Matthew 17:01-09 “Worship the Glorious Christ!”

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan KS, 02 Dec 2012

Translation

17:1 Now, after six days, Jesus took along Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up to a high mountain by themselves.

17:2 Then He was transformed in front of them:
and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light,

17:3 and look, Moses and Elijah were made visible to them, conversing with Him!

17:4 Then in response, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, It’s good for us to be here! If you don’t mind, let’s make three booths here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!”

17:5 While he was yet speaking, see, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and consider [this], a voice out of the cloud was saying, “This One is my beloved Son in whom I delight; keep listening to Him!”

17:6 And once the disciples heard [it], they fell on their faces and became extremely frightened.

17:7 Then, as Jesus approached, He touched them and said, “Rise up, and no longer be afraid.”

17:8 And after they lifted their eyes, they saw nothing except Jesus alone.

17:9 And as they went down from the mountain, Jesus gave them orders saying,
“Don’t mention this vision to anyone until after the Son of Man shall resurrect from the dead.”

Introduction

As we approach the Christmas holiday, we are confronted once again by the phenomenon of department store Santas and how to respond to them.

As one who despises the commercialization of the Lord’s birth, should I wave back if one of these men dressed in red pajamas and a fake beard waves merrily at me?
And what about my children? I remember a time, a while back, when a thoughtful grandmother paid for my little girls to get their picture taken with “Santa” at the mall, but Irene was distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of climbing into the lap of that garishly-dressed stranger, so the photos contained a look of restrained terror in her eyes.
On another similar occasion, when one of my sons climbed into the lap of one of these “Santas,” it was I who became horrified, as Josh proceeded to tell him in gory detail how a knife that he wanted for Christmas could be used to kill various animals. (My memory may have blended his personality with a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip on this theme, but anyway…)

Be that as it may, there is another personage of much greater import, with whom we might find ourselves even more uncomfortable, and that is the glorified Christ, for we will all meet Him one day when He comes from heaven, and we will need to understand how to relate to Him. Our text today gives us a glimpse of Jesus in His glorious form as well as several directives as to how to relate to Him. Let us consider then how to rightly honor Jesus:

Exposition

17:1 Now, after six days, Jesus took along Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up to a high mountain by themselves.

Και μεθ’ ‘ημερας ‘εξ παραλαμβανει ‘ο Ιησους τον Πετρον και Ιακωβον και Ιωαννην τον αδελφον αυτου και αναφερει αυτους εις ορος ‘υψηλον κατ’ ιδιαν

“Six days” refers to the work week after which comes the holy day, the day of entering into rest. By doing this, Jesus reinforces the value of weekly cycles of work with a day of rest and time alone.

Luke 9:28 says that this happened, “about eight days after these sayings,” which may appear at first to be a contradiction, but Luke also has somewhat different wording which could indicate that he was reckoning from a different point in time than Matthew and Mark. For instance, he could have been including the day of Jesus speaking those things and the day of the hike, while Matthew only added up the 6 days in between^{^[1]}. At any rate, Luke specifically says that his larger number is an approximate number; Matthew and Mark give the exact number.
This parallel verse in Luke also tells us that Jesus took this excursion in order to pray, a very appropriate thing to do on the Sabbath.

After these six days of briefing His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus spent a day apart from the twelve, just with this inner circle of three disciples: Peter, James, and John (the brother of James).

The Greek phrase “kat’ idian,” translated “by themselves” in modern English Bibles, has to do with privacy, getting “apart^KJV” from the crowd, and getting individual attention.
This lets us know that there is value in having different layers of closeness in our friends and disciples. We can’t disciple everybody, but we can focus on our children and a few other close friends that we can really pour discipleship into.
Here, Peter, James, and John were being admitted to a special, private time with Jesus. Matthew, who did not get to participate in this special outing, does not seem to show any jealousy, however. He includes this story in his Gospel, at the expense of his own honor, to make the case that Jesus is the Messianic King, which is the important thing.

WHERE were they? The only high mountain nearby would be Hermon (Show photos^{^[2]}) – which would be about a 10-mile hike northeast of Caesarea Philippi^{^[3]}.

It rises to a height of 9,232 ft – high enough to have snow, and they even have a ski slope up there now.
Incidentally, the location of Mt. Hermon on the northern border of Israel would be consistent with God’s restriction of Moses from entering the promised land because of his earlier act of disobedience to God.

Luke’s parallel account adds that the disciples fell asleep while Jesus was praying (just like they did in the garden of Gethsemane later), and that they were awakened by an awesome sight.

Although their minds may have been foggy with sleep, we must remember that this was not the delirium of one drowsy man, but an event witnessed by six men who passed it on to three historians who recorded the event (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).
In addition, Peter referred to this event in one of his letters which survive to this day! In 2 Peter 1:16-19 he wrote, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’-- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (NASB) So pay attention as we read Matthew’s account!

17:2 Then He was transformed in front of them: and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light,

και μετεμορφωθη εμπροσθεν αυτων και ελαμψεν το προσωπον αυτου ‘ως ‘ο ‘ηλιος τα δε ‘ιματια αυτου εγενετο^{^[4]} λευκα ‘ως το φως

The Greek word used for this transfiguration is the basis for our word “metamorphosis.” It is only used on three occasions in the Bible:

1. First to describe this transformation of Jesus into His glorious form (Mt. 17:2 || Mk. 9:2), Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus existed in the “form/morphe” of God and then emptied Himself to take the “form/morphe” of a servant. Later, Mark 16:12 uses this language to describe Jesus’ glorified body after His resurrection as being in “another form/morphe.^{^[5]}”

2. The Greek verb “metamorphew” is also used to describe our present-day sanctification in Romans 12:2 (“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” - NASB)

3. Again in 2 Cor. 3:18, this metamorphosis word is used to describe our present-day sanctification. (“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” – NASB)

The next two phrases describe the nature of this transformation: Jesus’ face and raiment^KJV/ garments^NAS/ clothes^NIV became blindingly brilliant (“beyond white” as the parallel passage in Mark 9:3 puts it), as though they had turned into light so intense that you could not look at it directly, any more than you could look directly at the sun and not go blind.

The same word is used of lightening flashing in Luke 17:24^{^[6]}.
This is that light Isaiah prophecied would shine in the darkness when the Messiah came.^{^[7]}
And I would contend that this light is not limited to physical electromagnetic radiation, but includes the relational brightness of the knowledge of God^{^[8]} and the moral brightness of good deeds^{^[9]}.
These three disciples were treated to a glimpse of Jesus in His heavenly glory.
At Jesus’ resurrection there was another glimpse of Jesus in his heavenly glory, as Matthew 28:3 says, “…his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.” (NASB)
John later got another glimpse of Jesus in His glory after He ascended into heaven, which John recorded for us in the book of Revelation, and the description is similar, “and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.” (Revelation 1:13-15, NASB)
Wow, how awesome! This is the Jesus we worship!

17:3 and look, Moses and Elijah were made visible to them, conversing with Him!

και ιδου ωφθησαν^{^[10]} αυτοις Μωυσης και Ηλιας μετ’ αυτου συλλαλουντες.

The passive form of the verb translated “appeared” indicates that Moses and Elijah did not appear by their own will, and the implication is that God made them appear there.
Why Moses and Elijah?

I cannot think of anything utterly unique to these two men:

Both were taken by God instead of dying a natural death, but so was Enoch.
Both parted the Jordan River by God’s power, but so did Elijah’s protégé Elisha.
Both participated in a 40-day fast, but I know other men today who have done that.
There were many prophets, but these two were certainly great prophets.

John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople in the late 300’s, wrote at length on this subject in his Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, suggesting that it was because Elijah and the other prophets had been mentioned in the previous chapter as personages which the crowds were confusing with who Jesus really was, so God shows Jesus side-by-side with Elijah and Moses so that the apostles could see for themselves that Jesus is both different from Elijah and Moses and greater than them.
Chrysostom also mentioned that since the Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the law and inappropriately claiming the glory of God for Himself, Moses, the great mediator of God’s law, and Elijah, a representative of the prophets who were jealous for God’s glory, came to bear witness with the law and the writings of the prophets that Jesus was neither a lawbreaker nor a false claimant to God’s glory!
Lastly, Chrysostom suggested that God wanted to hold Moses and Elijah up to the disciples as examples of faithfulness to God. John Chrysostom was not called the “golden tongue” for nothing, so I’ll let him make this point in his own words: “these persons He sets before them. Because each of these, having lost his life, found it. For… both spake boldly unto tyrants, the one to the Egyptian, the other to Ahab; and in behalf of heartless and disobedient men; and by the very persons who were saved by them, they were brought into extreme danger; and each of them wishing to withdraw men from idolatry; and each being unlearned; for the one was of a “slow tongue,” and dull of speech, and the other for his part also somewhat of the rudest in his bearing: and of voluntary poverty both were very strict observers; for neither had Moses made any gain, nor had Elias aught more than his sheepskin… He brings them forward accordingly for this cause also. For He would have them emulate their winning ways toward the people, and their presence of mind and inflexibility; and that they should be meek like Moses, and jealous for God like Elias, and full of tender care, as they were. For the one endured a famine of three years for the Jewish people; and the other said, “If thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive; else blot me too out of the book, which thou hast written… For not into Egypt did [the disciples] enter, but into the whole world, worse disposed than the Egyptians; neither were they to speak with Pharaoh, but to fight hand to hand with the devil, the very prince of wickedness. Yea, and their appointed struggle was, both to bind him, and to spoil all his goods; and this they did cleaving not the sea, but an abyss of ungodliness, through the rod of Jesse,—an abyss having waves far more grievous. See at any rate how many things there were to put the men in fear; death, poverty, dishonor, their innumerable sufferings; and at these things they trembled more than the Jews of old at that sea. But nevertheless against all these things He persuaded them boldly to venture...”^{^[11]}

Now, how did the disciples know that this was Moses and Elijah? The account does not say.

These prophets had lived over 1,000 years before, and photographs weren’t invented until over 1,000 years later, so the disciples couldn’t have known what Moses and Elijah looked like.
I suspect that Jesus greeted these ancient prophets by name so that Peter, James, and John could hear, and thus the awesomeness of this weighty counsel (and of being privy to it) dawned on the three disciples.

What were they talking about?

The Greek word συλλαλουντες denotes back-and-forth conversation and deliberation among people^{^[12]}.
This was not, but the way, the first conversation Moses had had with Jesus. The Greek translation of Exodus 34:35 used this same word to indicate that Moses conversed with God back when God delivered the Ten Commandments to him.^{^[13]}
Good conversations with great people are something we can look forward to when we get to heaven ourselves.
Matthew doesn’t say what they were talking about here, but Luke 9:31 does: “And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31, NASB)
Now, if three people from heaven could meet and talk about anything, what would it be? Here we see that Moses and Elijah regarded Jesus’ death in Jerusalem in fulfillment of God’s plan to save mankind as the most important thing they could talk about. It is also the most important thing you could talk about.
Why was that death so important? Because God had decreed physical death and spiritual separation from Himself to be the penalty for disobeying Him. But ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, every human being was born into a state of rebellion against God, and we have all personally offended God by continuing to disobey His laws in various ways. The only way God could be both just and loving towards humans was to become a man and suffer the penalty of death and hell in our place and then apply that to our account so that He could treat us as children and no longer as rebels. That’s what Jesus did on the cross. His death was crucial to obtain our salvation – not only our salvation, but Moses’ and Elijah’s too!
What should our response be to a God like this?

17:4 Then in response, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, It’s good for us to be here! If you don’t mind, let’s make three booths here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!”

Αποκριθεις δε ‘ο Πετρος ειπεν τω Ιησου, Κυριε καλον εστιν ‘ημας ‘ωδε ειναι, ει θελεις ποιησωμεν^{^[14]} ‘ωδε τρεις σκηνας σοι μιαν και Μωυσει μιαν και μιαν Ηλια.

Peter’s respect for Jesus has just skyrocketed. In Luke’s account he calls Jesus ἐπιστάτα/Master/lit. the “one who stands over” me, in Mark’s account, he calls Jesus “Rabbi/Great one/Teacher,” and in Matthew’s account here it is “Kurie/Owner/Master/Lord.” Each of these titles is shows respect that is fitting to Jesus.
So Peter thought it would be a good thing to build 3 σκηνας – tabernacles^KJV,NAS/ tents^ESV/ shelters^NIV.

The Greek grammar Peter used (ei + present indicative = 1^st class conditional) may imply that he thought Jesus wouldn’t mind.
Mark and Luke tell us he was just blathering and didn’t know what was appropriate to say.
Peter was apparently willing to go to a lot of trouble to haul a load of lumber from below the treeline up into that thin mountain air to build three booths.
In the majority of Greek manuscripts, and thus the KJV, Peter suggests that James and John could help him do this, but modern English versions that follow the United Bible Society’s Greek text just have Peter alone volunteering for this gruntwork¹⁴.

Why build tabernacles?

The word “skenas” in the Greek Bible refers to 1) the tents that the early Jews lived in, 2) the Tabernacle that was the center of worshipping God before Solomon’s temple, and 3) the shelters that Jews made during the Feast of Booths to remember their previous nomadic lifestyle.
A.T. Robertson, in His book, A Harmony of the Gospels, suggested that this transfiguration event happened near the end of September when the annual Feast of Booths (Succoth) holiday was observed, so Peter was just getting into the holiday spirit as it were.
18^th Century Bible Commentator Adam Clark, on the other hand, suggested that Peter, “wished to detain them, that he might always enjoy their company with that of his Lord and Master, still supposing that Christ would set up a temporal kingdom upon earth.” Most of the commentators I read felt this was the case.^{^[15]}

Thus Peter may have said it was good for them to be there, because he was figuring that as long as they were up there on that mountain, Jesus would be safe from getting killed in Jerusalem. (Chrysostom)
If so, Peter may have been presuming to fulfill the prophecy of Amos 9:11,^{^[16]} where God says, “In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David… that the remnant of men… may earnestly seek me...” (Brenton)

However, another possible motivation for building booths might simply be as a gesture of hospitality or honor to these great men. (cf. Vincent)

Ετι αυτου λαλουντος ιδου νεφελη φωτεινη επεσκιασεν^{^[17]} αυτους και ιδου φωνη εκ της νεφελης λεγουσα ‘Ουτος εστιν ‘ο ‘υιος μου ‘ο αγαπητος^{^[18]} εν ᾧ ευδοκησα, αυτου ακουετε.

This is reminiscent of the language used to describe the glory of God descending when Moses finished setting up the tabernacle for the first time: “And the cloud covered the tabernacle of witness, and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord. And Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle of testimony, because the cloud overshadowed it, and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord.” (Ex. 40:32-35, Brenton, cf. Luke 1:35)
These are Old Testament symbols of the presence of God. (Ex. 13:21, 16:10, 20:21, 40:35, Ps. 97:2, Isa. 19:1, etc.)
The voice of God speaks before Peter can finish His foolish suggestion, as though anticipating and heading off Peter’s foolishness, repeating for a third time (see Matt. 3:17; & 12:18) what He had said earlier about Jesus, “This one is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
Why didn’t God like Peter’s idea of building booths? Eighteenth Century Bible commentator John Gill summed it up well when he said, “[Peter] was wrong in putting these two men upon an equal foot with Christ, each of them being to have a separate tabernacle as he; and he appeared to be quite out of the way, in proposing earthly tabernacles for glorified persons to dwell in, who had an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens: moreover, as to the mystical sense, Moses and Elias, the law and the prophets, were not to be considered as in distinct apartments, and separate from Christ, but as agreeing with him, and fulfilled and swallowed up in him…”
God points the disciples’ attention away from their ideas of doing deeds for God, and away from the interesting sidelights of Moses and Elijah to instead center upon Jesus. Jesus is the One to worship, the One to keep an eye on; the one to learn from.
The Greek present-tense command “hear/listen to Him” indicates, not just listening to one of His speeches, but rather a continual lifestyle of listening to and heeding Jesus. How do we make “hearing” Jesus continual in our lives? By reading the Bible often throughout our life.
“It was the Father who, in his great love for the Son, clothed him with glory and encouraged him with a bracing re-affirmation of continued delight, in order that this might sustain him in his fast approaching agony. It was this same Father who simultaneously strengthened Peter, James, and John in their faith, enabling them to be worthy and exuberant witnesses.” ~William Hendricksen

17:6 And once the disciples heard [it], they fell on their faces and became extremely frightened.

Και ακουσαντες ‘οι μαθηται επεσον^{^[19]} επι προσωπον αυτων και εφοβηθησαν σφοδρα.

Fear/terror is the instinctive human response to the deadly power and overwhelming might of God’s voice. The disciples immediately collapse to the ground, not daring to look up.
This reminds me of other occasions when men responded in like manner to God, such as:

when Baalam finally saw the angel of the Lord in the way and fell on his face before Him (Numbers 22:31^{^[20]}),
when Jesus identified Himself to the temple guards in the garden of Gethsemane and their first response was to shrink back and fall to the earth (John 18:6),
when the Roman soldiers posted at the tomb saw Jesus alive again and breaking out of the tomb, they quaked with fear and became like dead men (Matt. 28:4),
when Saul was on the road to Damascus breathing threats against Christians and was blinded by the light of Christ’s presence and fell to the ground as Jesus confronted him (Acts 9:4),
And when the Apostle John was confronted with the glorious Christ in his Revelation and fell at his feet like a dead man (Rev. 1:17).
This kind of response is entirely appropriate – far more appropriate than merely saying “Wow!” or – what’s worse – keeping our cool and acting as though we aren’t impressed. Oh God, forgive us for taking your glory so casually!

17:7 Then, as Jesus approached, He touched them and said, “Rise up, and no longer be afraid.”

Και προσελθων ‘ο Ιησους ‘ηψατο^{^[21]} αυτων και ειπεν Εγερθητε και μη φοβεισθε.

Jesus is the initiator; He is the one who takes the initiative to come near to us when we are incapacitated by our frail humanness and headlong sin.
He also shows great tenderness to the fainthearted. Instead of saying, “Aw, come on you bunch of sissies, get up and let’s go,” He gently touches them and breathes a word of courage which they will never forget, “Arise and be not afraid.”
Two commands:

Rise up (like a knight to do his calling – “Rise, Sir John”), and
Fear not (a present-tense prohibition to continue no longer in fear of God’s judgment but live in confident trust that God loves you and wants you in His presence, knowing that absolutely nothing can change that).

This is the character of our Lord Jesus – a perfect combination of meekness and majesty, gentleness and severity. These qualities of our Lord should make us adore Him all the more.
“[I]t is Christ’s office to raise up the prostrate; for He descends to us so that believers, led by Him, might boldly appear in the sight of God and that His Majesty, which otherwise would consume all flesh, might no longer be terrifying to them.” ~John Calvin
If Jesus is God’s beloved Son, then there is no need to fear, especially no need to fear ill of their coming treatment in Jerusalem, because the almighty power of God Himself would keep watch-care over Jesus and over them.

17:8 And after they lifted their eyes, they saw nothing except Jesus alone.

Επαραντες^{^[22]} δε τους οφθαλμους αυτων ουδενα ειδον ει μη τον^{^[23]} Ιησουν μονον

These guys were face down on the ground, so when Jesus touches them and tells them to get up, that’s what they do. They look around and discover that the cloud is gone - and so are Moses and Elijah.
This could also be taken figuratively:

Then, as the disciples began to live out what God had just told them – they were focusing their eyes upon Jesus, and, as the hymn goes, “the things of earth [became] strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
As John Calvin put it, “He absorbed in the brightness of His Gospel those sparks which glimmered in the Old Testament. For He is the Sun of righteousness, at whose advent the bright day shines… Where at the last the [disciples] are said to see Christ only, the point is that the glory of the Law and Prophets was temporary, so that Christ alone might remain glorious.”
Do you see Jesus alone, or is your vision cluttered with a lot of other priorities?

17:9 And as they went down from the mountain, Jesus gave them orders saying, “Don’t mention this vision to anyone until after the Son of Man shall resurrect from the dead.

και καταβαινοντων αυτων εκ^{^[24]} του ορους ενετειλατο^{^[25]} αυτοις ‘ο Ιησους λεγων μηδενι ειπητε το ‘οραμα^{^[26]} ‘εως οὗ^{^[27]} ‘ο υιος του ανθρωπου εκ νεκρων αναστη^{^[28]}

Although most translations use the word “vision” here to describe what the disciples saw, don’t let that mislead you into thinking that the transfiguration didn’t really happen. Although the Greek word orama is often used in the New Testament to describe ethereal “visions” or dreams²⁶, it is also used occasionally to describe historical events, as it does here.
Now, you might ask, why would Jesus have shown this glory to only a few disciples and then have charged^KJV/commanded^NASB/instructed^NIV to keep it hush-hush? John Calvin suggested that, “Christ wanted to testify that He was not dragged unwillingly to death, but went to it of His own free will… For that same flesh which was sacrificed on the cross and lay in the tomb could have been immune from death and sepulcher, since it had already been partaker of the heavenly glory… Moreover, it was sufficient for the Lord to choose three witnesses, since this was the number laid down in the Law for establishing any matter (Deut. 17:6).”
Peter, James, and John would watch the events of Christ’s death in Jerusalem unfold in a different light now. They would see Jesus, not as a hapless victim of corrupt and powerful politicians, but rather as the almighty God who could have effortlessly stopped all the powers of earth with a flick of His finger, yet was voluntarily humbling Himself and allowing Himself to be killed because He was acting out His own divine plan.
Luke tells us that the three disciples kept this knowledge to themselves for the time being, as Jesus commanded, although they obviously told Matthew, Mark, and Luke later, who wrote it down in the Gospels.
Mark adds that the disciples were perplexed as to what Jesus could mean by “rise from the dead!” But they would find that out soon enough and spend the rest of their lives proclaiming it throughout the world. But that is another story…

Conclusion: Principles for worshipping our Glorious Christ:

As I said in the introduction to this sermon, this passage, more than anything else, gives us instruction as to how to worship Jesus now – and in the future^{^[29]}. Every verse gives us a pointer:

“After six days… by themselves” Get away from regular life periodically and set aside special time to worship God and pray – esp. once a week on the Lord’s Day. (v.1)
Remember that Jesus is awesomely glorious. He can’t be reduced to a drawing on a storybook page or made to be your little pal. He is a gloriously transcendent being with more power than you can possibly imagine, not to be trifled with, but to be immensely respected. (v.2)
Let Moses and Elijah do their job. Use the writings of Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament to inform you about the greatness of Jesus as God the Lawgiver who gave standards as to how He is to be worshipped and punished those who rebelled, and God the Savior who reached out in love to restore His relationship with His people. (v.3)
Focus on the Lord Jesus. Don’t let yourself get distracted by any of the things He has created: Don’t focus on the church building; Don’t focus on the saints, and don’t focus on your own works before Jesus. (v.4)
“This is my beloved Son… listen to Him” Practice a lifestyle of listening to Jesus the beloved Son of God by reading the Bible and listening to it being taught – and not merely listening, but heeding and obeying. (v.5)
Fall on your face in humility and respect and awe before Him. (v.6)
Rise up and fear not - Then arise like a servant who has just become a knight and let trust in our glorious Lord replace every vestige of fear in your heart (v.7)
See nothing but Jesus alone (v.8) – turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”
Talk about Jesus – when the time is right. Find appropriate times to talk about Jesus’ glory and Jesus’s death with other people! (v.9)

^{^[1]} This was Chrysostom’s explanation.

^{^[2]} See it on Google Maps at
https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.383581,35.867268&spn=0.151078,0.338173&t=h&ecpose=33.37737238,35.85806099,29691.24,0.001,0,0&z=12

^{^[3]} William Hendricksen was alone among the commentators I read in locating the transfiguration at Jebel Jermak, a 4,000 foot hill in upper Galilee much closer to Capernaum and populated areas.

^{^[4]} The Majority of Greek manuscripts read plural εγενοντο to agree with the neuter plural subject “garments,” but Koine Greek commonly uses singular verbs for plural neuter subjects, so the singular form of this verb is in the Critical, Textus Receptus, and Patriarchial editions of the Greek New Testament, and there is no difference in meaning.

^{^[5]} Marvin Vincent, a master of Classical Greek, explains that the morphe is the essential character of a person, in contrast with the schema, which are the accidents of a person, and this was Jesus’ essential divine nature showing through the accidents of His body. William Hendricksen, however, didn’t think that these words were necessarily so limited.

^{^[6]} Luke 17:24 For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. - NASB

^{^[7]} Isaiah 9:2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. – NASB

^{^[8]} 2 Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. - NASB

^{^[9]} Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. - NASB

^{^[10]} This verb is spelled in its singular form ωφθη in Critical editions, following P⁴⁴, א, B, D, Θ, and f¹³. This is good support, but awkward grammar, since a plurality of persons is the subject, unless perhaps the vision of these plural persons is taken singularly. Incidentally, the word as the Majority of texts renders it comes last in alphabetical order of all the words in the Greek New Testament.

^{^[11]} Phillip Schaff, translator and editor, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 10, St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.LIV.html accessed 29 Nov 2012.

^{^[12]} Cf. the use of this word in Isaiah 7:6, Jeremiah 18:20, Luke 4:36, Luke 22:4, and Acts 25:12.

^{^[13]} And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that it was glorified; and Moses put the veil over his face, till he went in to speak with him. – Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint.

^{^[14]} On the basis of three ancient Greek manuscripts (א, B, and C) which differ from the thousands of other Greek manuscripts, the Critical editions read ποιησω “I will make” instead of the 1^st plural subjunctive. Chrysostom’s homily sides with the Majority.

^{^[15]} cf. John Chrysostom, Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes, Marvin Vincent, John Calvin, and William Hendricksen.

^{^[16]} Amos 9:11-12 In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and will rebuild the ruins of it, and will set up the parts thereof that have been broken down, and will build it up as in the ancient days: that the remnant of men, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, may earnestly seek me, saith the Lord who does all these things. (Brenton’s English translation of the Septuagint)

^{^[17]} Επεσκιασεν – A compound of the Greek preposition for “over” and the Greek verb for “shadow” = overshadowed (NIV=~~enveloped~~)

^{^[18]} A few ancient Greek manuscripts (P⁴⁵, P⁷⁵, א, and B, and similar reading in Θ) of the parallel passage in Luke 9:35 substitute the word εκλελεγμενος “chosen” here – a word used by Isaiah to describe the Messiah in the Greek Septuagint of Isa. 28:16, and 42:1.

^{^[19]} Without explanation, the Nestle-Aland critical editions uses a variant spelling επεσαν with no difference in meaning except that it cannot be mistaken for 1^st person singular like the Majority spelling can, but makes no difference in meaning.

^{^[20]} Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground.

John 18:6-7 So when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene."

Matthew 28:2-4 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

Acts 9:3-4 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (NASB)

^{^[21]} Critical editions follow א and B, spelling the first verb in the aorist indicative (προσηλθεν “He came”) and the second verb as an Aorist participle (‘αψαμενος “having touched”), instead of first participle then indicative as above (as the Majority, Byzantine, and Textus Receptus editions have it), but it doesn’t make for any difference in meaning.

^{^[22]} Mark substitutes periblepw “looking around” in his account, a necessary action in addition to picking their faces off the ground to discover that Moses and Elijah and the presence of God were no longer to be seen.

^{^[23]} The Critical editions read the pronoun “auton” here, following three ancient Greek manuscripts (א,Β,Θ), which is why the NAS reads “Himself.” The parallel passages in Mark and Luke agree with the Majority reading of Matthew above. Emphaticness like this doesn’t change the meaning, however.

^{^[24]} The Textus Receptus, with apparently no manuscript support (and also without support from the parallel account in Mark) changed this preposition to απο, yet it is a synonym with pretty much the same meaning.

^{^[25]} Cf. Mt. 4:6 and epitimaw in 16:20.

^{^[26]} This is the first occurrence of this noun in the N.T. Different from Joseph’s “night vision” (onar) in chapters 1 & 2. In the LXX refers mostly to prophetic visions (Gen. 15:1; 46:2; Ex. 3:3; Num. 12:6; Deut. 4:34; 26:8; 28:34,67; Job 7:14; Eccl. 6:9; Isa. 21:1,2,11; 23:1; 30:10; Jer. 32:21; Daniel 2:19,23; 4:13; 7:2,13; 8:2). Subsequent NT uses are mostly also of ethereal visions: Acts 9:10-12 (Ananias’ vision re: Saul), Acts 10:3-11:5 (Peter’s vision re: Cornelius), Acts 12:9 (Peter initially thought his jailbreak to be a vision), Acts 16:9-10 (Paul’s Macedonian call), Acts 18:9 (God’s encouraging word to Paul), but use of this word in Acts 7:31 (The burning bush) is to describe a physically-sensed phenomenon as in Matt. 17.

^{^[27]} This relative pronoun goes untranslated in most English versions, but could be roughly translated “what [time that].” I took the liberty of periphrastically using the English preposition “after” as a simpler synonymous expression.

^{^[28]} With the support of only one strong ancient manuscript (B) and one unreliable one (D), the Critical editions read the synonym εγερθη – but it is passive instead of the majority reading which is active. Curiously, of all the English versions I read, only the NASB translates this verb in the active voice, although it usually follows the Critical text! The parallel passage in Mark 9:9 uses the histemi verb found in the majority reading of Matthew here, but spells it in the active voice instead of the passive voice. This is consistent with the rest of scripture which alternately attributes the resurrection to the agency of Jesus and to the Father. The unity of the trinity makes accusations of inconsistency moot. The Subjunctive has to do with the uncertainty of exactly when in the future it will happen, not uncertainty as to whether it will happen.

^{^[29]} On our future with Christ, Chrysostom eloquently wrote: But if we will, we also shall behold Christ, not as they then on the mount, but in far greater brightness... For whereas then, to spare His disciples, He discovered so much only of His brightness as they were able to bear; hereafter He shall come in the very glory of the Father, not with Moses and Elias only, but with the infinite host of the angels, with the archangels, with the cherubim, with those infinite tribes, not having a cloud over His head, but even heaven itself being folded up. For as it is with the judges… all men shall see Him sitting, and all the human race shall stand by, and He will make answers to them by Himself; and to some He will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father; for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat;” ²¹⁹⁷ Matt. xxv. 34, 35.to others, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things.” ²¹⁹⁸ Matt. xxv. 23.And again passing an opposite sentence, to some He will answer, “Depart into the everlasting fire, that is prepared for the devil and his angels,” ²¹⁹⁹ Matt. xxv. 41.and to others, “O thou wicked and slothful servants.”And some He will “cut asunder,” and “deliver to the tormentors;” but others He will command to “be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness.”²²⁰¹ Matt. xxii. 13. And after the axe the furnace will follow; and all out of the net, that is cast away, will fall therein. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun;” ²²⁰² Matt. xiii. 43.or rather more than the sun. But so much is said, not because their light is to be so much and no more, but since we know no other star brighter than this, He chose by the known example to set forth the future brightness of the saints.