My Dear People, 

Among the twelve Apostles, the Transfiguration scene bears witness to an inner circle which included Peter, James, and John. Jesus singled them out when He invited them to pray with Him in the garden of Gethsemane (26:37) at the beginning of His Passion. He took them up a high mountain, the kind of place viewed as especially suitable for divine revelation in the Old Testament (see Gen 22: Exodus 3; 19-24; 1 Kings 18-19) and in Matthew’s Gospel in 4:8; 5:1) to witness the Transfiguration.

Jesus was transfigured or transformed. His physical appearance changed such that His face shone like the sun. Moses’ face also was aglow when he came down Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29-35). However, while there are similarities with Moses, Matthew shows how Jesus outshines him: Moses’ face shines because of what he had seen, whereas Jesus’ face shines with His own glory. Jesus possesses the glory that Moses saw. Moreover, while Exodus reports that Moses’ face was shining, Matthew’s description of Christ goes much further: His face shines “like the sun” and His clothes became white as light (compare the heavenly horseman in 2 Mac 11:8, the angel at the tomb in Matt:28:3, and the divine “Ancient One” of Dan 7:9).

Two great representatives of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, appear alongside Jesus and begin to converse with Him. Both Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the prophet, were well-known miracle workers who fasted for forty days (Exod. 24:18; 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8).   Both were rejected by some of God’s people. Both encountered God’s glory on the high mountain of Sinai (also called Horeb). Finally, both figures were associated with Jewish eschatological hopes of the Old Testament, proclaiming the return of Elijah (Mal 3:23-25) and the coming of a prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-19). 

Interpreters have traditionally viewed Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophets, as summing up the Old Testament (Luke 14:27). Their presence at this moment—shortly after Jesus’ messianic identity is confessed by Peter (16:16) and after He begins speaking of his journey to Jerusalem to be crucified (16:21)—signifies that the entire Old Testament bears witness to His messianic mission that will culminate on the cross.

In awe, Peter desires to build three tents. He likely has in mind the tents used for the feast of Tabernacles, the autumn harvest festival in which the Israelites dwelt in makeshift tents for seven days, commemorating how God’s presence dwelt in the tent; and how the Israelites themselves dwelt in tents as they journeyed through the wilderness on the way to the promised land. The Greek word here translated “tents” is used in the ‘Septuagint’ for tents made for this feast. Significantly, the feast also pointed to a future fulfillment—anticipating the time when the nations would come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord asking for an ‘eschatological Feast of Tabernacles’ (Zech. 14:16-20; see Hosea 12:9). When Peter witnessed Jesus transfigured in glory, he may have considered the eschatological era to be dawning and thus he seeks to enter into this experience in a way reminiscent of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Suddenly, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them. In the Old Testament, God’s presence was manifested in the form of a cloud in the wilderness and also in the sanctuary in Jerusalem (Exod.13:21-22; 40:23-28; 1 Kings 8:10-11). The words “cast shadow over” were used in Exodus 40:35 to describe God’s glory cloud overshadowing the tent meeting at Sinai. That same glory of the Lord now descends upon the mountain, covering (overshadowing) them. 

Similar to Christ’s baptism, the transfiguration scene bears witness to the Trinity with the voice of the heavenly Father, the radiance of Jesus, the Son, and the glory of the Spirit—signified this time not by a dove but by the cloud (3:16-17). The voice from the cloud repeats verbatim the words of the Father to Jesus at His baptism (3:7): “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  But now these words are directed to the three disciples, to confirm their faith in Jesus’ messianic identity in the face of His approaching crucifixion which had recently been revealed to them (16:16-17, 21). 

Also different from the baptism scene is the command to the Apostles: “listen to Him.” This recalls the promise of a prophet like Moses, to whom the people are to listen (Deut 18:15,19), and continues the emphasis in the gospel on Jesus’s authoritative teachings (5:21-22). This divine command to listen to Jesus reinforces His words in the preceding scenes, which were about His death and resurrection, and about the disciples taking up their crosses and following  Him (16:21; 24-28).

Upon hearing the heavenly voice, the disciples were very much afraid, like the fearful Israelites at Sinai when they heard God’s voice (Exodus 20:18-21). In fear and awe, the disciples fell prostrate. When they raised their eyes again, Moses and Elijah had disappeared; Jesus alone remained to complete the work of the redemption that those two Old Testament figures foreshadowed. 

[These passages contain content from Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scriptures: The Gospel of Matthew]. 

Yours in Christ, 

Fr Vincent Clemente