Luke 9:33, commentary and pictures

On the mount of transfiguration Peter, James and John saw Jesus in heavenly glory talking with Moses and Elijah, and as the two men departed Peter overwhelmed with joy and awe said it was good to be there and proposed making three shelters, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He misunderstood the scene to mean that Elijah had come to announce the Messiah's reign and that Christ's earthly kingdom was about to be established, so he wanted to remain on the mountain. He thus temporarily forgot Christ's repeated teaching that before the crown must come the cross and that salvation could be completed only through His suffering and death in Jerusalem, the very departure Moses and Elijah had come to talk with Him about. The glory was given to strengthen the disciples for the coming hour of darkness, agony and crucifixion, assuring them that Jesus is of a surety the Son of God and promised Messiah and that His shameful death was part of the divine plan of redemption. It fulfilled His promise that some standing with Him would see the kingdom of God come with power before tasting death, showing in miniature His second appearing, with Moses representing those raised from the dead and Elijah those living who will be translated without dying.

Transfiguration Setting and Purpose

Luke 9:33 belongs to the transfiguration, when Peter, James and John saw Jesus in heavenly glory with Moses and Elijah and heard the Father's voice proclaim Him the Son of God. John was permitted to witness it with the two other disciples, and James's presence there placed him among those brought into especially close relationship with Christ. After a whole day of teaching the people and healing the sick, Jesus at sunset led the three weary and fatigued disciples out of the noisy town across the fields up a steep mountain to find retirement from the crowds for meditation and prayer. He took them that they might watch and pray with Him, and He spent the night praying hour after hour with tears and importunity for strength to bear His own afflictions and for grace for His disciples to bear the terrible trials awaiting them. At first they united their prayers with His in sincere devotion, but as the hours dragged on they were overcome with weariness and loss of sleep and fell asleep even while trying to keep interest in the scene. The transfiguration followed that night Jesus spent in prayer as He prepared for important work and trial.

Christ's glory, usually veiled by His humanity, shone through it as fully as human beings could bear, lighting His face with divine glory and making His clothing white and glistening. The disciples saw as much of that glory as human beings could bear while He spoke with heavenly visitors, as God recognized His Son and raised Him above humanity to commune with Him. The Father identified Him as His beloved Son and commanded the disciples to hear Him. That proclamation was the second of three such voices from heaven, the first at Christ's baptism and the third just before His betrayal witnessing to Him as Son. In contrast, at the cross the voice from heaven was silent and no testimony in Christ's favor was heard while He suffered abuse and mockery alone at the hands of wicked men.

The revelation was given to strengthen the disciples for the coming hour of darkness, agony, humiliation and crucifixion. It gave added proof of His Messiahship and undeniable evidence that Jesus is of a surety the Son of God and the promised Messiah, and that His shameful death was part of the divine plan of redemption. God gave this strong proof and visible sign of His divinity and symbol of His kingdom so that in their bitter sorrow and disappointment at His crucifixion they would not entirely cast away their confidence but would endure, understand His mission, and know that His death was necessary for His glory and the Father's glory and so that the human race could share His glory. The glory was also given to strengthen Jesus Himself for His last dreadful sufferings, for He was glorified by His Father before His betrayal and crucifixion to prepare Him for His final sufferings. The glory they beheld and the voice they heard strengthened their faith that He was the Son of God, and they called it to mind while witnessing His trial to keep hoping He would manifest divine power and deliver Himself. The glory revealed at the transfiguration appeared again in the garden, and the disciples took it as a sign that God had taken Jesus in charge and that an angel was protecting Him from His enemies.

Moses and the translated Elijah were sent to pay homage to Jesus, bear God's glory to Him, and talk with Him about His coming sufferings and death. They were chosen instead of angels because as men who had themselves experienced the trials of earth they could converse with Him. Moses had been specially honored by God, speaking with Him face to face and receiving a revelation of God's glory unlike any given to another person.

Peter's Mistaken Proposal

Overwhelmed with joy and awe at seeing Jesus glorified and honored with Moses and Elijah, Peter spoke as they departed that it was good to be there and proposed making three shelters, one for Jesus and one for Moses and one for Elijah. His proposal was a rejoicing response to heavenly glory and a desire to stay on the mountain rather than leave it. The meeting with Christ in His glory was real spiritual closeness, yet such a season did not remove the need to face what lay below.

Peter misunderstood the scene to mean that Elijah had come according to prophecy to announce the Messiah's reign and that Christ's earthly kingdom and royal inauguration were about to be established. He therefore wanted to remain on the mountain and hold that glory as the beginning of the kingdom on earth. The scene did not mean that Christ's royal inauguration was at hand.

He believed the close communion with heaven on the mountain and the presence of Moses and Elijah would keep earthly power from disturbing them. He thought those heavenly messengers had come to protect Jesus, to establish His authority as king, and to spare Him from an earthly tribunal and death on the cross in Jerusalem. In this he temporarily forgot Jesus' repeated teaching that before the crown must come the cross and that salvation could be completed only through His suffering and death, which Moses and Elijah had in fact come to discuss with Him about His coming sufferings.

Such seasons of spiritual closeness and insight are real, but they do not remove the need to face conflict, temptation, hardship, opposition, and deception. Being with Him there calls disciples to go down from the mountain to the plain, where people enslaved by Satan need faith and prayer to set them free. That descent contrasts His glory with His humility in stooping to rescue the lost, as when He came down to meet and restore the suffering boy. It illustrates redemption, as the Divine One came down from the Father's glory to save the lost, and it foreshadows the disciples' work among people enslaved by Satan.

Kingdom Prophecy and Application

The transfiguration where Peter spoke fulfilled Jesus' promise that some standing with Him would not taste death till they saw the kingdom of God come with power. On the mountain they were given Christ's kingdom in miniature, with Jesus revealed in heavenly glory and the Father proclaiming Him the Son to be heard, pointing forward to His second appearing. In that miniature picture of the kingdom of the redeemed, Moses represented those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming. Elijah represented those who will then be living and will be changed from mortal to immortal and taken to heaven without dying.

The portion of Scripture to which the verse belongs is to be studied to get its meaning, so that hearts are in full harmony with Christ and intelligent in regard to His work and what He will do for those who follow on to know the Lord. It stands at a time when Christ was reflecting light upon the people and the time was nearly come when He should be taken from them, and He desired that they should remember all that He had said to them. Knowing His going forth as prepared as the morning means continual increase of light, which is needed because trials and persecutions will come everywhere. As His glory strengthened Jesus before His betrayal and crucifixion for His final sufferings, so before their final conflict His followers will grow up into Christ and share in His Spirit and glory, receiving strength from the latter rain to endure the time of trouble. The mount where Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were departing as Peter spoke serves as an image of a high calling to ascend through strength, endurance, toil, self-sacrifice, and renouncing worldly idols, and to serve in a holy temple clothed in knowledge and love.