The Transfiguration in Luke
This week's lectionary gospel reading, the final Sunday before Lent, is Luke 9.28-36, this gospel'south account of the Transfiguration, with the option of continuing to read the episode that follows immediately on the descent from the mountain. In that location some important things to note in relation to this passage as we think near preaching on information technology.
All 3 Synoptic accounts place this immediately after Peter's confession of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus so starts to talk about his expose and death. They seem to want united states of america to concur these two truths together: that the Son of Man is one who is humble and obedient even to death; and yet he is likewise the ane spoken of in Daniel vii where he comes to the Ancient of Days and receives a kingdom that will never end. Both of these are truthful well-nigh Jesus, and both must be held together. This is made articulate past the terminal saying of Jesus in the previous pericope (section):
Amen I say to you lot, some who are standing here volition not gustatory modality death before they come across the the kingdom of God (Luke 9.27).
Note that Mark adds 'with power' in his parallel (Marking 9.1), and Matthew uses the phrase 'the Son of Homo coming in his kingdom' (Matt 16.28); this is theerchomenos linguistic communication of Matt 24 referring to the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days, not theparousialanguage of Jesus' render at the Cease, and so we can see that all iii empathize Jesus' comment as a reference to his exaltation and ascent, and the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost followed by the preaching of the gospel.
All 3 gospels then follow this past specifying the short fourth dimension menstruation of about a week betwixt that and the revelation on the mountain (the deviation between Luke'south 'eight days' and Matthew and Mark'due south 'six days' being the departure betwixt inclusive and sectional means of counting), the only identify in Matthew where he is then specific virtually a time menses. The 'some' makes sense when we see Jesus taking with him only his inner circle of Peter, James and John, as he does afterward at Gethsemane. John and so talks of having 'seen [Jesus'] celebrity' (John 1.xiv) and two Peter one.17–18 also includes testimony to this incident. Mikeal Parsons describes this narrative as having the form of a 'dream-vision' (and notes that Matthew uses the term horama,vision or sight, in Matt 17.9) just in that location is no sense that any of the gospel writers think of it as something different in kind from the events before and later on. Luke is alone in specifying that Jesus took the three with him 'to pray'; prayer is one of the distinctive focusses of Luke'southward narrative (notice the Lukan mention of prayer earlier in the chapter in Luke 9.18 and the subsequently mention of Jesus' praying as the context for teaching the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11.1).
The language of 'transfiguration' (which derives from the Latin of the Vulgate here), is rather unhelpful. There is a 'transformation', but in dissimilarity to the other incident of divine revelation from heaven at Jesus' baptism in Luke 3, the perspective is that of the disciples, not of Jesus himself. So he is transformed 'before them' and Moses and Elijah appear 'earlier them'. In fact, the whole emphasis is on the disciples (count how many times 'they' or 'them' occur). As is articulate from the ending of the episode, where Jesus is lonely, the point is non a change in Jesus, but a change in their agreement of who he is. The full truth will just come after his death and resurrection, only these privileged three have a foretaste, an anticipation ahead of time, which will only really make sense subsequently.
The three Synoptics vary considerably in the exact language that they use to draw Jesus' appearance; it is difficult to know what it would take looked like had we been in that location and filmed information technology on our iPhones, only what the gospel writers want us to know is its significance. The language Matthew uses focusses on divine presence, picking upwards Old Testament language of God as clothed in light, only Luke draws more parallels with Moses' face shining (Ex 34.29) and this fits with Moses also taking three named persons upwardly a mountain with him (along with seventy others, Ex 24.1, 9), and God's vocalization coming from an overshadowing deject (Ex 24.fifteen–xviii).
The appearance of Moses and Elijah is introduced past Luke in a way that connects with other parts of his story. The phrase 'And behold, ii men' (Luke 9.30) too occurs at the empty tomb (Luke 24.4) and at the rise in Acts 1.x. This does not imply that the men at the same characters, but the phrase connects the 3 moments (transfiguration, resurrection and ascension) when Jesus' divine identity is almost clearly displayed. In popular readings, Moses and Elijah are ofttimes thought to represent the police force and the prophets. But Elijah was non i of the writing prophets, and in Jewish tradition the mysterious circumstances of Moses' death on Mount Nebo (Deut 34.5–6) and Elijah's existence taken up to God on a chariot of burn (two Kings ii.11) earned them the title of 'the deathless ones'. Their presence with Jesus is an anticipation of Jesus' ain conquest of death. They also signify the rescuing of God'south people from slavery to liberty (Moses) and the call to faithfulness (Elijah); both encountered God on the mountain (Sinai/Horeb) and both experienced rejection by and suffering at the hands of God'south own people, which makes the connectedness between the suffering Jesus has simply spoken of and the glory which he will receive.
The business relationship of their conversation in Luke nine.31–33 is unique to the third gospel. The language of Jesus' 'divergence' uses the Greek termexodus which both connects Jesus with Moses once more, but also ties this episode into the wider narrative, both looking back to the hope of deliverance in the Benedictus in Luke 1, and anticipating everything Jesus is to 'accomplish' in Jerusalem. The sleepiness of Peter and his companions anticipates their sleepy failure in Gethsemane (Luke 22.45).
Peter's clumsy interjection, offering to brand shelters and capture the moment, is ameliorated by both Mark and Luke in their explanation that he didn't know what to say in the context of such an unsettling feel. He appears to want the feel to persist, or peradventure to try and make his own contribution when he really should have been simply attending to what was earlier him. (There is a possibility that Peter's action reflects a Jewish tradition arising from Ps 43.3: 'Send your light and your truth; let them bring me to your holy mountain and your tents'; in a after Midrash, the 'low-cal' is understood to be Elijah and the 'truth' to be the predictable Messiah.) He has not even so understood that this is a momentary drawing back of the curtain, giving him and the other two a glimpse of the heavenly reality of who Jesus really is, but that this is not the end of the story—yet.
They are covered with a 'cloud full of light'; all through the story of scripture, clouds signify the presence of God (which is more easy to understand if you live in a country where the sky is blueish for much of the fourth dimension) and this evokes fear as well as awe (compare Ezek 1.4). The voice of God here echoes what was said at Jesus baptism (Luke 3.22), and this time there is no ambiguity as to whether the words are addressed to Jesus or to those watching—the audition of the three disciples are allowable or invited to heed to him. Jesus is not simply isimilar Moses or Elijah; he far transcends them as the Son of the Living God, the 1 in whom we encounter God's own presence and celebrity. The words also echo Is 42.i, making again the connection between suffering and glory.
Luke moves on to the next episode of Jesus' ministry, but both Matthew and Mark fill out the details of the disciples' puzzlement. They still do not empathize the significance of this vision or insight—and indeed, they will not until they have begun to make sense of Jesus' expiry and resurrection. They are slowly putting together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of Jesus' identity and how he is fulfilling the purposes of God. Nosotros are like those who have been given the puzzle box, with the finished picture on the outside and then that we can see with hindsight where the pieces fit together.
In any human relationship, it takes time to understand and get to know someone, and even with people we know well, there are times when we gain particular insight into their graphic symbol past something they do or say which gives u.s. fresh insight into who they are. This seems to be how the Transfiguration functions for the 3 disciples, and offers key insight into who Jesus is. Is it an insight nosotros have yet gained for ourselves?
(Parts of this post were offset published in 2017.)
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