Bible Study series: Matthew 17:22-23. This time Peter did not rebuke him. All of the disciples had a different reaction.
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 17:22-23
22 As they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised. Then they were deeply grieved.” (Matt. 17:22-23)
Comments:
22:
“Son of Man”: see v. 9 for more comments.
“hands”: they stand in for or symbolize power, because hands do things like make an object, throw a spear or hit someone else. Power and force reside in the hands.
23:
“third day”: Some people take this to mean literally seventy-two hours, because Jonah spent three days and three nights in the big fish (Jnh. 1:17; Matt. 12:40), so Jesus must also spend seventy-two hours in the grave. But we over-read the intent here. The sign of Jonah was his coming out of the depths of the belly and the sea, which was a type of the resurrection. Let’s not over-analyze it. Jesus was crucified and died on Friday; he spent part of Friday and Saturday and Sunday in the grave—or his body did—and his body was raised from the dead early on Sunday morning: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—three days. They don’t have to be seventy-two hours. It was a Jewish custom to count a partial day as one day.
How do I prove that “three days and three nights” can be partial? First, in 1 Sam. 30:12 (literally “today three days”), the day before yesterday. Second, in Esther, a period described as “three days and three nights” (4:16) is concluded on the third day (5:1). (Thanks, R. T. France, p. 491, fn. 12!). Third, Jesus says he will rise on the third day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64, and in Mark and Luke). Those verses in the Gospels where he quotes Jonah 1:17 and here where he says “on the third day” prove that he did not over-interpret Jonah, for the prophet was merely a sign and type. Jesus believed that three days and three nights could be partial. Fourth, even Paul said, “on the third day, according to the Scriptures”, that is, the OT (1 Cor. 15:4). So Paul must be using a semitic inclusive day out of three days of 72 hours. The days are partial.
Go to biblegateway.com and look up “third day.” It is amazing how many times the two words appear and how significant they are in many contexts.
Rising on the third day is the key to early apostolic preaching. All throughout the first five chapters of Acts, Peter and the others refer to it time and again. Paul referenced the resurrection when he spoke to the Athenians in Mars Hill (Acts 17:30-32).
1 Cor. 15:3-8 is all about the resurrection:
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (! Cor. 15:3-8, NIV)
Paul omitted the fact that he appeared to women first. (No, he did not do it out of malice.) He appeared then to Cephas (Peter) and then the twelve. Next, he appeared to more than 500 at a time. Where did that happen? In Galilee? In or around Jerusalem? Probably the holy city, since so many people gathered there in Christian community. (Or it could have been Galilee, his home base.) In any case, Paul recounted what he knew. And the resurrection is the key reality and doctrine. Never give it up as nonessential, people of God. It is the core of our faith.
“grieved”: it could be translated as “grieve, pain”; in the passive voice: “become sad, sorrowful, distressed.” It is in the passive here, but there is nothing wrong with translating it as “grieved.”
It looks like the disciples are learning their lesson. No more Peter wrongly rebuking Jesus, and the Lord correctly returning the rebuke (Matt. 16:22-23).
However, they should have focused on the promise of resurrection.
GrowApp for Matt. 17:22-23
1. Do you believe in the resurrection and hope, or do you hold grief in your heart longer than you do hope?
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1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
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