1 And after six days Jesus taketh 1 7 And Jesus came and touched them Peter, James, and John his brother, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart.
2 And was transfigured before them : and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the
8 And when they had hfted up their eyes,theysawnoman,save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, say- ing. Tell the vision to no man, until
light. ! the Son of man be risen again from
3 And, behold, there appeared unto the dead.
them Moses and Elias talking with | 10 And his disciples asked him, him. ! saying, Why then say the Scribes that
4 Then answered Peter, and said Elias must first come ?
unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to j 11 And Jesus answered and said be here : if thou wilt, let us make j unto them, Elias truly shall first come, here three tabernacles ; one for thee, ' and restore all things, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 12 But I say unto you. That Elias
5 While he yet spake, behold, a is come already, and they knew him bright cloud overshadowed them : and not, but have done unto him whatso- beiioW a voice out of the cloud, which ever they hsted. Likewise shall also said. This is my beloved Son, in whom the Son of man suffer of them.
I am well pleased ; hear ye him. ; 13 Then the disciples understood
6 And when the disciples heard i^, that he spake unto them of John th9 they fell on theii* face, and were sore Baptist.
afraid. '
These verses contain one of the most remarkable events in our Lord's earthly ministry, — the event commonly
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called the transfiguration. Tlie order in which it is recorded is beautiful and instructive. (The latter part of the last chapter shows us the cross. Here we are graciously allowed to see something of the coming reward. The hearts which have just been saddened by a plain statement of Christ's sufferings, are at once gladdened by a vision of Christ's glory. Let us mark this. We often lose much by not tracing the connection between chapter and chapter in the word of God.
There are some mysterious things, no doubt, in the vision here described. It must needs be so. We are yet in the body. Our senses are conversant with gross and material things. Our ideas and perceptions about glorified bodies and dead saints, must necessarily be vague and imperfect. Let us content ourselves with endeavor- ying to mark out the practical lessons which the trans- figuration is meant to teach us.
In the first place, we have in these verses a strihing pattern of the glory in lohich Christ and his people loill appear ivhen He comes the second time.
There can be little question that this was one main object of this wonderful vision. It was meant to en- courage the disciples, by giving them a glimpse of good things yet to come. That " face shining as the sun,^' and that " raiment white as the light," were intended to give the disciples some idea of the majesty in which Jesus will appear to the world, when He comes the second time, and all His saints with Him. The corner of the veil was lifted up, to show them their Master's true dignity. They were taught that, if He did not yet appear to the world in the guise of a king, it was only