Matthew
Chapter 17
1 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, up a high mountain by themselves.
2 He changed form in front of them; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.
4 Peter replied to Jesus, “Teacher, it’s great for us to be here. If you want, we can build three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them. And a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dear Son, who makes me happy; listen to him.”
6 When the followers heard this, they fell to the ground, very scared.
7 Jesus came, touched them, and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they came down from the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw until the Son of man has risen from the dead.”
10 His followers asked him, “Why do the teachers say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered them, “Elias will indeed come first and restore everything.”
12 I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer by their hands.
13 Then the followers realized he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
14 When they reached the crowd, a man came to him, knelt down before him, and said,
15 God, please have mercy on my son; he has seizures and suffers terribly. Often he falls into the fire and into the water.
16 I brought him to your followers, but they couldn’t heal him.
17 Then Jesus replied, “You have no faith and are all mixed up. How long must I stay with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
18 Jesus told the evil spirit to leave, and it left the boy, who was healed from that moment.
19 The disciples came to Jesus alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 Jesus told them, “It’s because you don’t believe. Truly, if you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you can tell this mountain to move to another place and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
21 However, this type can only come out through prayer and fasting.
22 While they stayed in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to people.”
23 They will kill him, and on the third day, he will rise again. They were very sad.
24 When they arrived in Capernaum, the people who collect the temple tax went to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the tax?”
25 He said, “Yes.” When he entered the house, Jesus spoke first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? Who do the kings of the earth collect taxes or fees from? Their own children or others?”
26 Peter said to him, “From foreigners.” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free.”
27 Still, we don’t want to upset them, so go to the lake, throw in a line, and pull out the first fish you catch. Open its mouth and you’ll find some money. Take it and pay them for both of us.