This morning we’re looking at Matthew 17:14-27, but if you take a step back from this text and look at the last two chapters as a whole, you can see a couple of threads running through these chapters. One of the main ones is the identity of Jesus. Throughout these chapters, this theme of Christ’s identity has come up again and again, from Jesus asking who people say he is to Peter confessing he is the Christ to the Father declaring in the transfiguration that Jesus is the son in whom he is well pleased. The identity of Christ theme is easily seen.
But right alongside that theme has been the disciples’ successes and failures (and more failures). It’s as if Matthew wants us to see that though the disciples are growing in their understanding, they still have a lot of room for growth. Chapter 16 begins with the disciples misunderstanding Jesus’ reference to leaven as a rebuke about them forgetting bread (which was the farthest thing from what Jesus was saying—especially when he’d just multiplied bread for crowds of thousands). Then Peter rightly confesses Jesus is the Christ only then to show that he doesn’t understand the Messiah’s mission and wrongly rebukes Jesus for saying that his purpose was to suffer and die. After this, you have the transfiguration, which Peter amazingly finds a way to get wrong as well, suggesting that Moses and Elijah were elevating Jesus and that they should take advantage of it by building three tents for each of them.
Mark Dever has spoken of Peter’s tendency to speak before he thinks as an approach where one says, "Ready! Fire! Aim!” That is, he seems only to think of what would be good to say after he has already spoken. On the mountain, Peter had actually gotten this one so wrong that God the Father actually just interrupts him to say “This is my beloved Son” (v. 5; the text says, “While [Peter] was still speaking . . . a voice from the cloud said”).
So, right alongside the theme of the identity of Jesus is this thread where Matthew continues to show us that the disciples just aren’t getting this right. They’re struggling. They’re making missteps all along the way, and at times Peter bears the brunt of this unflattering picture as he is front and center in this miscues.
I think it’s this thread of the disciples’ miscues and struggling faith that ties together the three episodes that make up the end of chapter 17. In the first (vv. 14-21), Jesus comes down from the mountain where he’d been transfigured before Peter, James, and John only to find that the disciples he’d left behind had been unable to cast out a demon from a boy, showing their lack of faith. In the second (vv. 22-23), Jesus predicts his suffering, death, and resurrection for a second time, only for the disciples to show they still don’t understand his redemptive mission. In the third (vv. 24-27), Peter has a moment of attempting to defend Jesus and botching it a bit by missing that Jesus is even greater than Peter has thought he is.
Now where this is helpful for us is that it’s often quite hard to see our own tendencies toward sin. Or perhaps I should simply say that it’s a lot easier to see the struggles and sinful tendencies of others. Therefore, my hope this morning is to take advantage of that. I want to approach this text kind of like the prophet Nathan approached David after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Remember how Nathan approached David? He told him a story about one man taking another man’s sheep. That is, he capitalized on our ability to see the sins of others more easily than our own. And once David became irate at such a selfish, unloving action, Nathan finally unveiled to David that the king himself was the one who’d done this act by taking another man’s wife.
Now, unlike Nathan, I’m letting us know up front my aim. I want us to examine the particular failures of the disciples in these three episodes because I think that’s what Matthew wants us to see. But then I want to pause, hold each of them up to us and ask, “Are we doing the same thing?” And if so, I hope that this text will call each of us to repentance in these areas. The first of these failures we see then is that:
Verse 14 begins with Jesus and the three disciples he took with him onto the mountain (Peter, James, and John) coming back down the mountain to a situation created by the disciples who had stayed behind. Apparently, the other disciples had not been sitting idly by as Jesus went onto the mountain. Rather, a man had brought his son to the disciples for healing. The boy, it seems, had something like epileptic fits that actually served to put his life at risk. If he was near a body of water or a fire and one of these epileptic fits came on, his body might be hurled into the water or into the fire. Moreover, these epileptic fits weren’t simply a case of misfiring brain activity (or whatever typically causes epilepsy) but of demonic torment.
The problem is that when this man had brought his son to the disciples for them to cast the demon out of the boy, they’d been unable to do so. Therefore, as Jesus comes down from the mountain, this desperate father comes up to Jesus, kneels before him, and asks Jesus to help his son, noting his disciples’ inability to do so (vv. 14-16).
Jesus’ response shows the burden he felt in dealing with those who continually lacked faith. He answers, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me?” (v. 17). Now, we’ve seen Jesus give this kind of reaction before in regards to the crowds, but I think that this statement applies to his disciples in this case as well. They were lacking faith.
Then, Jesus does what his disciples couldn’t do, rebuking the demon and casting it out with ease (v. 18). And, of course, this raised a question from his disciples (which they ask Jesus privately so as to avoid embarrassment, no doubt). They ask Jesus, ‘Why could we not cast it out?” (v. 19). And here’s his answer. He says, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (v. 20).
Jesus’ answer is straightforward enough; they had little faith. But what does he mean by “little faith?” What precisely was their problem here? It could be that the man brought his son to the disciples, asked them to cast out the demon, and they simply doubted that they could do it. After all, in Matthew 14:31, after Peter begins sinking in the water and Jesus rescues him, Jesus says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” But I don’t think that the main problem underlying their faithfulness was simply doubt for a few reasons.
For one, they obviously tried to heal the boy. His father admits that the disciples tried and failed. If they were full of doubt, not even having a mustard seed’s worth of faith that this could be done, it seems odd that they would be willing to try. It makes more sense that they would have said, “Just wait till Jesus comes back down the mountain, and he’ll take care of this.” A second reason I don’t think the issue was simply doubt in their ability is because they’d done this before. In Matthew 10:5-15, Jesus had already given them authority to cast out demons, they’d gone out, and indeed cast out demons.1 It would seem odd to think that had absolutely zero faith that this could happen again, when they’d already seen the power of God working through them to cast out demons previously.1 Finally, in Mark’s account, when the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon, he answers, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29). That is to say, the disciples hadn’t seen the need to pray when they went to cast out this demon, and I think that this sheds light on the root of their faithlessness.
Now, what does it show that they had not been driven to prayer when this man had approached the disciples about his boy? If the problem had simply been that their lack of faith was rooted in doubt about their ability, it seems that they would’ve cried out to the Lord in prayer. After all, in Matthew 8 when Jesus was asleep in the boat and the disciples had little faith because they were full of doubt in their ability to keep themselves alive, they cried out to Jesus, waking him up to save them. And when Peter had no faith, doubting his ability to continue to walk on the water in Matthew 14, he cried out to Jesus to help him as he began to sink. In both of those cases their faithlessness rooted in doubt resulted in crying out to the Lord, not prayerlessness.
I think the answer then (as we reconcile Matthew and Mark’s account of this same story) is that their lack of faith and consequent prayerlessness was rooted in the fact that they felt that they possessed the power to do this in themselves. They didn’t see their need for prayer. They didn’t see the need for faith, for trusting in the Lord to empower them for this moment. They knew what they were doing. They’d done it before. And they were surprised it didn’t work. They said and did all the things they’d done before, but what they missed was that the power to cast out demons didn’t originate with them. And if they were ever to know that power, it would be through faith and prayer to the Lord who’d provide it for them. They’d replaced faith with presumptive self-reliance. I think this is why Jesus mentions that their problem wasn’t that they just had a little faith, noting that a little faith is powerful. In fact, faith the size of a mustard seed is enough. That’s all that’s required for the Lord to work in and through you to do his will, even doing what we think impossible. Their problem was that they’d turned away from thinking they need faith simply to presumptive self-reliance.
Now, before we attack them too strongly, let’s hold up the mirror to ourselves. Is our tendency to do the same? Do you often encounter a situation that seems bigger than you and your first reaction is simply to figure out how you’re going to get this done instead of pray and ask the Lord to help? Another question would simply be: “How’s your experience with prayer?” Are you largely prayerless? If so, then it’s reflecting the fact that you don’t think you need the Lord. And that thinking that you’ve got this under control isn’t faith according to the Bible; it’s presumptive self-reliance.
Just recently I had a situation that I was trying to think through and figure out that just seemed beyond me. I couldn’t see precisely what needed to happen. And to my shame, it took me days of helplessly figuring and conversing before I thought to myself, “You know, I should pray and ask the Lord to help with this.” I’d fallen into a mode of presumptive self-reliance and drifted from faith and trust in the Lord. It may well be helpful for all of us to examine our lives and the details of our lives right now just to see if we’ve drifted into that self-reliant mode as well. If so, let’s repent this morning, see the need for faith, and express that faith by crying out to the Lord. Second:
In the second episode, we have Jesus for the second time explicitly predicting his death and resurrection. We read in verses 22-23a, “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’”
Now, I’ve noted a few times that Mark notes in his gospel that the disciples didn’t understand what he meant by the resurrection from the dead. They thought he obviously meant that in some figurative way, and didn’t ask him. So, that explains why they didn’t get all excited about the mention of the resurrection. But we actually see that their response was altogether on the other end of the spectrum. Matthew tells us, “And they were greatly distressed” (v. 23b).
Interestingly, Peter, who was among these distressed disciples would later write in 1 Peter 1 that believers should rejoice in suffering and continue to persevere in holiness, knowing that God is refining your faith like gold is tested and refined in fire. And he specifically notes that they should press on in holy perseverance because they were ransomed “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Why is it, then, that Peter who will later write of Christ shedding his blood as a note of our glorious redemption is at this moment despairing at news of Jesus dying? The answer, of course, is that Peter’s only category concerning the death of Jesus at this point was that of defeat. That’s how all the disciples heard Jesus’ declaration of his coming death. They heard it as an announcement that his mission would end in defeat.
But Christ’s death is by no means defeat. In fact, he made clear that no one took his life from him, but he himself was laying it down. And he was voluntarily giving his life because his mission was to come and die for sinners, paying our penalty so that we might be forgiven through faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the good news of the gospel. It is the glorious news that death is victory. Yes, the serpent is bruising his heel, but he’s crushing the serpent’s head.
So it is with believers. Just as death is not defeat for Christ, so it is not defeat for those who trust in Christ. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, discussing the resurrection of believers will actually ask, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” and he answers, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:55-57).
In fact, suffering itself is, according to Peter, a testing of our faith that proves the genuineness of our faith. According to James, suffering is what produces steadfastness in us. According to Paul in Romans 5, it is that which produces endurance, character, and hope. And what this means is that just as the disciples wrongly say reason to despair when they heard of Jesus’ death, so you may be wrongly seeing reasons to despair in your own life. If you belong to the Lord, your suffering is being used to show your faith genuine, give you steadfastness, and produce godly character. It is being used to conform you to Christ. Even your death will not be defeat but a precursor to the victory displayed in the resurrection. Therefore, let us take our cues for how to interpret our lives and the trials therein from the Scripture, and I think we’ll see reasons for hope and trust instead of cause for despair. And finally:
Matthew tells us in verses 24-27 that when they came into Capernaum, Peter was approached for a collector of taxes who asked him if his teacher (i.e. Jesus) paid the two-drachma tax (v. 24). The two-drachma tax was not a tax that Rome collected but was actually a Jewish tax that was collected to support the temple and its services.
Now, this may be one time that Peter thought before he spoke, but sadly his thinking was a bit skewed. Peter answered, “Yes” (v. 25). And of course you’d expect him to answer, “Yes.” After all, his reasoning probably went like this: “The temple is the very house of God where God’s presence dwells. This tax is therefore for the upkeep and care of the house of God. Therefore, any good and God-honoring person would happily pay this tax because that person would want to honor God by participating in the care and upkeep of his house.”
That is, Peter was watching out for Jesus. He didn’t want this Jewish collector of taxes to think poorly of Jesus. Therefore, he’ll make sure that he elevates Jesus in their eyes. Peter might have even been thinking, “Jesus is really lucky he has me around to promote how great he is.” But here’s the problem. Peter didn’t elevate Jesus enough with this answer. And Jesus makes this clear when they come into the house.
Jesus asks Peter, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” (v. 25). That is, when a king is building his house or his kingdom, does he tax his own sons or those outside the royal family? Of course Peter knows the answer and replies, “Others.” Jesus confirms he is right, noting that the sons are free from paying such taxes.
Then, Jesus says in verse 27 that he doesn’t want to offend anyone, so he’ll gladly pay the tax, directing Peter to go get a coin from a fish’s mouth that Jesus will miraculously provide. So what then is Jesus’ point? Jesus point is that he is the Son of God. If the king doesn’t tax his sons for his house, then God’s sons should be exempt from paying the tax for God’s house. And because Peter is united with Jesus by faith, Peter himself gets to be exempt too. However, so as not to offend, they pay it.
You see, Peter was quick to reason that he wanted to make Jesus look good, but the problem is he didn’t make Jesus look good enough. Jesus isn’t simply a good man who wants to honor God and take care of the temple. He is himself the Son of God. He is God the Son. Peter’s problem was that he relied on his own judgment instead of what was true. He turned to his own reason instead of the revelation of God.
You and I can make the same mistake, and it will be costly when we do. Just as Adam and Eve in the garden thought they were capable of judging what is best for them apart from relying on the clear words of God when he told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so we will only go the wrong direction if we begin to think we’re sufficient to reason what is best and good for ourselves apart from relying on God’s Word. We are not sufficient to judge who Jesus is, what is good or bad, and what is best for us and most honoring to God apart from relying on the truth that God has shown in his Word. And we must never forget that, especially as the culture begins making arguments about sexuality, gender, and morality that fly in the face of what God has revealed. This is the subtle lesson Jesus teaches here.
So, this morning, there are three warnings for us. Do not turn from faith to a life of presumptive self-reliance. Do not see death as cause for despair. And do not elevate your judgment above God’s truth. Instead, let us be a people who trust in the crucified and risen Lord, continually acknowledge our need for him in prayer, trust that we have hope in him, and turn to his commands as our guide for living in a way that is best for us and honoring to our Lord. Let us even acknowledge that this is our response to the Word this morning by coming to the table. Amen.