Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
The high mountain was the paradigmatic point of encounter between God and his prophets, as it was were Moses spoke with God and received the law, as well as where Elijah heard the still small voice of the Lord speaking to him. But what the disciples witnessed on the mountain was something greater than what happened even to the greatest of the prophets.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
Unlike Moses, whose face reflected the light of the glory of God, Jesus was himself the source of the light which shone forth from his face. Rather than a moon reflecting the light of the sun he "shone like the sun" itself. In his transfiguration we can see that he was manifesting the appearance of the Ancient One in the prophecy of Daniel.
the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
He was the Son of man, but received from the Ancient One everything that was his own, dominion, glory, and kingship. What he received from the Father from all eternity in his divinity was now for a moment made manifest through his sacred humanity, prefiguring the glory of his resurrection, and in turn the glory of the resurrected bodies that the righteous will receive on the last day.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
What was happening here was what Paul described in his letter to the Romans. The righteousness of God was being manifested apart from the law but, "the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it" (see Romans 3:21) as represented by Moses and Elijah. In other words, they pointed toward the hope we have in Jesus but were not themselves that hope. They prefigured what would be accomplished in Jesus but did not and could not themselves accomplish it.
"Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Peter seemed to be expressing the hope that the end of the age had come when the glory of the Lord would again dwell with his people, with the dawning of the messianic age. But his understanding was as yet imperfect, for Jesus was not simply another figure alongside Moses and Elijah, and he still had work to do. There were still barriers of sin preventing him from dwelling fully with his people as he desired to do. But this was precisely the goal that would eventually be achieved.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God (see Revelation 21:3).
The transfiguration was given in order to help orient Peter and the others and to prepare them for what was to come. To this same end the Father and the Spirit revealed themselves in order to demonstrate the unique glory of Jesus, with the effect that Moses and Elijah disappeared, reminding us of what Paul wrote, "Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory" (see Second Corinthians 3:10-11).
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him."
This was no ordinary cloud but rather the cloud of glory that revealed and concealed the presence of God himself, the glory cloud that had left the temple, but for whose return Israel waited with hope. It was the cloud the overshadowed the Blessed Virgin causing her to conceive Jesus in her womb. And it now revealed his divine sonship to his closest disciples.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
"Rise, and do not be afraid."
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
But for all of the intensity of the revelation the disciples were not yet to remain in their mountaintop experience with God. There was work yet to be done. Nor even could they immediately proclaim the experience to others. The time was not yet right. But the time would come. And Once "the Son of Man has been raised from the dead" they were to speak of it. And speak they did. Let us listen:
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Now, in light of this revelation, "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (see Second Corinthians 3:18). May we ever praise him.
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