17:1 Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a secluded place. He takes them to this place for an important lesson He wants to teach without having any distraction causing confusion or disruption.
17:2 Jesus transfigures in this verse (and with reason). Jesus transfigured is His true form, His spiritual form. The body we have on earth is miraculous and beautiful but it also has weaknesses; spiritual bodies have no weakness. Jesus' transfigured body is His soul bared. He's brilliant... "like the sun" but even brighter and more resilient.
17:3 At once Jesus is joined by Moses and Elijah and are talking to Jesus. This verse holds power because we learn that when we live our lives in the favor and servitude of God, we join that brilliant light. We become our own brilliant souls, made up of His light (His goodness, His truth and grace). Moses and Elijah were great and famous servants of God and their reappearance is assurance of at least two things 1) God does indeed reward and love His Children and 2) our true bodies are spiritual bodies and we need not fear death.
17:4 The guys -- Peter, James and John, as you can imagine are baffled with awe. Their impulse is to create three places of worship for each of the spiritual bodies standing before them. This verse speaks loudly of what we can expect when we do eventually encounter a spiritual body --complete, unabashed awe. As humans, we cannot accurately or completely imagine the magnitude of what God is and what He creates, as it is, we are perplexed enough by the wonders of our own world here on Earth that we see, interact with and touch each day. At the very least, you can expect that God's eternally-lasting version of us is inspiring and glorious.
17:5 Before Peter, James and John can get their wits about them again, they hear the voice of God declaring Jesus His son, declaring his pride in Jesus' pure heart, His pleasure at Jesus' accomplished work and determination and finally, declaring that we must listen to understand this life and world-changing message.
17:6 These men were already staggering with astonishment at witnessing Jesus' true form, to hear the voice of God was enough to knock them completely over. God is all-consuming in the best of ways, the presence of His voice is even enough to vibrate through our entire bodies. And having never experienced something such as this, Peter, James and John do not know what to do to fall to the ground. Such a powerful force of love is one as yet unknown to our bodies, it's understandable that in such a circumstance one would not know how to react.
17:7 Jesus comforts, as He always does and will. Stand and have courage. This force is God, is healing and beauty.
17:8 When the men finally get the courage to look back up, God, having delivered His message has returned to His place (there, always, but not overtly seen and heard). But Jesus remained with them physically.
17:9 Jesus does not care about celebrity. He does not want fame. He instructs the men not to go babbling along what they have seen because 1) without the situation which is to come, likely nobody would believe them and 2) it would distract the people from learning and hearing Jesus - instead of listening, their eyes and ears would be inclined to see a transfiguration, rather than the meaning behind it. After Jesus rises from His resurrection, people are going to have a lot of questions regarding life and death and Jesus wants Peter, James and John to be able to answer those questions having learned through experience.
The spiritual body form is precious. It is Life. It is God restoring us to a perfect mold... it's not a circus trick meant to distract and disarm. Believing eyes and ears will see the spiritual in time.
17:10 They ask Jesus about Elijah's coming -- I think we can learn from this: these men are wondering about prophecy fulfillment so intently to the word that they neglect to see it unfold. When you're reading the Bible, you always want to apply it to actual life because it is a living, breathing account of our lives.
17:11 Jesus reaffirms that Elijah will come (Malachi 4) and do great things.
17:12 But Jesus reminds them that someone very like Elijah has already come and was torn to shreds by people. In that, Jesus reminds us that these courageous and loving servants of God come with great purpose but are not accepted by the people. Of course these servants win, can never lose with God as their protector, but their death and ridicule on Earth is for the purpose of our learning. He let's the guys and us know that He Himself will also be torn down by the people.
17:13 Jesus speaks in the previous verse of John the Baptist, who in Luke:17 is declared to have come in the spirit of Elijah (come with the same honest and kind intentions directly from God).
17:14-16 This man needs his son to be healed. You can interpret this as a physical illness, a mental illness or even a tendency to be confused, maybe corrupt. Either way, Jesus can handle it... any of it, with ease. There is not a problem God cannot help us through.
17:17 Jesus needs the disciples to start learning and using their gifts from God. After He leaves, it's up to them to jump start a new spirituality across the world. Their inability to do God's work will hinder the world immeasurably. Though they have seen, they do not yet believe either that they are capable or that God is capable.
But it is essential that we believe and have courage in ourselves and in God. He needs us to love ourselves and our neighbors to have the determination to carry out His great mission. We get to work with Him! But we have to believe in our ability to do it and His ability to sustain and nourish it.
17:18 Of course, here we see that Jesus can handle our troubles. The pain or confusion in this boy is quickly and easily taken away -- His father believed. His father had no doubt that Jesus could heal his child and the strength of such belief brings miracle.
17:19 The disciples want to know, why couldn't we heal that boy? In other words, they ask what we just went over. Why were they incapable of performing for God?
17:20 Jesus explains that you can't accomplish anything without belief. The power of action is fueled by the belief that it can be done. Jesus lets us know that he understands it takes time and a lot of courage to have belief but no one is unseen by God. If you're trying, if you even just want to have faith, God sees you and He fills you with His love.
This metaphor of the mountain lets us know that we can accomplish anything if God wills it. And how do we get God to will something? We can rest assured that God wills whatever path or circumstance will most benefit us. When we ask Him to take control of our lives, we do what we previously believed to be impossible. We move metaphorically mountains. We move people and nations, even, if it is His plan.
17:21 Prayer and fasting. A refocusing. Do not starve in lack of God's work. Pray, communicate with God to reach understanding. Fasting can be misinterpreted often - and Jesus gives us the wisdom regarding it in a previous chapter (Chapter 6). For now, let's understand that you want to give your life to God -- which means devoting it to Him and His children completely. You want to give up the things that distract you from His mission in a private manner between you and Him.
7:22 In this striking, tense moment, Jesus reveals His future (the future of all of us, really). This is part of the beauty of Jesus. He came to Earth knowing the complete plan and unfolding of events. He knows His time here will be busy, difficult and painful but the reward of His time here made it worthwhile to Him. Here he reveals the rest of the plan with His disciples.
Jesus is the lead of the story, but many other people are infamously and famously involved as well. He knows who, when, and where. Someone will betray Jesus (for a cause, which we will get into in future chapters) and Jesus will end up in the hands of men --not good ones (for a reason, as well!).
7:23 Jesus says two things, 1) He will be killed (His earth body) 2) He will rise and be alive (in His spiritual body).
This information depresses the disciples because 1) that means they won't be enjoying this direct time with Jesus, and 2) they do not yet understand that there is no death for one who believes and trusts in God.
7:24 People want to know if Jesus is paying taxes. Personally I find this ridiculous. Jesus sacrificed His time and effort completely to the world and His giving of a few coins is really immeasurable compared.
7:25 Jesus reminds us that God created everything... therefore any money that we pay or trade or spend already belongs to Him. More than that, every centimeter of the Earth and universe is His... boundlessly. His mission is greater than the social customs of people and towns.
The metaphor is that kings of the Earth do not collect taxes from their family. Therefore THE king of Earth and Universe does not take tax from HIS family, His son specifically, in this verse.
7:26 Peter answers Jesus' question that king's family do not pay taxes. Reiterating the point.
7:27 Jesus uses another metaphor: Peter, teach and subsequently gather the children of God and let that be your tax, your payment and servitude to the true King, God. Feed the people with your hands from my supply. Beautiful. Glorious. A brilliant and loving God.
