Search
The Gospel of Matthew shows how much Christ is versus religion. Matthew 1, 2, 3, 9, and 12 show that all things related to the Lord Jesus took place outside religion. The birth of the Lord was outside religion. He was sought and found outside religion. He was followed, served, and cared for outside religion. He was even introduced outside religion. Everything related to Him was versus religion. He rejected the old religion, and He also put the new religion aside. He cared neither for the religion of the Pharisees nor for the religion of John the Baptist. Outside religion He wants to be everything to us.
He is the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new garment, the new wine, and the new wineskin. Furthermore, He is the real David, the greater temple, the Lord of the Sabbath, the greater Jonah, and the greater Solomon. Our Lord is the Bridegroom for our appreciation. He is the new cloth to be made into a new garment for us to put on so that we may be in His presence. He is also the new wine to be our joy and satisfaction so that we may have life and be strong. He is even the new wineskin to uphold and preserve us. As the real David, He satisfies us; as the greater temple, He sets us free; as the Lord of the Sabbath, He gives us rest; as the greater Jonah, He gives us the crucified and resurrected life; and as the greater Solomon, He gives us wisdom.
One day Peter received the revelation that the Lord Jesus is the Son of the living God. The One in whom we believe and whom we follow is the Son of the living God. In Matthew 16:13 Jesus and His disciples went into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, which is on the border of the Holy Land. The holy temple is in the holy city, and the holy city is in the Holy Land. Everything outside the Holy Land is the land of the Gentiles. Caesarea Philippi cannot be considered Gentile land, but it is very close to Gentile land, because it is on the border of the Holy Land. If we want to know the Lord Jesus, we must be outside religion; we must not remain in the holy temple and the holy city. However, it is not sufficient to leave the holy temple and the holy city; we must also leave the Holy Land and follow Christ into a realm outside religion. The Lord Jesus took His disciples to the parts of Caesarea Philippi with the intention of bringing them completely out of their religious background, that is, out of the atmosphere, environment, and influence of religion so that they could break away from it.
As long as we have even a little religious concept, we will have a veil covering us. This veil will prevent us from knowing the Lord Jesus. We should not think that only unbelievers do not know the Lord Jesus. People in Christianity do not necessarily know the Lord Jesus. The “anity” in Christianity is a veil. The Lord must bring us out of religion. The Lord and His disciples came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi. The words into the parts of indicate being in a sphere. In this sphere there was no religious atmosphere, no religious environment, no religious background, and no religious influence. The religious veil was gone.
In Caesarea Philippi the Lord Jesus questioned His disciples, asking, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (v. 13). They said, “Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). In the sphere of religion people are filled with religious concepts and religious figures. John the Baptist was a new religious figure, Elijah was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, Jeremiah was next, and there were other prophets who were also considered great religious figures. This was how the religious people viewed the Lord Jesus.
The Lord then turned to His disciples and asked, “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). This was a revelation. It was not tradition, teaching, regulation, or religion. We must all receive a revelation of who Christ is. Christ is the Son of the living God. He is not merely the Son of God; He is the Son of the living God.
Spiritual matters are more difficult to learn than an academic course. A person who has a good teacher can learn mathematics. However, spiritual revelation often appears briefly and then disappears. It may seem as though we have seen something, but after a while it seems as though we have lost it. Peter received the heavenly revelation in Matthew 16 concerning who Christ is, but the Lord Jesus wanted Peter to receive a supplementary lesson.
After the revelation received in Matthew 16, verse 1 of chapter 17 says, “After six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain privately.” Luke 9:28 records the same event, and says, “About eight days after these words, He took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray.” Matthew 17:1 says six days, but Luke 9:28 says eight days. How could it be both six days and eight days? The Jews counted their days from five o’clock in the evening until five o’clock the following evening. Therefore, four o’clock in the evening until six o’clock the following evening is three days, because the first hour is counted as one day, and the last hour is also counted as one day. Hence, we may say that it is either one day or three days. Similarly, the period of time between the revelation concerning Christ and the vision on the mountain is recorded as six days in the Gospel of Matthew but eight days in the Gospel of Luke. This signifies that one week had elapsed. A week is a specific turn of time. A day is a short turn of time; a week is a longer turn of time; a month and a year are much longer turns of time.
The Lord brought only three disciples to a high mountain. If we want to see spiritual things, we must pay the price to go up to a high mountain. This time the Lord Jesus did not ask any questions; instead, He showed the disciples something. He was transfigured before the disciples. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light. The Jesus whom the disciples saw on the mountain was different from the person they saw on the plain. In this glorious scene Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared (Matt. 17:1-3). There is a mysterious aspect about both Moses and Elijah. When Moses died, God hid his body, and the children of Israel do not know where he was buried (Deut. 34:6). Elijah was taken up to heaven alive, and the children of Israel do not know where he went (2 Kings 2:11). However, that day on the high mountain not only did Moses appear, but Elijah also appeared.
Peter often took the lead to speak, and this time was not an exception. He said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You are willing, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matt. 17:4). Peter’s first sentence was right: “It is good for us to be here.” However, he spoke nonsensically when he said that he would make three tents, one for the Lord Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Moses and Elijah are representatives of the Old Testament, Moses representing the law and Elijah representing the prophets. When the Jews spoke of the Scriptures, they often did not use the term Scriptures; they referred to it as the Law and the Prophets. When they spoke of the Law and the Prophets, they were referring to the Scriptures. If someone asks us whether or not we want Christ, we would surely say that we want Christ. However, do we want the Law and the Prophets? If we want both Christ and the Law and the Prophets, we will be making two tents. That will surely be troublesome. Christ is not only versus religion; He is also versus the Law and the Prophets. He is versus the Scriptures of the Jews.
Peter’s nonsensical statement did not elevate Moses and Elijah, but it demoted Christ. He put Christ on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Therefore, a bright cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!” (v. 5). This word indicates that we should no longer listen to Moses or Elijah. The bright overshadowing cloud and the voice brought an atmosphere that greatly frightened the disciples, and they fell on their faces (v. 6). Then the Lord Jesus came to them and touched them, saying, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone (vv. 7-8).
If our Bible replaces Christ, we should not want the Bible. The Bible should not replace Christ. We must reach a point where we can say, “Hallelujah! I see Jesus Himself alone. I do not see anyone else.” Believers often say that the Bible says this and that. Yes, the Bible says this and that, but have we met Christ? It is one thing to know the Bible, but it is quite another to meet Christ. In her Bible reading, a young sister may come to Ephesians 6:1, which says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” She may be so touched by the verse that she makes up her mind to always obey her parents. After less than five minutes, however, her mother may unexpectedly complain about something, which rouses the young sister’s anger and causes her to forget the verse she just read. If, however, the sister has a time with the Lord in the morning, she will not only be touched by the verses but will also meet the Lord in her spirit. As a result, instead of becoming angry when her mother complains, she will be able to sing Hallelujah. Do we see the difference between these two situations? It is one thing to be touched when reading the Bible, but it is another thing to meet the Lord. The Bible should bring us to Christ. The Bible should cause us to meet the Lord. The Lord occupies a unique position. We should hear Him only.
When the disciples came down from the mountain, the Lord Jesus charged them not to tell the vision to anyone (Matt. 17:9). Matthew 16 contains a revelation; Matthew 17 contains a vision. The revelation in chapter 16 concerns Christ being the Son of the living God. The vision in chapter 17 shows that Christ is God’s beloved Son, God’s delight, and that we should hear Him. It is one thing to receive a revelation, it is another thing to see a vision, and it is still another thing to be able to apply the revelation that we have received and the vision that we have seen. Peter received a revelation, but he was still confused when he saw the vision.
After the vision on the mountain, the Lord and His disciples went to Capernaum, and those who take up the temple tax came to Peter. The temple tax was collected from the people of Israel for the holy temple, not for the Roman Empire. Exodus 30:11-16 says that every male Israelite was to give half-shekel as a ransom for himself. The half a shekel was used for the service of the holy temple. To pay the half-shekel was to pay tax to God’s temple, that is, to pay tax to God.
The collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?” (Matt. 17:24). This environment was arranged by God to expose whether or not Peter was clear about the vision that he had seen. Regrettably, when it was time to apply what he had seen, Peter completely forgot the vision. When he was asked, “Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?” he replied, “Yes” (v. 25) because from his youth he had been taught that in Exodus 30 Moses said every male Israelite should pay the temple tax. However, when Peter said yes, he was listening to Moses. From the time of Moses, generation after generation of the children of Israel had been listening to the word concerning every male paying the temple tax. Since Jesus was an Israelite, Peter assumed that Jesus would pay the temple tax.
After Peter said yes, he went into the house, and Jesus questioned him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive custom or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter said, “From strangers,” and Jesus said, “So then the sons are free” (Matt. 17:25-26). In effect, the Lord seemed to be saying, “Did you not hear the voice on the mountain? I am the Son of God.” When Peter heard the Lord’s word, he might have thought, “This must mean that He should not pay the temple tax. I am wrong again!” The Lord then said to him, “But that we do not stumble them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a stater; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (v. 27). I think that after Peter heard the Lord’s words, he must have been at a loss. He might have thought, “Lord, You are giving me a difficult time. You said that You do not pay the temple tax, but You also said that You would pay the temple tax. You are always right whether You say yes or no, but I am always wrong whether I say yes or no. Therefore, from now on, no one should listen to me; rather, we should listen to You!” The voice on the mountain said, “Hear Him!” (v. 5). Peter should have told those who collected the temple tax that he needed to ask the Lord because he was told to hear Him. If Peter had replied in this way, he would have applied the vision that he had seen, and it would have spared him much trouble.
Peter created trouble for himself. After telling Peter that He would pay the temple tax, the Lord Jesus said, “Go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a stater; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (v. 27). Peter was probably very depressed when he went fishing. While the other disciples were in the house, he was sent to fish. When he cast the hook, he might have wondered when the first fish would come. He might have waited for a long time. In this way Peter learned a lesson. He probably regretted and thought that if he had not been so fast to express his opinion, he would not be waiting for a fish.
This example is simple; however, it presents the Lord Jesus as today’s Moses, today’s law. He is the living law. If He says that we should pay, then we pay; if He says that we should not pay, then we should not pay. Whatever He says, we should do. We should listen to Him. This example also presents the Lord Jesus as today’s Prophet. We should not listen to anyone else; rather, we listen only to the living Jesus.
This does not mean that we should despise or even neglect the Bible. However, the Bible does not give clear instructions concerning many things in our daily living. For example, the Bible does not say how long a sister’s hair should be. It does not say how long her skirt should be. We cannot find an answer to these matters in any of the sixty-six books of the Bible. How should we handle these matters? We can ask the Lord Jesus. He is in us. He is our living law, our living Moses.
Not only so, He is the living Prophet, our living Elijah who prophesies. The Lord’s prophecies are always fulfilled. When He says to go fishing, the fish will come. When He says to open the mouth of the fish and find a stater, it will be fulfilled. He is today’s living Elijah. Hence, when we have the Lord, we do not need Moses or Elijah. When we have Jesus, we do not need anyone else. In the Old Testament a person had to find a way to pay the temple tax, even if he did not have money, in order to fulfill the commandment of Moses. However, the Lord Jesus, today’s Moses, is not like this. When He asks us to pay the temple tax, He will provide a way for us. He says, “Go fishing. When the fish comes, open its mouth, and you will get a stater.” This is today’s Elijah. His prophecy is His supply. Jesus not only gives us commandments, but He also prophesies to supply the demand of the commandment. As long as we listen to Him and do everything according to His word, the supply and the strength will come.
Our Lord Jesus is outside religion. We do not have religion, doctrine, or regulation. We have only the living Jesus. He is the living law, the living Moses, and the living Prophet, the living Elijah. We should listen to what He says and do whatever He asks. Then we will receive the supply. This is the Son of the living God.
