Luke 9:36
And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
When the cloud and the voice had passed, Moses and Elijah disappeared and Jesus was left alone with the disciples, coming near to them in His familiar voice to touch and reassure them in their fear, and they kept what they had seen to themselves and told no one in those days.
The witnesses were Peter, James and John, the three favored disciples brought into closest relationship with Christ to be His chief witnesses.
The shining of His veiled divinity through His humanity, with the Father's voice from the excellent glory declaring Him the beloved Son to be heard, was given to assure them that He was truly the Son of God and the promised Messiah and to keep their faith from failing in the sorrow and trial of His humiliation, death and crucifixion as part of God's plan of redemption.
It fulfilled His promise that some standing with Him would see the kingdom of God come with power, showing that kingdom in miniature with Moses representing those to be raised from the dead and Elijah representing those to be living and translated without seeing death at Christ's second coming.
That glorification also strengthened Jesus Himself for His betrayal, crucifixion and last dreadful sufferings ahead, and beholding His glory above leads into service below, stooping from the mount to save the lost enslaved by Satan.
Setting on the Mount
After the cloud lifted and the voice fell silent, Moses and Elijah vanished and Jesus was left alone with the disciples on the mountain. The heavenly glory had passed, and Jesus came near to the fearful disciples, touched them, and reassured them in His familiar voice. That mountain encounter with Jesus belonged to the communion that came before the disciples' later mission and prepared them for their work. Beholding Christ's glory on the mount then leads into service among people in need below, for those who have stood with Christ are to carry faith and prayer to people enslaved by Satan.
They kept what they had seen to themselves at that time and told no one in those days what they had witnessed. The witnesses were the three favored disciples Peter, James, and John, brought into the closest relationship with Christ to be His chief witnesses after His death. John was permitted to witness Christ's glory on the mount as one of those three. James's place among the three connects with his later understanding of Jesus' words about sharing His cup and baptism when he faced imprisonment and death.
Moses and Elijah were sent to talk with Jesus about His sufferings and death and to be bearers of God's glory to Him. They were chosen instead of angels because they had experience in earth's trials. Elijah had been translated, and Moses had been greatly honored by God, privileged to talk with God face to face as a man speaks with a friend, with God's excellent glory revealed to him as to no other. The disciples saw Christ's glory and heard the heavenly voice in fearful majesty testify to His divine character, declaring Jesus to be God's beloved Son to be heard, with His face lighted up with divine glory and His raiment white and glistening.
Peter proposed shelters for Jesus and the two heavenly messengers because he thought Elijah's appearance meant Christ's earthly kingdom was about to be established. He mistakenly thought they had come to protect Jesus from the death awaiting Him in Jerusalem. He forgot that Jesus' suffering and death were necessary to complete the plan of salvation.
Assurance and Prophecy
On the mountain the divine glory veiled by His humanity shone through, as much as human beings could bear, and God glorified Him and raised Him above humanity to commune with Him. His face was lighted up with divine glory and His raiment white and glistening, while the voice of God in fearful majesty from the excellent glory declared Him to be the beloved Son to be heard. What the three saw with their eyes and heard with their ears is beyond human comprehension and leaves no room for doubt that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Glorious ones from the courts of heaven paid Him homage, and this acknowledged glory stands set against His life as the patient, meek and lowly Teacher who for nearly three years wandered from city to city as a homeless Man of sorrows with no place to rest.
The manifestation of divinity was given to assure the disciples that Jesus was truly the Son of God, to remove their doubts and comfort them. It was meant to keep their faith from failing in the bitter sorrow and disappointment and fear and trial of His humiliation and death and crucifixion, so that they would not entirely cast away their confidence. It showed that His shameful death was part of God's plan of redemption, concerning which Moses and Elijah spoke with Him. Even when His trial made them doubt and fear, the divine voice and glory strengthened their faith that He was the Son of God.
The transfiguration fulfilled Jesus' promise that some standing with Him would not see death until they saw the kingdom of God come with power. That fulfillment showed the kingdom of Christ in miniature, with Jesus clothed with the glory of heaven and proclaimed by the Father's voice to be the Son of God. In that miniature picture of the kingdom of the redeemed at Christ's second coming and second advent, Moses represented those who will be raised from the dead. Elijah represented those who will be living on earth then and be changed from mortal to immortal and translated to heaven without seeing death or dying.
The glorification by the Father, declaring that the Son of man is glorified and God is glorified in Him, strengthened Jesus Himself for His betrayal and crucifixion and last dreadful sufferings ahead. He had withdrawn to the mountain for prayer before important work, and the scene prepared Him for the trials ahead. By it Christ gave the disciples a visible token of His divinity and a symbol of His kingdom, to strengthen their faith and help them understand His mission. His death was necessary for His glory and the Father's glory and the human race's sharing in that glory.
Remembrance and Mission
This portion is to be studied to get its meaning so that the heart is 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. His going forth is prepared as the morning, which means there is a continual increase of light. Christ was in the world reflecting light upon the people as the time was nearly come when He should be taken from them, and He desired His disciples to remember all that He had said to them in preparation for a coming time of trials and persecutions everywhere.
The mountain encounter when Jesus was found alone after the voice belongs to the communion that preceded the disciples' later mission and prepared them for their work. Beholding Christ's glory on the mount does not end in moments of spiritual illumination alone but leads into service among people in need below. Soon afterward He descended from the mountain and restored the demon-oppressed boy, showing the Divine One stooping from the Father's glory to save the lost. Those who have stood with Christ are to carry faith and prayer to people enslaved by Satan.
James was among the three disciples who witnessed Jesus thus, and that place connects with his later understanding of Jesus' words about sharing His cup and baptism when he faced imprisonment and death. The glory shown when Jesus was glorified by His Father and strengthened before His betrayal and crucifixion anticipates the glory God's faithful people will share as they face their final conflict. Strengthened by the latter rain and the power attending the closing work, they will reflect the light accompanying the third angel's message.