the world upside down…and serve another king—Jesus” (Acts 17.6, 7). There was no time to waste; therefore, He took every available opportunity to teach them the things of the Kingdom.
As God showed Moses how this teaching should be done with His children then,
Jesus did with His disciples, also.
“Now this is the commandment,
and these are the statutes and judgments
which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you,
that you may observe them…
And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way,
when you lie down,
and when your rise up.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6.1, 6-9).
In other words, everywhere, all the time, constantly, perpetually, and continually. Excessively, if necessary.
For we are a forgetful lot, and slow to learn; even slower to do.
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,
and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does” (Jms. 1.23-25).
Hear Jesus. Do what Jesus says. Hear Him. Obey. Repeat.
This is the way we learn, and this is the way to sanctification.
This guides our Personal Mission Field work.
Slowly and surely.
It is our lifestyle:a process, a plan, a purpose—not an event.
And as an aside, kudos to Peter.
When Jesus reiterated His upcoming suffering (Matt. 17.12), Peter did not rebuke Him.
In fact, Peter didn’t say a word. He listened, seemingly heard, and did so, all without speaking.
He was “swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath…” (Jms. 1.19).
And this time, the disciples “understood” part of what Jesus was saying (Matt. 17.13);
real progress was being made. How patient and kind Jesus was with his dull sheep.
How grateful we are that He is!
Reflect.
1. Hear (read), understand, believe, embrace, obey: This must be our approach to Scripture. Why?
2. In what ways was Jesus, coming down from that mountain, like Moses? How did Moses, receiving God’s Law, point us to Jesus?
3. We are all “dull sheep” in the Lord’s flock. How can we help one another make progress in the Lord?
We have said that the time for making known the vision was not yet fully come; and, indeed, the disciples would not have believed it, if Christ had not given a more striking proof of His glory in His resurrection. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 17.9
Pray Psalm 96.5-13.
Jesus has led the way for us into the work of restoring the reconciled world. Commit your day to Him, that He might work through you to make all things new.
Sing Psalm 96.5-13.
Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above
All other gods are idols vain; the LORD created heaven.
Splendor and strength with Him obtain; to Him be glory given!
All fam’lies, praise this mighty LORD! Give strength and glory to His Word;
exalt the LORD of heaven.
Bring off’rings sweet to Him, our LORD, in holy garments praise Him!
Tremble before Him, all the earth; among the nations raise Him!
The earth is fixed, it will not move; the peoples will His justice prove.
Exalt the LORD and praise Him!
Let heaven sing with lusty voice; let earth and sea sing sweetly!
Let fields and trees in Him rejoice, for He is coming swiftly
to judge the world in righteousness, the peoples in His faithfulness.
He comes; exalt Him greatly!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues our readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column is working through a study of the role of reason in the life of faith. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
