PT-2 "Intro to Matthew 17:1-13

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/17/2022 9:17 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: PT-1 “Intro to Matt. 17:1-13”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Matt. 17:1-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 And six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were much afraid. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. 9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”

 

            In yesterday’s SD we began to look at four reasons why the Lord took only these three disciples with Him to the Mt. of Transfiguration, and so today we will look at the remaining reasons beginning with the second.  It is possible that because these three men were what is called our Lord’s inner circle that He chose them.  These three men were with Him the most and they understood Him the best of the twelve.  They frequently accompanied Him when He went away for times of intense fellowship with His Heavenly Father as seen in Mark 5:37 and 14:33.  So it was fitting that those who would most intimately share His suffering and sorrow would also most intimately share in witnessing His glory.

 

            We move to the third reason.  As the acknowledged spokesmen among the twelve, the ones whose worked was most respected, these three men could most reliably and convincingly articulate what they witnessed on the mountain.

 

            MacArthur writes “The fourth possible reason is negative.  If all twelve disciples had seen the transfiguration, or if all of them plus the crowds that had been with them in upper Galilee were to have seen Jesus transfigured, the entire region could quickly have been in turmoil.  The people may have run down the hillside and into the surrounding towns babbling uncontrollably about what they saw.  The accounts doubtlessly would have varied greatly and been embellished with each retelling, and Jesus could have been pressured even more forcefully to become the political and military deliverer the people expected the Messiah to be (see John 6:15; 12:12-19).”

 

            Now I have read about which mountain that they went up on as it is not identified, but apparently it was near and to the south of Caesarea Philippi, on the route to Capernaum and eventually to Jerusalem.  (Look up Matthew 16:13, 21; 17:24.)

 

            One of the mountains that I have heard that they went up on was Mount Hermon which is a very high mountain and I think that it has to do with the headwaters of the Jordan River. 

 

            There are some similar things that happened on this mountain as happened in the Garden where Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch with them, and that is that sleep came to them.  MacArthur adds “Sleep can be a form of escape, a way of temporarily forgetting problems and anxieties.  Depression accelerates weariness.   It is likely that the promise Jesus made a few days earlier was to vague and indefinite to bolster their spirits after learning of His impending suffering and death and His call for them to be willing to suffer and die in His service (16:21-25).  They slept the sleep of frustration and depression.  It was not until Moses and Elijah appeared that the three ‘became fully awake…and saw His glory and the two men standing with Him’ (Luke 9:32b).”

 

            Now we will get the preview of what we will be looking at as we begin to dig into these first 13 verses of chapter 17.  There are five powerful confirmations, of proofs, that Jesus was indeed the predicted Son of Man, the Messiah, the divine King of glory.  1) “The transformation of the Son” (Matt. 17:2); 2) Second is the testimony of the saints (3-4); 3) the terror of the Father (5-6); 4) what may be called the tapestry of the scene (7-9) 5) the tie with Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist (10-13).

 

10/17/2022 10:07 AM