What came before? Jesus and the disciples journeyed north of Galilee into the district of Caesarea Philippi, which was a Roman-governed province. In that relative safety, Jesus surveyed the disciples to discover how their theology had developed. Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter, often the spokesman for the group, elevated his game with a declaration that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus declared Peter to be blessed because God had graced him with this wisdom.
Then Jesus took the next step to refine their concept of what the Messiah was and how this servant would carry out God’s mission. Instead of a conquering warrior, as a descendant of King David might be imagined, Jesus would be a ‘suffering servant’ as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 50-53). Peter thought Jesus had got it wrong; but Jesus had to rebuke him harshly. Jesus made it personal by explaining what the role of someone who follows the Messiah means; the disciples must prepare to suffer too. Yet, he doesn’t leave it there. Chapter 16 ends like this.
16: 27-28. “...the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
This leaves us with a question. Most of those who were “standing there,” that is, the disciples, have already suffered and died as martyrs by the time that Matthew wrote this Gospel. Is Jesus talking about his second coming? ‘Coming with his angels in glory to judge’ certainly sounds like it. But, as far as we know, his official second coming is still yet to come. If this is what the prediction means, then the disciples did not see it, nor have we seen it.
Perhaps the phrase “the Son of Man coming with his angels in the glory of his father” is not the same as “the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Jesus has consistently spoken of the kingdom or dominion of God as being near (3:2, 4:17; 10:7) or as already present (11:12, 13:31,44,45,47).
However, Jesus also speaks of another time, not near and not now, but later, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory” (25:31). So, when Jesus said that some standing there will see the Son of Man coming, which ‘coming’ is he referring to?
17:1-4. Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, we will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
The phrase “Six days later…” is an answer to Jesus’ prediction. Some of the disciples got to see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. What they saw dimly, Jesus saw clearly, because he knows the plan about how the kingdom will come. Yet, this is the only the first of several steps that it will take to usher Jesus into his kingdom. There is the crucifixion and resurrection to come. Then there is the ascension to heaven where Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. Finally, there is the kingdom work of evangelism and healing that the church carries out daily.
This is called the ‘transfiguration’ because Jesus visibly changes before their eyes. If Jesus’ premonition about his suffering and death was a downer for the disciples, then this is the other side of the coin. Peter, James, and John get a glimpse of Jesus in glory, a conclusion that draws together everyone and everything that had come before. Jesus’ face shines, much as Moses’ when he stood face to face with God (Exodus 34:29). Moses also went high upon that mountain.
Jesus talks about his death (Luke 9:31) with Moses and Elijah who are two of the three people in the Old Testament thought to have exited this world by being whisked away by God. The other one was Enoch (Genesis 5:24).
Elijah also had his mountaintop experience (I Kings 19:11), and he found God not in the fire nor in the earthquake, but in a still small voice. The prophet Malachi, in the last prophecy of the Old Testament, preached that God said, “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of their children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5).
Likewise, the people expected a new prophet like Moses to appear. God told Moses and Moses told the people that this would happen (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). So, the Jewish teachers, including the scribes, taught that someone like Elijah, or a ‘new Elijah’ would come and restore right order so that when the day of the Lord comes, it will be a good day and not a disaster. And, they expected a new prophet like Moses to appear as well. Perhaps Peter and his confreres got so excited because they knew this. But, the suggestion that Peter made was a step back to a Jewish holiday of booths which celebrated God’s provision while they were wandering in the wilderness, aka the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot (Leviticus 23:33-43). God had other ideas.
17:5. While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
Make no mistake. This is the same voice with the same message that was heard at Jesus’ baptism. Peter has learned again, it is not about him. He has ignored the old proverb, ‘Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove any doubt’.
What is the message here? It could be the point that Jesus is claimed by God to be his Son (in terms of relationship, not in terms of genealogy). Or, it could be that God has a mission and is pleased, thus far, with how Jesus is carrying it out. Given the tendency of the disciples not to understand Jesus, and their obvious excitement on seeing Moses and Elijah, God goes out of his way to direct their attention to Jesus. They should listen to what Jesus has to say instead of trying to go back to Moses and Elijah.
17:6-8. When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
The disciples are late to get the point. If they fall down in the presence of God, what have they been doing in the presence of God in Jesus Christ? Perhaps they get the point when they wake up, open their eyes, and see “no one except Jesus.” This is not an incidental result of the drama. They should have had their eyes on Jesus from the first, just as we should. But, we get distracted.
17:9-13. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
This wraps up the Transfiguration episode. There is an interesting word in the first sentence. You may wonder what kind of experience this was for the three disciples, and Matthew, who was not one of the three, calls it a horama which can be translated as a ‘vision’. The word is translated that way several times: In Acts 9 both Ananias and Paul are said to have had a ‘vision’ from God. In Acts 10, Peter on the rooftop is said to have had a ‘vision’. In Acts 12, Peter is miraculously released from jail but he is unsure whether it is ‘real’ or a ‘vision’. Finally, on a mission journey, Paul has a ‘vision’ of a man from Macedonia motioning him to come on over and help them (Acts 16). We have inherited this word as a suffix in English with words like panorama, diorama, and cyclorama.
The disciples seem to skip over Jesus’ reference to his death and resurrection, and ask why the scribes say that Elijah must come first. Jesus gives an interesting answer because he says Elijah must come, then immediately says Elijah has already come. The result of Jesus’ statement is that he redirects their gaze to his coming suffering. The disciples are focused on Elijah though, and conclude that Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, which he was, but only as a way to emphasize the suffering of God’s servants.
What did the Transfiguration accomplish? For the disciples, it was another sign to get them to focus on Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. For Jesus, it was a confirmation of another turning point in his mission, similar to his baptism which began his ministry.
After this, in Matthew, Jesus and the disciples return to Galilee (17:22) and gather at their base camp in Capernaum (17:24), then they leave Galilee for ‘Judea beyond the Jordan’ (19:1), travel until they are ‘going up to Jerusalem’ (20:17), and finally enter the city (21:1-11), immediately going to the Temple (20:12). Jesus knows what he is doing because his teachings along the way emphasize his coming suffering and death (17:22-23; 20:17).
These are lessons that the disciples do not fully understand until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Not connecting lessons to our life experiences remains superficial. That is why we constantly re-read Scripture as we are discipled along the way during our journey with God.