Matthew 17:14-27 Lesson 34

Matthew 17:14-27
Lesson 34

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this Lesson

The demon-possessed boy (17:14-21).

Once again, Jesus foretells His death and resurrection (17:22-23).

Tax money from a fish (17:24-27).

"Christ of love"
By the Spanish realistic painter Juan Raul Berzosa Fernandez.

Study Tip:

Find the teaching in each passage and apply it to your life.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The King James Bible

Matthew 17:14-27
The demon, the coin, and the fish

14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Some ancient manuscripts omit verse 21.

22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Margin notes:

"He is lunatic, and sore vexed." (17:15) - "He has seizures and suffers horribly."

"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart." (17:19) - "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately."

"Why could not we cast him out?" (17:19) - Remember, in lesson 18, Jesus gave the disciples the power to "heal the sick," "cleanse the lepers," "raise the dead," and to "cast out devils" (Matthew 10:7-8). So, why couldn't they cast out this demon? See verse 17:20.

"Because of your unbelief." (17:20) - "Because of your lack of faith."

"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (17:21) - "However, this kind (of demon) can only be cast out by prayer and fasting."

"While they abode in Galilee." (17:22) - "While they stayed in Galilee."

"They shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again." (17:23) - This is the second time Jesus told His disciples that He will be put to death and resurrected. Because they were expecting the Messiah to be a great military/political leader, the disciples still didn't understand Jesus' divine mission and why He had to die. Jesus will have to tell them again in Matthew 20:18.

"They were exceeding sorry." (17:23) - "They were extremely sad."

"They that received tribute money came to Peter." (17:24) - "The tax collectors came to Peter." This was the annual Temple tax that every Jewish male over twenty had to pay. The tax paid for the Temple and its maintenance (Exodus 30:11-16; 2 Chronicles 24:5). Because the tax was two drachmae, it was sometimes called the "two drachmae tax."

"Jesus prevented him." (17:25) - "But Jesus spoke to him first." Jesus knew what Peter was going to say and spoke first.

"Their own children, or of strangers?" (17:25) - "Their own citizens or conquered foreigners?"

"Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them." (17:27) - The Son of God was exempt from paying the Temple tax. But Jesus had Peter pay it anyway to not upset the tax collectors.

"Take up the fish that first cometh up." (17:27) - "Take the first fish you catch."

"Give unto them for me and thee." (17:27) - Jesus told Peter to find the coin in the fish and use it to pay both their taxes.

You can read Mark's account of this passage in Mark 9:17-32. Luke's report appears in Luke 9:37-45.

New Living Translation

Matthew 17:14-27
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

14 At 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.

16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn't heal him."

17 Jesus 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."

18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

19 Afterward 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."

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

22 After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.

23 He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead." And the disciples were filled with grief.

Payment of the Temple Tax

24 On 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!

27 However, 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."

The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Questions:

1. Why didn't the disciples have more faith? (17:20)

2. Why did Jesus perform a miracle to pay the Temple tax? (17:27)

"After life is over, the afterlife goes on."

From the song "The dead don't die" by Sturgill Simpson

Answers: (Do you agree?)

1. "Faith was a struggle for them, just as it is for us today. Jesus urged his disciples not to wallow in unbelief but to recognize how God can use even a tiny amount of faith. Our faith may seem small and insignificant (especially in times of hardship and testing), but as our faith grows, so does our potential to overcome great obstacles."

("The Quest Study Bible," published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; page 1412).

2. Jesus performed this miracle for three reasons: 1) To demonstrate to His disciples that, despite being citizens of God's kingdom, they were still subject to the law and had to pay taxes. 2) To teach them about trust and reliance on Divine providence, even in matters like paying taxes. 3) To show Peter, who was struggling with his faith, the limitless power of Christ. Producing a coin from a fish is a complex miracle. If the coin was already in the fish, how did Jesus know it was there? If the coin wasn't already in the fish, how did Jesus orchestrate the fish to find the coin in the sea, swallow it, swim towards shore, and catch Peter's hook? If the coin neither existed in the fish nor in the sea, how did Jesus create something from nothing?

Application thought for the day:

Whenever you face problems, trust in God and move mountains (17:20).

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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen, published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series," published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur, published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Atlas of the Bible" edited by Joseph L. Gardner, published by Readers Digest, Pleasantville, New York; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible," published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The New Testament" Recovery Version, published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California; "The Living New Testament," published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation," published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; the "Life Application Study Bible," published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible," published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The New Scofield Reference Bible," published by Oxford University Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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