He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

- Matthew 17:1-13

Yesterday's reading came just after Peter's confession to Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Immediately afterward, Jesus began to teach the disciples of what is to come: that He will suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter objected and took Him to task, saying "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." He continued, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Interestingly, we have read of Jesus going to the mountain before, but this time He takes His closest disciples with Him (Peter and the brothers Zebedee). My study bible points out that a high mountain in Scripture is often a place of revelation. We've speculated in earlier readings that Jesus has gone to a mountain to pray, to be with the Father. In today's reading, a great revelation is given to these disciples. Jesus' transfiguration is evidence of His divinity. The light emanating from His face and His clothing, as well as the mountaintop experience, is a kind of fulfillment of Moses when given the commandments of God. But here, it is focused on the person of Jesus, His place as Son. My study bible says, "The Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light surrounding Christ's Person, overshadowing the whole mountain." The presence of Moses and Elijah tells us we are in the presence of the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and of the eternal kingdom where there is no death. We recall that Scripture tells us that Elijah did not die.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." This statement of Peter's may seem silly to us, until we consider that the Feast of Tabernacles was the Jewish feast of the coming Kingdom, and Peter believes this is now being fulfilled in front of him. Building booths was part of the celebration of this festival, commemorating the time that the Israelites lived in tents and the God of Israel was present and dwelt among them in the tabernacle.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" This God does not dwell in a tabernacle, but is present before them, and God the Father is also present in this voice from the bright cloud. We recall Peter's confession from very shortly earlier in Matthew's Gospel, and Jesus' teaching that only the Father could have revealed this understanding. Here on the mountain, the vision, which includes the voice of the Father, is revealed to all three disciples. It is a revelation for all of us. In fulfillment of the commandments given to Moses, we are to hear to the commandments of Christ.

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. The vision must remain a secret, for now. But as they come down from the mountaintop, Jesus reminds them of two things: the suffering of John the Baptist and also the suffering He will go through. After Peter's rebuke to the news of Jesus' suffering, we have emphasized what He will go through, and also the suffering of the Kingdom at the hands of the authorities in the person of John the Baptist, who has fulfilled the prophecy that Elijah would return.

We have the stark contrast of the mountaintop experience, the expectations of the Kingdom, and of the manifestation of this Kingdom within a hostile world -- in the death of John the Baptist, and the suffering that Jesus has predicted for Himself. In the dazzling light on this mountaintop, a bright cloud that in fact casts a shadow on the disciples ("overshadows" is quite a literal translation of the Greek word), we have the stark contrasts of the true divine reality of the Kingdom, and what will happen in this world as the Kingdom "breaks through." Altogether taken, this is not a picture of a peaceful transition, one without its upheavals, but rather one in which a hostile world will do all it can to prevent this from happening. But overall, the assurance is of the truth of this revelation, the divinity of Christ, the power behind all things of the Kingdom and the Father's voice. Whatever suffering Christ will go through, it is the service of the fulfillment of the manifestation of that Kingdom among us. We have the history of Israel here, contained in the vision on the mountaintop: Moses and Elijah, the Father's voice, the divine light, even the suggestion of booths (the word is literally tent in Greek: it is the same for tabernacle as well), all tell us that this is intertwined with the foundations of the people of God, Israel, and Christ is here in fulfillment and in promise. In the paradox of its fulfillment, our faith can be overpoweringly comprehensive: asking of us understanding of both the eternal - the ever-present - and also its manifestation in the world, among us. This Kingdom is present to us, in the commands of Christ and even the inner revelation of the Father in faith; and yet great sacrifices may be asked of us as they were of these Apostles. Can we accept this full picture of darkness and light? In Christ's dazzling robe and face, there is an eternal presence, an eternal light not of this world. He is ever-present to us, among us: the true tabernacle is His ever-presence, in His Person. We simply await the fulfillment of this, yet it intersects our temporal world and our lives and our hearts. How does He dwell among us? Remember that He will also tell the Pharisees (in Luke's Gospel) that the kingdom of God comes without observation. Nevertheless, it is present, here, among us and dwells within us, filling all things. Perhaps, most significantly, we can know that presence when we feel the greatest contradiction, the pull of this world away from it, and in resistance to it. In a spiritual struggle, we may really feel the time of its breaking through. It lives in us through faith.