EXPLORE THE TEXT

Transfigured (Matt. 17:1-3)

Application Point:

Pray that you would see the glory of Jesus.

1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John
and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun;
his clothes became as white as the light.
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
talking with him.

Ask:

• How do you imagine Peter, James, and John
  reacting to Jesus’s transfigured appearance?

Discuss:

(v. 1)

After six days is found in both Matthew and Mark 9:2.
Luke used “about eight days after” (Luke 9:28).
Approximately a week interval between this event and chapter 16.
also links the transfiguration to Jesus’s announcement
that some of His disciples would see His glory revealed in Matthew 16:28.

Peter, James, and John, made up the inner circle of Jesus’s disciples (Matt. 26:37; Mark 5:37; 13:3).
John is referred to as James’s brother (as in Matt. 10:2)
Most likely, Peter is mentioned first because of what Jesus said about him in Matthew 16:18.

Many have tried to identify the high mountain.

• Mount Tabor in southern Galilee is the traditional site of the transfiguration.
  It stands at 1,900 feet and could have been reached in a six-day walk from Caesarea Philippi.
  However, the Romans occupied a fort on this mountain’s peak, making it harder for Jesus and His disciples to be by themselves.
• Mount Hermon stands just northeast of Caesarea Philippi
  and is the highest mountain in the region at 9,232 feet.
  The high mountain could have been one of Mount Hermon’s foothills.
  However, when Jesus and the three apostles came down the mountain,
  they met a Jewish crowd, which would not be expected near Mount Hermon.
• Others have suggested Mount Meron,
  the highest mountain in Galilee at 3,926 feet.

The specific mountain on which Jesus’s transfiguration occurred is not important.
What happened there is important.

Highlight

according to Matthew, how did Jesus’s appearance changed?
Note that Jesus had said some of His disciples would experience His glory (Matt. 16:28).

Clarify:

Point out that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus.
explained their presence by summarizing content from the PSG:

“Moses, of course, was directly connected to the law given to Israel.
He was representative of the unique covenant relationship between God and Israel.
Elijah represented all the prophets of Israel that pointed to the coming Messiah.
Here were the representatives of the law and the prophets.
In the New Testament, the Scriptures were sometimes called ‘the Law and the Prophets’
(Matt. 7:12; Rom. 3:21).
Their purpose was to point to the coming Messiah.
With the presence of Moses and Elijah,
the affirmation of Jesus as the Messiah moved to an even higher level in the eyes of the three disciples.”

Ask:

• Where do we see Jesus’s glory revealed each day? (PSG, p. 40)