And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. Matthew 17: 1-13 ESV
Matthew 17: 1-13
And after six days - This is following Jesus's gospel call to the disciples and the crowd that He had assembled. He also spoke about His second coming, and then now He is giving Peter, James, John, the brother of James, the Sons of Thunder, a preview of His coming glory. We covered this some in the last post because this answers questions brought up in the last passage.
Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John - Not the most highly educated of the twelve, three fishermen, and what they are about to witness is more than a plastic grocery bag to unpack. It's an honor that no one could ever possibly deserve, but these are His core group, and I have written about them individually in past posts, so for now I am just going to stick with the present context.
And He was transfigured before them - Jesus is the Word become flesh, right, and we know that God is described as light, that is the representation of His glory, the Shekinah that filled the temple, the fire by night and the cloud by day. Moses reflected or glowed with the glory of God when he came down from the mountain, but this glory is revealed by transfiguration, by opening the veil, pulling back the covering of the flesh, revealing the essence within. This is not reflective, it is internal, the same in essence as the Father and the Holy Spirit.
4We write these things so that our joy may be complete. 5And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.… 1 John 1: 4-6
13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”… John 1: 13-15
And so, God chooses, then, primarily to reveal Himself as glorious, dazzling light. In fact, as you proceed into the book of Revelation, you find that when you get to the eternal state, the eternal heaven, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, which is the eternal habitation of the saints, the Bible says there’s no moon, and there’s no sun, and there’s no stars to light it because the glory of God is the light of it, and the Lamb is the lamp. It’s a great picture. In your house, you have a lamp, but the lamp doesn’t give the light; it’s the light in the lamp that does. The lamp contains the light.
And so, in heaven forever, Jesus is the lamp containing the light of the glory of God. And the same was true on earth. When Jesus was here, He was the lamp, and in Him was the light of the glory of God veiled. In heaven it’ll be unveiled, and it’ll light all of the eternal domain for all eternity, in glorious, blazing light.
So, when Jesus wants, then, to reveal Himself for who He really is, He pulls back the veil of His flesh and reveals Himself as glorious, radiant, dazzling light. The Shekinah of God. And that’s what we’re seeing in this text. - J Mac
There appeared to them Moses and Elijah - Moses had predicted Christ as a prophet who would come later and that the people should "listen to." Moses was the great law giver in Judaism and Elijah was the great champion of the prophets. Elijah was a powerful reformer, standing before wicked rulers and destroying false prophets. Here the two stand, the Law and the Prophets. The disciples have been hearing about Christ going to the cross, and they are slow to get this, as we all would be, and they are probably a little disillusioned at this point, because their hope, their expectation, is that this guy with all this power to do countless miracles, feed thousands and control nature, will use it to institute the kingdom right now. Peter is ready to cut off ears and James and John are vying for who will get to sit at Jesus' right and left hand, so they need to see this. They need to continually be brought in closer to the reality of suffering, of a wilderness period much like Moses' exodus from Egypt, only the disciples need to now see that those things were shadows, that Moses was a type and that Egypt is now sin and death. Moses gave the law from God, and Christ, Who has added humanity to His deity, is now fulfilling all righteousness. Elijah, like John the Baptist, is reforming people back to God, preaching repentance, pointing to Christ.
15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him. 16This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”… Deuteronomy 18: 15-16
I will make three tents - A cool tidbit here, this is about six months prior to Passover, and this is another important time of the year according to the Jewish Feasts. This is the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. A booth or a tabernacle is a dwelling place, a tent, and during the feast the people commemorate the time of God dwelling with Moses and the people in the wilderness. They build tents or shacks and live in these during the time of that feast, and so Peter is wanting to build a tent for the three here, like this is marking the beginning of the Kingdom, the time of Christ's Millennial Reign. The Tabernacle and the temple were places where God "tabernacled" or dwelt with men. These are places where God's presence was made known, the Shekinah glory, and the reality that has not struck these men so much, until now, is that God has been doing tabernacle with them in the body of Christ, the Son of Man, for He is also the Son of God.
…18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.… Colossians 1: 18-20
…18On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?” 19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20“This temple took forty-six years to build,” the Jews replied, “and You are going to raise it up in three days?”…
…21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 23While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.… John 2: 18-23
A bright cloud overshadowed them - God the Father is making His presence known, much like He did at Jesus' baptism.
Listen to Him - These are the same words that Moses stated more than a thousand years before, "listen to Him." This is the Word become flesh, this is God the Son, same in essence with the Father, so be quiet, put away your hopes and plans for the kingdom, get rid of your time frames, and listen to the Son of God.
They fell on their faces and were terrified - Being in the tall grass in a land that is known to have lions is one thing. Being there looking at one is another, but the Lion of Judah is their friend, their teacher, yet to hear His Father roar, that is paralyzing. We like to call ourselves truth seekers, yet we only go so far, and there is some truth here that would cripple the mind. Who can stand before a Holy God? If the glory of Christ were not veiled in humanity, if they were to receive more than a glimpse, outside of the cleft of the Rock that is Christ's substitutionary atonement, His pleasing sacrifice, they would melt away. When the people heard God at Mt. Sinai they begged not to hear His voice again. Yeah, you want the truth till you find out that it isn't what you wanted, that it is so pure and otherly, unapproachable, damning. We should confess with Isaiah, "I am a man of unclean lips, living amongst a people with unclean lips", what am I doing here? I don't belong here.
“They were in the immediate presence of God, and listening to their Father’s voice: well might they lie and prostrate and tremble. Too clear a manifestation of God, even though it related to Jesus, would rather overpower than empower us.” (Spurgeon)
Jesus came and touched them - I can't say for sure, but I can see in their reaction that terror had taken them, and I would think in touching them that He did something similar to healing them, atoning like the coal upon the lips. If Christ does not intervene then we are consumed, like darkness before light, we will not hold our place.
Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead - He has been telling them about His coming suffering, that He is going to face sin and death, conquering both at Calvary. They have seen Him raise people from the dead, and He is saying it so matter of fact like, "wait until I come back from the grave." These are difficult concepts though, not because they hadn't seen miracles, they had, but because of their hopes, expectations, and also what they had been taught by the Pharisees. They are living every day eagerly hoping and thinking that at any moment Jesus will announce His right to rule, claim the throne of David, and kick Rome back to Italy. He is actually here to take on sin, and they still don't understand what an opponent that is, that if Jesus didn't do this, didn't die, then they could not live. If this temple isn't torn down then all they have to look forward to is eternal judgment, and if He does not raise this temple on the third day, then He did not win, and history ended at the cross.
Why do the Scribes say that first Elijah must come - This comes from Malachi, and it is a true prophecy that Jesus will give more light on. I think it is ultimately fulfilled in the coming of the two prophets that precede Christ's second coming. They are mentioned in Revelation 11: 3-13. Note in Malachi, both Moses and Elijah are mentioned.
…4“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb. 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. 6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”… Malachi 4: 4-6
Elijah does come and he will restore - Jesus puts this into a future perspective with does and will. There will be a prophet preceding Christ's second coming, before the Millennial Kingdom, and he will reform the people back to God through the soundest of preaching.
3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11: 3-13
But Elijah has already come - John the Baptist came before Jesus first advent, but he is already dead now.
They did not recognize him - He was the forerunner of Christ, the herald of Messiah, but they killed him, and the religious elite are rejecting Jesus and seek His life as well. John spoke out against sin, and Jesus claims to be "I Am", making both unpopular with the ruling classes.
…42and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”… Luke 19: 42-44
So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands - This fulfills prophecy, that Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, must suffer, must become the sacrifice for His people. Before they look on Him Whom they pierced, He must be pierced.
…4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. 5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.… Isaiah 53: 4-6
10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.… Zechariah 12: 10-11
Then the disciples understood - They realized that the one who baptized Him, who preached the message of repentance, who stood up to the powers that be and condemned their adultery, fornication, and incest, that he was a type of Elijah. So much here, I think I am going to stop because I need to turn it all over in my head, and some of this will come up again and we will look at it yet again from the perspective of another gospel writer. This will also come up in Revelation.
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