About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. 34 While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” 36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
The Transfiguration occurred a short time after Jesus’ first prediction of his passion, death, and resurrection (Lk. 9:22-27). It stands in opposition to Jesus’ agony in the garden. The transfiguration gives a glimpse of the divine glory and majesty of Christ when he returns to his Father, a glory in which the faithful will share, while the agony in the garden shows the human Jesus at the lowest point of his earthly life. When Jesus predicted his passion, he almost always promised his resurrection, the glory of the risen Christ (Mk. 8:31; Mt. 17:23; Lk. 18:33).
Jesus took Peter, John, and James, three of His closest disciples, with Him up on the mountain to pray. While Jesus was in prayer, his appearance was transfigured; his face changed and shone with a radiant light (Mt. 17:2) and his clothes became a brilliant white. Two men, Moses and Elijah representing the Law and the Prophets, appeared in Glory and were speaking with Jesus who was also in his Divine Glory. The three disciples had fallen asleep as they did in the garden of Gethsemane (Mk. 14:33-37) but they became fully awake.
Jesus began to discuss his coming passion in Jerusalem with Moses and Elijah who were in their glory, their heavenly state with God. They discussed how Jesus would free mankind from bondage and slavery to sin through his death and resurrection and return to his Father (exodus). This encounter was to show that Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. It confirmed his authority and divine mission and that it was God’s will that Jesus suffers his passion (the suffering servant (Is. 52:13-53:12). The Transfiguration confirmed what Jesus had told his disciples eight days earlier (Lk. 9:22).
Peter, in a state of awe and not fully understanding the significance of the moment, suggested building shelters or "tabernacles" for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah as they were about to leave after the Transfiguration experience. They thought that the Father had sent Moses and Elijah to help Jesus fulfill their expectation of a conquering Messiah. A cloud covered them which symbolized the presence of God, and they were terrified. The divine presence spoke confirming that Jesus was His Son, the Chosen One. The Divine Presence spoke as he spoke with Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:3-9) about the Law of which Christ is now the fulfillment. The divine voice commanded the three disciples to obey Jesus’ teachings. The command was similar to the command of the divine voice at Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan (Lk. 3:22). When the voice stopped, Jesus was alone confirming that he was the Son of God with authority from God. The disciples were instructed to keep silent about the transfiguration until after Jesus' resurrection (Mt. 17:9).
Almighty God, your beloved Son fulfilled his mission to restore mankind to the glory you intended at creation. Grant us the grace to be spiritually attentive to your divine revelations and to listen to Christ’s teachings with open hearts and minds so that we may one day witness his divine glory. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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