After the Feast of Tabernacles there was a return to Galilee, but not with the intention of resuming the work of preaching. Instead, “he would not that any man should know it.” This because now Jesus was concentrating on the further education of the disciples. In their minds his Messiahship was no longer in question. The Transfiguration had laid to rest all doubts regarding that.
But now it was imperative that they be prepared for the shock of seeing their Lord suffer at the hands of his enemies. His first attempt (Matthew 16:21) to teach them about this had been altogether unsuccessful. Their minds were impervious to the idea. Now the effort was renewed.
The gist of this teaching was necessarily just the same: “The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he shall rise”(Mark) Matthew has: “the third day he shall be raised again.” The two expressions mean the same. The appeal of the chief priests to Pilate shows this: “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day…”(Matthew 27:63,64).
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Author: Harry Whittaker
Keywords: The Coin in the Fish's Mouth, coin, tax, taxes, tribute money, temple tax, children are free, tribute, tribute tax, poll tax, sign of the prophet Jonah, fish's belly, belly of the fish, belly of the whale
Bible reference(s): Matt. 17:22-27, Mark 9:30-32, Luke 9:43-45
Source: Studies in the Gospels.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.