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Week 13 — Day 1
16:28 Truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall by no means taste death until they see the Son of Man 1coming in His kingdom.
17:1 And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a 1high mountain privately.
281 This was fulfilled by the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain (17:1-2). His transfiguration was His coming in His kingdom. It was seen by His three disciples — Peter, James, and John.
11 Since the Lord’s transfiguration occurred six days after the revelations (given at the foot of Mount Hermon) in ch. 16 concerning Christ and the church, the high mountain here must be Mount Hermon. To receive the revelation concerning Christ and the church, we must be far away from the religious environment; but to see the vision of the transfigured Christ, we need to be on a high mountain, far above the earthly level.
The record from 13:53—17:8 portrays the way to follow the heavenly King, from His rejection to the entering of the manifestation of the kingdom. His followers not only shared His being rejected by the Jews (13:53-58) but also were persecuted and even martyred by Gentile politics (14:1-12). They were in a deserted place with Him in a situation of poverty, yet they were richly cared for by Him (14:13-21). When they were on the stormy sea under the contrary wind, He walked on the sea, calmed the storm, and brought them through (14:22-34). At that point many sick ones were healed by touching Him (14:35-36), but the hypocritical worshippers of God came to heckle Him because His followers transgressed their tradition (15:1-20). Then His disciples followed Him to a Gentile region, where a demon possessed Gentile was healed (15:21-28). After that, they followed Him along the sea of Galilee and up the mountain, where all kinds of sick people were healed and the need of His followers and the crowd was again richly provided for in a barren wilderness (15:29-39). After that, both the fundamentalists and the modernists of that day came to tempt Him, and He indicated that He would die to be a unique sign to them (16:1-4). Then He charged His followers to beware of the leaven of both the fundamentalists and the modernists (16:5-12). After all that, He brought His followers to the border of the Holy Land, close to a Gentile land, that they might have a revelation of Him, of the church, and of the cross as the way for them to enter into the kingdom (16:13-28). Finally, He brought them into glory in the manifestation of the kingdom (17:1-8).
Matthew 13:53—17:8 is a marvelous doctrinal section. Thirty-four years ago, I gave a message on this portion of the Word in Shanghai. I had just arrived there as a newcomer in the work with Brother Nee. I was asked to give the message one Sunday morning. Then I received the burden to minister on the subject of the pathway to glory.… Nearly all the points in that message were the same as those covered in these messages on the pathway to glory. Although I had not yet seen the matter of eating, the structure of the message was the same as that of these messages. How wonderful it is to be on the pathway to glory! I can testify that during the past forty-four years I have taken every step of this pathway.…Because I have been walking this pathway for such a long time, in a sense I have already entered into glory. Others of us are either in the glory or are very close to it. Although some of us may be in the glory, we are still on the pathway to a greater degree of glory. We all need to keep walking on this pathway until the Lord comes back. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 583-584)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 583-584; Hymns: #966
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Day 2
2 And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light.
3 And behold, 1Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him.
4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You are willing, I will make 1three tents 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, 1This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!
Not many Christians realize that Christ’s transfiguration was His coming in His kingdom. In the past we pointed out that the Lord’s coming will not take place suddenly; rather, it will come gradually. In a sense, the Lord will come back from heaven; but in another sense, He will come out of us. When He fully lives Himself out of us, that will be the time of His coming. According to Matthew 17:1-2 with 16:28, His coming was His transfiguration, and His transfiguration was His glorification. When He was transfigured, He was glorified.
Now we must see what it means to be glorified. When Christ, who is God, became a man, His divinity was incarnated in His humanity.…Outwardly, He was a man, but inwardly He was the very God.…The God hidden within the humanity of Jesus was the very glory. Thus, the glorious divine element was concealed within the human element of Jesus.…In Christ’s transfiguration, His humanity was glorified; it was brought into God’s glory. Before that time, God was in Him, but His humanity was not in God’s glory. In His transfiguration His humanity was thoroughly saturated with His glorious divinity. In the coming manifestation of the kingdom, Christ will be like this. He will be the very Christ with both divinity and humanity, but His humanity will be soaked with His divinity.
The day is coming when we shall not only see this, but also experience it ourselves.…Our humanity will be glorified by the glorious divinity within us.…It is to be transfigured, not from without, but from within.…Second Thessalonians 1:10 says, “When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in all those who have believed.” (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 585-587)
31 Moses died and God hid his body (Deut. 34:5-6); Elijah was taken by God into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). God purposely did these two things that Moses and Elijah might appear with Christ on the mount of His transfiguration. They were preserved by God so that they could be the two witnesses in the great tribulation (Rev. 11:3-4). Moses represented the law, and Elijah, the prophets; and the law and the prophets were the constituents of the Old Testament as a full testimony of Christ (John 5:39). Now Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with Christ concerning His death (Luke 9:31), which had been spoken of in the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27, 44; 1 Cor. 15:3).
41 In his absurd proposal, Peter put Moses and Elijah on the same level as Christ; i.e., he made the law and the prophets equal with Christ. This was absolutely against God’s economy. In God’s economy the law and the prophets are only a testimony of Christ; they should not be put on the same level with Him.
51 This declaration of the Father, given to vindicate the Son, was first spoken after Christ’s rising from baptism, which signified His resurrection from the dead. This was the second time the Father made this declaration, this time to vindicate the Son in His transfiguration, which prefigures the coming kingdom.
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 585-588; Hymns: #949
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Day 3
8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw 1no 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 is raised from the dead.
10 And the disciples asked Him, saying, Why then do the scribes say that 1Elijah must come first?
11 And He answered and said, 1Elijah indeed is coming and will restore all things;
12 But I say to you that 1Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him, but did with him the things they wished. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer by them.
81 Peter proposed to keep Moses and Elijah, i.e., the law and the prophets, with Christ, but God took Moses and Elijah away, leaving no one except Jesus Himself. The law and the prophets were shadows and prophecies, not the reality; the reality is Christ. Now that Christ, the reality, is here, the shadows and prophecies are no longer needed. No one except Jesus Himself should remain in the New Testament. Jesus is today’s Moses; as such, He imparts the law of life into His believers. Jesus is also today’s Elijah; as such, He speaks for God and speaks forth God within His believers. This is God’s New Testament economy.
101 This was according to Mal. 4:5-6.
111 This will be fulfilled at the time of the great tribulation, when Elijah will be one of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-4), as prophesied in Mal. 4:5-6.
121 This refers to John the Baptist (v. 13), who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:13-17) and was rejected (11:18) and beheaded (14:3-12).
God took Moses and Elijah away because He would not tolerate seeing His children rank anyone on the same level as His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, when the disciples saw the Lord Jesus, they saw no one except Him alone. This was a lesson to them.
As we await the coming of the kingdom, we must learn not to rank Moses, Elijah, or anyone else on the same level as Christ. Instead, we need to learn to experience Christ as our Moses and Elijah. He is the One imparting the law of life into us. In other words, as our present, real, subjective Moses He is regulating us from within. Moreover, He is also our present and subjective Elijah, constantly speaking for God and speaking forth God within us. We must listen to Him.
[In verse 9] we see the principle that the manifestation of the kingdom can be revealed only in resurrection. Anyone who is not in resurrection is not qualified to see it. If we believe in resurrection and live in resurrection, we will be in glory, even though the manifestation of the kingdom has not yet come. When we live and walk in resurrection, we have the sense that we are in glory and that we can see the glorious manifestation of the kingdom. Thus, the manifestation of the kingdom can be revealed only to those in resurrection. For this reason, the Lord Jesus charged the disciples not to talk about His coming in His kingdom.
The Lord Jesus told the disciples that Elijah would come and restore all things (v. 11). This word indicates that the coming of the kingdom was not yet in full. In the future there will be a full manifestation of the kingdom.…John the Baptist was Elijah, but he was not Elijah in full. The full coming of Elijah will take place in the future.…In the Bible the fulfillment of prophecy is often like this. First there is a partial fulfillment, then the complete fulfillment.…Today we see in Christ’s transfiguration a miniature of the coming manifestation of the kingdom. The miniature assures us that the full manifestation will come. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 590-593)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 590-593; Hymns: #538, #589
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Day 4
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came to Him, falling on his knees before Him and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire and often into the water.
16 And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.
17 And Jesus answered and said, O unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.
18 And Jesus rebuked it, and the demon came out from him; and the boy was healed from that hour.
22 And…Jesus said to them, The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,
23 And they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised. And they were greatly grieved.
Immediately after the record of the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain, we have the record of the healing of a demon possessed person (17:14-21). Following this, the Lord spoke to His disciples the second time about His crucifixion and resurrection (17:22-23). Then we have the incident regarding paying the temple tax (17:24-27). As we read chapter seventeen, it may be difficult to understand the connection between all these things. If we would understand the Gospel of Matthew, we need to remember that Matthew puts different facts together to reveal a doctrine.
We have pointed out that the coming of the kingdom in 16:28—17:2 was not the coming of the kingdom in full; it was simply a miniature and a foretaste. The prophecies concerning the manifestation of the kingdom have not yet been completely fulfilled. When we get out of the sphere of the transfiguration, out of the atmosphere of the manifestation of the kingdom, we face the power of darkness outside the kingdom. Demon possession signifies the power of darkness. In the realm of the Lord’s transfiguration there is glory, but outside this realm there is the power of darkness. While we are enjoying the transfiguration on the mountaintop, others are in the valley suffering from demon possession. During an inspiring conference or training, we may have the sense that we are on the Mount of Transfiguration. However, when we return home, we realize that the power of darkness is still all around us. To deal with the power of darkness there is the need of the exercise of the authority of the heavenly King (17:18). We can exercise this authority only through prayer and fasting [v. 21]. As the heavenly King, the Lord has such authority, but we need to pray, even with fasting, to execute the Lord’s authority.
[In verses 22 and 23 we have the second unveiling of the crucifixion and resurrection.] The transfiguration on the mountaintop was not the full transfiguration. Christ still had to pass through crucifixion and enter into resurrection. Matthew specifically says that the disciples “were greatly grieved.” According to the concept of Peter, James, and John, the Christ who had been transfigured on the mountaintop did not need to be crucified. Thus, they might have said, “Christ has already been transfigured. Why does He still need to pass through crucifixion and resurrection?” Because the disciples had a mistaken concept, they were grieved at the Lord’s word.
We also may have times when we have a foretaste of the transfiguration. Afterward, however, we still need to descend from the mountain and bear the cross in the presence of our husband or wife. No matter how excellent the experience of transfiguration might be, we still need to stay under the killing of the cross. By bearing the cross we pass through crucifixion into resurrection. This is the connection between these three sections of Matthew. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 595-596)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 595-596; Hymns: #474
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Day 5
24 And when they came to Capernaum, those who take up the 1temple tax came to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the 1temple tax?
25 He said, 1Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus 2anticipated 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?
26 And when he said, From strangers, Jesus said to him, So then the sons are free.
Unless we receive light from the Lord, it is difficult to see the connection between verses 1 through 23 and verses 24 through 27. In 17:24-27 we have the matter of paying the temple tax to the poll tax gatherers. This is a test to determine whether or not we know how to apply the revelation and vision concerning Christ. In chapter sixteen Peter received a clear revelation from the heavenly Father regarding Christ as the Son of the living God. From that time onward, Peter was certain that Christ was the Son of the living God. Following this, on the mountaintop he saw a vision of Christ manifested as the Son of the living God. Therefore, he both received the revelation and saw the vision. It is possible to have a revelation without having a vision. What Peter received from the heavenly Father in chapter sixteen was merely the revelation. In chapter seventeen he saw the Son of God manifested and expressed through the man Jesus of Nazareth. Nothing could have been more clear than this revelation and vision.
Peter, however, had to be tested regarding the application of the revelation and the vision. To receive the revelation and to see the vision is one thing, but to apply them in a practical way is another. For example, we probably all have received the revelation from Galatians 2:20 that we have been crucified with Christ and that Christ lives in us. Perhaps even the weakest one among us has received this revelation. However, when your wife or husband gives you a difficult time, can you still say, “It is not I, but Christ”? When you are with your wife or husband, the revelation of having been crucified with Christ and of Christ living in you may vanish. Very few who have received this revelation apply it to the practical matters in their daily living. Peter might have been like this. He might have said, “I have received the revelation that Jesus is the Son of the living God, and I saw Him transfigured on the mountain. This is very clear to me. Perhaps you have not seen this vision, but I have.” For Peter to receive the revelation and see the vision was wonderful. But now he had to be tested by those who collected the poll tax.
Verse 24 says, “And when they came to Capernaum, those who take up the temple tax came to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?”…When Peter was asked this question, he immediately said, “Yes.” Peter did not know how to apply the revelation and the vision, and he was exposed.…It is the same with us today. After a conference or training, we may proclaim that we will never be the same. But I assure you that after you return home, you will be exactly the same. However, do not let this disappoint you. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 596-598)
241 A Jewish poll tax for the temple, equal to a half-shekel (Exo. 30:12-16; 38:26).
251 On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter heard the voice from heaven, which charged him to hear Christ (17:5). If he had still remembered that word, he would have referred the poll tax gatherers’ question to Christ to hear what He would say. But he answered instead of listening to what Christ would say.
252 Peter had spoken presumptuously. Hence, the Lord stopped him and corrected him before he began to speak to Him.
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 596-598; Hymns: #501
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Day 6
24 And when they came to Capernaum, those who take up the temple tax came to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the temple tax?
25 He said, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus anticipated 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?
26 And when he said, From strangers, Jesus said to him, So then the 1sons are free.
27 But that we do not stumble them, 1go 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 2stater; take that and 3give it to them for Me 4and you.
261 The sons of kings are always free from paying custom or poll tax. The half-shekel was paid by God’s people for His temple. Since Christ was the Son of God, He was free from paying it. This was contrary to Peter’s answer concerning this matter.
Peter had received the revelation concerning Christ’s being the Son of God (16:16-17) and had seen the vision of the Son of God (v. 5). Now, in application of what he had seen, he was put to the test by the poll tax gatherers’ question. He failed in his answer because he forgot the revelation that he had received and the vision that he had seen. He forgot that the Lord was the Son of God, who, as such, did not need to pay the poll tax for His Father’s house.
271 After shutting Peter’s mouth, the Lord, as the New Testament Prophet, today’s Elijah, told him to go fishing and that in so doing he would find a stater. This prophecy was fulfilled. Peter was no doubt troubled that he had to go fishing and wait for a fish to appear with a stater.
272 Equal to one shekel.
273 After convincing Peter that He did not need to pay the half-shekel, the Lord, as the New Testament Lawgiver, today’s Moses, commanded Peter to pay it for Him. The Lord did this purposely to teach Peter that in God’s New Testament economy He is the unique One; neither Moses nor Elijah nor Peter nor anyone else has the position to speak or to give the command.
274 While the Lord was correcting and teaching Peter, He took care of his need. This is always the Lord’s way in dealing with us.
When Peter answered yes, the Lord said no. But when Peter was convinced that the Lord did not need to pay the tax, the Lord told him that He would pay it. Perhaps Peter was about to go after the poll tax gatherers and tell them that the Lord did not need to pay the tax. Peter might have been considering this when the Lord charged him to catch a fish with a stater in its mouth and to use that stater to pay the tax. The tax had to be paid in order not to stumble others. We cannot subdue the Lord Jesus. Whatever He says is always right, and whatever we propose to Him is always wrong. Christ is today’s Moses; He makes the laws. When He says yes, the answer is yes; and when He says no, it is no. What we say means nothing. It is what He says that counts. The meaning of the vision on the mountaintop is that we should hear the Lord Jesus and not anyone else, including ourselves. Christ, not Moses, is the One to say yes or no. Regarding the same matter, the Lord may say yes to someone else and no to you. If he does this, do not argue with Him.
The record here is very simple, but the story is rich in its implications.…For us today, Christ is our Moses and Elijah.…Whatever He says, that is the law, the law of life. Furthermore, what He says is today’s prophecy to meet our present, practical situation. This is not merely a story; it is a lesson for Peter and for us as well. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 600-602)
Suggested daily reading: Life-study of Matthew, pp. 598-602; Hymns: #537
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 13 — Prophecy
IV. The King’s being rejected (12:1—27:66)
D. The path of rejection (16:13—23:39)
1. Before going to Judea (16:13—18:35)
c. Transfiguration in the miniature of the kingdom (16:28—17:13)
d. The casting out of an epileptic demon (17:14-21)
e. The second unveiling of the crucifixion and resurrection (17:22-23)
f. The application of the revelation and vision of Christ’s sonship (17:24-27)
The Lord’s transfiguration was a miniature of the kingdom (16:28—17:13). Not many Christians realize that Christ’s transfiguration was His coming in His kingdom. According to Matthew 17:1-2 with 16:28, His coming was His transfiguration, and His transfiguration was His glorification. When He was transfigured, He was glorified.
Now we must see what it means to be glorified. When Christ, who is God, became a man, His divinity was incarnated in His humanity. The God hidden within the humanity of Jesus was the very glory. For the Lord Jesus to be transfigured meant that His humanity was saturated and permeated with His divinity. We may say that His humanity was soaked with divinity. This transfiguration, which was His glorification, was equal to His coming in His kingdom.
As we await the coming of the kingdom, we must learn not to rank Moses, Elijah, or anyone else on the same level as Christ. Instead, we need to learn to experience Christ as our Moses and Elijah. He is the One imparting the law of life into us. In other words, as our present, real, subjective Moses He is regulating us from within. Moreover, He is also our present and subjective Elijah, constantly speaking for God and speaking forth God within us. We must listen to Him.
The coming of the kingdom in 16:28—17:2 was simply a miniature and a foretaste. When we get out of the sphere of the transfiguration, we face the power of darkness outside the kingdom. While we are enjoying the transfiguration on the mountaintop, others are in the valley suffering from demon possession. To deal with the power of darkness there is the need of the exercise of the authority of the heavenly King (17:18). We can exercise this authority only through prayer and fasting.
The transfiguration on the mountaintop was not the full transfiguration; Christ still had to pass through crucifixion and enter into resurrection. Hence, He unveiled His crucifixion and resurrection a second time (vv. 22-23). According to the disciples’ mistaken concept, the Christ who had been transfigured on the mountaintop did not need to be crucified. Therefore, they “were greatly grieved” at His word. No matter how excellent the experience of transfiguration might be, we still need to stay under the killing of the cross. By bearing the cross we pass through crucifixion into resurrection.
In 17:24-27 we have the matter of paying the temple tax to the poll tax gatherers. This is a test to determine whether or not we know how to apply the revelation and vision concerning Christ. On the mountain Peter talked too much, and he was rebuked for it. Now when the poll tax gatherers asked him whether or not the Lord paid the temple tax (v. 24), he still had too much to say and did not hesitate to answer. Peter had spoken presumptuously in both situations. Whatever the Lord Jesus says is always right, and whatever we propose to Him is always wrong. What we say means nothing. It is what He says that counts. The meaning of the vision on the mountaintop is that we should hear the Lord Jesus and not anyone else, including ourselves.
Composition for prophecy with main point and sub-points:
