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The Transfiguration of Jesus
by Fr. Reid Hensarling
Matthew 17:1-9
This is a unique incident within Jesus' ministry. The only comparable moment of supernatural revelation in the gospel is Jesus' baptism, where the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. God also speaks from heaven, and Jesus is identified as the Son of God (see Matthew 3:13-17). This is now reiterated with the same heavenly authority just at the time when his declaration about his coming suffering and death might have led readers to question it. Three aspects of the transfiguration show more significant evidence of just who Jesus is: 1) the visible alteration of Jesus demonstrates that he is more than a merely human teacher; (2) his association with Moses and Elijah demonstrates his messianic role; (3) the voice from heaven declares his identity as the Son of God. What an extraordinary man!
Jesus had gone up the mountain to pray, and while he was praying he was changed (see Luke 9:28-29). Jesus' outward, visible appearance changed. Jesus' face shone because he was transfigured, which means it was his own glory that was being made visible for the disciples' benefit. Since Moses was the great lawgiver and Elijah was the first of the great prophets. The two seem to represent the Law and the Prophets, the two chief divisions of the Old Testament, suggesting that what they stood for is now being fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is the king of glory, and Moses and Elijah were there to honor him. This was quite a meeting of the old and the new.
The apostle Peter got all excited and wanted to set up three shelters. Then a bright cloud came upon them and the Lord God spoke very clearly, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (verse 5). It would be impossible for any Jewish reader to miss the importance of this cloud, for it would immediately suggest the Shekinah Glory cloud of the Old Testament and indicate that God himself was present to speak as he had spoken before on Mount Sinai. Moses and Elijah soon disappear, leaving Jesus alone to carry out the final act of deliverance. The dazzling figure of Jesus in verse 2 becomes again the familiar Jesus that they were used to. He no longer is conversing with numinous figures from the past, but shares with his disciples in the present. He tells them not to tell anyone what they have seen until he has been raised from the dead. Only in the light of the Easter experience could the disciples be expected to have a clear grasp of what is all means to be able to talk responsibly about what they have just seen. This supernatural event was just too much for them to take in at the time.
How do we listen to Jesus? The way we listen to Jesus today is by hearing what he has already said to us in the Bible. We live in an age today where people appeal to their experiences as the surest measure of their actions, not realizing that their experiences can be wrong or misleading. God's word does not change and is eternal. It can be trusted; therefore, let us hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the words of God on a daily and consistent basis. Hear the voice of Jesus and do what he says. We can trust him with our lives. He will never leave or forsake us. His love for us is absolute and never ending.
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