Deepertruth: Transfiguration of the Lord

Transfiguration of the Lord 8/6/2023

The Transfiguration is a theophany: a manifestation of God, especially of the divinity of Christ, through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. Many churches of Christianity celebrate the Transfiguration as a major feast day.

All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths on the spot suggests it occurred during the week-long Jewish Feast of Booths in the fall.

The transfiguration narrative acts as a further revelation of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to some of his disciples.

According to Scripture scholars, in spite of the texts’ agreement it is difficult to reconstruct the disciples’ experience, because the Gospels draw heavily on Old Testament descriptions of the Sinai encounter with God, and prophetic visions of the Son of Man. Certainly Peter, James, and John had a glimpse of Jesus’ divinity strong enough to strike fear into their hearts. Such an experience defies description, so they drew on familiar religious language to describe it. And certainly Jesus warned them that his glory and his suffering were to be inextricably connected—a theme John highlights throughout his Gospel.

The transfiguration is a preview of the future, when the Son of Man will come in glory to consummate his kingdom. But this future kingdom can only come through his death and resurrection, which is why Jesus warns the three disciples to “tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead” (Matt. 17:9).