Matthew 17 · The Lantern

The Transfiguration

And after six days Jesus takes with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain on their own.

On the other hand, he whose "heart" was habitually found "lifted up" rather than fattened up, who in forty days and as many nights maintained a fast above the power of human nature, while spiritual faith subministered strength (to his body), both saw with his eyes God's glory, and heard with his ears God's voice, and understood with his heart God's law: while He taught him even…

In this Transfiguration undergone on the mount, the Lord fulfilled within six days the promise made to His disciples, that they should have a sight of His glory; as it is said, And after six days he took Peter, and James, and John his brother.

In the preceding part he showed the power of the Gospel teaching, etc.; here he shows the end, which is future glory. And concerning this he does two things. First, he shows how it was demonstrated in the transfiguration; secondly, how one can arrive at it, in chapter 18, in that hour, etc. Concerning the first, two things.

And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light.

The Lord, again, in the retirement of the mount, had changed His raiment for a robe of light; but He still retained features which Peter could recognise.

Indeed, Jesus himself shone as the sun, indicating that he is the light which illuminates every one who comes into this world. And this is the sun to the eyes of the flesh, that is the sun to the eyes of the heart. His garments are a type of his church. For garments, unless held up by the one having donned them, fall. Paul was like the lowest hem of these garments.

Then follows the transfiguration: and he was transfigured before them. And first the transfiguration is presented; secondly, the testimony, at while he was yet speaking, etc. Concerning the first, the transfiguration is presented; secondly, the manner; thirdly, Peter's admiration. He says therefore and he was transfigured, i.e., he changed his figure, before them.

And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Him.

Now, not even to His apostles was His nature ever a matter of deception. He was truly both seen and heard upon the mount; true and real was the draught of that wine at the marriage of (Cana in) Galilee; true and real also was the touch of the then believing Thomas.

It is to be remembered also, that when the Scribes and Pharisees asked signs from heaven, He would not give any; but now, to increase the Apostles' faith, He gives a sign; Elias descends from heaven, whither he was gone up, and Moses arises from hell; (Is. 7:10.) as Ahaz is bidden by Esaias to ask him a sign in the heaven above, or in the depth beneath.

And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elijah. And why did they appear? Chrysostom assigns the reasons. The first reason is to confirm the faith of the disciples. He had asked above: whom do men say that the Son of man is? etc. And they said: some, Elijah, etc.

And Peter, answering, said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will make here three tabernacles — one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Subsequently, fleeing from threatening Jezebel, after one single (meal of) food and drink, which he had found on being awakened by an angel, he too himself, in a space of forty days and nights, his belly empty, his mouth dry, arrived at Mount Horeb; where, when he had made a cave his inn, with how familiar a meeting with God was he received! "What (doest) thou, Elijah, here?

Otherwise; At this view of the majesty of the Lord, and His two servants, Peter was so delighted, that, forgetting every thing else in the world, he would abide here for ever. But if Peter was then so fired with admiration, what ravishment will it not be to behold the King in His proper beauty, and to mingle in the choir of the Angels, and of all the saints?

Then follows Peter's response: and Peter answering, said, etc. And we can interpret this as referring either to carnality or to devotion. Chrysostom refers it to carnality. Above, Christ had said that he would suffer, and Peter had rebuked him, at which he reproved him.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

But, behold, with an abundance (of evidence) the Father from heaven replies, for the purpose of testifying to the Son: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." So, again, in that asseveration, "I have both glorified, and will glorify again," how many Persons do you discover, obstinate Praxeas? Are there not as many as there are voices?

(Verse 5) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice from the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.

Then follows the testimony: and while he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, etc. Peter was speaking foolishly, therefore he was unworthy of an answer. He wanted a material testimony; therefore the Lord willed to show that the saints do not need one. Likewise he willed to show himself through the cloud; Psalm 67:35: his magnificence is in the clouds.

And the disciples, having heard it, fell upon their face and were greatly terrified.

A like danger to which also befell Peter, and John, and James, (who confronted not the same light) without risking the loss of their reason and mind; and if they, who were unable to endure the glory of the Son, had only seen the Father, they must have died then and there: "For no man shall see God, and live.

Through their speaking together it shows that the old prophets also spoke the same things as Jesus, even if enigmatically. In great awe the disciples fell on their faces, and the Savior raised them up.

And the disciples hearing fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. Having presented the transfiguration, here he presents its effect upon the disciples. And first, fear is presented; secondly, Christ's strengthening against fear; thirdly, its effect. The second is at and Jesus came, etc.; the third at and they lifting up their eyes, saw no one.

And Jesus came, and having touched them, He said, “Rise up and do not be afraid.”

"And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." But that the fear abiding so long might not drive out their recollection, presently He puts an end to their alarm, and is seen Himself alone, and commands them to tell no man this, until He is risen from the dead.

And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. Lest the fear grip them for a long time and obliterate the memory of what they had seen, the Lord rouses them and reassures them.

Then Christ's strengthening is presented. And he strengthens them by deed and by word: by deed, against fear and against falling; against fear, by his presence, because Jesus came. Psalm 22:4: I will fear no evils, for you are with me. And above at 14:27: it is I, be not afraid.

And having lifted up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

Consider the details of this passage. See if you can also say this: The disciples understood that the Son of God had been speaking with Moses. It was Moses who had said of God, "No one shall see my face and live." The disciples understood the testimony of Moses about God. They were not able to endure the radiance of the Word.

And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. He is seen to be alone, so that you will not imagine that the voice was for Moses or Elijah; indeed, the voice was for Christ, as He is the Son.

Then follows the effect of the strengthening: and they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And this is the effect of divine strengthening, because those strengthened by Christ see no one but Jesus, nor do they rejoice or find strength in anything except in him; Philippians 1:21: for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

And as they were descending from the mountain, Jesus instructed them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man may be risen out from the dead.”

And the disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Not then from the Scriptures did they know this, but the Scribes used to explain themselves, and this saying was reported abroad amongst the ignorant people; as about Christ also.

And His disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? The scribes were deceiving the people, saying that Jesus was not the Christ, for if He were, Elijah would first have come. But they did not know that there are two comings of Christ, the Forerunner of the first being John, and of the second, Elijah.

And the disciples asked him, etc. In this part he satisfies the question of the disciples. And first the question is presented; secondly, the response, at but he answering, etc.; thirdly, the effect, at then the disciples understood, etc. The apostles, seeing him transformed, believed that from that moment he would begin to reign.

And He, answering, said, “Elijah indeed comes and will restore all things;

(Verse 11, 12.) But he answered and said unto them, Elias indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. By saying, "Elijah truly shall come," Christ shows that he has not yet come, but that he will appear as the forerunner of the second coming; and when he appears, he will restore all teachable Jews to faith in Christ, as if restoring them to their paternal inheritance which they had los…

The Lord satisfies this doubt. And first he touches upon the future coming; secondly, the past. Hence he says but he answering said to them: Elijah indeed shall come.

but I say to you that Elijah is already come, and they did not know him but did to him as much as they desired. Thus also the Son of Man is about to suffer from them.”

I apprehend that heretics of this school seize with especial avidity the example of Elias, whom they assume to have been so reproduced in John (the Baptist) as to make our Lord's statement sponsor for their theory of transmigration, when He said, "Elias is come already, and they knew him not; " and again, in another passage, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was…

But when the statement of our Redeemer from another reading is brought to mind, a very complex question arises for us from the words of this reading. For in another place, when asked by his disciples about the coming of Elijah, the Lord replied: "Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.

Then is added concerning the other Elijah: but I say to you that Elijah has already come. Who is he? John the Baptist, not that he is the same in person, as is found in John 1:21, when it was asked of him, are you Elijah? He answered: no. But in spirit and power: because just as Elijah will be the precursor of the second coming, so John was of the first coming.

Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them concerning John the Baptist.

It is enquired how, seeing that Herod and Herodias were they that killed John, it can be said that Jesus also was crucified by them, when we read that He was put to death by the Scribes and Pharisees?

Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the Baptist. Then the disciples became keener in perception and understood that He was calling John Elijah, as John was the Forerunner of the first coming, just as Elijah would be the forerunner of the second coming.

Then the effect of this response is presented: then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them of John the Baptist. Then: when the Lord had spoken to them. The declaration of your words gives light and gives understanding to little ones, Psalm 118:130.

The Boy with a Demon

And when they were coming to the crowd, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,

Peter, anxious for such desirable life, and preferring his own benefit to that of many, had said, It is good for us to be here.

(Vers. 14, 15.) Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers greatly: for he often falls into fire and frequently into water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him. This is why the devil, observing the course of the moon, seizes upon men and strives to defame the Creator through His creatures, as we have said above.

And when he had come: here he foretells the tranquility of glory, which is assailed by the oppression of demons and the disturbance of men. And first he foretells the cessation of the first through the healing of the lunatic; secondly, the second.

“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers miserably; for often he falls into the fire and often into the water.

If every disease and weakness which our Savior cured at that time among the people represents different symptoms in the soul, it stands to reason that by the paralytics are symbolized the palsied in soul, who keep it lying paralyzed in the body. By those who are blind are symbolized those who are blind in respect of things seen by the soul alone, and these are really blind.

The lunatic is figuratively one who is hurried into fresh vices every hour, one while is cast into the fire, with which the hearts of the adulterers burn; or again into the waters of pleasures or lusts, which yet have not strength to quench love. (Hos. 7:4, 6.)

Then the petition is presented. He does not ask, but sets forth the infirmity: for it suffices to set forth one's misery to one who is merciful. First he sets forth the infirmity; secondly, the symptoms; thirdly, that he found no remedy. He says therefore Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic.

And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to heal him.”

In saying, And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not heal him, he covertly accuses the Apostles, whereas that a cure is impossible is sometimes the effect not of want of power in those that undertake it, but of want of faith in those that are to be healed...

And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I endure you? Bring him hither to Me. And Jesus rebuked him; and the demon departed out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him. Here the malice of this man is touched upon, because he wished to accuse the disciples; hence Sirach 11:33: he who sets a stain on the elect.

And Jesus, answering, said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation, until when will I be with you? Until when will I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”

Or; Because the disciples could not heal him as being weak in faith, He said to them, O faithless generation, adding perverse, to show that their perverseness had introduced evil beyond their nature. But I suppose, that because of the perverseness of the whole human race, as it were oppressed with their evil nature, He said, How long shall I be with you?

It may be known also, that not now for the first time, but of a long time, the Lord had borne the Jews' stubbornness, whence He says, How long shall I suffer you? because I have now a long while endured your iniquities, and ye are unworthy of My presence.

Hence the Lord rebukes them: Jesus answering said: O unbelieving and perverse generation. Hence the response is presented, and he does two things. First he rebukes the vice; secondly, he bestows the benefit. He says therefore Jesus answering, etc.

And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out from him; and the boy was healed from that hour.

Of the changefulness of the sinner it is said, The fool changes as the moon. (Ecclus. 27:12.) We may see sometimes that an impulse towards good works comes over such, when, lo! again as by a sudden seizure of a spirit they are laid hold of by their passions, and fall from that good state in which they were supposed to stand.

In which deed He left an example to preachers to attack sins, but to assist men.

And this is the way, because he rebuked him, because through his sin this had befallen him; Proverbs 6:2: you are ensnared with the words of your mouth, and caught with your own words. Or he rebuked him, namely the demon. Then follows the effect: and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour, for he spoke, and they were made, Psalm 148:5.

The Power of Faith

Then the disciples, having come to Jesus in private, said, “Why were we ourselves not able to cast it out?”

And He spoke to them, “Because of your little faith. For amen I say to you, if you shall have faith as a seed of mustard, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Or, all faith is likened to a grain of mustard-seed, because faith is looked on with contempt by men, and shows as something poor and mean; but when a seed of this kind lights upon a good heart as its soil, it becomes a great tree.

For this reason He urgeth with all His words, high and low, that faith should be in us, saying, "Verily I say unto you if there be in you faith like a grain of mustard seed ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be too difficult for you." He taught us by faith that nothing should be too difficult for us, and according to this everyth…

Jesus said to them. Here he responds. And first he satisfies them; secondly, he proposes a general teaching, at but this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. Concerning the first, first he responds to the question, and secondly he makes the response clear, at for, amen I say to you, etc. They had asked why could we not cast him out?

[“But this kind does not go out except with prayer and with fasting.”]

Thereafter He prescribed to fasts a law-that they are to be performed "without sadness: " for why should what is salutary be sad? He taught likewise that fasts are to be the weapons for battling with the more direful demons: for what wonder if the same operation is the instrument of the iniquitous spirit's egress as of the Holy Spirit's ingress?

Or, fasting is here understood generally as abstinence not from food only, but from all carnal allurements, and sinful passions. In like manner prayer is to be understood in general as consisting in pious and good acts, concerning which the Apostle speaks, Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17.)

But this kind of demons (the word this does not indicate only the kind of lunatic demon, but every kind of demon) is not cast out but by prayer and fasting. Chrysostom says that the more the soul is elevated, the more terrible it is to demons; for Christ himself is terrible to demons. Hence those who are united to Christ are terrible to them.

The Second Prediction of the Passion

And when they were abiding in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,

As for these matters let us inquire by what person or persons He will be delivered up into the hands of men; for there we are taught of whom He will suffer, and in what place He will suffer; but here, in addition, we learn that while His suffering many things takes place at the hands of the aforesaid, they are not the prime causes of His suffering many things, but the one or on…

Therefore he brought the disciples to the mountain and showed them the glory with which he will shine on the universe in the future. Then coming down from the mountain he freed a person from a rough and evil spirit. It was altogether necessary for him to undergo his saving Passion for us and to suffer the violence of the Jews.

And when they conversed together in Galilee, etc. Above, the tranquility of glory was figured through liberation from the power of demons; this liberation was accomplished through the death of Christ; Hebrews 2:14: that through death he might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil, and might deliver them who through the fear of death were all their l…

and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

And when they were coming to Capernaum, those collecting the didrachmas came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the didrachmas?”

The Lord is called upon to pay the didrachma, (that is, two denarii,) for this the Law had enjoined upon all Israel for the redemption of their body and soul, and the use of those that served in the temple.

Or otherwise; From the time of Augustus Cæsar Judæa was made tributary, and all the inhabitants were registered, as Joseph with Mary his kinswoman gave in His name at Bethlehem.

And when they had come to Capharnaum. Having completed the tranquility of glory, he presents the payment of the tribute; Isaiah 14:4: the tribute has ceased; Job 3:19: the servant is free from his master. Hence he does three things. First he presents the exaction of the tribute; secondly, the freedom of the sons; thirdly, the payment of the tribute.

He says, “Yes.” And when he had entered into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive custom or tribute? From their sons, or from the strangers?”

This speech has a twofold meaning. First, that the children of the kings of the earth are free with the kings of the earth; but strangers, foreigners in the land, are not free, because of those that oppress them, as the Egyptians did the children of Israel.

Before any hint from Peter, the Lord puts the question to him, that His disciples might not be offended at the demand of tribute, when they, see that He knows even those things that are done in His absence. It follows, But he said, From strangers; Jesus said unto him, Then are the children free.

Then Peter's response is presented: and he said: yes, i.e., it is true that he has not paid. Chrysostom says that lest he be troubled, he said yes, he pays. Then follows Christ's question, and then Peter's response.

And when one said, “From the strangers,” Jesus was saying to him, “Then surely the sons are free.

But our Lord was the son of the king, both according to the flesh, and according to the Spirit; whether as sprung of the seed of David, or as the Word of the Almighty Father; therefore as the king's son He owed no tribute.

(Quæst. Ev. i. 23.) For, saith He, in every kingdom the children are free, that is, not under tax. Much more therefore should they be free in any earthly kingdom, who are children of that very kingdom under which are all the kingdoms of the earth.

And he said: from strangers. Then Christ's response is presented, because kings spare their own sons. Isaiah 3:15: why do you crush my people, and grind the faces of the poor? For it seems just. For he who presides ought to have care of his subjects; therefore his subjects ought to serve him as members serve the body.

But so that we may not offend them, having gone to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish having come up; and having opened its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. That, having taken, give to them for Me and yourself.”

Mystically; In the field of comfort, (for so is Capernaum expounded,) He comforts each one of His disciples, and pronounces him to be a son and free, and gives him the power of taking the first fish, that after His ascension Peter may have comfort over that which he has caught.

He was also able to take the coin out of the earth, but he did not do so. [Instead he] made the miracle out of the sea, so that he might teach us the mystery rich in contemplation. For we are the fish snatched from the bitter disturbances of life. It is just as if we have been caught out of the sea on the apostles' hooks.

But that we may not scandalize them, etc. It is true that the Lord is free, but because he took the form of a servant, as is found in Philippians 2, therefore he did not refuse to pay, and in this he gave an example of humility. And in this payment three things are noted as praiseworthy and admirable.

Matthew17

The Transfiguration

The Boy with a Demon

The Power of Faith

The Second Prediction of the Passion

The Temple Tax