1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Six days after Jesus spoke to the disciples about his pending suffering, death and resurrection, He took Peter, James, and John up a mountain. These are the ones He had said would not die before they “see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” On that mountain, he was transfigured (the word we get metamorphosis from). Jesus’ divine glory, which until that point had been veiled (Phil 2:6-8) was now revealed in His brilliantly radiant face and the snowy whiteness of His clothes. The description of His face shining like the sun is similar to the description John gave of Jesus in Revelation 1:16.
Jesus was joined by two Old Testament men of faith, Moses who represents the law, and Elijah representing the prophets. Luke wrote that they testified to his coming death (Luke 9:31). This interaction helped Peter to know that Jesus pending death was not the end of the kingdom, but the pathway to it.
Peter suggests that he make tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He is thinking of the feast of tabernacles (or booths, or tents) which was an annual event where the Jews would live in tents to remind them of their wandering in the wilderness and look forward to God’s blessing in the land of rest (in the Millennial time of rest). Peter may have expected this time to last a while before the inauguration of the kingdom. He still hadn’t fully grasped that the kingdom was not coming at that time as he expected.
God spoke out of a cloud declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” This is confirmation for Peter that Jesus is the Christ as he had previously professed, but also a reminder that Peter is to listen to Him—even though what He says doesn’t seem to line up with his expectations. Having heard the voice of God, Peter, James, and John rightly fall flat on their faces. At that moment everything returns back to normal and Jesus gently touched them and invited them to get up without fear.
Jesus told them not to speak of what they had seen until after He had risen. News of what had happened might cause others to wrongly expect the kingdom to arrive then or it might have caused the Jews to crucify Jesus sooner. Whatever the reason, the disciples were free to tell others after Jesus had risen again which would have added reassurance of his coming again as King in the future.
Having just seen Elijah, they now ask Jesus about the prophecy that Elijah must come first to “restore all things” before the kingdom is established. Jesus explained that Elijah had already come, which the disciples recognise was John the Baptist. He also indicated that, because John the Baptist’s ministry had been rejected, Elijah will still come and restore all things. That will happen during the Tribulation, just before the second coming (Mal 4:5; Rev 11:6).
This time with Jesus was accompanied with lots of “don’t tell anyone” because Jesus death and resurrection as saviour was still a mystery. But that mystery has now been fully revealed. We have the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again in victory over sin. He will come back in glory at which point it will be too late for those who have not believed. Who can you tell today about the good news of Jesus?