Matthew 17:22-23

Jesus Again Warns Of His Coming Arrest, Execution, And Rising Again (17:22-23).

Then Jesus presents the final example of faith. He is not just calling on His disciples to believe. He too will evidence His faith by going forward in the hands of God Who will deliver Him (‘will be delivered' is a divine passive) into the hands of men. The result will then be that they will kill Him. But on the third day God will then raise Him from the dead. So He is going forward with His faith fully in His Father.

Jesus had given constant indications of the suffering that He must face almost from the beginning (Matthew 9:15; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 12:40 and compare John 2:19) but from the time of the disciples' open recognition of Him as ‘the Messiah, the Son of the living God' He has proclaimed with even more force the necessity for His humiliation, death and resurrection in accordance with Isaiah 53:7. See Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:9; Matthew 17:12. But now it is included so as to demonstrate that He has the faith that He desires of His disciples. Initially He had spoken of it in Caesarea Philippi, but now it is in Galilee. He knows that His hour is near.

Analysis.

a And while they gathered (came together) in Galilee, Jesus said to them (Matthew 17:22 a).

b “The Son of man will be delivered up into the hands of men” (Matthew 17:22 b).

c “And they will kill him” (Matthew 17:23 a).

b “And the third day he will be raised up” (Matthew 17:23 b).

a And they were very upset (Matthew 17:23 c).

Note that in ‘a' Jesus spoke seriously to them of what was coming, and in the parallel they were very upset. In ‘b' we have a description of God's first act in the coming drama and in the parallel God's last act. Centrally in ‘c' is the fact of what men will do in the face of God's activity.