Matthew 17b

 The Transfiguration is a high point in the story, both for Jesus and for the disciples. From here, Jesus takes a different direction. As Luke puts it,  after the Transfiguration,  “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9: 51). Nevertheless, there is still some ministry to do along the way. 

17: 14-18.  When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. 

 We are not warned that there is a crowd, but 17: 9 tells us that Jesus was speaking to the disciples “as they were coming down the mountain.” So, presumably, they were nearing a village where a crowd had gathered. Out of the crowd comes a man pleading for his son. His description of the illness is natural enough; the boy has epilepsy. However, notice the description of the occasions when epilepsy strikes. There is something else at work.

 On a side note, the Greek word used here for ‘epilepsy’ is seleniazomai which  in the King James Version was translated as ‘lunatick’. Selene in Greek is the same as ‘luna’ in Latin; both mean ‘moon’. The full Greek word, which means something like ‘moonstruck’, appears only in Matthew one other time in the list of maladies that Jesus cured: “they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them” (4: 24). Notice that epileptics are separated here from demoniacs.

 Perhaps by way of apology for bothering Jesus, the man adds that he tried dealing with Jesus’ disciples, but they were unable to cure him. That may be the key to what looks like a harsh answer directed to the man and the crowd. Instead, since the disciples are the last group mentioned, it is more likely that, upon hearing of their failure, Jesus turns to the disciples and makes this comment.

 Remember their recent failures and the spokesman who ended up taking the heat. Peter rashly remonstrated Jesus over his prediction of suffering, and later Peter blurted out the suggestion that the disciples build three booths for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. Now Jesus learns that they have been less than successful in replicating his ministry. So, Jesus expresses his frustration with his disciples. 

 Still, there is an act of mercy needed, so Jesus asks for the boy to be presented. Then the text says that Jesus cast out a demon. Is this the ‘demon of epilepsy’? Or, does the already epileptic boy have a demon? It appears that a demon is using a natural sickness to do even more harm to the boy. Jesus is very perceptive.

17: 19-21.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. (But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.)”

  The disciples are chastened again and ask about their failure. All along Jesus has encouraged them to have more faith, and again he notes how little faith they have. His example is, of course, hyperbole. He may have been standing within sight of Mt. Hermon in the northeast of old Israel when he said “this mountain.” The idiom was used in Israel ‘to remove difficulties’ and we still use the phrase this way today. 

 The last sentence is in parentheses because the oldest manuscripts of Matthew do not have it, although the Gospel according to Mark does have it. At any rate, it is good advice. In different places we have learned that the healer must have faith and so must the one being healed. 

17: 22-23.  As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

 The use of the verb ‘gathering’ implies preparation for a longer journey than they have had recently. Jesus is preparing to walk all the way to Jerusalem, nearly 100 miles away. Once again, Jesus tries to prepare the disciples for what will happen there, and each time he seems to add something new. What is new here is that Jesus will be betrayed, but someone else will kill him. Even though he predicts that he will be raised, the disciples are still “greatly distressed.” Perhaps because it takes a friend to betray someone. The next use of the phrase “greatly distressed” occurs when Jesus is praying in the Garden. 

17: 24-27.  When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

 Where were they gathering? At their home base, Capernaum. They have been away for a while, so the tax-collectors approach Peter, again the spokesperson for the disciples, with a question. Notice that it is not the Pharisees or scribes this time. Perhaps the tax-collectors have noticed that it has been a long time since Jesus and Peter paid the tax, which was a half drachma; or perhaps the news is out that they are headed for Jerusalem and thus to the Temple. Peter seems sure that they follow this custom, so he goes to see Jesus.

 Whether he saw Peter interacting with the tax collectors from a distance, or just divined that this had happened, the text says that Jesus spoke first. Jesus draws on another custom where the powerful take care of their own first. The children of the king do not pay taxes. We have a similar practice where the children of the rich and powerful do not pay taxes. I paid more taxes last year than some of the tax returns I have read about from the very rich. 

 So, the king and his disciples are exempt, whether the tax collectors will recognize this or not. However, remember that Jesus has been less strident with the tax collectors than with the Pharisees. Jesus had dined with tax collection in Matthew 9; and it seems that Matthew himself was a tax collector. Perhaps not wanting to offend them, Jesus suggests to Peter that he should get a drachma and pay for them both. 

 The story is left hanging there. Maybe Jesus was joking because he doesn’t do miracles for show or to satisfy himself. That latter, after all, was the temptation of the devil; ‘if you are hungry, then make this stone turn into bread’ (4: 1-4). We are not told that Peter carried out the suggestion.

 On the other hand, Jesus may have been serious. The reason is clearly stated; “so that we do not give offense to them.”  This is interesting. A study could be done of when Jesus seemed willing to give offense and when he was more careful about giving offense. The dividing line seems to be between religious leaders who are authoritarian yet hypocrites. That is, they pretend to have the authority to interpret the law, but do not understand the spirit of the law 15: 7-9.

 Jesus has already mentioned various ways that the Pharisees find to show off how religious they are: by ostentatious prayers, by parading when they give alms, and by signaling when they are fasting (Matthew 6: 2, 5, 16). Remember that he said that they already have their reward which is the praise they receive on earth, and thus they have no reward in heaven. These people Jesus is willing to offend, as in the series of “Woes” that he pronounces in Chapter 23.

 The tax collectors, on the other hand, may have some authority but get no respect from the people. The Pharisees keep lumping them together with other ‘sinners’ (Matthew 9: 11, 11: 19). All have sinned and thus fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23), but not all admit to their sin. Some say that they cannot recall whether they have sinned or not. It is this pretense that Jesus finds offensive, and so he is free to give offense to hypocrites and imposters. 

 Which practice do we follow today? Do we give offense to the marginalized in society, those who do not pretend to be other than sinners? Or do we save our offense for the hypocrites in society who pretend to be law givers and law abiding citizens, that is, until the news leaks out that they aren’t?