MATTHEW
CHAPTER
17
1. Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 1)
As in the relationship between two people who are in courting or in a relationship, when one wishes to share something personal or intimate, one takes the other aside, to a private place away from public awareness. Oh Jesus, You also do the same when You want to share something personal. When You gave me my call You called me when I was fast asleep in bed and not when I was among the community of believers, because what You wanted to share was special and intimate so, special that it changed my life forever.
2. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 2)
Oh God You decided to manifest Your real true self to those of Your inner circle. During the transfiguration You manifested Your glory and a bright light shone through Your person. Indeed people of God have that particular shine that is not found in people who are far away from You. I have friends members and at times leaders of the prayer group that My family attends that when I look in their eyes it is evident that they have made an experience of You because this experience is still alive and shining in their person.
3. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 3)
It could be oh Jesus that Moses and Elijah are significant of the old testament and the new or close to the introduction of the new testament. The discussion taking place may be preparations for your Crucifixion which had been planned long before You were born. On reflecting even before our own birth You had already making plans for our salvation and that of the world.
4. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 4)
Oh Jesus Peter was in such a state of awe that he surely did not know what he was saying. however I understand that he surely did not wish that glorious moment to come to an end. He may have been feeling so much at home in Your heavenly presence that at all costs he wanted to preserve this reality by building tents. Peter may have remembered the holy tent of the presence that we find in the book of Leviticus in which You manifested yourself to your people on the wings of the golden Cherubims that were fixed on the lid of the ark of the covenant.
Indeed oh Jesus it is true that when we make a genuine experience of Your presence, when You manifest Yourself to us, although it is a great surprise or even traumatic, we still would not like this state of being to end. When You talked to me during the dream that I had I was surely on the verge of a heart attack. My heart started beating many beats per second, and even though I felt a strong wind surrounding me, even though I did not have a fan on, I ended up sweating all over. This is an experience that I will never forget and stop talking about.
5. While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud over-shadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 5)
Believe it or not if I pray for a tent God gives me a housing estate. Peter asked You oh God if he wanted to build tents for Moses, Yourself and Elijah and You sent a great cloud that overshadowed everyone present on the mountain. I needed to change my car, and indeed through a colleague at work You provided me with a car that has not only the basics but even extras such as power steering and air condition. However among the extras You also gave me a box of tissues to wipe away the tears.
I so greatly appreciated this new Fiat Panda that I became obsessed in taking care of it. I do not allow my daughter to eat snacks while in the car. This car eventually became something of an exaggerated value, and that is where I made the biggest mistake of my life. You warned me by means of my wife that it has become a treasure for me, and that as You have given it to me, You can also take it away from me. At that time I did not understand the meaning of the message but now I do. On Friday the 28th of August while on my way to work I had a collision with another vehicle. In order to avoid a pothole in the road which in my opinion would harm the tyres of my treasured car I swerved the car. Another driver who instantly got mixed up in which I direction I was going exited from a side street and hit the car in its mid section, and now the car is out of action awaiting the jurisdiction of the warden before repairs are implemented.
Oh Jesus from this experience I learnt that You are my only treasure. I thank You for this experience even though I know, that, I am going be given the blame and will end up paying for the damages incurred on my car and that of the other person, however I still thank You because this car has indeed become a treasure for me. Moreover I thank You for the outcome of the accident because it could have been much worse. I thank You oh God for taking control of the car while I was in a state of panic and kept the car in balance instead of rolling of the road. I thank You that my colleague and myself who were on our way to work were not injured. Thank You Jesus for Your protection. Amen.
6. When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."8. And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 6 to 8)
When You saw that the disciples could no longer bear the stressful situation You brought it to an end. Oh Jesus You never permit us to experience more than we could bear, each of us according to our own personal threshold of stress. Moreover you never want us to be afraid, for fear is not the lot of the person of God but of the person who is in a state of sin and has many issues to be afraid of, due to ones sinful lifestyle.
9. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 9)
Oh Jesus all that happens in our lives is according to the plan that You made exactly for us, even if the events that take place are not always that positive as in my case a car accident. Therefore as in the case of the apostles we are to respect this order and not seek to know it before it even happens as in the case of fortune tellers. Oh Jesus loving father You expect our obedience as you obeyed your father up to the last second of Your life and fulfilled all that He had asked You to do for our salvation. From the moment of Your birth as a human to the last step on the mount of Calvary the issue of obedience was always inscribed in Your heart and in Your mind, likewise we are to adopt the same attitude.
10. And the disciples asked him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11. He replied, "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12. but I tell you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands."13. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 10 to 13)
At times oh Jesus we also may feel frustrated and confused, because there are many who give different version of the so called truth. The Jehovah Witnesses have their version of the truth, Roman Catholics have their version, Therefore we end up asking who are we to believe. As a roman Catholic I believe in You and the teachings that You give to the Roman Catholic Church by means of Your Holy Spirit. However I also believe in the truth that You give me when praying on the bible every day of my life. Amen.
14. When they came to the crowd, a man to him, knelt before him, 15. and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 14 to 16)
During these times many people mistook the symptoms of epilepsy with that of a demonic possession. In order to become aware of the symptoms of epilepsy please click on the following link that shows us the experience of John a person who experiences episodes of epilepsy:-
Symptoms of Epilepsy case of John
According to our source who is an exorcist the symptoms of some mental illness are similar to that of a demonic possession or oppression and great care must be taken by the exorcist to discern if it is one or the other. Therefore before passing judgement on somebody and placing a negative label on a person and imply that the person is sick or possessed we better stop and think again for even the experts think twice before passing such judgement. In light of this issue I invite you to click on the following link in order to see the difference between the presence of mental health symptoms and that of demonic possession or oppression.
Signs of demonic possession
17. 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."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 17)
Oh Jesus I wonder what You would comment on us your disciples priests and laity of our times. I wonder if You would find the degree of faith that You are to find. On the other hand we have no other healer who can heal the body and spirit but You oh Jesus. Mother technology and science are inventing many instruments in order to detect terminal illness however people are still dying of cancer. It is You who can help us and not the world as testified by those such as myself who have received healing on both a physical level and even on a spiritual level.
18. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 18)
Oh Jesus You put up alot for us. Your endurance is very strong in Your relationship with us, however I love You more because You never give up on nobody. We may give up on ourselves and even on others and even on You at times, but You are always faithful Amen.
19. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20. 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."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 19 to 20)
Oh Jesus You make it look so simple, and in fact it is, however at times my faith withers, even though I have witnessed You working directly in my life and even indirectly. I pray oh Jesus for more and more faith for even though I proclaim to believe i You with all my heart and all my mind, according to Your criteria my supply of faith is still below the average.Oh Jesus we may think that You expect alot from us, however in truth all You want from us is to simply believe in You with all our heart and mind and place our trust in You alone. I pray oh Jesus that You boost my faith even to the size of a mustard seed Amen.
For some reason in both versions of the Bible that I am referring to verse 21 has been omitted, therefore I am compelled to move on to verse 22 of the 17th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew.
22. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23. and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised." And they were greatly distressed.
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 22 to 23)
Oh Jesus how distressing is the reality of death if viewed from a human perspective as in the case of the apostles. It means a total failure a life of agony separated from ones loved one. However from Your perspective the reality is totally the opposite. For those of us who have in them the fear of God death is one of the most beautiful moments of our lives. I admit that on being aware of my sins I tremble to appear before You however I know that before this stage I will experience a period of time in purgatory so that I will be then be worthy to appear before You. It would be the fulfilment of my life to spend the rest of my life in Your presence oh Jesus. I simply thirst for that day. my wish is that I come before You along with my family or else please find a better than husband than me for my wife and daughter if we happen not to come together. This is one of my greatest wishes.
24. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?"
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 24)
Oh Jesus the world asks You if You pay Your due fee to the temple. What cheek and arrogance. You the provider of the whole world, our only means of support and we treat You in the same way as we treat each other. If we had to ask ourselves oh Jesus if we are paying what is due to You our attitude instantly changes, from that of the accuser to that of the one being accused. If I had to ask myself if I am doing all that You ask of me in both the Old testament messages that You give me and even in the messages of the Gospels I would say that I am still in debt. I consider myself to be an aged debtor and that the percentage of my debts is always on the increase, however You already paid the full price of my redemption when You redeemed me by means of Your loving passion. You were the same fee or offering that was needed to make the offering complete. I do not have words to thank You my loving Father.
25. 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?"26. When Peter said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the children are free. 27. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up and; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 25 to 27)
As being the Son of God You were above the law of the temple. As a human in the eyes of the authorities you were not exempt from paying the temple tax. However it all depends on how we perceive You oh Jesus. If we see you as human we think of You only as such, however this is not a correct perception because in You there was both the human and the divine.
However as humans and members of a society as You well know we are subject to the payment of taxes that appear to be never ending. At times we may not see the fruits of what we are paying for. However as citizens even You oh Jesus decided to obey the customs of the times and paid the required fee. Oh Jesus You are our provider. We only need to trust in You, because You are aware of our needs and wants.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-
Oh Jesus I would like to thank You for showing yourself to me by means of the messages that You give me when meditating on Your Word. I would also like to thank You for all the messages that You have been giving me throughout my life even if I did not always understand what You meant by them. I also would like to thank You for preparing a dwelling place in Your presence on my leaving this earth. I pray that I be worthy to appear in Your presence for although I love You I am still a sinner.
I would also thank You for Your out -standing and never ending providence. You are always present in my life and have never stopped showering us with both spiritual and material blessings especially during critical moments of need. I would also like to thank You for our welfare system. By means of it you take care of all our needs from the cradle to the grave. I would also like to offer You all the people who manage the taxes of the world, so that You continue to enrich them with the wisdom to distribute to all according to the needs of the situation.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 1)
As in the relationship between two people who are in courting or in a relationship, when one wishes to share something personal or intimate, one takes the other aside, to a private place away from public awareness. Oh Jesus, You also do the same when You want to share something personal. When You gave me my call You called me when I was fast asleep in bed and not when I was among the community of believers, because what You wanted to share was special and intimate so, special that it changed my life forever.
2. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 2)
Oh God You decided to manifest Your real true self to those of Your inner circle. During the transfiguration You manifested Your glory and a bright light shone through Your person. Indeed people of God have that particular shine that is not found in people who are far away from You. I have friends members and at times leaders of the prayer group that My family attends that when I look in their eyes it is evident that they have made an experience of You because this experience is still alive and shining in their person.
3. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 3)
It could be oh Jesus that Moses and Elijah are significant of the old testament and the new or close to the introduction of the new testament. The discussion taking place may be preparations for your Crucifixion which had been planned long before You were born. On reflecting even before our own birth You had already making plans for our salvation and that of the world.
4. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 4)
Oh Jesus Peter was in such a state of awe that he surely did not know what he was saying. however I understand that he surely did not wish that glorious moment to come to an end. He may have been feeling so much at home in Your heavenly presence that at all costs he wanted to preserve this reality by building tents. Peter may have remembered the holy tent of the presence that we find in the book of Leviticus in which You manifested yourself to your people on the wings of the golden Cherubims that were fixed on the lid of the ark of the covenant.
Indeed oh Jesus it is true that when we make a genuine experience of Your presence, when You manifest Yourself to us, although it is a great surprise or even traumatic, we still would not like this state of being to end. When You talked to me during the dream that I had I was surely on the verge of a heart attack. My heart started beating many beats per second, and even though I felt a strong wind surrounding me, even though I did not have a fan on, I ended up sweating all over. This is an experience that I will never forget and stop talking about.
5. While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud over-shadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 5)
Believe it or not if I pray for a tent God gives me a housing estate. Peter asked You oh God if he wanted to build tents for Moses, Yourself and Elijah and You sent a great cloud that overshadowed everyone present on the mountain. I needed to change my car, and indeed through a colleague at work You provided me with a car that has not only the basics but even extras such as power steering and air condition. However among the extras You also gave me a box of tissues to wipe away the tears.
I so greatly appreciated this new Fiat Panda that I became obsessed in taking care of it. I do not allow my daughter to eat snacks while in the car. This car eventually became something of an exaggerated value, and that is where I made the biggest mistake of my life. You warned me by means of my wife that it has become a treasure for me, and that as You have given it to me, You can also take it away from me. At that time I did not understand the meaning of the message but now I do. On Friday the 28th of August while on my way to work I had a collision with another vehicle. In order to avoid a pothole in the road which in my opinion would harm the tyres of my treasured car I swerved the car. Another driver who instantly got mixed up in which I direction I was going exited from a side street and hit the car in its mid section, and now the car is out of action awaiting the jurisdiction of the warden before repairs are implemented.
Oh Jesus from this experience I learnt that You are my only treasure. I thank You for this experience even though I know, that, I am going be given the blame and will end up paying for the damages incurred on my car and that of the other person, however I still thank You because this car has indeed become a treasure for me. Moreover I thank You for the outcome of the accident because it could have been much worse. I thank You oh God for taking control of the car while I was in a state of panic and kept the car in balance instead of rolling of the road. I thank You that my colleague and myself who were on our way to work were not injured. Thank You Jesus for Your protection. Amen.
6. When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."8. And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 6 to 8)
When You saw that the disciples could no longer bear the stressful situation You brought it to an end. Oh Jesus You never permit us to experience more than we could bear, each of us according to our own personal threshold of stress. Moreover you never want us to be afraid, for fear is not the lot of the person of God but of the person who is in a state of sin and has many issues to be afraid of, due to ones sinful lifestyle.
9. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verse 9)
Oh Jesus all that happens in our lives is according to the plan that You made exactly for us, even if the events that take place are not always that positive as in my case a car accident. Therefore as in the case of the apostles we are to respect this order and not seek to know it before it even happens as in the case of fortune tellers. Oh Jesus loving father You expect our obedience as you obeyed your father up to the last second of Your life and fulfilled all that He had asked You to do for our salvation. From the moment of Your birth as a human to the last step on the mount of Calvary the issue of obedience was always inscribed in Your heart and in Your mind, likewise we are to adopt the same attitude.
10. And the disciples asked him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11. He replied, "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12. but I tell you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands."13. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 10 to 13)
At times oh Jesus we also may feel frustrated and confused, because there are many who give different version of the so called truth. The Jehovah Witnesses have their version of the truth, Roman Catholics have their version, Therefore we end up asking who are we to believe. As a roman Catholic I believe in You and the teachings that You give to the Roman Catholic Church by means of Your Holy Spirit. However I also believe in the truth that You give me when praying on the bible every day of my life. Amen.
14. When they came to the crowd, a man to him, knelt before him, 15. and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
(Matthew Chapter 17 verses 14 to 16)
During these times many people mistook the symptoms of epilepsy with that of a demonic possession. In order to become aware of the symptoms of epilepsy please click on the following link that shows us the experience of John a person who experiences episodes of epilepsy:-
Symptoms of Epilepsy case of John
According to our source who is an exorcist the symptoms of some mental illness are similar to that of a demonic possession or oppression and great care must be taken by the exorcist to discern if it is one or the other. Therefore before passing judgement on somebody and placing a negative label on a person and imply that the person is sick or possessed we better stop and think again for even the experts think twice before passing such judgement. In light of this issue I invite you to click on the following link in order to see the difference between the presence of mental health symptoms and that of demonic possession or oppression.
Signs of demonic possession
17. 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."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 17)
Oh Jesus I wonder what You would comment on us your disciples priests and laity of our times. I wonder if You would find the degree of faith that You are to find. On the other hand we have no other healer who can heal the body and spirit but You oh Jesus. Mother technology and science are inventing many instruments in order to detect terminal illness however people are still dying of cancer. It is You who can help us and not the world as testified by those such as myself who have received healing on both a physical level and even on a spiritual level.
18. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 18)
Oh Jesus You put up alot for us. Your endurance is very strong in Your relationship with us, however I love You more because You never give up on nobody. We may give up on ourselves and even on others and even on You at times, but You are always faithful Amen.
19. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20. 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."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 19 to 20)
Oh Jesus You make it look so simple, and in fact it is, however at times my faith withers, even though I have witnessed You working directly in my life and even indirectly. I pray oh Jesus for more and more faith for even though I proclaim to believe i You with all my heart and all my mind, according to Your criteria my supply of faith is still below the average.Oh Jesus we may think that You expect alot from us, however in truth all You want from us is to simply believe in You with all our heart and mind and place our trust in You alone. I pray oh Jesus that You boost my faith even to the size of a mustard seed Amen.
For some reason in both versions of the Bible that I am referring to verse 21 has been omitted, therefore I am compelled to move on to verse 22 of the 17th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew.
22. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23. and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised." And they were greatly distressed.
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 22 to 23)
Oh Jesus how distressing is the reality of death if viewed from a human perspective as in the case of the apostles. It means a total failure a life of agony separated from ones loved one. However from Your perspective the reality is totally the opposite. For those of us who have in them the fear of God death is one of the most beautiful moments of our lives. I admit that on being aware of my sins I tremble to appear before You however I know that before this stage I will experience a period of time in purgatory so that I will be then be worthy to appear before You. It would be the fulfilment of my life to spend the rest of my life in Your presence oh Jesus. I simply thirst for that day. my wish is that I come before You along with my family or else please find a better than husband than me for my wife and daughter if we happen not to come together. This is one of my greatest wishes.
24. When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?"
(Matthew Chapter 7 verse 24)
Oh Jesus the world asks You if You pay Your due fee to the temple. What cheek and arrogance. You the provider of the whole world, our only means of support and we treat You in the same way as we treat each other. If we had to ask ourselves oh Jesus if we are paying what is due to You our attitude instantly changes, from that of the accuser to that of the one being accused. If I had to ask myself if I am doing all that You ask of me in both the Old testament messages that You give me and even in the messages of the Gospels I would say that I am still in debt. I consider myself to be an aged debtor and that the percentage of my debts is always on the increase, however You already paid the full price of my redemption when You redeemed me by means of Your loving passion. You were the same fee or offering that was needed to make the offering complete. I do not have words to thank You my loving Father.
25. 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?"26. When Peter said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the children are free. 27. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up and; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me."
(Matthew Chapter 7 verses 25 to 27)
As being the Son of God You were above the law of the temple. As a human in the eyes of the authorities you were not exempt from paying the temple tax. However it all depends on how we perceive You oh Jesus. If we see you as human we think of You only as such, however this is not a correct perception because in You there was both the human and the divine.
However as humans and members of a society as You well know we are subject to the payment of taxes that appear to be never ending. At times we may not see the fruits of what we are paying for. However as citizens even You oh Jesus decided to obey the customs of the times and paid the required fee. Oh Jesus You are our provider. We only need to trust in You, because You are aware of our needs and wants.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:-
Oh Jesus I would like to thank You for showing yourself to me by means of the messages that You give me when meditating on Your Word. I would also like to thank You for all the messages that You have been giving me throughout my life even if I did not always understand what You meant by them. I also would like to thank You for preparing a dwelling place in Your presence on my leaving this earth. I pray that I be worthy to appear in Your presence for although I love You I am still a sinner.
I would also thank You for Your out -standing and never ending providence. You are always present in my life and have never stopped showering us with both spiritual and material blessings especially during critical moments of need. I would also like to thank You for our welfare system. By means of it you take care of all our needs from the cradle to the grave. I would also like to offer You all the people who manage the taxes of the world, so that You continue to enrich them with the wisdom to distribute to all according to the needs of the situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment