Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen (Luke 9:28-36 – NRSV).
Introductory notes
General
All three synoptic Gospels record this event – see also Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:2-10. All three of the synoptics begin the narrative by saying that Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, though Luke re-orders the list to read “Peter, John and James”.
Peter also makes reference to this event – see 2 Peter 1.16–18.
Luke follows Mark whilst adding his own variations – eg Mark has “six days” and Luke “about eight days”; Mark says Jesus went up the mountain “so they could be alone” and Luke says they went up the mountain “to pray”.
Like Mark – see 8:34-38 – Luke has this event follow the teaching on discipleship.
All three synoptics have the command: “Listen to him!”
Taken together with Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah with the first prediction of the passion (9:18–22), the sayings on the cost of discipleship (9:23–27) and the transfiguration (9:28–36), we join the listeners on a journey towards a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what it means to be his disciple.
Specific
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James: Luke has already introduced us to this trio of Peter with James and John – see Luke 5:1-11. They also appear together in Luke 8:51. In Luke 22:8 – preparation of the Passover – it is Peter and John who are sent. In Luke 9:54 it is James and John who want to bring down fire on the Samaritan village. Luke is dependent on Mark in singling out this trio. When Jesus restored the young girl to life “he allowed no one to follow him (to the house) except Peter, James and John, the brother of James” (Mark 5:37). In Mark 3:17 we are told that Jesus gave James and John the name “Boanerges” meaning “sons of thunder”. It is interesting to ponder the trio of Peter, James and John – what brought them together, what kind of relationships they had, perhaps the conflicts they experienced. For example, Mark also tells us of the time James and John – significantly without Peter – sought places in the kingdom at Jesus’ side (10:35-45. See also Matthew 20:20-28.). Was this some kind of power play? Mark gives it significant space in his Gospel, suggesting it was no small matter.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we note that 2 Peter 1.16–18 makes no mention of James and John.
on the mountain: “Jesus leaves the sphere of ordinary events to go to a place of communion with God. In 2 Pet 1:18 it is called ‘a holy mountain’. It is not named here, as it is not in the other Gospels or in 2 Peter. The tradition that associates the transfiguration with Mount Tabor can only be traced back as far as Origen ….. Rightly, Conzelmann insists (Theology, 57) that the geographical identification of the mountain does not interest Luke, since it is for him ‘a place of manifestation’. But it would be more in line with the Lucan emphasis to view the mountain as a place of prayer, as it is in 6:12; cf. 19:29; 22:39. It is a place where Jesus puts himself in contact with the Father” (Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke I–IX: introduction, translation, and notes (Vol. 28), Yale University Press, 2008, 798).
they saw his glory: Johnston writes that, “by twice using this term in the story (9:31–32), Luke deliberately makes his version of the transfiguration the direct and immediate fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction in 9:26–27 that the Son of Man would come in ‘his glory’. The notions of ‘glory’ and ‘kingdom of God’ are closely tied by Luke to the person and words of Jesus. Jesus has already been identified (2:32) as the ‘glory of Israel’, and Luke will extensively develop the theme of Jesus as king at the end of the journey to Jerusalem (see 19:11ff)” (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991, 156).
his departure: The Greek word is exodon – from exodos – the same word that is used in the Septuagint to speak of the Exodus. Moses is present here with the great prophet Elijah. We are reminded of Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet”. And so we hear the words of the Lord: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Jesus is the New Moses, the prophet who will lead the people in the New Exodus which will be accomplished in Jerusalem and the wilderness of Calvary.
a cloud: “The cloud (nephelē) recalls the one enveloping Moses on the mountain (Exod 24:15–18) as well as the one leading the people in the desert signaling God’s presence (Exod 13:21). Elijah, too, saw a cloud from Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs 18:44–45). So also did the ‘Son of Man’ come on the ‘clouds of heaven’ in Dan 7:13 when he received from the Ancient of Days ‘glory and kingdom’. The verb episkiazein (‘overshadow’) also recalls the tent of meeting in the wilderness (Exod 40:35) as well as the annunciation in Luke 1:35 (Luke Timothy Johnson, op cit, 153-154).
they kept silent: Mark and Matthew both make a simple observation that Jesus asked them to tell no one. Luke seems to emphasize the silence of the three disciples. Jesus does not tell them to tell no one, they choose to tell no one “in those days”. This might relate to Jesus’ command in 9:21, following Peter’s profession of faith: “He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone.” This command is then followed by the prediction of his passion in Jerusalem – his exodon.
Johnson points out, further, “that it is only after the ‘exodus’ of the Prophet has been accomplished and these witnesses had been given the Spirit could they become ‘ministers of the word’ (1:2)” (Luke Timothy Johnson, op cit, 156).
A lamp shining in a dark place
In today’s Gospel – Luke 9:28-36 – we have Luke’s account of the transfiguration. The following is crucial to that account: “Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure … Peter and his companions … saw his glory.” “Luke deliberately makes his version of the transfiguration the direct and immediate fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction in 9:26–27 that the Son of Man would come in ‘his glory’” (Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991, 156).
Although Luke depends heavily on Mark in all other respects, Mark does not speak of the “glory.” The references to “glory” at the transfiguration, are unique to Luke. Luke has already spoken of this “glory” when describing the encounter of the angel with the shepherds (2:9). And when the infant Jesus is presented in the temple, Simeon “takes him in his arms” and proclaims that he is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (2:32).
But the “glory” is going to be manifest in its fulness only through a paschal journey. Moses and Elijah, in the midst of this “glory” at the transfiguration, are “speaking of his departure.” The Greek word is exodon which literally means “exodus.” This links Jesus with the founding event of Israel – the Exodus. A new Exodus is unfolding!
Peter’s suggestion that they build tents shows that he has not begun to understand what is happening. As with the Exodus of old, the journey in the wilderness awaits them. It is worth noting that, in the Second Letter of Peter – almost certainly not written by Peter himself – Peter is cited as recalling that “we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). Peter says: “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pater 1:19). “A lamp shining in a dark place.” This is a most significant statement.
“So the disciples have to hold two truths about Jesus in mysterious tension. On the one hand, as God’s Son and Chosen One, he has a status totally outstripping that of conventional messianic expectation … On the other hand, precisely as God’s obedient Son, his messianic mission will be that of bringing freedom (‘exodus’), to Israel and ultimately to the world, through a costly entry into his pain and suffering” (Brendan Byrne SJ, The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2015, Kindle Edition, Location 1964).
The silence of the disciples as they come down from the mountain reminds us of T S Eliot’s words: “What you do not know is the only thing you know/ And what you own is what you do not own/ And where you are is where you are not” (“East Coker,” III).