What was the point of the Transfiguration?

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To give the Apostles a glimpse of Who Jesus is. It reinforces that his coming Passoon is something he freely gives of himself. He could stop it at anytime but he chose to suffer and die of his own free will.

Also, the Apostles get a glimpse of their future if they persevere in the coming kingdom.
 
This event is a parallel to the theophany with Moses on Horeb/Sinai, when the glory of the Lord past by Moses as he hid in the cleft of the rock.

But, perhaps, the homiletic lesson of this account is this: Here’s Moses. Listen to him? Nope. Here’s Elijah. Listen to him? Nope. Now, here’s Jesus. Listen TO HIM.

Jesus surpasses the Law (represented by Moses) and the Prophets (represented by Elijah).

I read this in a church bulletin.
 
Needtostop said:
:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

What was the significance of it? :confused::confused::confused:
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Look at the immediate context of the pericope. I’ll quote from Mark’s version.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea of Philip; and in the way he was questioning his disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say me to be?” But they spoke to him, saying, “John the Baptizer, and others Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He asked them, “But you; who do you say me to be?” Answering, Peter says to him, “You are the Christ!” And he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about him, and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief-priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise up, and openly he was speaking the word; and Peter, having taken him aside, began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan, for you are not thinking the things of God, but that of man.” And having called near the crowd, with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life on my account and of the good-news will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in recompense for his life? For if anyone is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he says to them, “Amen, I say to you that there are some of those standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come with power.”

And after six days Jesus takes Peter, and James, and John with him, and leads them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transformed before them, and his clothes became gleaming exceedingly white, such as no launderer on the earth can whiten. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And answering, Peter says to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here, and let us make three booths: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” for he was not knowing what to answer, for they were very frightened. And there was a cloud overshadowing them, and there was a voice from the cloud: “This is my son, the beloved; hear him,” and suddenly, having looked around, they saw no one any longer with them but Jesus alone. And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they saw, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. And they held on the word, questioning among themselves what the ‘rising from the dead’ is.

Various authors see here a lot of allusions to Moses in Sinai: the reference to “six days” (9:2; Exodus 24:16); the cloud and the voice (9:7; Exodus 24:16); the three companions (9:2; Exodus 24:1, 9); a transformation in appearance (9:3; Exodus 34:30), and the reaction of fear (9:6; Exodus 34:30). In Exodus 24:13 Joshua is singled out and taken up the mountain with Moses, which would have been highly symbolic for early Christians (Joshua = ‘Jesus’ in Greek). In addition, there is also a possible allusion to Elijah’s ascension (the transfiguration proper = Elijah being taken up; the unearthly light = fire from heaven; the talk about Elijah immediately afterwards). Add to that further allusions from Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days and the ‘one like a son of man’ (it’s no coincidence that the term shows up before and after the portion).

On the one hand, the talk of the “kingdom come in power” immediately before the pericope strongly suggests that for Mark, the transfiguration is a prolepsis, a foreshadowing, if you will, of the coming kingdom. But on the other hand, could it be that the kingdom is also protrayed as already having now, in a sense, come?
 
In a set of meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary, Divine Mercy links the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden. Note that Jesus took Peter, James and John to both. The first was to show them His full nature to strengthen their faith for the low point of the Agony.
 
Just wanted to say thanks for posting this question-- every time I pray the rosary I have a hard time meditating on the significance of this mystery. Maybe after reading the responses it will help…🙂
 
patrick457 said:
Look at the immediate context of the pericope. I’ll quote from Mark’s version.

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea of Philip; and in the way he was questioning his disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say me to be?” But they spoke to him, saying, “John the Baptizer, and others Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He asked them, “But you; who do you say me to be?” Answering, Peter says to him, “You are the Christ!” And he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about him, and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief-priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise up, and openly he was speaking the word; and Peter, having taken him aside, began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan, for you are not thinking the things of God, but that of man.” And having called near the crowd, with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life on my account and of the good-news will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in recompense for his life? For if anyone is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he says to them, “Amen, I say to you that there are some of those standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come with power.”

And after six days Jesus takes Peter, and James, and John with him, and leads them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transformed before them, and his clothes became gleaming exceedingly white, such as no launderer on the earth can whiten. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And answering, Peter says to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here, and let us make three booths: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” for he was not knowing what to answer, for they were very frightened. And there was a cloud overshadowing them, and there was a voice from the cloud: “This is my son, the beloved; hear him,” and suddenly, having looked around, they saw no one any longer with them but Jesus alone. And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one what they saw, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. And they held on the word, questioning among themselves what the ‘rising from the dead’ is.

Various authors see here a lot of allusions to Moses in Sinai: the reference to “six days” (9:2; Exodus 24:16); the cloud and the voice (9:7; Exodus 24:16); the three companions (9:2; Exodus 24:1, 9); a transformation in appearance (9:3; Exodus 34:30), and the reaction of fear (9:6; Exodus 34:30). In Exodus 24:13 Joshua is singled out and taken up the mountain with Moses, which would have been highly symbolic for early Christians (Joshua = ‘Jesus’ in Greek). In addition, there is also a possible allusion to Elijah’s ascension (the transfiguration proper = Elijah being taken up; the unearthly light = fire from heaven; the talk about Elijah immediately afterwards). Add to that further allusions from Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days and the ‘one like a son of man’ (it’s no coincidence that the term shows up before and after the portion).

On the one hand, the talk of the “kingdom come in power” immediately before the pericope strongly suggests that for Mark, the transfiguration is a prolepsis, a foreshadowing, if you will, of the coming kingdom. But on the other hand, could it be that the kingdom is also protrayed as already having now, in a sense, come?
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Thank you! 👍 This makes a lot of sense. I’ll have to go read those Scriptures from the OT. I don’t remember ever hearing them.
 
Joe_Kelley said:
In a set of meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary, Divine Mercy links the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden. Note that Jesus took Peter, James and John to both. The first was to show them His full nature to strengthen their faith for the low point of the Agony.
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👍👍👍
 
ilovemary90 said:
Just wanted to say thanks for posting this question-- every time I pray the rosary I have a hard time meditating on the significance of this mystery. Maybe after reading the responses it will help…🙂
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You’re welcome! 🙂
 
NotWorthy said:
To give the Apostles a glimpse of Who Jesus is. It reinforces that his coming Passoon is something he freely gives of himself. He could stop it at anytime but he chose to suffer and die of his own free will.

Also, the Apostles get a glimpse of their future if they persevere in the coming kingdom.
Click to expand...
Thanks! 👍👍👍
 
To add on to Patrick’s post, and to the conversation in general, I would simply point out the following verse from Luke’s version of the Transfiguration.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. (Luke 9:29-31)

Many miss this little detail, that Jesus was to accomplish an exodus in Jerusalem. That is what he, Elijah and Moses were conversing about, a second exodus.

The exodus Jesus was to acomplish was in many ways similar to, and a fulfillment of the exodus which Moses led, but never completed. Moses himself never crossed into the promised land, but Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Moses led the people out of slavery and bondage, but they kept slipping into sin and acting like their captors back in Egypt. Jesus however, completes the exodus and gives us a very real way to completely rid ourselves of sin and “Become perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” That way is confession, and himself in the Eucharist, and the gift of the paraclete and sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, and the guidance of the voice of Christ on earth, the Church.

Jesus finished the exodus from slavery to sin which Moses was not able to complete. I think that’s one of the points of the Transfiguration, at least as it is stated in Luke’s Gospel.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
To add on to Patrick’s post, and to the conversation in general, I would simply point out the following verse from Luke’s version of the Transfiguration.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. (Luke 9:29-31)

Many miss this little detail, that Jesus was to accomplish an exodus in Jerusalem. That is what he, Elijah and Moses were conversing about, a second exodus.

The exodus Jesus was to acomplish was in many ways similar to, and a fulfillment of the exodus which Moses led, but never completed. Moses himself never crossed into the promised land, but Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Moses led the people out of slavery and bondage, but they kept slipping into sin and acting like their captors back in Egypt. Jesus however, completes the exodus and gives us a very real way to completely rid ourselves of sin and “Become perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” That way is confession, and himself in the Eucharist, and the gift of the paraclete and sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, and the guidance of the voice of Christ on earth, the Church.

Jesus finished the exodus from slavery to sin which Moses was not able to complete. I think that’s one of the points of the Transfiguration, at least as it is stated in Luke’s Gospel.

-Tim-
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Wow! I never knew this. Thanks for telling me! 👍👍👍:):)🙂
 
Needtostop said:
Wow! I never knew this. Thanks for telling me! 👍👍👍:):)🙂
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This is the kind of information I picked up in the Bible studies from Jeff Cavins.

The Bible Timeline is excellent as an overview of the entire Bible and their study of the Gospel of Matthew titled “The King and His Kingdom” is where I picket that up.

Many parishes are using the studies from Jeff Cavins. Our parish bought a few sets of DVDs and the company works with our parish to help us stock the study guides which we pay for ourselves. We then meet in homes, at the church or even the local library to go through the studies in small groups.

You won’t regret bringing these studies to your parish.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
To add on to Patrick’s post, and to the conversation in general, I would simply point out the following verse from Luke’s version of the Transfiguration.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. (Luke 9:29-31)

Many miss this little detail, that Jesus was to accomplish an exodus in Jerusalem. That is what he, Elijah and Moses were conversing about, a second exodus.

The exodus Jesus was to acomplish was in many ways similar to, and a fulfillment of the exodus which Moses led, but never completed. Moses himself never crossed into the promised land, but Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Moses led the people out of slavery and bondage, but they kept slipping into sin and acting like their captors back in Egypt. Jesus however, completes the exodus and gives us a very real way to completely rid ourselves of sin and “Become perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” That way is confession, and himself in the Eucharist, and the gift of the paraclete and sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, and the guidance of the voice of Christ on earth, the Church.

Jesus finished the exodus from slavery to sin which Moses was not able to complete. I think that’s one of the points of the Transfiguration, at least as it is stated in Luke’s Gospel.

-Tim-
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You hit one right out of the ballpark here Tim. 👍
 
ConstantineTG said:
You hit one right out of the ballpark here Tim. 👍
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Well, thanks for saying so, but no. I just paid attention in Bible study, that’s all. 😉

My skill is actually the ability to take large volumes of highly complex material and condense it down to a short, easily understood concepts. I’m actually a pretty good teacher in the computer industry because of it. Nobody can make the simple more complex than Microsoft and I used to make a good living teaching their products to IT people.

I’m glad I could pay attention and pass on a nugget. All the glory goes to God. He wrote the stuff.

Again, the studies by Jeff Cavins will make anyone look like genius.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
Well, thanks for saying so, but no. I just paid attention in Bible study, that’s all. 😉

My skill is actually the ability to take large volumes of highly complex material and condense it down to a short, easily understood concepts. I’m actually a pretty good teacher in the computer industry because of it. Nobody can make the simple more complex than Microsoft and I used to make a good living teaching their products to IT people.

I’m glad I could pay attention and pass on a nugget. All the glory goes to God. He wrote the stuff.

Again, the studies by Jeff Cavins will make anyone look like genius.

-Tim-
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We are all students. All wisdom comes from God, we just pass it along ;)👍
 
TimothyH said:
This is the kind of information I picked up in the Bible studies from Jeff Cavins.

The Bible Timeline is excellent as an overview of the entire Bible and their study of the Gospel of Matthew titled “The King and His Kingdom” is where I picket that up.

Many parishes are using the studies from Jeff Cavins. Our parish bought a few sets of DVDs and the company works with our parish to help us stock the study guides which we pay for ourselves. We then meet in homes, at the church or even the local library to go through the studies in small groups.

You won’t regret bringing these studies to your parish.

-Tim-
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I actually did that whole series in 8th grade CCD. So maybe I had learned it and I forgot about it. It was a couple years ago.
 
TimothyH said:
This is the kind of information I picked up in the Bible studies from Jeff Cavins.

The Bible Timeline is excellent as an overview of the entire Bible and their study of the Gospel of Matthew titled “The King and His Kingdom” is where I picket that up.

Many parishes are using the studies from Jeff Cavins. Our parish bought a few sets of DVDs and the company works with our parish to help us stock the study guides which we pay for ourselves. We then meet in homes, at the church or even the local library to go through the studies in small groups.

You won’t regret bringing these studies to your parish.

-Tim-
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I was actually just listening to Jeff Cavins on the Radio last night and he was talking about how Jesus ended the exodus. Now that you reminded me of it with your post, I have something meditate on about. Thanks!🙂
 
Crumpy said:
This event is a parallel to the theophany with Moses on Horeb/Sinai, when the glory of the Lord past by Moses as he hid in the cleft of the rock.
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And you forgot to mention Revelations 1:9-16 where the Lord is sitted on a thrown in glory with eyes of fire, hair as white as snow exe. Just thought I add that in.
 
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