Matthew 17:1-13 (Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36)
Six days after Jesus' conversation with Peter and the disciples about what to expect as His ministry and mission moves forward, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a high mountain. (Matthew and Mark both say 6 days, Luke's account says 8 days. I don't think it's anything to get hung up on.) He was transfigured before these three. His face was altered and shone brightly, His clothes were white as light. (The word for "no one" in the Mark account is actually the word for "launderer"--His clothes were brighter than any launderer could bleach them.) Elijah and Moses appeared with Him, as guests of honor surrounded by the approval of God. Peter jumps ahead (like he does...) with an idea to build three tents, or tabernacles, one for each of them!! He didn't know what else to say, he was scared to death. A voice from heaven, very like the One at Jesus' baptism, speaks over the scene. This only added to the disciples' sheer terror, but Jesus reassures them. As they leave the mountain, Jesus says don't tell anyone what just happened until I'm resurrected. The disciples question why the scribes say that Jesus can't be the Messiah since Elijah hasn't come. Jesus answers that Elijah did come, but they didn't recognize Him. John the Baptist was a type of Elijah,as foretold by both Isaiah and Malachi.
The word transfigure means "to change in outward appearance, in the case so as to glorify or exalt". (dictionarydotcom) The actual Greek word translated here is "metemorpothe", from which we can clearly pick out our English word, "metamorphosis". Jesus changed right in front of three of His most trusted disciples, adding another layer of confirmation for them that He is exactly who He says He is. I believe that Moses appeared with Jesus because it was through Moses that the law was given. I believe that Elijah, who never died, appeared with Jesus because he was a very famous and influential prophet in Jewish history. In this, Jesus is showing that in Himself, all of the law and all of the prophets are fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-20) God Himself once again puts His stamp of approval on His beloved Son and His mission. Jesus tells the three disciples not to tell anyone what they've seen until after His resurrection. And as far as we know, they kept their word until Peter reveals it in 2 Peter 1:16-21.
Since this is a study on the Red Letters, I'm going to let the phrase "Rise, and have no fear' (from Matthew 17 7) change me. The transfiguration is an amazing event of which we may never fully understand the magnitude and meaning until heaven. But I know there are things we see and things we hear that might cause us to babble promises that God doesn't ask us to make, or that make us fall on our faces in terror. Though we may fall, we don't have to stay there. With a touch and a call to rise with no fear, we can lift up our eyes and see Jesus. Only Jesus.
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