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Matthew 17

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📖 Matthew introduction

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1Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. ✦ 2As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. ✦ 3Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. ✦ 4Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ✦ 5But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” ✦ 6The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. ✦ 7Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ✦ 8And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. ✦ 9As 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.” ✦ 10Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” ✦ 11Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. ✦ 12But 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.” ✦ 13Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist. ✦ 14At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, ✦ 15“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ✦ 16So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” ✦ 17Jesus said, “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.” ✦ 18Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. ✦ 19Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” ✦ 20“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had 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.” ✦ 22After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. ✦ 23He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief. ✦ 24On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?” ✦ 25“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?” ✦ 26“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27However, we don’t want to offend them, 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 both of us.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Mark 9 ·18Luke 9 ·16Matt 17 ·9Luke 24 ·8Matt 16 ·6John 1 ·5Matt 11 ·5Dan 10 ·4

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

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