Behold,
Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him. Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Matthew 17:3-9
Matthew 16 [23.] But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds. Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
Matthew 17 [1.] After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.
Matthew 17 [4.] Peter answered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Matthew 17 [5.] While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Matthew 17 [6.] When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Matthew 17 [10.] His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Meaning:
Six days after promising that some of his disciples would see “the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom” (Matthew 16:28), Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. There “He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). These verses tell what the three disciples saw and heard next. Mark and Luke record the same event (Mark 9:2-4; Luke 9:30-31).
- “Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him”
Moses was the great lawgiver, and Elijah was the great prophet. Together they stand for “the law and the prophets,” the whole Old Testament, which pointed to Jesus. Both had met God on a mountain: Moses on Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16) and Elijah at Horeb, where he heard “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12). The last book of the prophets names them both: “Remember the law of Moses my servant ... Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet” (Malachi 4:4-5). Luke tells us what they talked about: Jesus’ “departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Even in glory, the conversation was about the cross.
- “let’s make three tents here”
Peter wanted to hold on to the moment, perhaps thinking of the shelters of the Feast of Tabernacles. Mark explains that “he didn’t know what to say, for they were very afraid” (Mark 9:5-6). His idea placed Jesus on a level with Moses and Elijah. God corrected that.
- “a bright cloud overshadowed them”
In the Old Testament the cloud was the sign of God’s glorious presence. On Sinai the cloud covered the mountain six days, and on the seventh day God called to Moses out of the cloud (Exodus 24:16). Now, after six days, God speaks again from the cloud on a mountain.
- “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
The Father repeats what he said at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17). The words echo the psalm where God says to his King, “You are my son” (Psalm 2:7), and Isaiah’s Servant, “my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (Isaiah 42:1). Then God adds, “Listen to him.” Moses had promised that God would raise up a prophet like himself: “You shall listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Jesus is that prophet, and more. He is the Son, and his word is final (Mark 9:7).
- “they saw no one, except Jesus alone”
The disciples fell on their faces in fear, but Jesus came, touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” John had the same experience on Patmos: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid’” (Revelation 1:17). When they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone. The law and the prophets had done their work of pointing to Jesus; now he alone remained (Mark 9:8).
- “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead”
The vision could easily be misunderstood as a sign of a political Messiah. Only after the cross and resurrection would it make sense (Mark 9:9-10). Years later Peter did tell it: “We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:18).
The Significance of Matthew 17:3-9
- Listen to Jesus
God’s command on the mountain is simple: listen to his Son. Every other voice, even the greatest teachers of the past, points to him.
Cross-References:
Mark 9:7: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Mark’s account of the voice from the cloud.
Luke 9:31: “spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The subject of their conversation.
Deuteronomy 18:15: “You shall listen to him.” The prophet like Moses.
2 Peter 1:18: “We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.” Peter’s eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion: On the mountain, Moses and Elijah talked with the transfigured Jesus, a bright cloud overshadowed the disciples, and the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” When the vision ended, the disciples saw Jesus alone. The law and the prophets point to him, and God calls everyone to listen to his Son.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible