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The Bible Breakdown: Daily Bible Reading
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The Bible Breakdown: Daily Bible Reading
Matthew 17: A Glimpse of the Kingdom
Matthew 17 provides us with a glimpse of Jesus in his kingdom glory as he is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on the mountain, revealing his true divine nature with Moses and Elijah appearing beside him.
• Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain where his appearance transforms—face shining like the sun, clothes white as light
• Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, representing the Law and the Prophets
• Peter suggests building three shelters before God's voice declares "This is my beloved Son"
• Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy that the disciples couldn't help
• Jesus teaches about faith as small as a mustard seed moving mountains
• Jesus predicts his death and resurrection for the disciples
• Jesus miraculously provides a coin in a fish's mouth for the temple tax
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, matthew, chapter 17,. And today's title is A Glimpse of the Kingdom. A Glimpse of the Kingdom. We're going to talk about something that just does not get enough play when it comes to understanding the Gospels and the amazing things that Jesus did while he was on this earth, and so I can't wait to get into this. And, if you have your Bibles, open up with me to Matthew, chapter 17. While you're doing that, as always, take just a moment like share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help. Make sure, if you are not currently subscribed to the YouTube channel, you do that. We are trying to get to over 2,000 subscribers. It doesn't cost you anything, but it really helps us, unlocks different things that YouTube does. And then make sure you go to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook. There is a growing, amazing team there that does just a wonderful, faithful job of opening up God's Word to us, and you can find the links to all of those as well at thebiblebreakdowncom.
Speaker 1:Well, once again, if you've been with us for the past while we've been walking through the gospel of Matthew with this one big idea, and that is Jesus is the king. And Matthew starts chapter one with just waving the receipts and going. I can prove to you that he is the rightful king of our earthly kingdom. But even more so, I'm going to spend the rest of this book telling you how he is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And today, in chapter 17, he is going to give us a glimpse of the kingdom of God. And what this reminds me of is I want to tell you how much of a nerd I am and how old I am, and that is this that when we, when the Lord of the Rings first came out right Like the Lord of the Rings, fellowship of the Ring and then the second one, when those first came out, I didn't really watch them at first.
Speaker 1:I didn't know anything about it, didn't care anything about it. Then I went and watched the first two movies and I was like, wow, those were really good. Actually, it turns out they were amazing, and I got to learning about who the author, know the the author, j J R R Tolkien, and all this stuff. I was super excited, and so then I could not wait for the third one to come out, and there was a little bit of time that had to pass before I was able to watch the preview of the third Lord of the Rings. And, when I tell you, when that day came, I was ready to watch the trailer for the movie just as much as people would have been to actually see the movie. I was so excited and so I was waiting. I was actually at work and it was like at a certain moment that third trailer was going to drop, and as soon as it did, I remember just being on the edge of my seat and just watching like whoa. And then what was even more amazing is the next few days they were going to start dropping different behind the scenes things, and I was so excited. And when I watched the preview, the trailer of the third movie, it got me so excited that, when I tell you, almost every single day I thought about what was coming. I couldn't wait. And so it was amazing and it wasn't one of those things that after I watched the trailer I was like, ah well, you know, I guess that'll be there. No, no, I kept going back to it and watching it over and over again and watching the behind-the-scenes stuff, so that by the time it actually happened I was so excited that it was ridiculous. That's the level of nerd that I am and I used to be so much into movies. Well, today we're going to see that, when it comes to what happens to Jesus Remember yesterday, at the end of the chapter, as a matter of fact, I'll go ahead and read to you the very last verse Jesus tells them.
Speaker 1:He says I tell you the truth. Some standing here right now will not die before they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. In other words, they are not going to die before they see me as the king, before they see what I look like in my kingdom glory. Well, today, in chapter 17, they get a trailer, they get a preview of what Jesus looks like. And Peter, god love him. I'm so thankful for Peter. He makes me feel better because he just does something stupid. But I would do the exact same thing, because what do you do when you see the King of Kings move into his glory for just a moment? A little preview, a little trailer. So you ready, let's do this. Chapter 17 a preview, a glimpse of the King in his kingdom.
Speaker 1:Verse 1 says this six days later, jesus took Peter and the two brothers, james and John, and led them up to a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, jesus appearance transformed so that his face shone like the Sun and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here. If you want, we'll make three shelters as memorials one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said this is my beloved Son who brings me great joy. Listen to him.
Speaker 1:The disciples were terrified, as you would be, and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them and said get up, don't be afraid. And when they looked up, moses and Elijah were gone and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down the mountain, jesus commanded them Don't tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of man has been raised from the dead. Then his disciples asked him why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? Jesus replied Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. But I tell you, elijah has already come, but he wasn't recognized and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of man suffer. Then the disciples realized that he was talking about John the Baptist. Let's finish the chapter and we'll come back to this, verse 14,.
Speaker 1:At the foot of the mountain a large crowd was waiting for him. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him. And Jesus said oh, you faithless and corrupt people. How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me. Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him and from that moment the boy was well.
Speaker 1:Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately why couldn't we cast out the demon? Well, because you don't have enough faith, jesus told them. I tell you the truth if you had enough faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain move from here to there, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. After they gathered again in Galilee, jesus told them the Son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead. At this, at the disciples, and the disciples were filled with grief. In other words, they're finally starting to get it.
Speaker 1:Verse 24, when he arrived at Capernaum, which was his ministry headquarters, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and asked him doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax? Well, yes, he does, peter replied, but then he went into the house Before Peter had a chance to ask to speak. Jesus asked him what do you think, pete? Do the kings pay taxes for their own people, or do the people? Wait a minute? Say it again. What do you think, peter? Do kings tax their own people or people they have conquered? The tax goes to the people they have conquered. Peter replied Well then, the citizens are free. However, we don't want to offend them.
Speaker 1:So go down to the lake and throw in a line, open the mouth of the first fish you catch and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for us both. Can you imagine that last bit right there? How many miracles had to happen for that. First of all, somebody would have had to have dropped a silver coin that actually would pay the temple tax for both of them in the water, then a fish would have had to swallow it. Then that fish was going to have to be where Peter was going to throw out that line. Then he was going to have to actually catch it and not get away and then open it up and find it. So many miracles had to happen there. But while there are so many things to go into this, I'd encourage you to go to the Bible breakdown discussion so you can dig into that.
Speaker 1:I want to take just a moment to talk about that moment of transfiguration. The Bible says that Jesus went up on a mountain and when he did, his body began to transform and he became into a glorified state. His face began to shine with the glory of God. His clothes became as white as light. Then, on his left and his right, moses and Elijah are there and they're talking and Peter freaks out. He doesn't know what to do. And here's one of the many reasons why, first of all, jesus is glowing. Okay, come on now. Imagine you walk up to somebody and they start glowing. Okay, that's going to get your attention. But here's the other thing Moses and Elijah were about as close to God and still be human as you could get to the Jewish people. At the time, moses was considered to be one of the greatest men to ever live because God used him to bring freedom to the nation of Israel out of Egypt. He wrote the first five books. They call it the books of Moses. Amazing Elijah was thought of as the greatest prophet to ever live.
Speaker 1:So you've got Moses and Elijah, you've got the greatest from the law, the greatest from the prophets, and now Jesus is glowing. What would you do? All right, I would have probably been James and John, I just wouldn't have had anything to say. But Peter is like this is awesome, let's make a memorial, we'll make a tent, one for you and one for them too. And of course, then the heavenly father. And he just says guys, hey, listen, this is Jesus, my son, just listen to him. And then you can imagine at some point they just bow their heads because they're terrified, and James and John are both hitting Peter, going you idiot, why don't you say anything? And then Jesus comes over and he says okay, get up. What in the world.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing is is that Jesus is getting ready to enter into the final stages of his mission and Moses and Elijah are there, and we don't know what they were talking about. Maybe Moses is there and he is reminding Jesus remember that you are the fulfillment of the law. You are the one we've been waiting for. Maybe Elijah is sitting there and he's going. You are the one that all the prophets have been prophesying about. I'm so thankful to be right here at this moment with you. We have no idea what they were saying to him.
Speaker 1:What we do know is is that the disciples got a moment where they were able to glimpse the kingdom of God. And you know, what I love about that Is that, right after that happens, jesus comes down and he keeps dealing with business. He keeps dealing with stuff. They're still hurting people. Jesus is dealing with the hurting people. He's healing this young boy of this demonic possession. He heals him, he tells the disciples what's coming, and then he even still deals with paying the temple tax and all this kind of stuff. And what I love about that is the kingdom of heaven is not just something that we celebrate and something we put on a shelf and just look at how wonderful it is. But the kingdom of heaven is here and now and it helps us walk through this life with a sense of joy. Can you imagine for Peter, james and John? They're still human. They still make mistakes.
Speaker 1:Peter is going to deny Jesus in just a few chapters but at the same time, now that they've seen a glimpse of Jesus, do you think they doubted that Jesus could heal that person that was possessed of the devil? Do you think at that moment, when Peter walked into that house after being asked about the temple tax, do you think he doubted that Jesus could do something? No, because when you get a glimpse of something, man, it changes how you see things. That's my prayer for all of us is that as we read through God's Word, especially the Gospels, and we get a glimpse of the goodness of God, that it changes how we see everything else and, instead of us getting used to it, it will help us get more and more excited. As the day approaches, I think that the longer we are Christ followers, the more excited about God we should be, just like I was telling you at the very beginning about how, after I watched that trailer of Lord of the Rings, instead of me going, okay, well, it's coming, I'm good now I know what to expect. I got more and more excited as the day came. I think the more we study God's Word, the more excited we should get, because it's real and it's coming. And that was just a glimpse of who God is.
Speaker 1:So, no matter what you're going through today, no matter how normal your life seems, no matter how much you may feel like you're just kind of in the mundane of what's going on, don't ever let the mundaneness of life fool you. The King is alive, the King is for you, and one day we're going to get to see him in all of his glory. That is worth smiling about. Today, let's pray, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us and you're for us.
Speaker 1:Lord, I don't know what different people may be experiencing right now in their life. What I do know is that you are for us and that you are with us in all things. I'm thankful for you today. I ask you, god, to give us a glimpse in our life of who you are. Help us to realize that you're for us more than we can imagine, and that will encourage us to live for you every day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. Say it with me if you know it by now, matthew 28, verse 19 says All authority and in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Jesus says Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. That's my prayer, is that we will become more of a disciple and then make other disciples every day. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Matthew, chapter 18.
