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 were 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 we read that from the time of Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ,  Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, 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."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "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 . . ..  A high mountain, my study bible tells us, is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  After six days means that this is the seventh day after Jesus' teaching about suffering and the Cross, what kind of Messiah He will be.  Seven is the number of completion or fullness; this is a "peak" experience in every way.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.   For the Orthodox, this event is a major feast day.  That He is transfigured before them indicates a significant revelation, a vision of reality that transcends the worldly, but also gives us an indication of the very nature of our faith.  That His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light teaches us about Jesus' divinity.  This is a theophany, a manifestation of God.  This display of light is of His uncreated, divine energy.  God is light (1 John 1:5), and all the light in this vision -- of His face, His clothing, and also the bright cloud (verse 5, further down) show that Jesus is God.  Many icons portray this light with a blue tinge, indicating that it is beyond white, an ineffable color giving us an understanding of its spiritual origin.

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."  Moses and Elijah personify the Law and the Prophets.  Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets, and -- because he did not experience death -- all those who are live in Christ.  My study bible says that their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  Moses and Elijah also manifest the communion of saints by their presence (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.   Peter has grasped the revelation, and connects it in his mind with the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths, which is significantly the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  and so suggests building three tabernacles.  The feast (also known as Sukkot) commemorates the time when the Israelites wandered the in the wilderness, led by a bright cloud that signaled God's being extraordinarily present.  Tabernacles for Peter  are symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom

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 were 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.   Here there is a manifestation of the Trinity.  The Father speaks of the nature of Christ as Son ("This is My beloved Son" indicates that the glory the disciples witness is Christ's by nature, an eternal truth).  The bright cloud that overshadows them indicates the presence of the Spirit which also shines in the dazzling light surrounding Christ and the whole mountain. 


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.  For the second time, Jesus indicates the disciples are not to reveal to others that He is the Christ, the divine Son (the first was after the confession of faith that He is the Son of God, 16:16).  Because of the vision and the revelation of the Kingdom and the communion of saints, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words regarding the prophecy of Elijah's return.  That Elijah has come already refers to John the Baptist; they can now understand Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) as referring to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17) rather than Elijah himself.   Jesus takes the occasion to affirm once more to the disciples the nature of His messiahship:  that He will suffer.

These disciples, Jesus' "inside circle" of the brothers John and James, and Peter, have a true "mountaintop experience."  This is perhaps the pinnacle of the worldly lives and experiences of these disciples, as they are given a vision of the revelation of highest divinity.  Light is a characteristic of God, as we've read (1 John 1:5), but it's also an indication of God's presence with us, a revelation that there may be so much more to life than we normally perceive.  Particularly for Eastern Christianity, the Transfiguration became a central indication of the presence of God, not only in its revelation of Christ and the Trinity, and the communion of saints, but also of the nature of our lives in Christ.  For this light, this divine energy of God, also transfigures human beings.  The vision of light is given to the disciples, but it is also a vision of the work of the God in the world that we don't necessarily perceive, and yet it is present with us.  At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples that He will pray to the Father, and the Father will send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth so that "He may abide with you forever," "He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you," and "He will testify of Me" (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26).  Christ's suffering -- His death on the Cross -- will make this possible, that the experience of this light that the disciples have now will render them capable of understanding the reality of the Spirit which is sent to us through Christ's sacrifice (John 12:24).   They will also understand that His suffering is voluntary, and His nature truly divine.  Therefore, the vision of Jesus' transfiguration and what it is to be full of light, that the world is illumined through this light, will become a lasting understanding of the work and action of the Spirit and its illumination in us.  "Transfiguration" in Greek is Metamorphosis, and this word gives us a flavor of how this event shaped an understanding of how Christ lives in us.  It gives to us a conceptual framework of what it is to participate in grace, and how the action of grace works in our lives.  To think of this illuminating light that surrounds everything, is within everything, and is always present in our world, is to have a vision of God's energies at work.  It is also a vision of complete beauty, a transcendent reality that is also a part of our lives, if we but learn to recognize it, and to perceive its values and meanings.  The disciples are permanently changed, their perception now allowing them to realize the prophecy from Malachi and its spiritual meaning present in their own lives.    The light of the saints is the adornment of this beauty.   May it continue to illuminate the good, the true, and the beautiful for each of us, by God's grace.   It is the presence of the Kingdom, the reality for which our world and our lives were made.  His is the light that reveals our true destination and hope.  This beauty is the true pearl of great price, worth every cost, surpassing the beauty of everything else.