Matthew 17:23

23 and they shall slay him, and the third day he shall rise again to life [and the third day he shall rise again]. And they were full sorry.

Matthew 17:23 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 17:23

And they shall kill him
Put him to death, with the death of the cross; for the angels in rehearsing these words, affirm, that Christ told his disciples at this time, and in this place, whilst they were in Galilee, that he should be crucified, ( Luke 24:7 ) .

And the third day he shall be raised again:
this he said for their comfort; and it is observable, that when Christ speaks of his rising again, he makes mention of the exact time, the third day, on which he should rise, according to the types and prophecies of the Old Testament:

and they were exceeding sorry:
that he should be betrayed into the hands of the Gentiles, fearing that another nation would come, and take away, and possess the worldly kingdom and grandeur they were dreaming of; and that he should die at all; and much more that he should die such a cruel and ignominious death, as that of the cross. They seem to have overlooked, and to have taken no notice of his rising again from the dead; which might have administered comfort to them, and have relieved them under their melancholy apprehensions of things; but this they understood not, nor indeed truly any part of what he had said; so Mark and Luke intimate: but then it may be said, how came they to be so very sorrowful, if they did not know what was said? To which may be replied, that this might be the reason of their sorrow, because they did not understand what he said, and they were afraid to ask; they could not tell how to reconcile the betraying of him into the hands of men, and his sufferings and death, with their notions, that the Messiah should abide for ever, and should set up a temporal kingdom, in great splendour and magnificence; and what he meant by rising again from the dead, they could not devise; they could not tell whether all this was to be understood in a literal, or mystical sense.

Matthew 17:23 In-Context

21 but this kind is not cast out, but by prayer and fasting.
22 And whiles they were abiding together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, Man's Son shall be betrayed into the hands of men;
23 and they shall slay him, and the third day he shall rise again to life [and the third day he shall rise again]. And they were full sorry.
24 And when they came to Capernaum, they that took tribute, came to Peter, and said to him, Your master payeth not tribute?
25 And he said, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus came before him, and said, Simon, what seemeth to thee? Kings of the earth, of whom take they tribute? of their sons, either of aliens? [+And he saith, Yea. And when he had entered into an house, Jesus came before him, saying, Simon, what seemeth to thee? Of which take the kings of earth tribute, or rent? of their own sons, or of aliens?]
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.