The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 17 Part 3 From The Mountain Into The Valley

At the beginning of this chapter of Matthew's gospel we read of Jesus' transfiguration.

I failed to point out one more truth to think about with regard to heaven.

Peter, James and John recognized Moses and Elijah when they stood speaking with Jesus.

Genesis 25:8  Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. 

I think this helps us understand what scripture means when it says that Abraham or other patriarchs were "gathered to his people."

Family identities will continue and all those in our family tree who were born again we will meet in heaven when we die.

Thus, Peter, James and John saw Moses and Elijah and knew who they were even though they never met them before. These men were separated in time by about 4,000 years.

Hebrews 12:22-24  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 

In Hebrews, we read a bit more about heaven.

It is described as the city of the living God, and heavenly dwelling place filled with His angels.

The souls of all who died in Christ make up what is termed "the general assembly" of believers, "the church of the first born."

Believers in Christ who die, which is often expressed as falling asleep in Christ, are the spirits of just men made perfect or complete through repentant faith in Jesus Christ.

The "spirits of just men" are those who were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, recipients of the new heart and spirit Ezekiel prophesied of, and who were justified by faith in Christ.

You may recall that God has books in heaven and all people whose names are recorded in the Lamb's book of life, are those who are the general assembly of believers in heaven.

Thus, Abraham is included in this group of people and this is what it means to be gathered to his people. 

Spiritual realities: We must be Christ's faithful  gospel witnesses to our family and loved ones. We want them to be included when we are gathered to our people in heaven.

We noted how the Father swiftly corrected Peter's wrong view of His Son, Jesus Christ, and how He commanded "Hear ye Him!"

Here is evidence that Pater, James and John did hear their Lord.

At some point we will come down from the spiritual high point of communing with God

Matthew 17:9  9  And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 

With the words "They came down from the mountain" Matthew reminds us that we will experience the rich blessing of close communion with God on the mountaintop, as some would say. 

Yet, there will come a time when we must come down from the holy mountain where we had special communion with God.

Elijah experienced the joy of being used by God in a mighty way at Mount Carmel.

1 Kings 18:36  And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37  Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. 40  And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 

The prophet Elijah's life is a good example of going from a spiritual high point to a spiritual low point.

Elijah burst onto the scene with no introduction or fanfare.

He confronted wicked King Ahab and said the land would suffer a drought until the king repented of his sins.

The drought lasted for 3 1/2 years.

Then, Elijah confronted Ahab again and demanded that the king bring all 450 prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel.

The king complied and Elijah said to the Israelites that a sacrifice would be offered and the god who answered by fire was the One, True God of heaven and earth.

The prophets of Baal were powerless to call down fire from Baal because he was a man made idol.

Then, Elijah tenderly restored the altar of Jehovah, carefully set the wood in place and thoroughly drenched the meat, the altar and a trench dug around the altar with water.

The prophet prayed asking Jehovah to show that he was speaking for Him and that He was the One, True Living God.

Fire from God fell and consumed the sacrifice, the altar and all the water in the trench.

The result was astonishing and all the people fell on their faces and declared "The LORD, he is the God!"

The mountain top experience that Elijah enjoyed continued as he commanded all false prophets of Baal be executed.

1 Kings 18:45-46  And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46  And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 

Elijah was not finished doing God's work. 

He turned to King Ahab and told him to race back to Jezreel because superabundant rain was coming.

The wind picked up, the sky darkened with storm clouds and a mighty wind and the LORD's hand was upon Elijah so that he ran to Jezreel ahead of Ahab.

Thus, we see that his mountain top experience came to and end and we will see Elijah plunge into the depths of despair.

God used Elijah  to gain a major spiritual triumph but then he faced fear and wanted to die.

1 King 19:1-4  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 

What happened next to Elijah is what can often happen to us when God is moving in our lives, or when He has used us to advance His kingdom.

Wicked King Ahab told his even more evil wife, Jezebel all that Elijah did at Mount Carmel.

The wicked queen sent a message to Elijah saying she would have him murdered shortly.

Elijah feared for his life and hastily traveled to Beersheba. 

He left his servant behind, not wanting to endanger his life, and the prophet fled into the desert wilderness.

Elijah came down from a great victory at Mount Carmel, back down into the harsh realities of life under an idolatrous, wicked king and queen.

His own life was threatened and he fled Jerusalem.

Spiritual realities: Often when God has granted us spiritual growth and we are enabled to serve Him competently, we can expect our enemy to attack.

Satan is content if we profess faith in Christ but live as lazy, indifferent believers.

However, when we consistently determine we are going to love, serve and worship God as our priority in life, he will be enraged and unleash fiery darts at us (See Ephesians 6:16).

Therefore, we must put on the gospel armor God provided for us to use (See Ephesians 6:10-20).

Thus, Elijah was overcome with fear, momentarily forgetting about God's great power and love and mercy toward His children.

He hit a deep valley or spiritual low point right after being on the mountain top. 

He cried out in desperation "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."

While we are on the mountain enjoying close fellowship with our God, we should say like Peter did "It is good for us to be here." 

However, our mission is to spread the gospel of Christ where we live and work. 

Therefore, we must come down from the mountain of close communion with God and seek to do all things in life according to His will.

We must be as Jesus said, salt and light to our families, our neighbors and communities (See Matthew 5:13-16).

We must maintain a godly testimony, such that our lives reflect the light of Christ in us, to expose cultural depravity and the salt of moral purity that retards societal decay.  

Thus, we must daily set our affection on the things of God above where Christ is seated at the Father's right hand (See Colossians 3:1-2).

We must take time each day to spend alone with God and His Word, so that we draw close to Him and so that He can continue changing us.

Then, we must re-enter the sphere of this life, faithfully carrying our God given our responsibilities.

When we return to the world again after enjoying fellowship with God, we must keep Christ central to us so that we find strength and comfort that He is with us throughout the day.

Jesus' disciples asked Him about what they were taught concerning the coming of Elijah. 

Matthew 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 

At this point, Jesus' disciples had a question about the prophet Elijah.

They wanted to know why the scribes taught that Elijah must first come before Messiah comes.

The scribes taught from the law to expect his public appearance immediately before the setting up of the Messiah's kingdom.

When the disciples could not reconcile what Christ said with what they had been taught from the Old Testament, they asked Jesus to explain it to them. 

We should do the same thing when we read something in scripture that we do not readily understand.

We must pray to our Lord for His Spirit to open our eyes to behold wondrous things in His Word and to lead us into all truth (See Psalm 119:18; John 14:15-31; 16:4-15).

Malachi 4:5-6  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. 

Malachi's last words close out the Old Testament scriptures, and they clearly show that God promised to send the prophet Elijah before the final Day of the LORD judgment.

Paul described that judgment day as the time when Christ returns in flaming fire to take vengeance on all the wicked (See 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12).

This final judgment upon the wicked is consistently described by God's prophets as a fiery day where the sun and moon will be darkened.

The disciples were puzzled. Messiah was here but Elijah was not here, nor had final judgment arrived.

Matthew 17:11-13  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12  But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13  Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. 

However, Malachi speaks of Christ's forerunner and Jesus applied this to the life and person John the Baptist.

Jesus said that Elijah was truly going to come to prepare the people for Messiah's coming and to restore all things.

Jesus then said that Elijah had indeed come in the person and ministry of John the Baptist.

Again, their confusion is related to the fact that the great mystery of Christ's church and the age of gospel preaching was hidden from their eyes.

The disciples thought that Jesus would be the conquering, military type of Messiah.

They did not understand, nor could they reconcile a suffering Messiah with a victorious Messiah (See Psalm 2; Isaiah 11:1-10; 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 9:9 contrasted with Psalm 22; Psalm 69; Isaiah 50:4-9; 53:-12).

Luke 1:15-17  For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 16  And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 

Luke recorded what the angel of the Lord said to Zechariah about John the Baptist.

Specifically, that John would go forth in ministry in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Matthew 11:11-15  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14  And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

Earlier in Matthew's gospel, Jesus said that John's ministry was as Elijah the prophet.

John was used of God to call the nation to repentance in preparation for their Messiah's arrival.

In scripture, there are often partial fulfillments of prophecies followed later by complete fulfillments.

One example of this is the Holy Ghost coming at Pentecost. 

This was a partial fulfillment that will be full and complete when Jesus returns to save Israel at the end of seven years of tribulation (See Isaiah 28:11; 44:359:21; Ezekiel 37; Joel 2:28-32) .

The idea of John coming in the spirit and power of Elijah seems to be a partial fulfillment of these prophecies.

Numerous prophecies speak of Christ coming with great judgment and this is likely when the literal return of Elijah will occur (See Revelation 11; 19:11-21; 20:1-15; along with Daniel 7 through 12, and Ezekiel 38-39).

We have learned that God will always keep His promises.

We have learned that we must give ourselves to spending time alone with God, in prayer and in studying His Word.

We must spend time alone with God so that we can worship Him aright and so that we can walk on the holy path mapped out for us in His Word.

We learned that there will be spiritual high points in our life as a Christian and we should relish every moment of it.

We learned that we will come down from the mountain top of spiritual blessing, in order to live out the Great Commission in the valley of human misery and suffering.

We learned that the Devil hates us when we seek to love and serve the LORD and he will attack us with fiery darts.

We must persevere and if we find ourselves in a valley, we must set our eyes above to seek our Lord's help, remembering the greatness of His power and love for us.

Bob