Fathers

Matthew 17

Tap a verse to read the Fathers. Press and hold, then drag, to make a card.

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer. When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him, and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” Jesus rebuked him, the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.” While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.” They were exceedingly sorry. When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?” Peter said to him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt. But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”

About · Privacy · Credits · Support VRSZ

What the Fathers say

Matthew 17:22

Eastern Fathers

John Chrysostom

"Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them." Seest thou how again He in due season reminds them of His passion, laying up for them great store of comfort from the passion of John. And not in this way only, but also by presently working great miracles. Yea, and whensoever He speaks of His passion, presently He works miracles, both after those sayings and before them; and in many places one may find Him to have kept this rule. …

Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 57 ↗

Theophylact of Ohrid

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. He continually foretells the Passion, so that no one would think that He suffered unwillingly, and also, to train them so that they would not be shaken by the unexpected when it occurred. To the sorrow He weds the joy, that He will rise.

Commentary on Matthew ↗

Western Saints

Jerome

While they were conversing in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of Man is to be handed over to the hands of men, and they will kill him; and on the third day he will rise again. And they were greatly saddened. He always mixes sorrows with prosperity, so that when they come suddenly, they do not terrify the apostles; but they are carried by their prepared minds: For if they are saddened by his impending death, they should be joyful at the news of his resurrection on the third day. …

Commentary on Matthew ↗

Thomas Aquinas

And when they conversed together in Galilee, etc. Above, the tranquility of glory was figured through liberation from the power of demons; this liberation was accomplished through the death of Christ; Hebrews 2:14: that through death he might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil, and might deliver them who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to servitude. Therefore he immediately adds the foretelling of the passion. …

Commentary on Matthew ↗

Remigius of Rheims

Or, fasting is here understood generally as abstinence not from food only, but from all carnal allurements, and sinful passions. In like manner prayer is to be understood in general as consisting in pious and good acts, concerning which the Apostle speaks, Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17.) The Lord often foretold to His disciples the mysteries of His passion, in order that when they come to pass, they might be the lighter to them from having been known beforehand.

Catena Aurea by Aquinas ↗