Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. Then they asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He said to them, "Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him."
The phrase, “apart, by themselves” jumps out at me today. If there was any doubt who Jesus is to Peter, James, and John, there isn’t any longer. They go up the mountain with Jesus and had an incredible experience of him being changed and he glowed a dazzling white.
The three chosen (Peter, James, and John) were the closest and trusted disciples to Jesus. Jesus often took them off apart from the others, by themselves. This time it is up a high mountain. On the mountain they see Jesus transfigured and talking with Moses and Elijah, the two greatest prophets. They are scared and confused about what this might mean. Peter decided that it may be good to capture the moment and build a shelter (a tabernacle or tent) for each of them – he didn’t know what else to do. They also hear the voice from say, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” On the way down the mountain, Jesus lets them know that it is still too soon to reveal what they experienced. They can only tell what they know after Jesus rises from the dead.
There is then a discussion about the primacy of Elijah, whom the people rejected. This is what the Scribes believe. There is a prophecy in Malachi 4:5 of the coming of Elias; of one that goes under that name, not necessarily of Elias the Tishbite, in person, but of one that was to come in his power and spirit, and restore all things. Jesus says that he has. In this passage there seems to be a parallel between John the Baptist and Elijah (who some people thought was Elijah who came back).
The call that I hear today is in the context of being a witness to the transfiguration of Jesus. The call is to be transfigured ourselves. We are changed when we accept and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. The old is made new, and we are a new creation, re-created in the image of Christ as we follow and learn to be better disciples.
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