And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
On a high mountain apart before Peter, James and John, Jesus was transfigured in shining glory and Moses and Elijah appeared in glory talking with Him. The Father sent them as men who had known human sorrow and trial to comfort and strengthen Jesus for His betrayal, crucifixion and suffering. Their talk centered on the death He would accomplish at Jerusalem for sin, righteousness and everlasting deliverance, and the glory that would follow His humiliation. Moses, raised from the dead, and Elijah, translated without seeing death, stand for the law and the prophets in accord with the gospel and for the risen and the translated saints in the coming kingdom. The scene is a miniature of Christ as King in the glory of His kingdom, given to assure the disciples that His shameful death belongs to the plan of redemption and to sustain their faith through His humiliation and crucifixion.
Mount Setting and Witnesses
Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain apart before Peter, James, and John, with His face shining as the sun and His raiment white as light, while Moses and Elias appeared talking with Him. A bright cloud overshadowed them, and from it came the voice declaring the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased and commanding Him to be heard, revealing Jesus in heavenly glory and proclaiming Him the Son of God. The disciples fell afraid at the voice, and afterward saw Jesus only.
On earth Christ had clothed His divinity with humanity and veiled His glory, but on the mount He let His divinity shine forth in all its glorious brightness and flash through His humanity. God recognized His Son and lifted Him above humanity to commune with Him in heavenly glory, and the disciples beheld as much of that glory as humanity could bear. What they saw was Christ glorified and a glimpse of the Saviour's future glory.
He had stepped aside from the three to pray with strong crying and tears, while the disciples, weary from traveling and teaching and the toilsome climb, fell asleep. He prayed for strength to bear the test in behalf of humanity, for His disciples that their faith would not fail in the hour of the power of darkness, and for a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, so that His kingdom would be revealed to human eyes, His disciples would be strengthened to behold it, and they would be comforted in His supreme agony by knowing He is of a surety the Son of God and His shameful death is part of the plan of redemption. The transfiguration followed a night spent in prayer, for the disciples were called up the mountain with Him before their mission, and communion with God prepared them for what lay ahead.
Only Peter, James, and John were permitted to witness Christ's glory on the mount. For John, as the disciple whom Jesus loved, this was a special token of Christ's friendship, confidence, and love.
Comfort for Jesus' Mission
The Father sent Moses and Elijah to the mount as bearers of heaven's light and glory to comfort and strengthen Jesus. They talked with Him about completing His mission, especially the suffering and death awaiting Him at Jerusalem. That visit was the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, and their words confirmed that His death belonged to the plan of redemption.
The center of their talk was the cross and the redemption His sacrifice would accomplish. They spoke of His sufferings and death and bore God's glory to Him. That redemption means reconciliation for sin and everlasting righteousness through His sacrifice. His humiliation brings everlasting deliverance to those who follow Him, with glory to follow.
God sent men rather than angels because Moses and Elijah had lived on earth and known human sorrow, suffering, and trial, so they could sympathize with Jesus in His earthly trial. Elijah as prophet to Israel had done a work in some degree similar to the Saviour's and thus represented Christ. Moses as leader of Israel had stood in Christ's place, communing with Him and following His directions. Of all the hosts around the throne they were therefore the fittest to minister to the Son of God.
On the mount Jesus was glorified through His Father to strengthen Him before betrayal and crucifixion. That glorifying came before His last dreadful sufferings to sustain Him through them.
Who Moses and Elijah Are
At the transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared to speak with Jesus about His sufferings and to bear God's glory to Him. Moses had dishonored God when he struck the rock in anger and took honor to himself, and for this he was barred from entering the promised land. He died, but the Son of God raised him before his body decayed and brought him to heaven. Elijah had been translated and did not see death, but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire.
Moses had been greatly honored by God above all others who ever lived. He talked with God face to face as a friend amid the thunder and lightnings of Sinai, and God revealed His glory to him as He had not done to anyone else. This appearing on the mount is the last scene of Moses' history revealed to mortal sight.
Moses is a type of Christ in receiving God's words and speaking them to the people, while Christ is the divine Leader who died to secure His people's entrance into the heavenly Canaan. His presence on the mount fulfilled his long-ago prayer, for he stood within the heritage of his people and bore witness to Christ, in whom the promises to Israel centered.
Kingdom in Miniature Prophecy
The mount gave Peter, James and John a glimpse of the future glory of Christ in His kingdom. In this Jesus fulfilled His promise that some standing with Him would not taste death till they saw Him coming in His kingdom. It was the fulfillment of the promise that some would see the kingdom of God come with power.
Moses represents those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming. Elijah, who was translated and taken to heaven without dying, represents those who will be alive on earth at that time. Those living ones will be changed from mortal to immortal and taken to heaven without seeing death. Moses had died and was raised from the grave by Christ, so he stands for those who will rise, while Elijah stands for those who will be alive and changed.
Together with Jesus they picture the future kingdom of glory in miniature. Christ appears as King in heaven's glory, Moses representing the risen saints, and Elijah representing the translated ones. It is a miniature picture of the kingdom of the redeemed. Christ opened these future scenes before His disciples to be borne in mind with His following words about His betrayal, death and work. The transfiguration was a visible sign of His divinity and a symbol of His kingdom, meant to help them understand that His death was necessary for His glory, the Father's glory, and the human race's sharing in that glory.
Law Prophets and Supremacy
The appearing of Moses and Elijah with Jesus is wonderfully significant because they stand for the law and the prophets. Their presence shows that the teachings of the Old Testament are not done away by the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Those teachings are fully in accord with the teachings of the New, and the new dispensation embraces the Old.
Moses and Elijah come as co-laborers with Christ who share His longing for the salvation of souls. They appear in glory as radiant heavenly messengers, favored ones of God recognized by the disciples. In that glory they honor the glorified Jesus and pay Him homage.
Much is learned from this appearing together with the bright cloud overshadowing them and the voice declaring the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased and commanding to hear Him. It shows Christ pre-eminent above every teacher and authority in the world. His every word is to be obeyed as law and life, and every son and daughter of Adam must give attention to Him for eternal interest.
Their presence together with God's voice declaring Jesus to be His Son gave Peter, James, and John clear evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah and Son of God. That declaration by the Father, joined to their homage in glory, confirmed His identity to the three disciples. It was given to strengthen them to endure His humiliation and crucifixion, for them to testify to after His resurrection when its significance could be understood.
Strength for the Disciples
The revelation on the mount of the divine glory of Jesus shining through His humanity was given to Peter, James and John to strengthen their faith for the trying experience before them in His humiliation, agony and crucifixion. It was meant to remove their doubts and to assure them that His shameful death was part of the plan of redemption, a visible sign of His divinity and a symbol of His kingdom showing that His death was necessary for His glory, the Father's glory, and the human race sharing in that glory. Moses and Elijah appeared in glory honoring the glorified Jesus, and with the heavenly voice their presence and homage confirmed to the three that He was the promised Messiah and Son of God, strengthening them to endure His humiliation and crucifixion. It was a glimpse of the Saviour's future glory fulfilling His promise that some standing with Him would not taste death till they saw Him coming in His kingdom, given so they could bear testimony of what they had seen to the other disciples after His resurrection, when its significance could be understood and their faith might be strengthened.
God meant the talk of Christ with Moses and Elijah about His coming sufferings at Jerusalem and the glory that would follow as light for Peter, James and John and as a share in Christ's self-sacrifice to strengthen their faith for His agony and death. Because they were overcome with sleep instead of watching and praying, they heard little of it and lost that blessing, slow of heart to believe and unappreciative of the treasure Heaven sought to give them. Had they stayed awake and received it, rays of hope from that night would have lighted the darkness of the cross and kept their faith from failing when Christ's predictions came true. When testing came and Peter denied his Lord before His enemies, that lost light would have sustained them.
The disciples recognized Moses and Elijah as honored and favored messengers from God appearing as radiant heavenly beings. They believed Elijah had come as prophecy foretold, so they mistakenly expected Christ's earthly kingdom to be established. Peter's offer to make shelters reflected his mistaken hope that Moses and Elijah would protect Jesus from the death awaiting Him in Jerusalem. He failed to remember and forgot that salvation must be accomplished through Jesus' suffering and death, which the vision does not remove.
The glory and the heavenly voice strengthened the disciples' faith that Jesus was the Son of God. They remembered this revelation when He was on trial, and it helped sustain their hope that He would reveal His power and deliver Himself. They remembered it again when He was in agony in Gethsemane and an angel came to Him, for glory had surrounded Him on the mount and God had spoken from the cloud. Seeing that same glory again reassured them that God had taken Him in charge and that an angel was present to protect Him.
Eyewitness Testimony and Voices
What Peter saw and heard of the kingdom on the mount makes him an eyewitness of Christ's majesty and not a follower of cunningly devised fables. This qualifies him to speak of God's purposes for the human race and to make known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There on the holy mount Christ received honor and glory from God the Father, and Peter heard the voice from heaven declaring, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. That eyewitness sight stands joined to the more sure word of prophecy, to be heeded as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns.
John, as the disciple whom Jesus loved, was one of only three permitted to witness Christ's glory on the mount, a special token of Christ's friendship, confidence, and love. James, Peter, and John were thus brought into close relationship with Christ at the transfiguration. James later understood more fully the meaning of Jesus' words about sharing His cup and baptism when he faced imprisonment and death.
Peter, James, and John had seen Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus, had seen His glory, and had heard the voice from heaven. That earlier sight of the heavenly visitors was part of their prior experience with Jesus. It explains why Christ chose these same three to accompany Him in Gethsemane.
The voice heard on the mount was the second of three occasions during Jesus' ministry when the Father's voice testified to Him, after His baptism and before the voice heard near the end of His ministry. The transfiguration was one of two occasions on which God's voice proclaimed Christ to be His Son, the other being Christ's baptism.
Following Glory to Service
The same glorification given to Jesus by His Father on the mount before His betrayal and crucifixion to strengthen Him for His last dreadful sufferings will come upon the members of His body as they approach their last conflict in the time of Jacob's trouble. As the third message swells to a loud cry with great power and glory attending the closing work, they will grow up into Christ and partake largely of His Spirit and of that glory. They will be revived and strengthened by the latter rain to pass through the time of trouble. Their faces will shine with the glory of the light attending the third angel.
Those who behold His glory revealed on the mount are called to go down again to the valley and the plain, where people enslaved by Satan and in need of deliverance wait for the help of faith and prayer to set them free. To them comes the word to arise and shine, and to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death for the saving of humanity. Nearness to Christ there, beholding His beauty as the chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely until the soul becomes radiant with the glory of the Lord risen upon it, belongs to those who drink most deeply of His self-sacrificing love that seeks not its own.
The mount images a high spiritual calling of duty, strength, endurance, toil, self-sacrifice, and turning from the idols the world worships. Entry into holy service is pictured as wearing the shining garments of knowledge and love. Jesus in the bright raiment of the mount stands in contrast to the humble garments in which He walked the hills and valleys of Palestine. Yet He still comes to believers sometimes in that transfigured brightness, and they are to receive Him by faith with delight when He does, finding light and grace and joy and quickened strength to do the will of God.
On a high mountain apart before Peter, James and John, Jesus was transfigured in shining glory and Moses and Elijah appeared in glory talking with Him. The Father sent them as men who had known human sorrow and trial to comfort and strengthen Jesus for His betrayal, crucifixion and suffering. Their talk centered on the death He would accomplish at Jerusalem for sin, righteousness and everlasting deliverance, and the glory that would follow His humiliation. Moses, raised from the dead, and Elijah, translated without seeing death, stand for the law and the prophets in accord with the gospel and for the risen and the translated saints in the coming kingdom. The scene is a miniature of Christ as King in the glory of His kingdom, given to assure the disciples that His shameful death belongs to the plan of redemption and to sustain their faith through His humiliation and crucifixion.
Mount Setting and Witnesses
Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain apart before Peter, James, and John, with His face shining as the sun and His raiment white as light, while Moses and Elias appeared talking with Him. A bright cloud overshadowed them, and from it came the voice declaring the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased and commanding Him to be heard, revealing Jesus in heavenly glory and proclaiming Him the Son of God. The disciples fell afraid at the voice, and afterward saw Jesus only.
On earth Christ had clothed His divinity with humanity and veiled His glory, but on the mount He let His divinity shine forth in all its glorious brightness and flash through His humanity. God recognized His Son and lifted Him above humanity to commune with Him in heavenly glory, and the disciples beheld as much of that glory as humanity could bear. What they saw was Christ glorified and a glimpse of the Saviour's future glory.
He had stepped aside from the three to pray with strong crying and tears, while the disciples, weary from traveling and teaching and the toilsome climb, fell asleep. He prayed for strength to bear the test in behalf of humanity, for His disciples that their faith would not fail in the hour of the power of darkness, and for a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, so that His kingdom would be revealed to human eyes, His disciples would be strengthened to behold it, and they would be comforted in His supreme agony by knowing He is of a surety the Son of God and His shameful death is part of the plan of redemption. The transfiguration followed a night spent in prayer, for the disciples were called up the mountain with Him before their mission, and communion with God prepared them for what lay ahead.
Only Peter, James, and John were permitted to witness Christ's glory on the mount. For John, as the disciple whom Jesus loved, this was a special token of Christ's friendship, confidence, and love.
Comfort for Jesus' Mission
The Father sent Moses and Elijah to the mount as bearers of heaven's light and glory to comfort and strengthen Jesus. They talked with Him about completing His mission, especially the suffering and death awaiting Him at Jerusalem. That visit was the Father's answer to Jesus' prayer, and their words confirmed that His death belonged to the plan of redemption.
The center of their talk was the cross and the redemption His sacrifice would accomplish. They spoke of His sufferings and death and bore God's glory to Him. That redemption means reconciliation for sin and everlasting righteousness through His sacrifice. His humiliation brings everlasting deliverance to those who follow Him, with glory to follow.
God sent men rather than angels because Moses and Elijah had lived on earth and known human sorrow, suffering, and trial, so they could sympathize with Jesus in His earthly trial. Elijah as prophet to Israel had done a work in some degree similar to the Saviour's and thus represented Christ. Moses as leader of Israel had stood in Christ's place, communing with Him and following His directions. Of all the hosts around the throne they were therefore the fittest to minister to the Son of God.
On the mount Jesus was glorified through His Father to strengthen Him before betrayal and crucifixion. That glorifying came before His last dreadful sufferings to sustain Him through them.
Who Moses and Elijah Are
At the transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared to speak with Jesus about His sufferings and to bear God's glory to Him. Moses had dishonored God when he struck the rock in anger and took honor to himself, and for this he was barred from entering the promised land. He died, but the Son of God raised him before his body decayed and brought him to heaven. Elijah had been translated and did not see death, but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire.
Moses had been greatly honored by God above all others who ever lived. He talked with God face to face as a friend amid the thunder and lightnings of Sinai, and God revealed His glory to him as He had not done to anyone else. This appearing on the mount is the last scene of Moses' history revealed to mortal sight.
Moses is a type of Christ in receiving God's words and speaking them to the people, while Christ is the divine Leader who died to secure His people's entrance into the heavenly Canaan. His presence on the mount fulfilled his long-ago prayer, for he stood within the heritage of his people and bore witness to Christ, in whom the promises to Israel centered.
Kingdom in Miniature Prophecy
The mount gave Peter, James and John a glimpse of the future glory of Christ in His kingdom. In this Jesus fulfilled His promise that some standing with Him would not taste death till they saw Him coming in His kingdom. It was the fulfillment of the promise that some would see the kingdom of God come with power.
Moses represents those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming. Elijah, who was translated and taken to heaven without dying, represents those who will be alive on earth at that time. Those living ones will be changed from mortal to immortal and taken to heaven without seeing death. Moses had died and was raised from the grave by Christ, so he stands for those who will rise, while Elijah stands for those who will be alive and changed.
Together with Jesus they picture the future kingdom of glory in miniature. Christ appears as King in heaven's glory, Moses representing the risen saints, and Elijah representing the translated ones. It is a miniature picture of the kingdom of the redeemed. Christ opened these future scenes before His disciples to be borne in mind with His following words about His betrayal, death and work. The transfiguration was a visible sign of His divinity and a symbol of His kingdom, meant to help them understand that His death was necessary for His glory, the Father's glory, and the human race's sharing in that glory.
Law Prophets and Supremacy
The appearing of Moses and Elijah with Jesus is wonderfully significant because they stand for the law and the prophets. Their presence shows that the teachings of the Old Testament are not done away by the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Those teachings are fully in accord with the teachings of the New, and the new dispensation embraces the Old.
Moses and Elijah come as co-laborers with Christ who share His longing for the salvation of souls. They appear in glory as radiant heavenly messengers, favored ones of God recognized by the disciples. In that glory they honor the glorified Jesus and pay Him homage.
Much is learned from this appearing together with the bright cloud overshadowing them and the voice declaring the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased and commanding to hear Him. It shows Christ pre-eminent above every teacher and authority in the world. His every word is to be obeyed as law and life, and every son and daughter of Adam must give attention to Him for eternal interest.
Their presence together with God's voice declaring Jesus to be His Son gave Peter, James, and John clear evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah and Son of God. That declaration by the Father, joined to their homage in glory, confirmed His identity to the three disciples. It was given to strengthen them to endure His humiliation and crucifixion, for them to testify to after His resurrection when its significance could be understood.
Strength for the Disciples
The revelation on the mount of the divine glory of Jesus shining through His humanity was given to Peter, James and John to strengthen their faith for the trying experience before them in His humiliation, agony and crucifixion. It was meant to remove their doubts and to assure them that His shameful death was part of the plan of redemption, a visible sign of His divinity and a symbol of His kingdom showing that His death was necessary for His glory, the Father's glory, and the human race sharing in that glory. Moses and Elijah appeared in glory honoring the glorified Jesus, and with the heavenly voice their presence and homage confirmed to the three that He was the promised Messiah and Son of God, strengthening them to endure His humiliation and crucifixion. It was a glimpse of the Saviour's future glory fulfilling His promise that some standing with Him would not taste death till they saw Him coming in His kingdom, given so they could bear testimony of what they had seen to the other disciples after His resurrection, when its significance could be understood and their faith might be strengthened.
God meant the talk of Christ with Moses and Elijah about His coming sufferings at Jerusalem and the glory that would follow as light for Peter, James and John and as a share in Christ's self-sacrifice to strengthen their faith for His agony and death. Because they were overcome with sleep instead of watching and praying, they heard little of it and lost that blessing, slow of heart to believe and unappreciative of the treasure Heaven sought to give them. Had they stayed awake and received it, rays of hope from that night would have lighted the darkness of the cross and kept their faith from failing when Christ's predictions came true. When testing came and Peter denied his Lord before His enemies, that lost light would have sustained them.
The disciples recognized Moses and Elijah as honored and favored messengers from God appearing as radiant heavenly beings. They believed Elijah had come as prophecy foretold, so they mistakenly expected Christ's earthly kingdom to be established. Peter's offer to make shelters reflected his mistaken hope that Moses and Elijah would protect Jesus from the death awaiting Him in Jerusalem. He failed to remember and forgot that salvation must be accomplished through Jesus' suffering and death, which the vision does not remove.
The glory and the heavenly voice strengthened the disciples' faith that Jesus was the Son of God. They remembered this revelation when He was on trial, and it helped sustain their hope that He would reveal His power and deliver Himself. They remembered it again when He was in agony in Gethsemane and an angel came to Him, for glory had surrounded Him on the mount and God had spoken from the cloud. Seeing that same glory again reassured them that God had taken Him in charge and that an angel was present to protect Him.
Eyewitness Testimony and Voices
What Peter saw and heard of the kingdom on the mount makes him an eyewitness of Christ's majesty and not a follower of cunningly devised fables. This qualifies him to speak of God's purposes for the human race and to make known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There on the holy mount Christ received honor and glory from God the Father, and Peter heard the voice from heaven declaring, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. That eyewitness sight stands joined to the more sure word of prophecy, to be heeded as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns.
John, as the disciple whom Jesus loved, was one of only three permitted to witness Christ's glory on the mount, a special token of Christ's friendship, confidence, and love. James, Peter, and John were thus brought into close relationship with Christ at the transfiguration. James later understood more fully the meaning of Jesus' words about sharing His cup and baptism when he faced imprisonment and death.
Peter, James, and John had seen Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus, had seen His glory, and had heard the voice from heaven. That earlier sight of the heavenly visitors was part of their prior experience with Jesus. It explains why Christ chose these same three to accompany Him in Gethsemane.
The voice heard on the mount was the second of three occasions during Jesus' ministry when the Father's voice testified to Him, after His baptism and before the voice heard near the end of His ministry. The transfiguration was one of two occasions on which God's voice proclaimed Christ to be His Son, the other being Christ's baptism.
Following Glory to Service
The same glorification given to Jesus by His Father on the mount before His betrayal and crucifixion to strengthen Him for His last dreadful sufferings will come upon the members of His body as they approach their last conflict in the time of Jacob's trouble. As the third message swells to a loud cry with great power and glory attending the closing work, they will grow up into Christ and partake largely of His Spirit and of that glory. They will be revived and strengthened by the latter rain to pass through the time of trouble. Their faces will shine with the glory of the light attending the third angel.
Those who behold His glory revealed on the mount are called to go down again to the valley and the plain, where people enslaved by Satan and in need of deliverance wait for the help of faith and prayer to set them free. To them comes the word to arise and shine, and to live and labor and sacrifice even unto death for the saving of humanity. Nearness to Christ there, beholding His beauty as the chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely until the soul becomes radiant with the glory of the Lord risen upon it, belongs to those who drink most deeply of His self-sacrificing love that seeks not its own.
The mount images a high spiritual calling of duty, strength, endurance, toil, self-sacrifice, and turning from the idols the world worships. Entry into holy service is pictured as wearing the shining garments of knowledge and love. Jesus in the bright raiment of the mount stands in contrast to the humble garments in which He walked the hills and valleys of Palestine. Yet He still comes to believers sometimes in that transfigured brightness, and they are to receive Him by faith with delight when He does, finding light and grace and joy and quickened strength to do the will of God.