Matthew 17:1-9 Commentary

There is plenty of reason for Peter and the other disciples to misread the situation on the mountaintop because there is a lot that is eerily reminiscent of key experiences from their people’s story. The legacy lives in their bones and even if they weren’t there, what happened at these holy places is carried in their stories, one generation shaping the identity of the next. Biblical exegetes definitely see the parallels with Moses on Mt. Sinai in the book of Exodus: there’s glory, there’s a cloud, there’s faces shining, there’s three companions, there’s the seventh day, and there’s even the fear that encountering God causes.

But this is more than Moses on Mount Sinai because it is not a revelation of Moses alone. Alongside Moses is the other great prophet of Israelite history, Elijah. And these two patriarchs come to the call that is Jesus’s transfiguration: as Jesus is changed into a brilliantly shining presence, Moses and Elijah come for a conversation with the glorified one. Oh to know what they were saying!

To his credit, Peter understands that something very essential about Jesus’s importance has been revealed to them, so he joins the long line of another part of the people’s story and offers to build a home for the glory of God. It’s what David wanted to do and what Solomon did, and it’s what Peter wants to do now. As Anna Case-Winters reminds us, we know Peter likes the glory part of Jesus’s call much more than he likes the call to suffering, so we shouldn’t be surprised that he becomes quite keen to support this display of greatness (from the Belief Commentary Series).

Both Case-Winters and another commentator I read for this week, Donald Hagner (Word Biblical Commentary Series), argue that the real problem with Peter’s plan isn’t that he was offering to house the glory of God, but that he was keeping Jesus to the same level of importance as Elijah and Moses rather than understanding what they just saw was Jesus elevated above the patriarchs.

What happens in the rest of the scene aligns with this reading. For, just as Peter is saying this business about making three tents, he is interrupted by a booming voice and cloud from heaven that catapults him and the other disciples face down into the dirt with fear. As though the glowing face and brilliantly white clothing that were changed right in front of their eyes wasn’t enough, they are overshadowed into seeming darkness by a cloud and all they hear is a voice saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Of course, we know these words. We know these to be the words when another voice boomed at Jesus’s baptism, when instead of a cloud, it was the dove who came down and rested upon Jesus. Then, as now, attention and anointing is squarely upon Christ even as he is showing himself to be part of Israel’s story.

Elijah and Moses have disappeared. In comparison to Jesus, they were bit players, there to add context and help make immediate meaning. Jesus is the one all eyes—and now all ears—should be on. Jesus is not one of three (or at least, not this three). He is the ONE to be held above all others.

It’s interesting to think about how the glitter and sparkle did not cause the disciples to fear, but that the voice from heaven did. Sounds do seem to have a more startling quality to them; they can feel larger than life, larger than what’s real. Which is what makes what happen next so beautiful.

The one who dazzles, the one who is so special that a voice from heaven comes with a cloud of darkness to speak his belovedness to these three little humans, that same one comes now to those cowering in fear. Jesus comes and touches them to let them know that he is still the same person they knew him to be as they hiked up the mountain. He speaks to them those familiar words after a miraculous healing, “Get up” and those other familiar words, “Do not be afraid.”

Here, the disciples have a chance to start to listen in a new way. Having seen and heard what they have, will their fear become holy reverence? Having seen and heard what we have, will ours?

Textual Point

Verse 8 is also written in such a way as to emphasise that Jesus is of greater importance than Moses and Elijah. As the disciples look up at Jesus’s touch, “they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.” That’s three different words to emphasise that Christ is the only one still there. He is the one that brings comfort and remains with them.

Illustration Ideas

Building and car alarms often startle us and cause fear. For me (and maybe for many of us) it’s the sounds going off that really cause the most jumps in anxiety. I lived in 20+ storey apartment buildings in Vancouver for five years and more than once was startled by the intercom system going off because a voice or loud beeping comes so abruptly from out of nowhere. I can see where the flashing light is coming from, but my head can’t fix the voice or sound to any place. It is larger than life…

In our quests for humility, we’re told that a measurable is our ability to do our good works in secret. If we are able to still find the value in doing good even though no one praises or gives us credit for it, then we know a little of what it’s like to have true humility. But there comes a point where not having people recognize who you are—the significance of your very person—is harmful for everyone. When we fail to recognize the talents and gifts of an individual—perhaps because of their gender or skin colour—the whole community can be held back from growth and its full potential. Even though Jesus is the king of humility, there comes a time where not elevating him crosses over into a sin and holds back the whole community from following him. Though a humble king, he is still the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Messiah unlike any other.

[Note: For the Year A Season of Lent and leading up to Easter, CEP has, in addition to these weekly sermon commentaries, a special Lent and Easter Resource Page with links to whole sermons, commentary on Lenten texts, and more.]