The ‘transfiguration’ of Jesus in Matthew 17
The lectionary gospel reading on Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent in Year A, is Matt 17.1–9, Matthew'due south account of the Transfiguration. At that place some of import things to note in relation to this passage as nosotros retrieve well-nigh preaching on it or hearing it preached.
All three Synoptic accounts place this immediately afterward Peter'southward confession of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus and so starts to talk about his betrayal and death. They seem to want us to agree these two truths together: that the Son of Man is one who is humble and obedient even to death, and yet he is besides the 1 spoken of in Daniel 7 where he comes to the Ancient of Days and receives a kingdom that volition never end. Both of these are true about Jesus, and both must be held together. This is made articulate by the final saying of Jesus in the previous pericope (department):
Amen I say to you lot, some who are standing here will not taste death earlier they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Mark 'the kingdom of God come with power') (Matt xvi.28).
All 3 gospels then follow this past specifying the brusk fourth dimension period of about a week betwixt that and the revelation on the mountain, the but place in Matthew where he is so specific about a fourth dimension period. The 'some' makes sense when we see Jesus taking with him but his inner circle of Peter, James and John, every bit he does later at Gethsemane (with Andrew, they are the start to be called to follow Jesus, and named first in the list of the Twelve in Matt 10.1–4). John and then talks of having 'seen [Jesus'] glory' (John 1.14) and two Peter one.17–18 also includes testimony to this incident—which is striking, give that so much scholarship would deny that 2 Peter was really written by Peter.
The language of 'transfiguration' (which derives from the Latin of the Vulgate hither), is rather unhelpful. There is a 'transformation', but in contrast to the other incident of divine revelation from heaven at Jesus' baptism in Matt three, the perspective is that of the disciples, not of Jesus himself. So he Jesus takes the iii and leads 'them' up the mountain (Matthew is much more direct that Luke in this business relationship, and even at points more straight and dramatic than Mark), he is transformed 'before them' and Moses and Elijah appear 'before them'. In fact, the whole emphasis in Matthew's business relationship is on the disciples (count how many times 'they' or 'them' occur). Every bit is clear from the ending of the episode, where Jesus is alone, the betoken is non a alter in Jesus, but a change in their agreement of who he is. The full truth will only come up after his decease and resurrection, but these privileged three have a foretaste, an anticipation ahead of time, which will only really make sense subsequently.
The three Synoptics vary considerably in the exact language that they use to describe Jesus' appearance; it is difficult to know what information technology would have looked similar had we been there and filmed it on our iPhones, simply what the gospel writers want us to know is its significance. The language Matthew uses here is that of divine presence, picking upwards Quondam Testament language of God every bit clothed in low-cal (compare Ps 104.two); some manuscripts accept 'white as snow', but the rather unusual comparing 'white as light' is more probable original. White clothes can exist the hallmark of angelic figures and even the High Priest (compare Matt 28.iii, Marker sixteen.five, Luke 24.4 and Rev i.13–sixteen with its reuse of imagery from Dan 10.5–6) but his 'face shining like the sunday' is an indication of divinity, both inside the biblical narrative and within pagan belief.
In that location are striking connections with Moses' come across with God on Mount Sinai in Ex 24.9–xviii, where he ascends a mountain, with companions, there is an overshadowing cloud, and a revelation of God'south glory. But, although in that location are parallels here with Sinai, in that location are besides cardinal differences; the glory of Moses' face up was reflected celebrity which faded with time, just the glory of Jesus here is a revelation of who he really is, and continues even when the vision (Matt 17.ix) has passed; this is not so much of a transformation as a pulling back of the 'veil of flesh' (Wesley) to reveal the true nature of the Son of Man. (There might exist a hint of change in Jesus in the comment in Mark ix.15 that the crowd were 'amazed' when they saw him—only there is no equivalent comment in Matthew). The primal departure, though, is that where Moses is the focus of transformation in the Sinai account, here the focus is Jesus, and he is radiant with the glory of God himself.
In popular readings, Moses and Elijah are often thought to represent the police force and the prophets; this is hinted at in the motion-picture show at the top, the depiction past Peter Paul Rubens, who has included the tablets of the X Commandments with Moses. But Elijah was not i of the writing prophets, and in Jewish tradition the mysterious circumstances of Moses' death on Mount Nebo (Deut 34.v–six) and Elijah's being taken upward to God on a chariot of burn down (2 Kings 2.eleven) earned them the title of 'the deathless ones'. Their presence with Jesus is an apprehension of Jesus' own conquest of death. They besides signify the rescuing of God's people from slavery to freedom (Moses) and the call to faithfulness (Elijah); both encountered God on the mountain (Sinai/Horeb) and both experienced rejection by and suffering at the hands of God'south own people, which makes the connection between the suffering Jesus has just spoken of and the glory which he will receive.
Peter's clumsy interjection, offering to brand shelters and capture the moment, is ameliorated by Mark and Luke in their explanation that he didn't know what to say in the context of such an unsettling experience. He appears to want the experience to persist, or peradventure to try and make his own contribution when he really should accept been just attending to what was before him. He has not nonetheless understood that this is a drawing dorsum of the curtain, giving him and the other two a glimpse of the heavenly reality of who Jesus actually is.
They are covered with a 'cloud full of light' in Matthew's unique description, and rather than 'overshadowing' them as in Marking and Luke, it comes with a startling suddenness marked by the 'behold!' (idou) which had also introduced the appearance of Moses and Elijah in verse 3. All through the story of scripture, clouds signify the presence of God (which is more easy to sympathise if y'all live in a country where the sky is bluish for much of the time) and this evokes fright too equally awe (compare Ezek 1.4); 'falling on their faces' is a common expression of fear (see Rev i.17) or worship and entreaty. The voice of God here echoes what was said at Jesus baptism (Matt 3.17), and this fourth dimension at that place is no ambiguity as to whether the words are addressed to Jesus or to those watching—the audience of the three disciples are commanded or invited to listen to him. Jesus is non simply onelike Moses or Elijah; he far transcends them every bit the Son of the Living God, the i in whom we encounter God's ain presence and glory. The words besides echo Is 42.1, making again the connection betwixt suffering and celebrity.
Jesus' final activeness—unique to Matthew—is that Jesus 'comes to them', touches them, and commands them 'Get up—do not exist afraid'. Only here and at his concluding meeting with them in Galilee (Matt 28.18) is this intensive form of the verb (proserchomai) used of Jesus; in all other occurrences it is other people who 'come to' Jesus. They are left with the retentiveness, simply otherwise just with Jesus—but his company is plenty.
Luke moves on to the next episode of Jesus' ministry building, but both Matthew and Marker fill out the details of the disciples' puzzlement. They still practice not sympathise the significance of this vision or insight—and indeed, they will not until they have begun to make sense of Jesus' death and resurrection. They are slowly putting together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of Jesus' identity and how he is fulfilling the purposes of God. We are similar those who have been given the puzzle box, with the finished picture on the exterior so that we can see with hindsight where the pieces fit together.
This rather hitting, unusual and numinous encounter with Jesus sits in rather stark contrast to the textile either side in Matthew'south narrative. Its position in the lectionary hides that rather, though does place it adjacent to the temptations of Jesus in the desert in Matt 4.1–11, offering a different kind of contrast. But this sense of the transcendent irrupting into the mundane is an of import reality of the Christian religion. Paul talks of the 'transformation' that is effected past God every bit we continually offering our lives equally 'living sacrifices' in Rom 12.1–2. Alluding to Sinai, simply also connecting with some of the ideas and imagery here, Paul talks of our transformation as we see the transformed face of Jesus:
And nosotros all, with unveiled face up, beholding the celebrity of the Lord, are existence transformed into the same epitome from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3.18)
Paul goes on to dissimilarity this spiritual truth with the mundane realities of life by talking about 'having this treasure in jars of clay' (ii Cor 4.7).
Last weekend, our church small-scale grouping were talking about the work of the Holy Spirit; we watched the Bible Project video on the Holy Spirit, and for Pentecost they portray figures as both receiving flames but becoming lit upwards by them, and so they themselves are shining. One member of the group was excited by this as a brilliant delineation of what Spirit does, and every bit she described it her face did indeed light upward! Others talked well-nigh the transformation that they had seen when friends came to faith. Despite the authorization of materialism, our civilization is fascinated by the supernatural, the numinous and the transcendent—though nosotros are often reluctant to talk of our experiences in this area.
The whole theme of the Book of Revelation is that the events we would otherwise understand equally mundane and of this world are really the working out of a cosmic spiritual battle, and that numinous and 'supernatural' experiences are part and bundle of this.
In any relationship, it takes fourth dimension to understand and become to know someone, and even with people we know well, there are times when we gain particular insight into their character by something they exercise or say which gives us fresh insight into who they are. This seems to be how the Transfiguration functions for the three disciples, and offers primal insight into who Jesus is. Is it an insight we have still gained for ourselves? And is it 1 which nosotros are living out as his continuously transformed disciples?
(Shorter and slightly dissimilar versions of this article were previously published in 2022 and 2017.)
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