And He was transfigured before them

 

 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 

 

 On Saturday, we read that, following Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, from that time 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; . . ..  My study Bible comments that a high mountain is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (Matthew 5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).

. . . 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.  My study Bible notes that the Transfiguration (for this is what this event is called) is a Theophany; that is, it is a manifestation of God.  It especially reveals the divinity of Christ.  In the eyes of the Orthodox Church, that is affirmed through this display of His uncreated, divine energy in the form of the light which appears to the disciples Peter, James, and John.  The commemoration of this event is a major feast day in the Church.  All of the elements in today's reading that indicate light:  the bright cloud, the shining of Jesus' face like the sun, and the whiteness of His garment, affirm the divinity of Christ, as God is light (1 John 1:5).  In some icons of the Transfiguration, the light is shown as beyond white, a bluish-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.  In the Father's voice we have a witness from heaven concerning Christ as Son (notice how this comes after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (in this reading from Friday).   The Father's statement, "This is My beloved Son" is an indication that Christ's divine glory is His by nature.  He is God's Son from eternity past, infinitely before His Baptism and Transformation this is true.  Christ fully shares in the essence of the Father; He is God of God, as the Creed declares ("Light from Light, true God of true God, of one essence with the Father").   Other elements of the Transfiguration point beyond Christ's divine sonship, and to His future glory, when as Messiah He will usher in the long-awaited Kingdom.  My study Bible comments that the bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, a visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  As the text indicates, Peter sees this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, and hence, his seemingly senseless request to build booths, as is done at that feast to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Moses and Elijah appear with Christ:  Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah, my study Bible continues, represents the prophets and -- since he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  Their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness in the Transfiguration to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  Moses and Elijah also manifest the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.  In this vein, the disciples can now understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" which refers to John the Baptist.  Malachi's prophecy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6) is a reference to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  Finally, and of great significance, my study Bible points out the manifestation of the Holy Trinity which takes place in this event:  Christ is transfigured with divine light, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, and overshadows the whole mountain. 

The power and significance of this event are clear from the comments in my study Bible, which reflect the Church's historic understanding of the Transfiguration and its central and important place as a major feast day.  It is as if the confession of faith, as well as Christ's powerful words to the disciples indicating His Passion, are all bound up in this experience which both affirms Christ's divine identity and the Kingdom to come.  In Luke's Gospel, we're told that "two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:30-31).  In the original Greek text, this word translated as "decease" is literally exodus (ἔξοδος), which  means "departure."  It is a clear connection to His death and Passion, but it is also a powerful reminder that the Passion is inextricably linked to the coming of the Kingdom, and Christ's fullness as the Almighty, who rises from the dead to usher it in, together with judgment.  In effect, the glory of the Transfiguration affirms for us, and in the minds of the disciples as witnesses, that Christ's Passion is necessary, and that through His death on the Cross He will be glorified (John 12:23).  The use of the term "exodus," my study Bible comments, also reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  The Transfiguration serves as explication and signal to the disciples and to all of us that Christ's glory is bound up with what is to them the unthinkable:  His death on the Cross.  It is a sacrifice, in the words of Christ Himself, which leads to the greatest glory of all, a universal good for all.  (See John 12:24, and Jesus' metaphor for His death, in which a grain of wheat falls to the ground, but produces much grain).  In our daily lives, let us remember this event of the Transfiguration, but most of all how it affirms that our spiritual freedom, like so many blessings in life, did not come cheaply, but at the highest price, in which the truly greatest One among us gave His life out of love for us, and the willingness to liberate us.  He offers this gift to all.  Let us consider with what ignorance we would spurn or reject it -- how great the sacrifice by the greatest One of all, and for all.  When we make a choice for faith, we must consider just how much rests within that choice for that Kingdom!