Matthew 17:5, commentary and pictures

On the mount with Peter, James and John alone, while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud of divine glory overshadowed them and the Father's voice spoke out of it proclaiming Jesus to be His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. The added command sets Jesus above every teacher and authority as the divinely appointed teacher whose words are law and life to be heard, received and obeyed. The glory and voice gave sure evidence that He is the Son of God and promised Messiah, and confirmed that His approaching shameful death belonged to the plan of redemption. It was given to strengthen the three disciples and through them the others so their faith would not fail in His humiliation, agony and crucifixion, and it also strengthened Jesus Himself for His betrayal and last sufferings. What they saw was Christ's kingdom in miniature and a glimpse of His future glory, with Moses representing those raised from the dead and Elijah those translated alive at His second coming.

Transfiguration Scene Described

The verse occurs on the mount before Peter, James and John alone, who were given the privilege of seeing heaven as if on earth. There the Majesty of heaven and King of glory who had clothed His divinity with humanity let His divinity shine forth through His humanity, His humanity hidden for a time by overpowering glory. His face shone as the sun in serene shining light and His garments became white as snow and glittering like the noon-day sun in God-like majesty, as much of His glory as humanity could bear. Moses and Elijah appeared as heavenly visitants talking with Christ about the completion of His mission and especially His coming suffering and death at Jerusalem, sent to bring heaven's glory to comfort Him. They were chosen and delegated as fittest of all around God's throne to minister to the Son of God because as men they had lived on earth and known earthly sorrow, suffering and trial and could sympathize with Jesus in His earthly trial. Moses had stood in the place of Christ as leader of Israel, talking with God face to face amid the thunder and lightnings of Sinai and communing with Christ and following His directions, and Elijah, who did not see death but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, had served as prophet to Israel with work similar to the Saviour's.

While Peter was still speaking and proposing three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, overwhelmed with rapture and amazement, a bright cloud overshadowed them and the voice spoke out of the cloud. The cloud was an awful cloud of divine glory, brighter than the cloud that went before the tribes of Israel in the wilderness. The voice came in terrible majesty and pealed in accents of majesty that made the mount tremble as if shaken from its foundation, and its grandeur oppressed the disciples' senses so they could not endure it. When they heard it they fell smitten to the ground on their faces sore afraid and remained there not daring to look up until Jesus came near, touched them and dispelled their fears with His familiar cheering voice saying arise and be not afraid, after which the heavenly glory had passed away, Moses and Elijah were gone, and when they lifted their eyes they saw no one except Jesus only.

The ascent followed a night of prayer, and the disciples were called up the mountain with Jesus before going forth on their mission. John, James and Peter were permitted to witness His glorified state as chief witnesses, and for John in particular this permission was a token of Christ's confidence and love and of the pre-eminent friendship he enjoyed. Because they were overcome with sleep they heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers, and by failing to watch and pray they did not receive the light God desired to give of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. They were slow of heart to believe and little appreciative of the treasure Heaven sought to give, and lost the blessings that sharing His self-sacrifice would have brought them. Therefore when His predictions came to pass they failed to endure the proving, Peter denied his Lord before His enemies and they lost faith as they beheld the Son of God dying on the cross, where some rays of hope from the mountain would have lighted the darkness and sustained their faith.

Father's Voice Declared

The voice out of the bright cloud is God the Father Himself speaking in public proclamation of Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. It was uttered on the mount before Peter, James and John alone, while Peter was still proposing three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and at its sound the disciples fell on their faces sore afraid. By that voice the Father lifted Jesus above humanity to commune with Him, confirming His divinity, Messiahship and majesty as Head and Leader of the church. The same declaration gives the Father's approval to Jesus and shows that surrender in loving obedience pleases Him. Although truth came from heaven in Christ, its heavenly glory did not compel all to receive or worship Him.

The added command to hear Him establishes Jesus above every teacher and authority as the divinely appointed teacher whose words reveal saving truth. Every word He speaks is to be heard, received and obeyed as law and life. Hearing Him means His life alone is the guide, with His life and attributes woven into all life and all works, and all who become members of the heavenly family have a philosophy and faith founded on true faith in Jesus Christ. The command calls for placing oneself where the Lord can come close to manifest His presence, including heed to what heaven sees in the house on the Sabbath day.

Strength Given for Suffering

The shining on the mountain gave proof that could not be doubted that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah, and it was meant to take away unbelief and lingering doubt. The voice from heaven, together with Moses and Elijah honoring Him, spoke with fearful majesty to settle the disciples in that certainty. This revelation of divine glory confirmed His divinity and authority and His majesty as Messiah.

It confirmed at the same time that His approaching shameful death belonged to the plan of redemption. That death was necessary for His glory and for the human race to share in that glory, a truth the disciples struggled to accept and needed a visible sign of His divinity to understand. So the glory assured them that He was truly God's Son and that His death was God's appointed way.

It was given to strengthen the faith of Peter, James and John for the trying scenes of His humiliation, agony, betrayal, trial and crucifixion, to comfort them in their coming trial and keep their faith from failing. Their sorrow and disappointment at the cross were not to destroy their confidence. The glimpse of the Saviour's future glory in His kingdom was also to equip them to bear testimony of what they had seen and heard, so that through them the faith of the other disciples would be strengthened.

The Father's glorifying strengthened Jesus Himself before His betrayal and crucifixion, preparing Him for His last dreadful sufferings. After He rose from the dead, the testimony of the three to what they had seen and heard on the mount was to confirm that He is the Son of God.

Kingdom Seen in Miniature

The mount fulfilled the promise that some standing with Jesus would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God come with power, for Peter, James and John saw Christ's kingdom in miniature when His divinity, clothed with humanity, shone forth in all its glorious brightness and He appeared in heaven's glory as Majesty of heaven and King of glory. The bright cloud overshadowed them while Peter was still proposing three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and out of the cloud came the Father's declaration of Jesus as beloved Son with the command to hear Him, spoken in such terrible majesty that the disciples fell on their faces sore afraid. That glimpse of the Saviour's future glory in His kingdom, with Moses and Elijah present as co-laborers sharing His longing for the salvation of souls, was given to strengthen the three to endure the test and trial of faith in the trying scenes of His humiliation and crucifixion and to bear testimony by which the faith of the others also would be strengthened. Moses on the mount represented those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming, and Elijah represented those living then who will be changed from mortal to immortal and translated to heaven without dying. Together they formed a miniature representation of the kingdom of the redeemed gathered with their glorified Lord.

The scene, and especially the bright cloud and voice from it, impresses the church with Christ's glory as its head and leader and points forward to the future kingdom of glory after the resurrection and change to immortality. The presence of Moses and Elijah as the law and the prophets proves that the teachings of the Old Testament are not done away by the preaching of the gospel of Christ but are fully in accord with the New, with the new dispensation embracing the Old. As Jesus was glorified by His Father before betrayal and crucifixion to strengthen Him for His last dreadful sufferings, so that glorifying is a pattern for the members of His body as they approach their last conflict, the time of Jacob's trouble. They grow up into Christ and partake largely of His Spirit, and as the third message swells to a loud cry with great power and glory attending the closing work, the faithful partake of that glory as the latter rain reviving and strengthening them to pass through the time of trouble, with their faces shining with the glory of the light attending the third angel.

Linked Testimonies in Scripture

The voice from the bright cloud on the mount was the second of three times the Father spoke aloud in public testimony to Jesus, heard first at His baptism, then at His transfiguration, and again near the close of His ministry shortly before His betrayal. That final testimony affirmed His mission, confirmed that He had spoken the truth, and declared Him to be the Son of God and the Messiah whom Israel had rejected. The transfiguration voice itself proclaimed Him to be the Son of God and His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. In stark contrast, when He hung on the cross amid abuse and mockery, no voice from heaven spoke in His favor, and He suffered alone.

The disciples later remembered that cloud and voice and surrounding glory when the same divine presence appeared in Gethsemane. Seeing heavenly glory revealed again with an angel beside Jesus, they recognized it as the glory of the transfiguration. It reassured them that God had taken Jesus in charge and had sent a mighty angel to protect Him. From that mountain of radiant heavenly glory where He was proclaimed God's Son, Jesus descended directly to free the demon-possessed, suffering boy from Satan's power. The mountain scene thus reveals both His glory and the divine source of His mission of redemption to save.

On that holy mount Peter heard with his own ears the Father's voice from the excellent glory giving honor and glory to Jesus and confirming His majesty. He stood there as an eyewitness of His majesty, declaring Him the loved Son who delights the Father. That eyewitness hearing proves the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is truth and not made-up stories. It stands beside the more sure word of prophecy spoken by holy men as the Holy Ghost moved them.

Call to Hear and Follow

The Father's declaration identifies Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased and commands all to hear Him, setting Christ above every teacher and authority so that every word He speaks is to be obeyed as law and life. He is sent as humanity's example, and His words and way are the standard to follow and the test by which human opinions and customs must be tried. Even opinions urged by respected or seemingly good people must not displace the truth revealed in God's word or the truth found in Jesus.

To hear Him means His life alone is to be the guide, with His life and character and attributes woven into all life and all works. All who become members of the heavenly family have a philosophy and faith founded on true faith in Jesus Christ. That hearing calls for placing oneself where the Lord can come close to manifest His presence, including heed to what angels see in the house on the Sabbath day.

Truth came from heaven in Christ, yet its heavenly glory did not make everyone receive or worship Him. Surrendering to God's way in loving obedience pleases Him, for He has approved Jesus as His beloved Son and commands people to listen to Him. Jesus Himself repeats the Father's words and summons the world to listen with submissive, reverent attention, for His words are light and life to all who receive them.

Amid the cloud God's voice is heard in times of trial, directing people to hear Him and look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, who is able and willing to save completely all who come to God through Him. His voice brings peace, and His correction steers people away from evil toward good. Trials are not proof that something strange has happened, for God uses them as merciful correction to turn people from evil toward good, and the refining fire purifies those who claim to be Christians so they can offer righteousness to God.

To behold Christ's glory on the mount is not an end in itself, for those who have seen it are to carry faith and prayer into the valley where demon-possessed people need help and deliverance. Beholding His beauty as the chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely causes the glory of the Lord to rise upon the spirit and makes the soul radiant in His presence. Those who have stood with Christ there are sent to arise and shine and to go down from the mount to the plain, where souls enslaved by Satan are waiting for the word of faith and prayer to set them free. Standing nearest to Christ belongs to those who on earth have drunk most deeply of His self-sacrificing love that lives and labors and sacrifices even unto death for the saving of humanity.

The mount is the height appointed to be ascended, a glorious vista of duties that demands strength and endurance in all the frame, fervor and celestial enthusiasm in all the faculties, toil and self-sacrifice, and the burning of the idols the world worships. The ascent is a summons to the services of a holy Temple, in whose very vestibule the one ascending must enrobe in the shining garments of Knowledge and Love.