Matthew 17:1 I. Not for the Apostles' sake only was the glory of the Lord thus revealed. In them the whole Church since saw it, and to us, as to them, it is given as a support of faith, a kindling of our hope. To us, too, it is a witness of our Lord's Divinity; nay, more, of His Divinity and humani... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:2 The portion of St. Matthew's Gospel from which the text is taken may be called the Section of the Transfiguration. In it the Church is led by her Lord to a creed, to a worship, and to a work. I. The Church is led to a creed. The time has now come for estimating the effects of the mini... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:4 The disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration had I. A vision of Christ's Divinity. II. A vision of glorified saints. III. A vision of the Father's presence. IV. A vision of Jesus only. J. Jackson Wray, _Light from the Old Lamp,_p. 345. Reference: Matthew 17:5. C. Girdlestone, _T... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:8 The Transfiguration, with all its heavenly loveliness, its purity, its fellowship, and its glory, had evidently not been an unmixed enjoyment to the three men who were elected to see it. They were not yet capable of such a scene. It was a comfort and relief to them when it all passed a... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:19 I. There are two different ideas about the way in which the problems of the world are to be solved, the salvation of the world, whatever it is, is to be brought about. Pure irreligion looks to man to do it. Let man go on thinking, inventing, planning, governing, and the result must com... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:19 Christ our Pattern. I. There are two things very hard to our moral natures, and yet most necessary to our happiness; the one of these is that we should be very much afraid of sin, the other that we should not be afraid of death. We know quite well that we ought to be both the one and... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:20 The ground of faith in God and immortality is not authority or demonstration, but our sense of right. I. First, the very fact of our having a sense of right makes it probable that God exists. We do not know where that sense of right comes from. It is the one thing which the theory of... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 17:27 The story of the tribute-money is not one of the great miracles, and yet its lessons are well worth our careful study. I. There is what, for the want of a better word, we must call the modesty of Jesus. Rather than offend the prejudices of the people, He would waive His claim. Are no... [ Continue Reading ]