“Behold, two men, which were _Moses_ and _Elias_;” these were two very proper persons to come upon this embassy to the Son of GOD. _Moses_ was the great lawgiver, _Elias_ was the great restorer of the law: The body of _Moses_ was hidden and never found, _Elias_’s body was translated immediately, and carried up in a fiery chariot to heaven: And it may be that this was done particularly, because these two were hereafter to have the honour of waiting upon the Son of GOD. “They appeared in glory;” that is, their bodies were now in that glorious habit, in which the bodies of believers are to be at the morning of the resurrection. CHRIST was, as it were, now sitting in his royal robes; and as it is usual for ambassadors, when they are to be admitted into the king’s presence, on bringing a message from one king to another, to appear in all their grandeur, to make the message more solemn; so here, these heavenly messengers being to wait upon the LORD JESUS CHRIST, are invested as with royal dignity, they appeared in glory, and “they spake of his decease which he should accomplish at _Jerusalem_,” they came to tell the Redeemer of his sufferings, and of the place of his sufferings, and to acquaint him, that his sufferings, however great, however bitter, were to be _accomplished_; that there was to be an end put to them, as our LORD himself speaks, “The things concerning me are to have an end.” What other particulars they spoke to our LORD, we are not told. But what effect this had upon the disciples, you may learn from the 32d verse, “_Peter_, and they that were with him, were heavy with sleep.”
We are not to suppose, that _Peter_, _James_ and _John_, were now asleep in a literal sense; no, if we compare this, with another passage of holy writ, I mean the account given us of _Daniel_’s being impressed and overcome, when he saw the angel of the LORD, you will find that this sleep implies what we call a swoon. They were overcome with the sight of the glory of CHRIST’s garments, the glistering of his body, and the glory in _Moses_ and _Elias_ appeared: these quite overcame them, sunk them down, and, like the Queen of _Sheba_, when she saw _Solomon_’s glory, they had no life in them. But they recovered themselves: “when they were awake,” that is, when they had recovered their strength, when GOD had put strength into them, as the angel put strength into _Daniel_, “they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.” And how do you think they gazed upon CHRIST? how may we suppose they fixed their eyes upon _Moses_ and _Elias_? _Peter_, who was always the first speaker, out of the abundance of his heart, spoke upon this occasion. Verse 33. “And it came to pass as they departed from him, _Peter_ said unto JESUS, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_, and one for _Elias_, not knowing what he said.” _Peter_, when he had drank a little of CHRIST’s new wine, speaks like a person intoxicated; he was overpowered with the brightness of the manifestation. “Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_, and one for _Elias_.” It is well added, “not knowing what he said.” That ♦he should cry out, “Master, it is good for us to be here,” in such good company, and in so glorious a condition, is no wonder; which of us all would not have been apt to have done the same? But to talk of building tabernacles, and one for CHRIST, and one for _Moses_, and one for _Elias_, was saying something for which _Peter_ himself must stand reproved. Surely, _Peter_, thou wast not quite awake! thou talkest like one in a dream: If thy LORD had taken thee at thy word, what a poor tabernacle wouldst thou have had, in comparison of that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, in which thou hast long since dwelt, now the earthly house of the tabernacle of thy body is dissolved? What! build tabernacles below, and have the crown, before thou hast borne the cross? O _Peter, Peter_! “Master, spare thyself,” sticks too too closely to thee: And why so selfish, _Peter_? Carest thou not for thy fellow disciples that are below, who came not up with thee to the mount? carest thou not for the precious souls, that are as sheep having no shepherd, and must perish for ever, unless thy Master descends from the mount to teach, and to die for them? wouldst thou thus eat thy spiritual morsels alone? Besides, if thou art for building tabernacles, why must there be three of them, one for CHRIST, and one for _Moses_, and one for _Elias_? are CHRIST and the prophets divided? do they not sweetly harmonize and agree in one? did they not prophesy concerning the sufferings of thy LORD, as well as of the glory that should follow? Alas, how unlike is their conversation to thine? _Moses_ and _Elias_ came down to talk of suffering, and thou art dreaming of building I know not what tabernacles. Surely, _Peter_, thou art so high upon the mount, that thy head runs giddy.