LXX.
THIRD WITHDRAWAL FROM HEROD'S TERRITORY.
Subdivision D.
THE TRANSFIGURATION. CONCERNING ELIJAH.
(A Spur of Hermon, near Cæsarea Philippi.)
aMATT. XVII. 1-13; bMARK
IX. 2-13; cLUKE IX. 28-36.
c28 And it came to pass
about eight days {asix days} cafter these sayings
[Mark agrees with Matthew in saying six days. Luke qualifies his estimate
by saying "about." But if we regard him as including the day of the "sayings"
and also the day of the transfiguration, and the other two as excluding
these days, then the three statements tally exactly. The "sayings" referred
to were the words of Jesus with regard to his suffering at Jerusalem],
that aJesus taketh {ctook} awith him
Peter, and James, and John his brother [These three, as leaders among
the apostles, needed the special encouragement which was about to be given.
For further comment, see page
355], and bringeth them {cwent} aup
into a {cthe} bhigh mountain apart by themselves:
cto pray. [A tradition dating from the fourth century fixes
upon Mt. Tabor as the site of the transfiguration, but this is unquestionably
a mistake. Mt. Tabor is in Galilee, while Jesus was still in the region
of Cæsarea Philippi (Mark ix. 30). Moreover there is little doubt
that at that time and for centuries previous there was an inhabited fortress
upon Mt. Tabor (Josh. xix. 12; Jos. B. J. i. 8, 7; Vit. 37).
Moreover, Mt. Tabor is not a high mountain, its elevation above the sea
being but 1,748 feet. Hermon, on the contrary, is the highest mountain
in Palestine, its elevation, according to Reclus, being 9,400 feet. It
was Jesus' custom to withdraw for prayer by night (Matt. xiv. 23, 24; Luke
vi. 12; xxi. 37; xxii. 39) and the transfiguration took place at night.]
29 And as he was praying, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and
his raiment became white and dazzling.
a2 and he was transfigured [i. e., transformed; the
description shows to what extent] before [418] them;
and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. bglistering,
exceeding white; so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. [We may
conceive of the body of Jesus becoming luminous and imparting its light
to his garments. The Christian looks forward to beholding such a transfiguration
and also to participating in it--I. John iii. 2.]
a3 And, behold, there appeared unto them ctwo men,
who were Moses and {bwith} cElijah; band
they were talking with Jesus. [The three apostles could identify Moses
and Elijah by the course of this conversation, though it is possible that
miraculous knowledge may have accompanied miraculous sight.]
c31 who [i. e., Moses and Elijah] who
appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he was about to accomplish
at Jerusalem. [The word for decease is "exodus," an unusual word for
death. It means a departure and is, as Bengel says, a very weighty word,
since it includes the passion, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension.] 32 Now Peter and they
that were with him were heavy with sleep [it being night]; but
when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood
with him. 33 And it came to pass, as they
were departing from him, aPeter
answered and said {banswereth and saith} aunto Jesus,
bRabbi, cMaster, aLord, it is good for
us to be here: band let us make three tabernacles; aif
thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for
Moses, and one for Elijah. cnot knowing what he said.
b6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid.
[Peter's fears overcame his discretion, but did not silence his tongue.
Though he trembled at the fellowship of Moses and Elijah, he also realized
the blessedness of it and could not let them depart without an effort to
detain them, though the best inducement that he could offer was to build
three booths, or arbors, made of the branches of trees, for their and Christ's
accommodation. By thus speaking, Peter placed Jesus upon the same level
with Moses [419] and Elijah--all three being
worthy of a booth.] c34
And while he said these things,
a5 While he yet speaking, behold, bthere came aa
bright cloud bovershadowing them: {cand overshadowed
them:} and they feared as they entered into the cloud. [Clouds often
roll against the sides of Mt. Hermon, but the brightness of this cloud
and the fear which it produced suggests that it was the Shekinah, or cloud
of glory, which was the symbol of God's peculiar presence--Ex. xiii. 21,
22; xix. 9, 18; xxiv. 16; xl. 34, 35; I. Kings viii. 10.] aand
behold, bthere came a voice out of the cloud, asaying,
This is my beloved Son, cmy chosen: ain whom I am
well pleased; hear ye him. [This command contains the chief significance
of the entire scene. Spoken in the presence of Moses and Elijah, it gave
Jesus that pre-eminence which a son has over servants. He is to be heard.
His words have pre-eminence over those of the lawgiver and the prophet
(Heb. i. 1, 2). Peter recognized Jesus as thus honored by this voice--II.
Pet. i. 16-18.] 6 And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. [As every
man is who hears the voice of God.]
7 And Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
[As mediator between man and God, Jesus removes fear.]
b8 And suddenly looking round about,
a8 And lifting up their eyes, bthey saw no one any
more, save Jesus only with themselves.
c36 And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. [Leaders
and prophets depart, but Christ abides--Heb. iii. 5, 6.]
b9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, he charged
them, that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when
the Son of man should have risen again from the dead. a9
And Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the
Son of man be risen from the dead. [The people were not ready for the
publication of such an event. To have told it now would only have been
to raise doubts as to their veracity.]
b10 And they kept the saying, [420] questioning
among themselves what the rising from the dead should mean. [Jesus
spake so often in parables and made so frequent use of metaphors that the
apostles did not take his words concerning the resurrection in a literal
sense. They regarded his language as figurative, and sought to interpret
the figure.] cAnd they held their peace, and told no man
in those days any of the things which they had seen.
a10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes
that Elijah must first come? bHow is it that the scribes
say that Elijah must first come? [They were puzzled by the disappearance
of Elijah. They looked upon him as having come to fulfill the prophecy
of Malachi (Mal. iv. 5, 6), but they marveled that, having come, he should
so soon withdraw, and that they should be forbidden to tell that they had
seen him, since the sight of him would be some sign of Jesus' Messiahship.]
a11 And he answered and bsaid unto them, Elijah indeed
cometh first, and restoreth {ashall restore} all things
[this sentence leads some to think that Elijah will appear again before
the second coming of our Lord, but the words are to be interpreted in connection
with the rest of the passage]: band how it is written
of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things, and be set at naught?
[If the writings concerning Elijah perplexed the apostles, those concerning
the Messiah perplexed them also. From one set of prophecies they might
learn something about the other. Elijah came, but the Scriptures concerning
him were so little understood that he was put to death. The Messiah also
came, and the prophecies concerning him were so little understood that
he, too, would be set at naught.]
13 But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, aalready, and they
knew him not, but did {band they have also done} unto him whatsoever
they would. Even as it is written of him. aEven so shall the
Son of man also suffer of them. 13 Then
understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
[Malachi used the name of Elijah figuratively to represent John the Baptist.
[421] See pp.
102, 284. That there shall
be a second coming of Elijah in fulfillment of this prophecy is hardly
possible, for the office of Elijah is prophetically outlined as that of
the restorer. But Elijah could not restore Judaism, for that dispensation
had been done away with in Christ. He could hardly have chosen to restore
Christianity, for even if it should need such a restoration, a Jewish prophet
would be ill-suited to such an office. One of the apostles would be vastly
preferable.]
[FFG 418-422]
