Behold Our God!

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I recently had the privilege of coaching my son's T-ball team. After one of the games, my son told me that he too wanted to be a baseball coach. When I asked why, he said, "Because you are, and it looks like it's a lot of fun." As we drove on, I was reminded that my kids continually223 watch me, and the more they watch me, the more they will imitate me, for better or for worse. As they learn to talk, their words will mirror mine. As they learn to make decisions, they will begin to process things like me. As they behold my life, they will, in many ways, begin to look like me. This is a humbling reality for a dad.

We Will Become Like What We Behold

The idea that we become like what we behold is not only true in terms of parenting, but in many different areas of life. The more we study someone, the more we listen to someone, the more we watch someone—whether it's in sports or entertainment or politics or work—the more we begin to emulate them.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story in the nineteenth century titled "The Great Stone Face." The story is about a mountain overlooking a village, and on this mountain was etched in the stone the face of a man. The legend was that one day, a man with that face would come and visit the village, and he would be a blessing to all the villagers. A boy named Ernest heard that legend and longed for that man to come. Ernest would gaze continually on that "great stone face," studying its contours and contemplating all the ways that the man could bring blessing to that village. Every once in a while, rumors would circulate about someone with a resemblance to the "great stone face" coming to the village, and Ernest would rush in his excitement to see if it were he, only to recognize quickly that this was not the one. As Ernest grew older, he loved the village he was a part of, and he became known for his wisdom and care for the villagers. One day, a man was walking with Ernest, and Ernest turned to look at the man as they were talking. As the man gazed at Ernest, he could see the "great stone face" in the background, and suddenly, the man threw his arms around Ernest and shouted, "Behold! Behold! Ernest is himself the likeness of the Great Stone Face!" Ernest had become like the one he beheld.

The truth that Hawthorne communicates is not just a reality in short stories; it's true in Scripture too. Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

The more we behold Christ, the more we become like Him. The more we fix our attention and our affection on Him, the more our lives begin to resemble His. Our goal, therefore, as we read Matthew's Gospel (and the rest of Scripture) is that we would behold the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 17, in particular, gives us one of the most exhilarating, awe-inspiring, and worship-evoking portraits of Jesus in this Gospel. And as we see Him, we want to become like Him. Of course, we don't become divine like Jesus, but we do become like Him in the sense of being conformed to His character, His love, and His life. This beholding of Christ leads us to long for the day when He will come back for His people. This is the process of sanctification; this is the Christian life.

Behold the Divine Glory of the Son (17:1-13)

We're going to see five different portraits of Jesus in this chapter. Unpacking the first portrait will require the most space, and then we'll move through the remaining four more quickly. First, we need to behold the divine glory of the Son. The word "transformed" in verse 2 is from the same word that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 3:18 to describe how we are "transformed" into the image of Christ. In both instances, this word refers to a change of form. As we are transformed into the image of Christ, we begin to take on a new form, that is, the life of Christ begins to transform the way we think, feel, believe, act, and worship. Paul uses the same word in Romans 12:2 to talk about how we must not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (emphasis added). If that's what being transformed means for us, what then does it mean for Jesus to be transformed?35

The picture we have in Matthew 17 is nothing short of glorious. Jesus was on a mountain alongside two men of God from the Old Testament: Moses and Elijah. Recognizing the significance of Moses and Elijah helps us understand this passage. Moses represented the law of God, for God had met with His people in the book of Exodus to give them His law. Significantly, this giving of the law took place on a mountain, Mount Sinai. While everyone else among the Israelites had to stand back from the mountain in fear, it was Moses who met with God. Here is what Moses asked for and God's response in Exodus 33:18-23:225

God kept His word, and in Exodus 34:6-7 Moses was given an unprecedented glimpse of Yahweh (the name by which God called Himself in the Old Testament). Here was the Lord's proclamation:

Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

After seeing Yahweh and receiving the two tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments, even Moses' physical appearance was affected. The text describes the scene as follows:

As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. (Exod 34:29-33)

As the one God used to reveal His law, Moses had reflected divine glory. He literally beheld God, albeit in a veiled depiction (since, according to Exod 33:20, no one can see God and live). Elijah, the person on the other side of Jesus on the mountain, played a different role. While Moses had reflected divine glory, Elijah had proclaimed divine glory.226 The prophet's confrontation of the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 19 is perhaps the clearest example of this truth.

In 1 Kings 18 Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on another mountain—Mount Carmel. He proclaimed the glory of the one true God over Baal and other gods that were being worshiped by God's people. Elijah proclaimed God's glory, and God brought fire down from heaven. Then, in 1 Kings 19, Elijah fled for his life in fear of Jezebel. The story of his hiding out and of God's revelation to Him on Mount Horeb is given in verses 9-13. Elijah learned that God's glory is not only revealed in impressive displays of power, but also in less spectacular ways, even in a "soft whisper" (1 Kgs 19:12). More could be said about this passage, but suffice to say at this point that God had taken two men—Moses representing the law of God and Elijah representing the prophets—at strategic points to a mountain where He had shown them His glory. Their lives were changed in visible ways as a result. All this helps form the backdrop for Matthew 17.

As the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, Jesus now reveals divine glory. For our purposes, that word "reveals" is key. Jesus was not merely reflecting or proclaiming divine glory; Jesus was the revelation of divine glory. To put it another way, Jesus doesn't just mirror or imitate the glory of God; Jesus is the glory of God. John, who was on that mountain with Jesus in Matthew 17, would later write, "The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory" (John 1:14). John also said of Jesus that He has "revealed" the Father (John 1:18). We can, therefore, better understand why Peter's comment missed the mark in Matthew 17:4—he was putting Moses and Elijah on par with Jesus. God essentially told Peter to be quiet, for Jesus alone was to be the center of attention.

Jesus' appearance on the mountain to Peter, James, and John reveals God in a number of ways. He radiates the splendor of God. The text says that "His face shone like the sun" and "His clothes became as white as the light" (v. 2). It's as if a curtain were pulled back so that the disciples could see Christ's glory in a greater way. Jesus spoke of the glory He had with the Father before the world existed (John 17:5), yet when He came to earth, the full manifestation of Christ's glory was veiled. Philippians 2 says that He "emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men" (Phil 2:7a). We see Jesus' weakness and humiliation played out in the Gospel accounts, but during these couple of moments here on this mountainside in Matthew 17, we see His glory unveiled. To227 quote the author of Hebrews, the disciples saw the One who is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of His nature" (Heb 1:3).

In Jesus' transfiguration, we also see that He unveils the presence of God. A bright cloud overshadowed the scene (Matt 17:5), which reminds us of the Old Testament imagery of God leading His people by His presence in a cloud. On a number of occasions, this was God's way of manifesting His presence: a cloud protected God's people as they left Egypt (Exod 13:21-22), a cloud descended on Mount Sinai when Moses met with God to receive the law (Exod 19:9, 16), the cloud of glory enveloped the tabernacle when it was completed (Exod 40:34), and the cloud appeared at the dedication of the temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11).

Jesus' unique glory is also on display in this passage in that He embodies the pleasure of God. The Father's voice came from the cloud saying, "This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him" (v. 5). These are the same words we saw in Matthew 3:17 when Jesus was baptized, and they are probably also an allusion to Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1 (Carson, Matthew, 386). The Father looks at the Son and cherishes what He sees. When the Spirit descends on the Son and the Father speaks, we touch on the mystery of the Godhead: three persons existing together in glorious harmony and love.

Jesus also reflects God's glory in that He speaks the Word of God. The Father adds one thing here to the words He had already declared in Matthew 3. He says, "Listen to Him!" (17:5). When you hear that, you can't help but think about Peter, the one who showed himself so quick to speak in the previous chapter and now again in this passage. It's as if God the Father were saying to Peter, "Be quiet. Listen to My Son. And when He speaks about the coming cross, listen to Him; do not rebuke Him." God's command to Peter picks up on Moses' prophecy of a coming prophet: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him" (Deut 18:15; emphasis added). Matthew is pointing to Jesus as the One who fulfills this prophecy. He is the prophet promised by Moses.

Notice in verse 3 that Jesus had a conversation with Moses and Elijah, which naturally causes us to wonder, "What were they talking about?" Matthew doesn't tell us, but Luke's Gospel gives us a little more information: "Suddenly, two men were talking with Him—Moses and Elijah. They appeared in glory and were speaking of His death, which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem" (Luke 9:30-31). The conversation was about Jesus' departure in death—the word translated "death"228 is the Greek word from which we get the word "exodus." In the great exodus of the Old Testament, the Father used Moses to deliver His people from slavery. Now, as the culmination of His saving actions, the Father sent Jesus to deliver His people from sin. The greater and final exodus happened as the Son of God went to the cross to liberate His people from the slavery of sin.

Jesus is not only the prophet promised by Moses to speak God's word and deliver His people, but also He is the messenger preceded by Elijah. When Jesus and His disciples came down from the mountain, He commanded them, "Don't tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead" (v. 9). The disciples were confused in light of the prophecy that Elijah must come before the great Day of the Lord. But Jesus had already referred to John as "the Elijah who is to come" (Matt 11:14), and here in verse 12 He reiterates that truth. John the Baptist fulfilled the following prophecies of Malachi:

According to Malachi, Elijah the prophet would come and prepare the way of the Lord. On one level, then, the disciples' question to Jesus could be chronological, i.e., "We just now saw Elijah; how come He didn't come before you?" Jesus answers that question in Matthew 17:12 by pointing out that John the Baptist, the Elijah to come, had already come. But that simply leads to a deeper theological question: How is John the Elijah who would restore all things if John had been beheaded?36 John didn't usher in a great restoration, or so the disciples thought. Jesus had to help the disciples understand that the kingdom of God was not being ushered in the way they thought it would be.229 They expected a messianic forerunner and then a Messiah who would together usher in a kingdom on this earth marked by triumph and power. However, God's kingdom was coming in a very different way.

The promised Elijah, John the Baptist, did in fact have a ministry of restoration. He announced that the kingdom of heaven was near and he called people to repent (Matt 3:2). However, in the end, John the Baptist's ministry of restoration resulted in his suffering and death. John's death is what Jesus referred to when He said, "They did whatever they pleased to him" (v. 12). Such treatment was not only true of John; Jesus was also preparing the disciples for His own death. Jesus closes verse 12 by saying, "In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." The disciples were being prepared for the reality that Jesus' ministry of redemption would be accomplished through His suffering and death. This is a key truth that keeps reappearing in Matthew's Gospel.

The disciples (along with many other Jews) wanted an immediate and glorious kingdom set up on this earth by the Messiah. That's one of the reasons Peter suggested putting up three tabernacles, for he saw that in Jesus the kingdom was dawning.37 But Jesus refused, for the cross of Christ must come before the crown of Christ. He instructed the disciples in verse 9 not to tell anyone about what they had seen. They were to wait until after Jesus' death (and resurrection), since there is no true glory apart from the cross. Suffering must precede splendor. This truth doesn't make sense to the world, but it is crucial if we are to see the divine glory of the Son.

Behold the Patient Power of the Son (17:14-21)

So far we've seen the divine glory of the Son from a number of different angles. As we turn to verses 14-21, let us behold the patient power of the Son. Once Jesus and the three disciples come down from the mountain, the scene in Matthew's Gospel shifts from one extreme to the other. It turns from the glory of God in Christ on a mountain to the pain and suffering of the world. We are seeing the God who stooped to become a man, the One who identified with us in our suffering in order to bring us salvation from sin.230

In verse 14 Jesus was approached by a man whose son had epilepsy as a result of demon possession. The boy had seizures and would often fall into fire and water (v. 15). I'm reminded of being in a Sudanese hospital and seeing a child with sleeping sickness, a disease that caused him to go into a trance at any moment, which meant falling over unconscious. This happened one time as the boy was sitting next to a fire, and he tragically had half of his body charred. Suffering can be violent, and it reminds us of the tragic pain of living in a sinful world.

Jesus' disciples lacked the faith to do what Jesus had given them authority to do, namely, to deliver this epileptic boy from a destructive demon. In this portrait, we see that Jesus endures our unbelief. Keep in mind that this is the same Jesus whom we just saw in His unveiled glory in the previous verse. The One who was with the Father in glory and who commanded myriads of angels is now confronted yet again with the unbelief of men, even His own disciples. In verse 17 we see Jesus' frustration with this failure of faith: "How long must I put up with you?" The fact that He didn't immediately reject His disciples reminds us that God is patient. Christ was forbearing with people He encountered, and gratefully He treats us the same way.

Not only does He endure our unbelief, but also Jesus meets our need. In verse 18 He healed this demon-possessed boy, instantly bringing him out of his misery. Jesus alone has the power to heal, to save, to deliver, and to meet the deepest needs of our lives.

Following this healing, Jesus' disciples came to Him privately and asked why they couldn't drive the demon out (v. 19). This is where we learn that Jesus enables our ministry. We don't know all that was going on in the minds, hearts, and motives of these disciples as they failed to cast out this demon, something they had previously succeeded at by Christ's authority. But we do know from Mark's account of this story that Jesus told them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer" (Mark 9:29). The disciples had likely begun to look at their ministry as mechanical, being dependent on their own ability instead of on God. Jesus pointed them in a different direction: the way of trusting in His power. By telling them that their faith need only be the size of a mustard seed, Jesus was urging them to focus on the object of their faith. A little bit of faith in a great God can accomplish great things. Even mountains, Jesus says, will move. Nothing is impossible for the man or woman who trusts in the power of God to accomplish the will of God (v. 20).231

Behold the Willing Sacrifice of the Son (17:22-23a)

This is Jesus' second major prediction in Matthew's Gospel of His suffering and death (cf. 16:21-23), and there will be more to come. John Calvin said, "The nearer the time of His death, the more often Christ warned His disciples, lest that particular sorrow should undermine their faith." Jesus was preparing these 12 men for His certain and willing death. We may be accustomed to hearing of the cross, but consider Christ's death in light of the portrait we have just seen earlier in this chapter. No one can overpower this man! He is God in the flesh. Who can take Him on? If Jesus died at the hands of men, which He did, it is clearly because He chose to die. This was no accident. Sinful men killed Him, but only because He walked into their hands at the Father's bidding.

Behold the Certain Victory of the Son (17:23b)

Christ's willing sacrifice leads us next to behold the certain victory of the Son. The disciples were having a hard enough time trying to grasp the fact that the Messiah would be killed by the Jewish leaders of the day; they had no concept at all of the reality of Jesus' impending resurrection. The same Jesus who was nailed to a cross would be raised in power and triumphant victory.

Behold the Humble Authority of the Son (17:24-27)

So far we've seen the divine glory of the Son, the patient power of the Son, the willing sacrifice of the Son, and the certain victory of the Son. Finally, we behold the humble authority of the Son. This story sets the stage for Matthew 18, where humility is a major theme. Interestingly, Matthew is the only Gospel writer who tells us this story, and it seems fitting given his former profession—a tax collector. Unlike most of the mentions of taxes and tax collectors elsewhere in the Gospels, the temple tax described in verse 24 was not a tax collected by the Roman government. Instead, the temple tax was collected by Jewish leaders for the service of the temple in Jerusalem. Based loosely on Exodus 30:11-16, the people of God were expected to help provide for the place that housed the glory of God. However, we've already seen Jesus claim to be greater than the temple (Matt 12:6). He was the literal dwelling place of God, and we know that He had come to usher in an altogether new and glorious way of access to God, namely, through Himself.232

When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two (27:51). So why should He and His followers pay for the upkeep of the temple? In His conversation with Peter, Jesus used the analogy of kings who raise money from taxes, and He asked Peter whether such taxes came from the king's sons, or from strangers (17:25). Peter gave the obvious answer, "From strangers" (v. 26). The point of the analogy is clear: Since God is King, Jesus (His Son) is free from the obligation to pay the temple tax, along with all who are with Jesus in the family of faith. However, in order not to give offense, Jesus says to pay the tax. In other words, Jesus is greater than the temple, yet He still pays the tax. But why? Not because He is under obligation, but because He is working for others' salvation.

Verse 27 records one of the more striking miracles in Jesus' ministry. He commanded Peter to go to the sea and pull up the first fish he caught, wherein he would find a coin to pay the tax. Consider what had to take place for this miracle to occur: Jesus ordained that somebody would drop a shekel into the water, that a fish would scoop it up in its mouth but not swallow it all the way, that that fish would swim over to the shore at the moment when Peter walked up, and as Peter cast out a hook, that he would catch that fish. All of that happened so that a temple tax could be paid in order not to bring unnecessary offense to people whom God desires to save from sin. Jesus is sovereign over the sea, yet He graciously stoops for our salvation.

How Shall We Respond?

There are a number of ways we can respond to the truths in Matthew 17. We'll note four of those ways. First, as we consider Christ in this passage (and in the entire Gospel of Matthew), let us look to His worth. See His divine glory, His patient power, His willing sacrifice, His certain victory, and His humble authority. Then fall on your face in worship, just like the disciples (v. 6). Fix your attention and your affection on the Lord Jesus Christ and stop spending your life on the trivial and temporal. Let those things grow strangely dim in the light of God's glory and grace.

Second, let us listen to His Word. This point is made powerfully in 2 Peter 1:16-21, a passage where we get Peter's reflection on the events of Matthew 17:

After reading of Jesus' transfiguration, we might be tempted to think that our lives would be dramatically different if only we could witness that kind of event or hear God's Word with that kind of certainty. However, we now have the New Testament, which contains the authoritative record of the transfiguration along with an explanation of its significance. We don't need any further confirmation, for we have all we need in Scripture. If you want to behold the glory of God in Christ on a daily basis, then read, study, meditate on, and memorize the Word of God. Then you will see His glory, and you will love it.

Third, we ought to respond to this text by having a new motivation for living: let us live for His renown. When you see the glory of God, you want to spread the gospel of God. Therefore, let's proclaim the One we praise. Let's not see His glory and then be silent. Let's speak to people about the Christ we cherish. Also, let's embrace suffering as we follow our Savior. Just as the cross preceded the crown for Jesus, so suffering in this life will precede our final reward in the next. After all, if Jesus suffered in the spread of God's kingdom, do we think that we will have it easy? Remember, no one can follow Jesus without taking up his or her cross (Matt 16:24). We give away our possessions, we risk our reputations, and we go to the hard places knowing that our sufferings "are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us" (Rom 8:18). We don't seek suffering, but we do seek Christ, and this will ensure at least some level of opposition in this world (2 Tim 3:12; John 16:33).

In His teaching related to the temple tax, Jesus reminds us that although our reward is still future, we have responsibilities in the here and now. Therefore, let's live as responsible citizens of this kingdom234 for the eventual coming of His kingdom. We must be mindful of the salvation of others and our witness in the world. We pay our taxes, not because we agree with everything our government supports, but because we are under law (Rom 13:5), and we want to live as responsible citizens in this earthly kingdom for the spread of Christ's heavenly kingdom.

Fourth and finally, let us long for His return. We should eagerly anticipate the day when our faith will be sight, when we will see Jesus as the Father sees Jesus, revealing the glory of God and radiating the splendor of God. Revelation 22:4 says of those who will enter God's eternal kingdom, "They will see His face." First John 3:2-3 talks about the transforming effect of such a vision:

Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

This is the Christian's hope. And as we behold Jesus, we will become like Him.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What hobbies, activities, and people do you spend most of your time with? How do these things affect your thinking and your behavior?
2. If we become like what we behold, then what does it look like to behold Christ today while He is not physically present?
3. List five attributes of Jesus Christ in Matthew 17.
4. How does this passage speak to the superiority of Jesus Christ over well-known Old Testament figures?
5. Describe the relationship between Elijah and John the Baptist in verses 9-13.
6. Does this passage speak to Jesus' divinity? Explain.
7. How is Jesus' patience different from our culture's idea of tolerance?
8. What about Jesus' prediction in verses 22-23 tells us that He wasn't a victim of circumstances?
9. Does Jesus' promise that nothing will be impossible for the one who believes (v. 21) mean that God is obligated to give us what we want if we believe sincerely enough? Why not?
10. What was Jesus' attitude toward the political powers of His day?