The Transfiguration of the Lord

While reading about the Transfiguration of the Lord, I have started thinking about it and have come to see the importance of this event. But it also feels like there are layers to it, so this note is an effort to try to understand the layers within this important event that, at first, has only a couple of verses in Scripture but is shown in other Gospels.

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun and his garments became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking to him.

Matthew 17:2-3 (NRSV)

Why Moses and Elijah

I remember when I read this passage in the past, I was wondering why Elijah? Mostly because I had not read about Elijah yet, and it didn’t make any connection from what I had started reading yet. For context, I started reading the New Testament first and before I spent time reading more of the Old Testament, mostly of what I knew had been taught many years ago in the catechism before my First Communion.

My study bible mentions that Moses and Elijah appeared because they represent the Law and the Prophets, that they are there to serve as witnesses to the new covenant. While reading the bible commentary, I’ve also come across this,

Jewish people expected the return of both Elijah and Moses at the end of the age.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary

This is extremely interesting, because with Jesus the end of the age of sin did arrive and through Him we got redeemed. It also dawned on me that this simple passage - just the two verses - must have given a whole new meaning to the Jewish people at the time. Remember that the Gospel of Matthew was aimed at a Jewish audience. Let’s also think about what Jesus had said about his fulfilment of the Mosaic Law and the Old Testament prophecies,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.”

Matthew 5:17 (RSV-2CE)

Which then, seeing the Transfiguration of the Lord and seeing both Moses and Elijah appear, it feels like an even bigger moment than one can initially grasp.

Moses

There are some similarities between Jesus and the Apostles climbing the mountain, and Moses before God gave him the tablets. For example, Moses climbed a mountain, Jesus and the Apostles climbed a mountain, the cloud of the lord covered the mountain for six days (Exodus 24:16) and after six days Jesus and the Apostles climbed a mountain. One interesting note is that after six days, on the seventh day Moses entered the cloud, the transfiguration happens - it feels like a connection with the rest of the Lord on the seventh day of some sort.

But perhaps, the thing that struck me the most about Moses passage and the link to the Old Testament is how the meeting with God had changed Moses (see the brief note on Transfiguration and Moses).

Moses climbed the mountain, then entered the cloud where God was waiting for him and being faced with God’s glory, he was changed, but he knew it not. The Scriptures say,

[…] Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. […] that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus 34:29-35 (RSV-2CE)

Contrast this with the Transfiguration passage, where the face of Jesus shone like the sun. Moses reflected God’s glory after speaking with Him, yet Jesus face shines with his own glory.

One thing that also stayed with me was the fact that Moses didn’t even know that his face had changed; everyone else noticed first and they were scared, but it was undeniable that Moses had seen and been within God’s glory. After that, Moses started veiling his face and only taking the veil off when going to meet God.

This act also felt heavier and full of compassion when I saw the reference to 2 Corinthians 3:7 and the footnote in my study bible,

Moses veiled himself to prevent Israel from seeing the radiance of his face fade away over time. The gradual disappearance of this brightness, hidden behind the veil, symbolizes the destiny of the Old Covenant; which will itself pass away.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

The reason why this note stayed with me is that I imagined what it would be like being one of the people at the time - walking lost in the desert, following Moses, seeing living proof that God had spoken with Him and then seeing the radiance slowly fading away; it would feel heavy.

One interesting thing that Exodus mentions is that Moses would unveil his face when he came back from being in the presence of the Lord and give His commandments. I initially wondered whether it happened because that would carry an even greater weight, as if to remove any doubt from those who may have had their faith wavering.

Elijah

The appearance of Elijah at the Transfiguration is particularly interesting because immediately afterwards the Apostles ask Jesus, “Why then do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” (Matthew 17:10). This expectation comes from the prophet Malachi,

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.

Malachi 4:5 (NRSV)

Earlier, Malachi also speaks of a messenger who would prepare the way before the Lord:

Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me […]

Malachi 3:1 (RSV-2CE)

These passages help explain why the Jewish people were expecting Elijah before the coming of the Messiah. What I find particularly interesting is that the Gospels connect both expectations with John the Baptist. Luke says that John would go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), while Jesus tells his disciples that “Elijah has already come” and they eventually understand that He is speaking about John the Baptist (Matthew 17:12–13).

This does not mean that John was literally Elijah returned to earth. John himself denies being Elijah when asked directly (John 1:21). Rather, he fulfils the role associated with Elijah: he comes before the Lord, calling the people to repentance and preparing them for His coming.

There is something else in Malachi that makes this even more interesting. The messenger prepares the way, but it is the Lord who then comes:

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple […]

Malachi 3:1 (RSV-2CE)

Reading this alongside the Gospels creates a striking pattern: John prepares the way, and Jesus comes after him. The prophecy that speaks of preparing the way for the Lord is therefore applied within the Gospel story to John’s preparation for the coming of Jesus.

There is also a darker connection in Jesus explanation after the Transfiguration. He tells the Apostles that Elijah had already come, but that the people “did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased.” Jesus then immediately adds, “So also the Son of Man will suffer at their hands” (Matthew 17:12).

John’s fate therefore points beyond simply identifying him with the expected Elijah. John came before Christ and was rejected and killed; Jesus tells His disciples that He too will suffer.

This seems particularly significant because immediately before the Transfiguration Jesus had already told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again (Matthew 16:21). Peter struggled to accept this and rebuked Him. The Transfiguration reveals the glory of Christ, but the conversation surrounding it continues to point towards His suffering and death. His glory and His Cross are not being presented as two unrelated things.

The words of God

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Matthew 17:5 (NRSV)

The words of the Father at the Transfiguration are very similar to those spoken at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17): “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” At the Transfiguration, however, there is an important addition: “listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5).

These words seem to bring together several passages from the Old Testament. Psalm 2 speaks of God’s anointed king as His Son (Psalms 2:7), while Isaiah speaks of God’s chosen servant, “in whom my soul delights,” upon whom He has placed His Spirit (Isaiah 42:1).

The command to “listen to him” is particularly striking when Moses is standing beside Jesus. Moses had told Israel that God would one day raise up a prophet “like me” from among them and commanded the people, “him you shall heed” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Now Moses stands on the mountain, Jesus is revealed in glory, and the Father Himself commands the disciples to listen to His Son.

This command also stayed with me on a more personal level. To listen to Jesus cannot simply mean to hear what He says; it must also mean allowing His words to shape how I live. Jesus has taught us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbour as ourselves, and throughout the Gospels He calls us towards charity, humility, mercy, forgiveness and obedience to God. If the Father Himself points towards Christ and says, “listen to him,” then His teachings cannot remain merely things that I read and understand; they are things that I am called to live.