Matthew 16–17

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The Demand for a Sign

^16:1Now when the Pharisees¹ and Sadducees² came to test Jesus,³ they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.⁴^16:2He⁵ said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ ^16:3and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’⁶ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky,⁷ but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. ^16:4A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then⁸ he left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

^16:5When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread. ^16:6“Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees⁹ and Sadducees.”¹⁰^16:7So¹¹ they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” ^16:8When Jesus learned of this,¹² he said, “You who have such little faith!¹³ Why are you arguing¹⁴ among yourselves about having no bread? ^16:9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? ^16:10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? ^16:11How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ^16:12Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession

^16:13When¹⁵ Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi,¹⁶ he asked his disciples,¹⁷ “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ^16:14They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,¹⁸ and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ^16:15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ^16:16Simon Peter answered,¹⁹ “You are the Christ,²⁰ the Son of the living God.” ^16:17And Jesus answered him,²¹ “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood²² did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! ^16:18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades²³ will not overpower it. ^16:19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” ^16:20Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.²⁴

First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

^16:21From that time on²⁵ Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem²⁶ and suffer²⁷ many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,²⁸ and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ^16:22So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him:²⁹ “God forbid,³⁰ Lord! This must not happen to you!” ^16:23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”³¹^16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower,³² he must deny³³ himself, take up his cross,³⁴ and follow me. ^16:25For whoever wants to save his life³⁵ will lose it,³⁶ but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ^16:26For what does it benefit a person³⁷ if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? ^16:27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.³⁸^16:28I tell you the truth,³⁹ there are some standing here who will not⁴⁰ experience⁴¹ death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”⁴²

The Transfiguration

^17:1Six days later¹ Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James,² and led them privately up a high mountain. ^17:2And he was transfigured before them.³ His⁴ face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ^17:3Then Moses⁵ and Elijah⁶ also appeared before them, talking with him. ^17:4So⁷ Peter said⁸ to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make⁹ three shelters¹⁰—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ^17:5While he was still speaking, a¹¹ bright cloud¹² overshadowed¹³ them, and a voice from the cloud said,¹⁴ “This is my one dear Son,¹⁵ in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!”¹⁶^17:6When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.¹⁷^17:7But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” ^17:8When¹⁸ they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.

^17:9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,¹⁹ “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ^17:10The disciples asked him,²⁰ “Why then do the experts in the law²¹ say that Elijah must come first?” ^17:11He²² answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. ^17:12And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In²³ the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” ^17:13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

The Disciples’ Failure to Heal

^17:14When²⁴ they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ^17:15and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures²⁵ and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water. ^17:16I brought him to your disciples, but²⁶ they were not able to heal him.” ^17:17Jesus answered,²⁷ “You²⁸ unbelieving²⁹ and perverse generation! How much longer³⁰ must I be with you? How much longer must I endure³¹ you?³² Bring him here to me.” ^17:18Then³³ Jesus rebuked³⁴ the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that moment. ^17:19Then the disciples came³⁵ to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” ^17:20He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth,³⁶ if you have faith the size of³⁷ a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing³⁸ will be impossible for you.”³⁹

Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

^17:22When⁴⁰ they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.⁴¹^17:23They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^17:24After⁴² they arrived in Capernaum,⁴³ the collectors of the temple tax⁴⁴ came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” ^17:25He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first,⁴⁵ “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes—from their sons⁴⁶ or from foreigners?” ^17:26After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons⁴⁷ are free. ^17:27But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin.⁴⁸ Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

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Footnotes

1 See the note on Pharisees in .
2 See the note on Sadducees in .
3 The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.
4 What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
5 Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.
6 Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).
7 Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”
8 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
9 See the note on Pharisees in .
10 See the note on Sadducees in .
11 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ saying about the Pharisees and Sadducees.
12 Or “becoming aware of it.”
13 Grk “Those of little faith.”
14 Or “discussing.”
15 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
16 For location see ; .
17 Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.
18 The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
19 Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”
20 Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
21 Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.
22 The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so , ; cf. “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.
23 Or “and the power of death” (taking the reference to the gates of Hades as a metonymy). In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13–14). Some translations render this by its modern equivalent, “hell”; others see it as a reference to the power of death.
24 Most (א2 C W 𝔐 lat bo) have “Jesus, the Christ” (Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός, Iēsous ho Christos) here, while D has “Christ Jesus” (ὁ Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς). On the one hand, this is a much harder reading than the mere Χριστός, because the name Jesus was already well known for the disciples’ master—both to them and to others. Whether he was the Messiah is the real focus of the passage. But this is surely too hard a reading: There are no other texts in which the Lord tells his disciples not to disclose his personal name. Further, it is plainly a motivated reading in that scribes had the proclivity to add Ἰησοῦς to χριστός or to κύριος (kurios, “Lord”), regardless of whether such was appropriate to the context. In this instance it clearly is not, and it only reveals that scribes sometimes, if not often, did not think about the larger interpretive consequences of their alterations to the text. Further, the shorter reading is well supported by א* B L Δ Θ f1, 13 565 700 1424 al it sa. Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
25 Grk “From then.”
26 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
27 The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.
28 Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
29 Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
30 Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”
31 Grk “people.”
32 Grk “to come after me.”
33 This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
34 To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
35 Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25–26).
36 The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.
37 Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
38 An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.
39 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
40 The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mē) is the strongest possible.
41 Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. γεύομαι 2).
42 Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Christ’s role in the Church; (5) the destruction of Jerusalem; (6) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to six days later in 17:1 seems to indicate that Matthew had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration would be a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (in vv. 21–23), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.
1 Grk “And after six days.”
2 Grk “John his brother” with “his” referring to James.
3 In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42–49; 2 Cor 5:1–10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).
4 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
5 Grk “And behold, Moses.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1).
6 Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18–22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5–6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).
7 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.
8 Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
9 Instead of the singular future indicative ποιήσω (poiēsō, “I will make”), most witnesses (C3 D L W Θ [Φ] 0281 f[1],13 33 𝔐 lat sy co) have the plural aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (poiēsōmen, “let us make”). But since ποιήσωμεν is the reading found in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, as well as a few others (א B C* 700 ) have ποιήσω. It is thus more likely that the singular verb is authentic.
10 Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles). Peter apparently wanted to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles or Booths that looked forward to the end and wanted to treat Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as equals by making three shelters (one for each). It was actually a way of expressing honor to Jesus, but the next verse makes it clear that it was not enough honor.
11 Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1).
12 This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.
13 Or “surrounded.”
14 Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.
15 Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agapētos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also 1).
16 The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.
17 Grk “they fell down on their faces.” πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
18 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
19 Grk “Jesus commanded them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
20 Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
21 Or “do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in .
22 Grk “And answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation.
23 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
24 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
25 Grk “he is moonstruck,” possibly meaning “lunatic” (so , ), although now the term is generally regarded as referring to some sort of seizure disorder such as epilepsy (L&N 23.169; σεληνιάζομαι).
26 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
27 Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
28 Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (ō), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
29 Or “faithless.” The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.
30 Grk “how long.”
31 Or “put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
32 The pronouns you … you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
33 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
34 Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).
35 Grk “coming, the disciples said.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.
36 Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
37 Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
38 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
39 Many important (א* B Θ 0281 33 579 892* e ff1 sys,c sa) do not include 17:21 “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” The verse is included in א2 C D L W f1, 13 𝔐 lat, but is almost certainly not original. As B. M. Metzger notes, “Since there is no satisfactory reason why the passage, if originally present in Matthew, should have been omitted in a wide variety of witnesses, and since copyists frequently inserted material derived from another Gospel, it appears that most manuscripts have been assimilated to the parallel in Mk 9.29” ( ). The present translation follows in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.
40 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
41 The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. “into human hands”; , “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47–56; Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–53; John 18:2–12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.
42 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
43 For location see ; ; .
44 Grk “Collectors of the double drachma.” This is a case of metonymy, where the coin formerly used to pay the tax (the double drachma coin, or δίδραχμον [didrachmon]) was put for the tax itself (cf. ). Even though this coin was no longer in circulation in NT times and other coins were used to pay the tax, the name for the coin was still used to refer to the tax itself. The temple tax refers to the half-shekel tax paid annually by male Jews to support the temple (Exod 30:13–16).
45 Grk “spoke first to him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
46 The phrase their sons may mean “their citizens,” but the term “sons” has been retained here in order to preserve the implicit comparison between the Father and his Son, Jesus.
47 See the note on the phrase their sons in the previous verse.
48 The four drachma coin was a stater (στατήρ, statēr), a silver coin worth four drachmas. One drachma was equivalent to one denarius, the standard pay for a day’s labor (L&N 6.80).