Question 1

What details in verse 22 locate this prediction in the story’s setting?

Accepted Answer

Verse 22 places the group “staying in Galilee” when Jesus speaks. That setting matters because Galilee has been a familiar base of activity, not the obvious place for a final confrontation. Matthew presents this prediction as happening in the midst of ordinary travel and teaching with the disciples, not at a crisis moment. The setting also highlights that the coming events are “about to” happen even while they are still in a relatively familiar region. The prediction is framed as imminent, not distant.

Question 2

List the three actions Jesus predicts in verse 23 and explain why the order matters.

Accepted Answer

Jesus predicts (1) he will be delivered up into human hands, (2) “they” will kill him, and (3) on the third day he will be raised. The order matters because resurrection is presented as something that follows death, not as a way of denying that he will really be killed. It also ties the death to human agency (“they will kill him”) while framing the raising as the reversal that comes after. The structure makes the death prediction and the resurrection promise part of one connected forecast.

Question 3

What is clear, and what is unclear, about the phrase “delivered up into the hands of men”?

Accepted Answer

It is clear that Jesus predicts losing control of his situation: he will be put into human custody or power (“into the hands of men”). The language emphasizes vulnerability and exposure to decisions made by others. What is unclear is the mechanism: the text does not say who delivers him up or by what process (betrayal, arrest, or transfer between authorities). The point in this verse is less the step-by-step logistics and more the reality that he will be handed over into hostile human control.

Question 4

Who might “they” refer to in “they will kill him,” and why doesn’t the verse settle it?

Accepted Answer

The verse itself does not name the agents. “They” could be understood broadly as the humans involved once he is delivered up—those who take custody and carry out the killing. It could also be heard more narrowly as a specific set of leaders or authorities who will later play direct roles. Matthew does not specify here, so the line functions as a prediction of outcome rather than a detailed assignment of blame. The lack of detail keeps the focus on what will happen to Jesus, not on identifying every actor in advance.

Question 5

How does Matthew describe the disciples’ response, and what does that suggest about what stands out to them?

Accepted Answer

Matthew reports one reaction: “They were exceedingly sorry.” No questions, arguments, or requests for clarification are recorded in these verses. That brief description suggests the death prediction lands heavily and immediately on them. Even though Jesus includes resurrection “on the third day,” Matthew’s narration highlights grief rather than hope or confusion. The text does not explicitly say they ignored the resurrection, but the way Matthew summarizes their response implies that the killing is what they feel most strongly in the moment.

Question 6

How does this second prediction (17:22–23) relate to the earlier pattern of prediction in Matthew?

Accepted Answer

Matthew presents this as another instance of Jesus directly forecasting his suffering, death, and resurrection (the same basic pattern appears earlier in the book). In this passage, the prediction is concise and tightly sequenced: delivered up, killed, raised. That repetition reinforces that these events are not accidental surprises in the storyline; Jesus speaks of them ahead of time. It also continues a theme in Matthew’s narrative flow: the disciples are present for clear statements about what is coming, yet their reactions show how hard it is for them to take in the path Jesus describes.

Question 7

What does the phrase “on the third day he will be raised up” contribute to the meaning of the prediction?

Accepted Answer

It adds a time marker and a claim of reversal after death. The prediction is not only that Jesus will be killed; it also sets an expectation that death will not be the final outcome. The “third day” language makes the promise concrete rather than vague, and “raised” indicates a return to life, not merely continued influence or memory. In the passage’s logic, resurrection is the outcome that follows the killing, placing hope and vindication on the far side of real suffering and real death.

Matthew 17:22-23

Read the passage