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/34/ Early, at first light on the sabbath, a crowd came from Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside to see the sealed tomb. /35/ But during the night before the Lord's day dawned, while the soldiers were on guard, two by two during each watch, a loud noise came from the sky, /36/ and they saw the skies open up and two men come down from there in a burst of light and approach the tomb. /37/ The stone that had been pushed against the entrance began to roll by itself and moved away to one side; then the tomb opened up and both young men went inside.

/38/ Now when these soldiers saw this, they roused the centurion from his sleep, along with the elders. (Remember, they were also there keeping watch.) /39/ While they were explaining what they had seen, again they see three men leaving the tomb, two supporting the third, and a cross was following them. /40/ The heads of the two reached up to the sky, while the head of the third, whom they led by the hand, reached beyond the skies. /41/ And they heard a voice from the skies that said, "Have you preached to those who sleep?" /42/ And an answer was heard from the cross: "Yes!" [Complete Gospels]

 

(1b) Mark 9:2-10 = Matt 17:1-9 = Luke 9:28-36

/9:2/ Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, /3/ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. /4/ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. /5/ Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." /6/ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. /7/ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" /8/ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. /9/ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. /10/ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean

= Matt 17:1-9
/17:1/ Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. /2/ And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. /3/ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. /4/ Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." /5/ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" /6/ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. /7/ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." /8/ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. /9/ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

= Luke 9:28-36
/9:28/ Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. /29/ And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. /30/ Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. /31/ They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. /32/ 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. /33/ 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. /34/ While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. /35/ Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" /36/ 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.

 

(1c) 2Pet 1:17-18

/17/ For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well-pleased." /18/ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. [Complete Gospels]

 

Notes

RCL: Year ABC, Last Sunday after Epiphany [Sermon]
ECUSA: & RC: Year ABC, Lent 2

advanceWORD: Last Sunday after Epiphany B

Dramatic script

 

Biblical Parallels

(1) Moses

Exodus 19:1-20:22
19:1 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 19:2 They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 19:3 Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 19:5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 19:6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites." 19:7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 19:8 The people all answered as one: "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD. 19:9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after." When Moses had told the words of the people to the LORD, 19:10 the LORD said to Moses: "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 19:11 and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 19:12 You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. 19:13 No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain." 19:14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. 19:15 And he said to the people, "Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman." 19:16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 19:17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. 19:19 As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. 19:20 When the LORD descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the LORD summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 19:21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through to the LORD to look; otherwise many of them will perish. 19:22 Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves or the LORD will break out against them." 19:23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people are not permitted to come up to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and keep it holy.'" 19:24 The LORD said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the LORD; otherwise he will break out against them." 19:25 So Moses went down to the people and told them. 20:1 Then God spoke all these words: 20:2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 20:3 you shall have no other gods before me. 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 20:6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 20:7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 20:10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 20:13 You shall not murder. 20:14 You shall not commit adultery. 20:15 You shall not steal. 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. 20:18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 20:19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." 20:20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin." 20:21 Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. 20:22 The LORD said to Moses: Thus you shall say to the Israelites: "You have seen for yourselves that I spoke with you from heaven.

Exodus 24:1-18
24:1 Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. 24:2 Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him." 24:3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do." 24:4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. 24:5 He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the LORD. 24:6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. 24:7 Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." 24:8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, "See the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." 24:9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 24:10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 24:11 God did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; also they beheld God, and they ate and drank. 24:12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." 24:13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 24:14 To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them." 24:15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 24:16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 24:18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 34:1-35
34:1 The LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. 34:2 Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to me, on the top of the mountain. 34:3 No one shall come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain; and do not let flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain." 34:4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 34:5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, "The LORD." 34:6 The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 34:7 keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." 34:8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 34:9 He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance." 34:10 He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 34:11 Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 34:12 Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. 34:13 You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles 34:14 (for you shall worship no other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God). 34:15 You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice. 34:16 And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods. 34:17 You shall not make cast idols. 34:18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 34:19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 34:20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed. 34:21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. 34:22 You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 34:23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 34:24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year. 34:25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning. 34:26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. 34:27 The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 34:28 He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 34:29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 34:31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 34:32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34:34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 34:35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

(2) Elijah

1 Kings 19:8-18
19:8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 19:9 At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 19:10 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 19:11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 19:14 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 19:15 Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 19:16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 19:17 Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 19:18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

SEE ALSO the apocryphal texts cited below.

 

John Dominic Crossan

Jesus Seminar

The commentary in The Acts of Jesus identifies Mark as the one who first shaped the transfiguration story into its present form, with all other versions being dependent on Mark:

The transfiguration fits with Mark's understanding of Jesus as God's son (1:11, 15:39) and provides the reader with a preview of Jesus' supernatural glory, which Mark does not otherwise narrate. In the account of Jesus' baptism, God had declared Jesus to be his son (1:11), and Mark reaffirms that role role here at a crucial point in the gospel's plot, just after Jesus' first prediction that he will suffer and die (8:31-33). The command to "listen to him," rather than to Moses or Elijah, underscores the grim prediction of Jesus' passion that Mark has just reported. (p. 106)

 

Samuel T. Lachs

Lachs [Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, 260] notes the clear links to the Sinai theophany, and lists a number of places where shining garments appear in rabbinic and apocryphal sources as a result of a holy person reflecting the glory of God:

Also, as for the glory of those who proved to be righteous on account of my law, those who possessed intelligence in their life, and those who planted the root of wisdom in their heart—their splendor then be glorified by transformations, and the shape of their face will be changed into the light of their beauty so that may acquire and receive the undying world which is promised to them. ... When they, therefore, will see that those over whom they are exalted now will be then more exalted, these into the splendor of angels and those into startling visions and horrible shapes ... For they will live in the heights of that world and they will be like the angels and equal to the stars. 2Bar 51:3,5,10 [OTP]

When the secrets of the Righteous One are revealed,
he shall judge the sinners;
and the wicked ones will be driven from the presence of the righteous and the elect,
and from that time, those who possess the earth will neither be rulers nor princes,
they shall nor be able to behold the faces of the holy ones,
for the light of the Lord of the Spirits has shined
upon the face of the holy, the righteous, and the elect. 1 Enoch 38:3-4 [OTP]

In those days, Sheol will return all the deposits which she had received and hell will give back all which it owes. And he shall choose the righteous and the holy ones from among (the risen dread), for the day when they shall be selected and saved has arrived. In those days, (the Elect One) shall sit on my throne, and from the conscience of his mouth shall come out all the secrets of wisdom, for the Lord of the Spirits has given them to him and glorified him. In those days, mountains shall dance like rams; and the hills shall leap like kids satiated with milk. And the faces of all the angels in heaven shall glow with joy, because on that day the Elect One has arisen. And the earth shall rejoice; and the righteous ones shall dwell upon her and the elect ones shall walk upon her. 1 Enoch 51:1-5 [OTP]

The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on. 4 Ezra 7:97 [OTP]

How happy are the righteous who escape the LORD's great judgment;
for they will be made to shine seven times brighter than the sun.
2 (Slavonic) Enoch 66:7 [OTP]

(see also Sifre Deut 10, Koh. R. 1:7; 1:3 and Deut. R. 11)