The Transfiguration (Matthew 16:28–17:13)

Sometimes chapter divisions don’t help and that seems to be the case here because it looks as if 16:28 is more connected to what follows that to what precedes it. Jesus promises that when the predicted event would happen, it would be a display of his power and royal presence, and this is how Peter later described in 2 Peter 1:16.

The statement by Jesus is obviously a promise, but yet it is not a promise to all of the disciples because Jesus says that only some of them will see it. Moreover, the time of fulfilment is unspecified for them. All that is said in that regard is that they will experience it before they die, which at the same time is also a reminder that even if they see it they will yet die.

I am sure Peter, James and John would have thought of that after the event was over. The experience they would have was not one that would lead to them avoiding death. Indeed, the only one on the mountain who had avoided death was Elijah – Moses had died, Peter, James and John would die, and the One who would die the soonest was Jesus himself.

The event that would take place would show to the disciples what the coming kingdom of Jesus would be like. Jesus had made clear that the commencement of this kingdom was imminent, and the one detail that can be said with certainty was that the disciples had not yet grasped what this kingdom would be like. So perhaps in order to help them grasp what the kingdom would involve they were given a preview of what it would be like.

I suspect that the disciples had difficulty appreciating how Jesus could be the Son of Man. After all, they saw every day one who looked like a normal person. There was not anything about his appearance that suggested he was that different from anyone else. They would have known about the prophecy of Daniel 7 which indicated that the Son of Man was a glorious person who could ride on clouds of glory. But Jesus at that time did not look like that, at least to their eyes, until they saw him glorified on the mountain.

The Transfiguration is described in three of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. John does not mention it, although he does refer many times to the glory of Jesus. Yet the kind of glory he has in mind does not seem to include what he saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. Instead, he refers to glory that was revealed when Jesus performed miracles, which began with the miracle of turning the water into wine, and he then includes several other miracles in his Gospel that reveal the power of Jesus. The three accounts of the Transfiguration can be studied together or they can be studied separately.

The witnesses of glory

No one knows if the disciples had thought about the prediction that Jesus made concerning some of them seeing his glory. About a week later, Peter, James and John discovered he was speaking about them. Usually, after climbing a high mountain, you would expect the climbers to be tired (which probably explains why they fell asleep, as the other Gospels tell us). They discovered that after the exertions to the top of the mountain, Jesus was not tired.

What did they see? They saw Jesus glorified, changed. It was probably the evening by now, yet it was not dark because his face was shining like the sun, and the glory that he possessed caused the colours of his clothes to disappear. What we have here is intense power and purity.

What is glorification? The answer depends on who we are speaking about. John describes the future glorification of believers as a transformation that will happen to them when they will see Jesus. Obviously, that did not happen to the disciples on this mountain, and I suspect that one reason for that is that Peter, James and John were still sinners. But when Jesus returns, all his people will be holy and so they will then be able to be glorified.

Jesus here is seen to be the possessor of glory and showed that was the case. This means that he always had it, but chose not to reveal it. It is not surprising that he did not reveal it day by day, because how could people have coped with it? Imagine standing in the presence of someone whose face shone brighter than the sun and whose clothes were ultra-bright. What would have been the response if he had walked around Nazareth and revealed that he possessed glory? This world was not a suitable place for the glory of Jesus to be revealed. Another world must be created before that can happen, and that world is the new heavens and new earth.

The visitors

Two visitors came from heaven and spoke with Jesus. People have speculated why Moses and Elijah were given this task. Some suggest that Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets. Others say that Moses is an example of a believer who enters heaven by death whereas Elijah is an example of a believer who goes there without dying. No doubt, those suggestions describe truths, but that does not mean that they are the truths in this passage.

Peter was very impressed by what he was seeing and he did not want it to end. So he volunteered to make a tent each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Probably we can think of two mistakes made by Peter here. First, he puts Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah and, second, he does not seem to want Moses and Elijah to go back to heaven.

Another Visitor comes, although he is unseen. Glory (the cloud) envelops them. All they hear is a voice, but he speaks their language. It is God the Father and he desires to speak to his people about his Son and about what he thinks of the work in which his Son is engaged (he is well-pleased). Perhaps one reason for this information was the failure of Peter and the others to approve of the work in which Jesus was engaged. They knew he was the Son of God, but they had not accepted his work – yet. They received a clear instruction to listen to Jesus.

Not surprisingly, the response of Peter, James and John was a combination of worship and terror. How else should they have responded? Perhaps their minds went to the occasion when the glory cloud descended on Mount Sinai and how the people were terrified when God spoke to them there. There was one difference that should be noticed – the cloud on Sinai was dark (Heb. 12:18), but here it was bright, a vivid contrast between the law and the gospel. Peter calls this cloud ‘the excellent glory’ (2 Pet. 1:17). The disciples were in the presence of the Holy. Yet they discovered that Jesus was the same after the temporary experience of glorification was over, ready to comfort them by touch and word.

What this tells us about the kingdom?

We should remember that Jesus had told his disciples that certain of them would soon experience a foretaste of the power of his kingdom. So what did they discover about his kingdom? Here are some details.

First, the kingdom will not commence until Jesus has been glorified. This means that it was not here in this sense when he was on the earth. It was not even here after he rose from the dead. Instead, it began when he ascended to heaven and took his place on God’s throne.

Second, the members of the kingdom will be of two kinds. One group will be residents of heaven and the other group will be residents of earth. Moses and Elijah represent the heavenly group and the disciples represent the earthly group. Despite the vast differences between the two groups, each will belong to the kingdom.

Third, members of both groups will be in contact with Jesus. Although he went to heaven, he is not out of touch with his people on earth. He maintains contact with them through the work of the Holy Spirit. The activities of Jesus on behalf of his kingdom will be one of their expectations.

Fourth, the presence of the Father will be real in the kingdom. The New Testament speaks about this reality, even for those on earth. Paul writes that through Jesus we have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Eph. 2:18). The author of Hebrews describes the heavenly city and says that believers on earth have already come to it and meet with the inhabitants of heaven in the presence of God, the Judge of all.

Fifth, when his people on earth are overwhelmed by the greatness of the kingdom, it will be part of the ministry of Jesus to deal with their fears and provide them with comfort. There are many aspects of kingdom life that should produce a real sense of awe in our hearts and we may be disturbed. One example of this was on the mountain with Jesus and decades later John saw something of the glory of the heavenly side of the kingdom and he crumpled at the sight of the dignity of Jesus. But he experienced on that future day what he experienced on the mountain – a gentle touch and comforting words.

Clarification

Earlier Jesus had told his disciples not to tell others that he was the Christ (Matt. 16:20). Now Jesus tells his disciples not to speak about their experience on the mountain until after his resurrection. I suppose the reason was that no one would appreciate its significance when the outward circumstances of Jesus and the disciples at that time seemed to indicate that his cause was declining.

Still the disciples must have been thinking quite deeply about their experience and one detail puzzled them. The teachers of the law pointed out that the Old Testament scriptures described a ministry of Elijah that would precede the coming of the kingdom of the Messiah. This ministry would last a while as he announced to the people that the King was coming. The disciples had seen Elijah on the mountain with Jesus, but the prophet had not stayed more than a short time. Was he going to come down to earth again?

Jesus informed the disciples that the predicted Elijah was not the same person as the prophet Elijah. Rather the predicted Elijah had been John the Baptist. He had functioned as the forerunner of Jesus and declared to Israel that the Messiah had come. His faithfulness cost him his life.

Jesus seems to regard John as a forerunner not only in the sense that he preached about the imminent arrival of the Messiah. In addition, John preceded Jesus into death as a consequence of the hostility Herod’s family had shown. Jesus mentions that he would suffer from the same hands that had been instrumental in the death of John. So the confusion of the disciples was cleared up. We too can ask Jesus to clarify for us things in his Word that we don’t understand.