2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
Question 1
What kinds of things do you associate with the word bright?
Question 2
Have you ever said the wrong thing because you didn’t know what to say?
Our society places great emphasis on being clean. This is especially true when it comes to clothing – it is not acceptable to wear dirty clothes. That’s why there are so many ads on TV trying to sell laundry powder – they all promise to make your clothes (and especially your white clothes) look shiny. The implication is that shiny clothes make you a better person.
But with Jesus, the opposite happens. He wants to show the three disciples closest to him something more about himself. It’s not his clothes that make him shine; His clothes shine because of perfection. These three were going to lead the Church in the future, and so Jesus prepares them by showing them a little bit of his greatness.
The disciples see Jesus talking to two men who had done great things in God’s name. By the hand of Moses Israel accepted the law, and Elijah was seen as the greatest prophet. And this is where they are, having a conversation with Jesus.
Unsurprisingly, the disciples didn’t know what to say. But Peter makes a mistake by suggesting that Jesus, Moses and Elias all deserve the same amount of honour. So God the Father speaks saying that Jesus alone is his Son and that they need to listen to Him.
What would show once and for all that Jesus was telling the truth about himself would be his resurrection from death. But the disciples couldn’t understand what he meant. They show their lack of understanding when asking about Elijah. He had prophesied that God would send Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah. Jesus’ answer is that John the Baptist has become the spirit and strength of Elijah by doing that work and that they have not understood that part of Scripture, nor the parts that say that the Messiah must suffer. Have you understood why Jesus had to suffer for you?
Question 3
What do we learn about Jesus here?
Question 4
What assurance does Jesus’ resurrection give us?
Pray
to want to see more of Jesus’ glory, to better understand his word and to listen carefully to it.
