Matthew chapter 17

Matthew chapter 16 ended with a verse that has caused some confusion. Jesus says "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." The confusion comes from the fact that these disciples are all dead but Jesus has not returned yet. Could this be a false prophesey? Critainly not.

This prophesey is actually fulfilled at the beginning of Matthew 17 with the Transfiguration of Jesus. "There he [Jesus] was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus."
My computer's dictionary program defines Transfigure as "To change completely the nature of something" and that a transfiguration is like a metamorphosis.
I will borrow the words of John Wesley for this section as he so eloquently says that when Jesus was transfigured or transformed...
"The indwelling Deity darted out its rays through the veil of the flesh; and that with such transcendent splendour, that he no longer bore the form of a servant. His face shone with Divine majesty, like the sun in its strength; and all his body was so irradiated by it, that his clothes could not conceal its glory, but became white and glittering as the very light, with which he covered himself as with a garment."
With the appearence of Moses and Elijah, Wesley continues saying "for the full confirmation of their faith in Jesus, Moses, the giver of the law, Elijah, the most zealous of all the prophets, and God speaking from heaven, all bore witness to him."
So we have Jesus transfigured, changed from the form of a servant to the vessel of God's full righteousness. Here Peter, James and John saw Jesus' full glory, saw Him clothed in splendour and righteousness, they saw Him in the full Glory of His Kingdom. Now Jesus' Kingdom is a heavenly one and not an earthly one so we will not 'see' Him in His Kingdom until we are taken there to dwell forever with Him in paradise. However we will know His glory once He comes to dwell in our heart as we are Transfigured and "born again" through Him and into Him.

Matthew 17 : 14-23 has Jesus healing a boy suffereing from a demon possession and the famous 'Mustard Seed' analogy. Jesus rebukes His disciples, calling them an "unbelieving and perverse generation" because they did not have the Faith to drive out the demon from the boy. Jesus continues by saying that "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus does not mention any pious acts such as knowing the correct prayers, fasting for long enough, or even having great theological understanding, simply that Faith is needed for anything to be possible for us. Faith in Him as our God, Saviour, Lord, and Creator. With this illustration Jesus indicates that even were we casting out mountains rather than demons, we would only be scratching the surface of a life of faith. What could we do with faith greater than that of a tiny mustard seed! Like children who have only begun to walk, most of us have only begun our adventure of faith.

Now "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17) and "it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ...to believe on Him" (Philippians 1:29). So Faith only comes through believing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, but believing in His gospel can only be achieved through His Spirit openeing our eyes and ears.

Jesus then is challenged about paying the The Temple Tax which He does to demonstrate that while He is the fulfillment of the Law He does not abandon it. Adult Jewish males throughout the Empire paid an annual two-drachma tax, based on Exodus 30:13-16, for the upkeep of the Jerusalem temple. Even, after the temple was destroyed, this tax remained important: after 70, the Romans required all Jewish people to pay that tax to the Roman government. Jesus asks "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?" This points out that The Children of the King are exempt from Taxes. However, some Jewish stories, which may be folktales but are probably not, speak of God blessing pious people by leading them to find precious objects in fish. If Peter knew of such stories, the moral of Jesus' causing him to find money in a fish would not be lost on him. This is irony of a sort: the King's children can pay the tax because the King gives them the money to do so. The wages of our Sins were payed by Jesus, He does not collect that 'tax' from His children, rather only the unsaved are required to pay for their sins with eternal death and separation from Him.