Mat 17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go you to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a piece of money: that take, and give it to them for me and you.

Like so many of Christ's miracles, there is a hidden pattern here. It starts with symbols for the physical , the water and the fish. Out of the physical comes the mental symbolised by the mouth and money. From the mental, we are able to satisfy the demands of society, paying the tax.

Note that fulfilling social obligations is strictly a physical and mental challenge. It is not a spiritual matter. Nor is it an emotion matter of personal relationships. Christ ALWAYS positions society a distracting us from spiritual and emotional matters. The physical and mental demands of society are the work of man but not the purpose of man.

"Offends" is from skandalizô, which means "to cause someone to stumble" and "to give offense." It is from skandalon, which means a "trap" or "snare" for an enemy. This is one of the words that starts with the Greek version of the Old Testament from the Hebrew word for "noose" or "snare."

Mat 17:26 Then are the children free.

Like most chapters in Matthew, there is a clear pattern in the subject matter that most people miss in the story. This chapter starts with the transfiguration, where Christ is revealed as the son of God. It then moves to the topic of faith and its ability to move mountains. Then Christ explains that he is going to his death so that he can be raised again.

Where does this ending, a story on paying a tax fit in? It is revealed in this line. Christ asks if the children of king's are required to pay taxes. Peter says that they are not. This leads Christ to observe here that the children of king's are free.

In other words, he, as the Son of God is free from being taxed by God. His decision to go to his death is a free choice. It is not the Father's decision, but his own. This is a little clearer in Greek because the word translation as "children" is the same word for "son" that Christ uses to describe himself as the son of Man.

We should also remember that Christ refers to all of us as huios theos, sons of God. So not only is Christ free, but we are all free, free to choose and especially free to believe. The world is made ambiguous so that faith is not force on us. We are free to choose it or not. However, choosing faith is the path to power. It gives us the power to move mountains. Remember, the word used for "faith" also means "confidence." If we are not the children of God, our lives our meaningless. We shouldn't expect to accomplish anything. However, if we believe our lives have a purpose, we have the confidence to literally attempt anything.

If we are strangers to God, our burdens are a tax. Our suffering is meaningless. But Christ came to deliver us from our burdens. Remember, the word translated as "evil" really means "burdened by toils" and "worthless." Our faith in God, being sons of God, transforms our burdens to free choices. They are no longer a tax, but a path to purpose and meaning.

"Children" is from huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." Christ most frequently refers to himself as huios anthropos, the son of man. Peter calls Jesus huios zao theos, son of the living God.
"Free" is from eleutheros, which means "free," "freedom," "independent," and "freed from a thing."

Mat 17:25 What do you think, Simon? from whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? from their own children, or from strangers?

Here Peter was being asked to pay a tax for entering Capernaum. Taxes were apparently as big an issue in Christ's time as they are now. Christ uses "earth" here to describe human society, which Christ saw as the primary temptation for people seeking the kingdom of heaven. However, here Christ uses the kings of society as a metaphor for the way God treats his children versus the way he treats strangers.

In a chapter that began with the transfiguration and then moved to issues of reincarnation and faith, the tax becomes a symbol of a token of faith. Neither kings of the earth nor God requires tokens of faith from their children. Taxes are a form of compulsion. The absence of taxes is the absence of compulsion.

"Kings" is from basileus, which means "king," "chief," "prince," and any "great man." It is the root word for the word used throughout the NT for "kingdom" as in "the kingdom of heaven."

"Earth" is from gê, which means "earth" (as the opposite of "heaven"), "land," "country," and "ground."

"Take" is from lambanô, which means "to take," "to receive," and "to take hold of."

"Custom" is from telos, which means "consumation," "expenditure," "end," "achievement," "fulfilment," "product," "service rendered by a citizen," and "dues extracted by the state."

"Tribute" is from kênsos, which means "tax," "census," and "poll-tax," but this word is only used in the New Testament.

"Strangers" is from allotrios, which means "belonging to another," "stranger," "foriegn," and "strange."

Mat 17:22 The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:
Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.

In the Greek, Christ is not "betrayed" as much as just handed over. The word used for "kill" means specifically being condemned to death. The term used for "raise" means being awaken and roused from sleep.

Alternative: The son of man shall be given over to the deeds of men. And they shall condemn him to death and in three days he will be awakened.

"Betrayed" is from paradidômi, which means "to give over," "to hand over," and "to give up [to justice]."

"Hands" is from cheir, which means "the hand and arm," and "with the help of agency of another." Like "hand" in English, it has a lot of meanings including "an act or deed," "a body of people," and the measurement "handful."

"Kill" is from apokteinô, which is a stronger form of kteinô, which means "to slay." It means to "condemn to death" and "put to death."

"He shall be raised again" is from egeirô, which means "to awaken," and "to rouse."

Mat 17:21 But this kind goes not out except by prayer and fasting.

There is a hidden meaning here. Christ seems to be referring to the "devil" of insanity that he caste out of the woman's son. However, Christ has never said anything about that devil in this entire dialogue. He has talked about only one thing: the doubt and disbelief of his generation and his followers. This is what Christ is really saying is eliminated by prayer and fasting.

"Kind" is from genos, which means "race," "offspring," "class," "sort," and "kind,"

"Goes out" is from ekporeuômai, which means "to make to go out" and "fetch out."

"Prayer" is from proseuchê, which means only "prayer." The verb form, proseuchomai, is usually used by Christ in his teachings. This is the first time that the noun is used.

"Fasting" is from nêsteia, which means only "to fast."

Mat 17:20 Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

The mustard seed is one of Christ's symbols for the kingdom of heaven, that is, the spirit. It is used because the mustard tree grows so large from such a small seed. "Mounstain" has no symbolic meaning other than its size. This is the first and practically the only time that Christ mentions a mountain in his teaching. The focus of this verse is faith or self-confidence, depending on how you translate it.

"Unbelief" is from apistia, which means "unbelief," "distrust," and a "lack of self-confidence."

"Faith" is from pistis, which means "confidence," "assurance," "trustworthiness," "credit," "a trust," and "that which give confidence."

"Remove" is from metabainô, which means "pass over," "change one's abode," "to pass from one state to another" (i.e. change), and "to make a transition."

"Hence" is from enteuthen, which means "from that place" and "hence."

"Yonder place" is from ekei, which means "there," "in that place," and in philosophy means "the intelligible world."

"Impossible" is from adunateô, which means "to be unable" when it applies to people. It is only applied to things in the NT and then it is translated as "impossible."

Mat 17:17 O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Christ isn't saying that he "suffers" this generation but that he must sustain it and hold it up. Christ consistently connects faith with truth and truth with power over our lives.

Alternative version: Oh doubting and distorting people, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I sustrain you you? bring him here to me.

"Faithless" is apistos, which means "not to be trusted" or "suspicious."

"Perverse" is diastrephô, which means "turn different ways," "twist about," and "distorted."

"Suffer" is anechomai, which means "to hold up," "to lift up," and "sustain."

Mat 17:11 Elias truly shall first come and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they wanted. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

Christ here refers to the Jewish prediction that Elija would return before the Messiah. The statement seems a pretty direct statement about reincarnation, where Elijah was reincarnated as someone. The apostles assume that this person was John the Baptist. Did the Jews expect Elijah to return as a reincarnation? I don't know, but I do know that those who expect the return of Christ do not expect him to come as a reincarnation either. Despite Christ's plain words, most Christians do not believe in reincarnation at all.


"First" is from proton, which means both first in time and first in rank.

"Come" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker.

"Restore" is from apokathistêmi, which means "reestablish," "restore," "reinstate," and "return."

"Knew" is from epigignôskô, which means "look upon," "recognize," "take notice of," and "witness."

"Suffer" is from paschô, which means "to have done to one," "to be treated so," and "to come to be in a state."

Mat 17:9 Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Christ uses sight as a symbol for the physical, but there is always a sense that the physical is an temporary illusion, an effect of the deeper reality of the spirit. The use of "vision" here carries both the sense that the transfiguration was both real and an illusion which is consistent with the Greek. The insertion of the word "again" in the English indicates that Christ's resurrection is a repeat of this event, but in the original Greek, there is no word indicating "again." It is a complete invention of the translators to make a point.

A more literal translation: Tell noone about this vision until the Son of man is raised from a corpse.

"Vision" is from the Greek horama, which means "a sight," "a visible object," "a spectacle," "a vision," and "a dream."

"Rise up" is from anistêmi, which is a version of histêmi, from the last verse, which means "to make a stand," "to set up," "to place," or "to stand." The prefix "ana" is added which means "into the midst" and "among." This gives it the meaning of "to rouse from sleep," "to raise from the dead," "to make ascend," and "to rise up and go away."

"Dead" is from nekros, which specifically means "a corpse" as well as "the dead." This is different from the word used just a few verses ago to describe the apostles death. That "death" was thanatos, which means "death" and "a death sentence."

Mat 17:7 Arise, and be not afraid.

The reaction of the apostles to the transfiguration when they heard God's voice was to fall down and tremble. Here, Christ is telling them that this reaction is wrong.

"Arise" is from egeirô, which means "awaken," "rouse," and "stip up." This is the term used in the NT to describe people getting up from their beds or even graves. It also describes nations and people rising up in rebellion.

"Afraid" is from phobeô, wihch means "to be put to flight," "to fear," and "to be afraid."

Mat 16:28 Verily I say to you, There be some standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

The use of "taste" in referencing death is typical of Christ's use of food and eating as symbols for the body and the physical. However, as a prediction, it seems from the Greek that all Christ is saying is that Christ will die and go to God before any of the apostles and followers. Too much is made of the meaning for the "some" and "coming" part of this verse, but the original Greek words don't have the same sense at all. It isn't even clear that the "his" (autos) refers to Christ's kindom, since the pronoun most likely refers to God's kingdom. Christ consistently referred to the kingdom as God's and in the previous verse Christ said that he was going (same word used here, erchomai) to the glory of God. Here he is just repeating that, saying he is going to God's kingdom.

Alternative translation: The truth is that no one standing here shall taste death until they see the Son of man go into his kingdom.


"Some" is from tis, which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," or "what."

"Stand" is from histêmi, which means "to make a stand," "to set up," "to place," or "to stand."

"Taste" is from geuomai, which means "to taste," "to feel," and "to experience."

"Death" is thanatos, which means "death" and "a death sentence."

"Coming" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker. Here it could mean that Christ goes into or comes into his kingdom.

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Seems like an appropriate verse of Easter. And, when you look at the original in Greek, it tells a very different story than the normal interpretation we hear from the pulpit. Rather than offer my own version, you should read what the original Greek actually means.

"Come" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker. Here it could mean that Christ goes or comes.

"Glory" is from doxa, which means "expectation" and "opinion." It came to mean "reputuation," especially "good repute," "honor," "glory" and rarely "ill repute." It came to mean "glory" and "magnificence" in external appearance through Christian writing after the Gospels were written.

"Angels" is from angelos, which means "messenger" and "envoys" though it became to mean "semi-divine beings" in later use. Was Christ refering to himself joining the other angels or messengers of God?

"Give" is from apodidômi, which means "to give back," "to assign," "to deliver over," and "to sell." It has the sense of a fair exchange not simply a reward as such.

"Works" is from praxis, which means "doing," "transaction," "business," "action," "recovery of debts," and "practical ability."

Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In the previous verse, when we were talking saving and losing, the word psuchê, was translated as "life." Here, it is translated as "soul." It is misleading to change the English word when the Greek word stays the same.

Since the constant of this chapter is the relationship between the physical and the spiritual, it is safe to translated psuchê as "soul" throughout. Christ is talking about the spiritual essence of a person not the body. The term he uses for the world, kosmos, also has the sense of the essence and order of the world, not the physical.

His point here is that without your essential spirit, your awareness, your consciousness, the rest of the world has no meaning. It is the spirit and only the spirit that gives in meaning.

It occurs to me that the entire debate about the existence of God has boiled down to the issue of consciousness. Scientific atheists now recognize that the universe as it is could not exist with an infinite being, but they insist that the being is solely material and unconscious, the multiverse of infinite matter. This infinite multiverse is every bit as beyond our comprehension and scientific tools as the traditional God. The difference between their belief and those who believe in God is that they insist that the universe is without purpose and meaning. If the infinite being is conscious and aware, then the universe that we know has a purpose. If the infinite being is unconscious and operates only on physical laws and change, the universe has no purpose.

What Christ is saying here is our consciousness gives our lives meaning. Scientific atheists are literally willing to trade that consciousness for a belief in a meaningless world order.

Alternative version: How can increase yourself if you get an advantage on the whole world order but you lose your essential spirit, or what would you give in exhange for your awareness?

"Profit" is from ophellô, which means "to increase," "to enlarge," "to prosper," and "to strengthen." However, in a nice contradictory twist, it is also a form of the word, opheilô, which means "to owe," "to have to pay," and "to be due." The two may not be contradictory in that you can enlarge yourself by going into debt.

"Gain" is from kerdainô, which means "to gain," "to derive profit," and to "gain an advantage."

"World" is from kosmos, which mean "order," "good order," "ruler," "world order," "universe," and "the world of men." Matthew uses it when Christ is talking about the world of men as it is designed to be.

"Lose" is from zêmioô, which means "to damage," "to cause loss," and "to penalize."

"Soul" is from psuchê, which means "breath," "life," "soul," "self," "consciousness," and "spirit." In the previous verse, it was translated as "life."

"Exchange" is from antallagma, which means "that which is given or taken in exchange."

Mat 16:25 For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

In this verse, "life" is too narrow of an idea and "lose" is too gentle. In the original Greek, psuchê means not only life and breath, but the spirit, the soul, and the consciousness of a person. The topic of this chapter is the relationship between the spirit and the body. In the word psuchê, these two ideas are united. Christ is saying that those that seek to preserve both breath and consciousness will destroy them utterly. Whereas, those that seek to destroy their physical sense of spirit for the sake of the true, perfect spirit will discover and gain their real lives.


"Save" is from sôizô, which means "to save from death," "to preserve," "to keep alive," "to keep in mind," and "remember."

"Life" is from psuchê, which means "breath," "life," "soul," "self," "consciousness," and "spirit."

"Lose" is from apollumi, which is a very string form of "to destroy," "to kill," "to slay," and "to lose." It means "to destroy utterly." It also means "to ruin" a woman.

"For my sake" is from emou (me, mine) heneka, which means "on the account of," "because of," and "for the sake of."

"Find" is from heuriskô, which means "to find," "to find out," "to discover," "to invent," "to get," "to gain," and "to earn."

Mat 16:24 If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

The topic of the chapter is the connection between the spiritual and physical, where the spirit is the seed creates physical existence or the motivation that inspires a physical action. Here, Christ is saying that to follow him, we must foget about our concerns with self and take up our burdens and emulate him. In other words, we shouldn't be afraid of the threats that face us but inspired by them to copy his example.

"Come" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going.

"Deny" is from aparneomai, which is the future form of aparnos "to deny utterly," and "to reject." It is from the noun aparnêsis which means a "denial" and a "rejection."

"Take up" is from aeirô, which means "to lift up," "to raise up," "to take up," ""to exalt," and "to remove." It is used by Matthew in all these different senses in his gospel. In its passive form, it also means "to suspend" or "to hang," which seems relevant considering we are talking about crucifiction, however, Matthew never uses it in that way.

"Cross" is from stauros, which means "upright post or stake," and "a stake for impaling." In Matthew's time, it was used for describing specifically the stake used for crucifiction.

"Follow" is from akoloutheô, which means "to follow" or "to go after" someone. It is also a metaphor for being guided by someone. It also means "being consistent with" someone or something that has gone before.

Mat 16:23 Get behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you savor not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

This makes a nice counterpoint to the previous verse where Christ tell Peter that he had been given some understanding over the connection between heaven and earth. Peter then argues when Christ tells the apostles of his coming death, and Jesus has to tell him here that he isn't getting it.

This is a great example for us all in that we can be in touch with the will of God one moment, but immediately be seduced by the weaknesses of men in the next.

The KJV of this version makes this verse more complicated than it is in Greek.

A more direct version: Go away from me, adversary, you are a trap for me because you do not understand things of God but those of men.

"Get" is from hupagô, which means "go away," "withdraw," and "retire."

"Satan" is from satan, which means "adversary" and "opponent."

"Offence" is from skandalon, which means "a trap or snare for the enemy."

"Savour" is from phroneô, which means "to have understanding," "to be prudent," "to comprehend," and "to be wise."

Mat 16:19 And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This translation is very misleadning. It starts with the term "keys" because Christ lived in a time before keys were in common use. The term Matthew used is more general, meaning any device used for keeping something closed. The terms translated as "bind" and "loose" carry the sense of tying things up rather than locking them up.

In the previous verses in this chapter, Christ has been explaining the relationship between the physical things that we see and the concepts or spirit behind or within them. We can only know the true nature of the physical world if we know their hidden spirit, which we can only learn from God.

Here, Christ is taking that idea one step further. In the context of Peter seeing Christ’s true nature, Christ says that he is giving Peter the ties between the physical, visible, tangible world and the spiritual, hidden, conceptual world. However, Christ goes further here, saying that what we tie up or free on earth will also be locked up or opened up on the conceptual level. This carries the sense to me, that what our limitations in understanding the physical world become our limitations in understanding the conceptual world.

The interpretation of this that says Peter is getting some special power to bind and unbind the laws of heaven (a common interpretation) is a stretch from the original Greek. A less aggressive interpretation would be that Christ is giving Peter an understanding of the connections between the physical world and the spiritual world, seeing that what we see happening on earth results in our ability to see what will happen conceptually or universally.

Here is the Greek:

kai (and) didomi (give) soi (you) kleis (that which holds closed) basileia (kingdom, reign) ouranos (heaven, sky) kai (and) hos (that) ean (if) deo (tied, bound) epi (on) ge (earth) esomai (will be) deo (tied, bound) en (in) ouranos (heaven, sky) kai (and) hos (that) ean (if) luo(unbind, open) epi (on) ge (earth) esomai (will be) luo(unbind, open) en (in) ouranos (heaven, sky)

Alternative translation: and I give you the bindings of the kingdom of heaven and if bound on earth it will be bound in heaven and if freed on earth it will be freed in heaven.

Symbolic version: and I give you the ties of the universal rule and if closed up in the physical level it will be closed up in conceptual level and if opened up on physical level it will be opened up in conceptual level.

"Give" is from didômi, which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe."

"Keys" is from kleis, which means generally "that which serves for closing." It means " a bar," "a bolt," "a catch," and "a hook." Later, it came to mean "key" because a key follows the same idea.

"You shall bind" is from deô, means "to tie," "to bind," "to fetter," and "to keep in bonds." It is a metaphor for chaining. The term isn't in the second person and itsn't in the future tense. The "you shall" part of this is added by the translator.

"You shall loose" is from luô, which means "to unbind," "to unfasten," and "to open." The term isn't in the second person and itsn't in the future tense. The "you shall" part of this is added by the translator.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto you, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This line may be the beginning of the idea of a Christian "church." Matthew combines the verb for homebuilding with the noun for "a called assembly" to represent what Christ said. So a home where people are called to assemble becomes "the church." "Rock" is usually explained to mean a solid foundation, but the Greek is closer to the idea of a high promontory, a rocky cliff above the sea or a rocky peak. This is something that people look up to. The term translated as "hell" is clearly one used to mean death.

Alternative: And I tell you also that you are Rocky and upon this pinnacle I will construct my assembly and the entry of death shall not overcome it.

"Peter" is from Petros which is the equivalent of the name "Rocky" in english.

"Rock" is from petra, which means "rock," "boulder," and "stone" as a building material. It also has the specific meaning of "rocky cliffs" of "ledges" over the sea and a "rocky peak" or "ridge."

"I will build" is from oikodomeô, which means "to build a house." It generally menas "to fashion" and is a metaphor meaning "to build upon" or "to build up."

"Church" is from ekklêsia, which means an "assembly duly called." It come from two Greek words, "to call away from."

"Gates" is from pulê, which means "one wing of a double gate," "gates of a town," and "entrance." It is used spcifically in Greek literature for the gates to the nether world.

"Hell" is from hades, the Greek term for the netherworld. It is a place of departed spirits. It is also a synonym for "death." This term is only used one other time in Matthew to describe "hell," when Christ condemns Capernaum. The usually terms translated as "hell" is gehenna, the burning trash dump outside of Jerusalem.

"Prevail" is from katischuô, which means "to overpower," "to prevail," and "to have the upper hand."