The Transfiguration
Matthew 16:28 – 17:9
In Matthew 17, we have what is called the transfiguration. The account records three disciples seeing Jesus’ appearance changed into His glorified form right before their very eyes. Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and the voice of God the Father sounds forth. It was a momentous event in Jesus’ life as well as in the lives of Peter, James, and John. All three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—record this amazing occurrence (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:28-36). Peter himself refers to it in his second letter (2 Peter 1:16-18). John doesn’t record the incident in his Gospel, but he does allude to it when he writes, “we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Plus, John describes his vision of the risen, glorified, and transfigured Christ later in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:13-16).
We must not let the chapter division get in the way of the context. Remember that after Peter confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16) and Jesus promised to build His church (Matt. 16:18-20), the Lord began to explain the necessity of His suffering, death, and resurrection (Matt. 16:21). Stunned by this ominous image, Peter reacted by taking Jesus aside and rebuking Him (Matt. 16:22). But Jesus, determined to fulfill the Father’s purpose, rebuked Peter (Matt. 16:23).
Jesus then taught His disciples the necessity of the cross for them as well, saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24). I’m sure this also puzzled the disciples who still envisioned the kingdom arriving with earthly grandeur. So, Jesus pointed to the certainty of future glory in His kingdom, saying, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). The whole New Testament confirms that Jesus will come again in glory to judge men and consummate His kingdom.
Putting this all together, here is Jesus—affirmed to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” God in human flesh, destined to be revealed as the glorious King of kings and Lord of lords. But He also must first suffer for sinners, die on the cross, and be raised on the third day. And He insists that anyone who would come after Him must follow Him to suffering and death—to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. They are to be willing to do this, trusting that the Son of Man will come to earth again one day, in the glory of His Father, and will reward each according to their works.
That brings us up to today’s passage. It’s important that we remember the context, so we begin with Matthew 16:28, which I spoke about briefly at the end of our last lesson. But we need to take a closer look at it today because it ties together what Jesus just said in Matthew 16 with what Jesus does in Matthew 17. Everything in this passage is there to show the disciples, and us, who Jesus is and what He has come to do. First, I want us to …
1. Consider Christ’s Kingdom (Matt. 16:28).
After Jesus spoke to His disciples about following Him in His suffering and assured them of His coming glory and judgment, then Jesus made another startling statement in Matthew 16:28, “Assuredly,” or literally, “Amen,” “I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” This verse has created quite the controversy over the years because Jesus had just made a statement, a prophecy, about His second coming. He said that He “will come in the glory of His Father with His angels” and that He will come as the judge to “reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). Therefore, if Matthew 16:28 is talking about the same event, Jesus seems to be saying that some of the disciples who were with Him when He said this will still be alive when He returns.
The problem is that, obviously, everyone who was with Christ on that day has died many centuries ago, and Christ has not returned in glory to judge the world. So, what did Jesus mean when He said, “there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom”? Some have foolishly claimed that Jesus was mistaken. Others think that Jesus was referring to His resurrection, or His ascension, or His giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or His judging the nation of Israel in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., or even the expansion of the church in this age. Certainly in all these interpretations (except the one that says Jesus made a mistake), Christ’s kingdom was manifested in powerful ways in those events.
However, I think the answer is much simpler and is indicated by the context. In each of the synoptic Gospels, the next event immediately after Jesus gives this promise is the transfiguration. Look at Matthew 17:1, “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves.” (cf. Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27). Jesus takes “some standing” there (three of them in particular), and they “see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” This promise from our Lord was fulfilled only six days after He gave it. Peter, James, and John got a glimpse of the glorified Christ in His royal majesty. In fact, the word “kingdom” can be translated “kingship or royal power”[i] These disciples saw a vision of Jesus’ kingly majesty. It was a preview of Christ’s majestic glory and royal splendor that all will see when Jesus comes again.
Many years after this event, Peter writes about their experience on that mountain in 2 Peter 1. To urge his fellow Christians to keep following Jesus even through suffering and death, Peter reminds them that he saw the power, glory, and majesty of Christ—the same majesty that will be His when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Listen to what Peter testifies:
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. (2 Pet. 1:16-18).
Jesus’ transfiguration assured Peter that Jesus’ glorious kingdom is not just wishful thinking. It is real. Jesus Christ is king. Yes, there would be suffering and death for Jesus and for His followers, but there will also be the glory that will follow. His kingdom is glorious. His majesty is unmatched. Christ will come again in the consummation of His kingdom and glory. And we who are His will behold His coming kingdom in its fullness. Peter, James, and John saw a preview of Christ’s kingdom, a glimpse of His glory. And by the inspired word of God, we can see it as well.
So this event was given for us to consider Christ’s kingdom. Second, the transfiguration allows us to …
2. Glimpse Christ’s Glory (Matt. 17:1-3).
Look at Matthew 17:1 again. It says, “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves.” Jesus separated Peter, James, and John from the rest of the disciples. These three seemed to form an inner circle of disciples who were privileged to witness things the other disciples did not. Only these three of the disciples were in the room when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37,40; Luke 8:51). Jesus would ask these same three to stay and watch with Him as He prayed in the garden on the night He was betrayed. The Scriptures say, “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matt. 18:16; Deut. 19:15). These three would become powerful witnesses of Christ and His glory.
Matthew says that Jesus “led them up on a high mountain.” None of the Gospels name the mountain. The traditional location is Mount Tabor in Galilee, but many scholars think Mount Hermon is a more likely choice. It rises some 9,200 feet above sea level near Caesarea-Philippi where Jesus has been with His disciples. What we do know is that, in the Bible, high mountains are often significant places. It was on a mountain called Moriah that God manifested His grace to Abraham when he willingly offered up his son Isaac (Gen. 22). It was on Mount Sinai that God handed down His Law to Moses (Exo. 19). It was on Mount Carmel that God demonstrated His power to Israel through Elijah (1 Kings 18). It was on Mount Horeb that God ministered peace to the troubled heart of Elijah (1 Kings 19). It was on Mount Calvary that Jesus died for our sins on the cross (John 19). It was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended back into His heavenly glory (Acts 1:9-11). And it will be that same mountain that will greet His feet when He returns in glory (Zech. 14:4).
And on this mountain, the disciples get a glimpse of Christ’s glory. Matthew 17:2 describes what happened, “and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.”
The verb “transfigured” means “to change into another form”[ii]. We get our English word metamorphosis from this word. For over thirty years, since the time of His conception in the womb of the virgin Mary, Jesus had been in the form of a man. Philippians 2 says that although Christ existed “in the form of God”, being “equal with God” (Phi. 2:6), He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phi. 2:7). Before the Son of God came in the likeness of men, He lived in dazzling glory in heaven. In John 17, looking toward His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus prays, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5). From eternity past, Jesus existed in the form of God with all the glory of God.
But the Lord emptied Himself of that glory to come “in the likeness of men”. He allowed His glory and majesty to be veiled in the womb of a virgin, and then in the body of a baby, and then in the quiet life of a carpenter from Nazareth. Isaiah prophesied about God’s servant humbling Himself saying,
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isa. 53:2-3).
When Jesus lived and walked among us, all that most people ever saw with their eyes was His humanity. And it was nothing special. It was not stately, or majestic, or attractive. Jesus’ deity was hidden beneath the veil of His humanity. They saw Jesus demonstrate the wisdom of God in His teaching and the power of God by His miracles, but they never saw His true essence as the Son of God.
But on this day, on this mountain, the veil was pulled back and these three men witnessed the true glory and majesty of the Son of God. Matthew tells us “His face shone like the sun” (Matt. 17:2). Jesus’ face radiated—not from being in the presence of God, but because He truly was God. His was not a mere reflected light such as the moon, but it was like the sun itself in its brightness and strength. And we’re also told that our Lord’s “clothes became as white as the light.” Mark, in his Gospel account, tells us that His garments became “exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:3). This is the same glory that the prophet Daniel saw centuries before when he had a vision of God: “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9). It’s hard to imagine how magnificent and resplendent this sight must have been.
Yet, that’s not all they saw. Matthew 17:3 tells us, “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” What a sight! Moses and Elijah appeared out of nowhere. Think about this. Moses was the great Old Testament giver of the law. And Elijah was among the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. But Moses had died about fourteen hundred years earlier, and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot about eight hundred years earlier. And now, they both suddenly appear alive and are talking with Jesus. As Jesus later says to the Sadducees, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” After His resurrection Jesus will say, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, testify to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These two men also represent the two ways that people meet the Lord when He returns. Moses died and was buried (Deut. 34:5-6). Elijah was taken up in a fiery chariot into Heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Like Moses, many believers die and are buried—they are “absent from the body” and “present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). When the Lord comes again, they will be raised to life and appear with Jesus. And like Elijah, some will be taken up alive to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 4:16-18). Regardless of how you leave this world, if you know the Lord, you will be with Him in glory when He returns! This is our blessed hope—the “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13).
Luke, in his Gospel, tells us what they were talking about—that Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). His “decease” is the word “exodos” meaning departure. They were speaking about Jesus’ coming death—the same thing Jesus had just told His disciples in Matthew 16. Now Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the Law and the Prophets, spoke with our Lord concerning the death for us that He was about to accomplish on the cross!
Even though the veil is temporarily removed and Jesus’ glory is displayed, Jesus is still looking to the cross. And it is obvious from Moses and Elijah that heaven anticipates its accomplishment with Him.
So in this passage, we are called to consider Christ’s kingdom, to glimpse His glory, and third to …
3. Hear Christ’s Honor (Matt. 17:4-9).
How would you react if you saw what Peter, James, and John saw that day? As Peter beheld the glory of the Lord Jesus on display, and as he saw Moses and Elijah in talking with Him, Peter was overwhelmed. He said to Jesus; “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Matt. 17:4). When Luke told this story, he added that Peter said these things, “. . . not knowing what he said” (Luke 9:33).
Why would Peter suggest building tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah? Luke tells us that Peter said this as Moses and Elijah “were parting from Him” (Luke 9:33). Perhaps Peter sensed that this great moment was closing, and he wished to preserve it—to just stay and enjoy it longer. Perhaps, seeing the royal splendor of Jesus accompanied by Moses and Elijah, Peter thinks that Jesus is now going to establish His world-wide reign as the Messianic King. The prophet Zechariah prophesied that “the day of the LORD is coming …” (Zech 14:1) when “the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with Him” (Zech. 14:5), and “the LORD shall be King over all the earth” (Zech 14:9). And then “it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” (Zech 14:16).
Peter could have easily thought that what he saw could be the beginning of the kingdom reign of Christ. He could think of nothing better than celebrating the feast of Tabernacles there on that Mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But Peter was wrong. The kingdom was coming, but not in the way that he envisioned it. Moses and Elijah left, and Jesus was still going to Jerusalem to die.
Peter wanted to honor all three—Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But the three are by no means equal in status. Moses and Elijah were great messengers of God, but their message was about Christ. And it’s Jesus Christ who must be honored and worshiped. This point is made clear by what happened next. Matthew 17:5 says, “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!””
This was no ordinary cloud. It was a “bright cloud“; and it seemed to encompass them—as if to silence them and place a holy veil over the things that they were then seeing. God often appeared in a cloud in the Old Testament. The cloud enveloped Mount Sinai in Exodus 19 at the giving of the law (Ex. 19:16,18); in Exodus 40, the cloud covered the Tabernacle of Meeting filling it with the glory of the Lord (Ex. 40:34-35); later, in 1 Kings 8, the cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:10-12). And now, as the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ—God in human flesh, the true temple of the LORD—is being revealed, this cloud once again comes as a covering.
The voice of the Father rumbled from within this cloud to the three trembling disciples, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matt. 17:5). This is the second time in the Gospel of Matthew that the voice of the Father spoke. The first time was at Jesus’ baptism when the Father said essentially the same thing: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Remember that “This is My beloved Son” links to Psalm 2 and Christ as the King, while “in whom I am well pleased” links to Isaiah 42 and Christ as the suffering servant. Here, the Father stresses the command to the disciples, “Hear Him!“
What did they need to hear from Jesus? Exactly what He had begun to tell them in Matthew 16:21, “…that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” Jesus had been trying to teach His disciples this, but they misunderstood and resisted His words. God the Father reinforces Christ’s message, “Hear Him!” The road to glory leads through the cross.
Then Matthew records, “And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (Matt. 17:6-8). The transfiguration was over. Jesus has done just what He said in Matthew 16:28. They saw “the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). They witnessed His royal majesty. They saw what He intended for them to see and heard what He needed them to hear. Now, Moses was gone. Elijah was gone. The cloud was gone. The voice of the Father was gone. All they saw was Jesus—with the words of the Father, “Hear Him!“, still echoing in their ears.
Matthew 17:9 says, “Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”” The reason Jesus commanded them to tell no one until after His resurrection was the same reason He commanded them to keep silent about Him after they affirmed Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:20). His divine destiny—His purpose from the Father—remained the same. He still must go to Jerusalem, must be rejected, suffer, and die on the cross for our sins.
Which is exactly what we learn next. We must …
4. Contemplate Christ’s Suffering (Matt. 17:10-13).
As Jesus and the disciples descend the mountain, they ask Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Matt. 17:10). They probably ask this because they just saw Elijah with Jesus on the mountain. All their lives, as Jewish men, they had been brought up to believe that the great Old Testament prophet Elijah would arrive into this world before the Messiah and prepare His people for His coming. In fact, in the very last two verses of the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi, God says,
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Mal 4:5-6 NKJV)
The disciples just saw Jesus in His glory accompanied by Elijah. But perhaps they are wondering: Where is ‘the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and of the children to their fathers’? Where is “the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD“? Why did the glory of the Lord shine—and then suddenly disappear? Why did Elijah come—and then suddenly leave? Why is it that, instead of the conquest and victory of the kingdom, they hear Jesus speak of ‘the cross’, and of ‘suffering’?
Jesus graciously answered their question. First, notice that Jesus said, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first“—or, as the New International Version has it, “To be sure, Elijah comes”—”and will restore all things” (Matt. 17:11). In other words, the expectation that the scribes taught was correct. Elijah truly comes into this world, and truly performs a ministry of restoration as the forerunner to the Messiah—just as they said.
But then comes the shocker. They were still looking for Elijah’s coming to yet occur. And Jesus tells them, “But I say to you that Elijah has come already . . .” (Matt. 17:12a). Can you imagine what a surprise that must have been to the disciples? “What?”, they would have said to themselves; “Did we miss something? Elijah already came and we didn’t know it? When? Where?”
Jesus drops another bombshell on them and tells them that Elijah came to those to whom he was sent; “. . . and they did not know him but did whatever they wished” (Matt. 17:12b). The word “know” means that they did not “recognize him” in the sense of acknowledging him and accepting him for who he is. And when Jesus says “did whatever they wished“, He implies that he suffered mistreatment and abuse. And Jesus says, “Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands” (Matt. 17:12).
Matthew 17:13 says, “Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” Perhaps then, the disciples remembered what Jesus said about John the Baptist back in Matthew 11:
… “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ 11 Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Matt. 11:7-14).
John was once asked, early in his ministry, if he was Elijah; and he plainly told those who asked, “I am not” (John 1:21). But he did affirm “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,”‘ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23). He was not Elijah in the literal sense; but he was the “Elijah” in the sense that he fulfilled the role of the forerunner-prophet who would prepare the way for the Lord’s coming—just as was promised in Isaiah 40 and Malachi 4.
And the point Jesus stresses is that just as John was unrecognized, rejected, and killed, “Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands” (Matt. 17:12). John fulfilled his ministry through suffering and death. Jesus must also, but in an even great way: “He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matt. 16:21).
The cross was not an obstruction to the kingdom of God, it was the plan of God for the fulfillment of His kingdom. The message of the cross is the only gospel that saves from sin. Believing in Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sin is the only way into the kingdom of heaven. The transfiguration was a preview of the glory of Christ and His kingdom that will be fulfilled when He returns. The transfiguration was an affirmation of Christ’s Sonship and a preview of His second coming. Christ will return in power and glory, and then we will share in the glorious resurrection to come. Our God is the God of the living who will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like Christ’s glorious body. Jesus is God’s Son. Listen to Him.
Are you ready for Christ’s return? If Christ were to come back this afternoon, would you be ready? The first step to being ready is to turn from your sin and trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you haven’t done that, you are definitely not ready!
So, if you do not know Christ as your Savior this morning, let me encourage you to put your faith in Him. God has never turned away anyone who has come to Him through Jesus His Son. If you come to God believing in Christ, He will save you. He will forgive your sins, and He will welcome you into His kingdom.
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[i] Outline of Biblical Usage, Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g932/nkjv/tr/0-1/
[ii] Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3339/nkjv/tr/0-1/
