Matthew 17:22

That is, to hinder their saying, "wherefore do we abide here continually," He speaks to them again of the passion; on hearing which they had no wish so much as to see Jerusalem. And it is remarkable how, when both Peter had been rebuked, and Moses and Elias had discoursed concerning it, and had called the thing glory, and the Father had uttered a voice from above, and so many miracles had been done, and the resurrection was at the doors (for He said, He should by no means abide any long time in death, but should be raised the third day); not even so did they endure it, but were sorry; and not merely sorry, but exceeding sorry. Now this arose from their being ignorant as yet of the force of His sayings. This Mark and Luke indirectly expressing said, the one, "They understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask Him:" the other, "It was hid from them, that they perceived it not, and they feared to ask Him of that saying." And yet if they were ignorant, how were they sorry? Because they were not altogether ignorant; that He was to die they knew, continually hearing it, but what this death might be, and that there would be a speedy release from it, and that it would work innumerable blessings, as yet they knew not clearly; nor what this resurrection might be: but they understood it not, wherefore they grieved; for indeed they clung very earnestly to their Master.

"Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them." Seest thou how again He in due season reminds them of His passion, laying up for them great store of comfort from the passion of John. And not in this way only, but also by presently working great miracles. Yea, and whensoever He speaks of His passion, presently He works miracles, both after those sayings and before them; and in many places one may find Him to have kept this rule. "Then," for instance, it saith, "He began to signify how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and be killed, and suffer many things." "Then:" when? when He was confessed to be Christ, and the Son of God. Again on the mountain, when He had shown them the marvellous vision, and the prophets had been discoursing of His glory, He reminded them of His passion. For having spoken of the history concerning John, He added, "Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them." And after a little while again, when He had cast out the devil, which His disciples were not able to cast out; for then too, "As they abode in Galilee," so it saith, "Jesus said unto them, The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again." Now in doing this, He by the greatness of the miracles was abating the excess of their sorrow, and in every way consoling them; even as here also, by the mention of John's death, He afforded them much consolation. But when they heard these things, they do not ask Him when Elias cometh; being straitened either by grief at His passion, or by fear. For on many occasions, upon seeing Him unwilling to speak a thing clearly, they are silent, and so an end. […]

And when they conversed together in Galilee, etc. Above, the tranquility of glory was figured through liberation from the power of demons; this liberation was accomplished through the death of Christ; Hebrews 2:14: that through death he might destroy him who had the empire of …

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. He continually foretells the …

And while they abode in Galilee,....

They abode in Galilee - Lower Galilee, where the city of Capernaum was. The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men - Μελλει - παραδιδοσθαι εις χειρας - The Son of man is about to be delivered into the hands, etc. I am fully of the mind of two eminent critics, Grotius and Wakefield, that παραδιδοσθαι should be here translated delivered, or delivered up, not betrayed; and that the agency, in this case, should be referred to God, not to Judas.

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them--Mark (Mr 9:30), as usual, is very precise here: "And they departed thence"--that is, from the scene of the last miracle--"and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it." So this was not a preaching, but a private, journey through Galilee.

These verses contain a circumstance in our Lord’s history which is not recorded by any of the evangelists excepting St. Matthew. A remarkable miracle is worked in order to provide payment of the tribute money required for the service of the temple. There are three striking points in the narrative which deserve attentive observation. Let us in the first place observe our Lord’s perfect knowledge of everything that is said and done in this world. We are told that “those who received tribute money came to Peter and said, ‘Does not your master pay tribute? he sayeth”yes.” It is evident that our Lord was not present when the question was asked and the answer given; and yet no sooner did Peter come into the house than our Lord asked him, “What thinkest thou Simon of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute?” He howed that he was as well acquainted with the conversation as if he had been listening or standing by. There is something unspeakably solemn in the thought that the Lord Jesus knows all things. There is an eye that sees all our daily conduct; there is an ear that hears all our daily words. All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Concealment is impossible; hypocrisy is useless. We may deceive ministers; we may impose upon our relations and neighbors: but the Lord sees us through and through. We cannot deceive Christ. We ought to endeavor to make practical use of this truth. We should strive to live as in the Lord’s sight and, like Abraham, to “walk before” him ( Genesis 17:1 ). Let it be our daily aim to say nothing we would not like Christ to hear, and to do nothing we would not like Christ to see. Let us measure every difficult question as to right and wrong by one simple test: “How would I behave if Jesus were standing by my side?” Such a standard is not extravagant and absurd.

See also Mar 9:30-33; Luk 9:43-45. And while they abode in Galilee - Galilee, the northern part of Palestine. See the notes at Mat 2:22. The Son of man shall be betrayed ... - To betray means to deliver up in a treacherous manner. This was done by Judas Iscariot, called for that act the traitor, Mat 26:14-16, Mat 26:47-50. A traitor, or betrayer, is one who makes use of confidence reposed in him for the purpose of delivering him up who puts that confidence in him to the hands of enemies. Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again - See Mat 12:40. Mark and Luke add that they understood not that saying, and it was hid from them, and they were afraid to ask him. The reasons of this may have been, 1. They were strongly attached to him, and were exceedingly sorry (Matthew) at any intimation that he was soon to leave them. They learned with great slowness and reluctance, therefore, that he was to be treated in this manner. 2. They were not willing to believe it. They knew that he was the Messiah, but they supposed that he was to be a distinguished prince, and was to restore the kingdom to Israel, Act 1:6. But to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and be put to death, appeared to them to be frustrating all these expectations. 3. Though what he said was plain enough, yet they did not understand it; they could not see how he could be the Messiah, and yet be put to death in this manner; nor did they understand it fully until after the resurrection.