Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 17:2

"and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." — Matthew 17:2 (ASV)

And was transfigured before them — Elsewhere in the New Testament (except for the parallel passage in Mark 9:2), the word is used only in its spiritual sense and is translated there as transformed. Luke does not use the word but describes the change it implies: the fashion of His countenance became other than it had been (Luke 9:29). He adds the profoundly significant fact that this happened while He was in the act of prayer. It was in that act of communion with His Father that the divine glory flowed out into visible brightness.

Transcendent as this manifestation was, it has lesser analogies. We see it in the radiance that made Stephen’s face as the face of an angel (Acts 6:15), and even more so in the glory that shone on Moses’ face when he came down from the mountain (Exodus 34:29). In some faint measure, it is also seen in what could be called the transformative power of prayer, which clothes features that have no beauty or attractiveness with the rapture of devout ecstasy. It is not an overly bold speculation to see in this fact the very thing that gives the Transfiguration its meaning as a stage in the disciples' training.

Prayers like the one offered for Peter, that his faith might not fail (Luke 22:31–32), suggest something about the Master's intercession for His disciples. We must remember this was a crisis in their spiritual history. They had risen to the highest faith, only to be offended by the announcement of His rejection, suffering, and death. Something was needed to sustain their faith—something they could look back on in later years as a guarantee of a future glory. It was good for them to gaze, at least once during His life of humility, on the glory of the only-begotten of the Father (John 1:14). It was good for them to feel that they were not following cunningly-devised fables but had been eye-witnesses of His majesty (2 Peter 1:16).

For those who believe that our Lord’s human nature was truly like ours in every way, except for sin, it will not seem too bold to suggest that this might have been a time of conflict and trial for Him as well. It could have been a renewal of the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 16:23) and an anticipation of the agony in Gethsemane. Perhaps even for Him, in His humanity, the excellent glory and the voice from heaven provided the help and comfort that strengthened Him for the cross and passion.

Following the narrative in detail, we can trace its stages in a sequence like this: After six days, spent apparently with their Lord in the mountain district near Caesarea Philippi but not in preaching or working miracles, the rest of the disciples are left at the foot of the mountain. The three then follow Him to its summit as evening closes. There, as later in Gethsemane, He withdraws from them about a stone’s throw (Luke 22:41), and they watch with Him. They gaze on Him as He, either standing or kneeling (we must remember that standing was the more common posture for prayer, Luke 18:11), intercedes for them, for Israel, and, we may add, for all mankind. Then, as they gaze, His form and features shine with a new glory, as bright as the sun, as though the Shekinah glory-cloud had wrapped itself around Him. Even His garments become white as the light and white as snow (the reading in Mark is uncertain, but if genuine, the snows of Mount Hermon may have suggested the comparison). As Mark adds with his usual descriptive vividness, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. It should be added, however, that nothing in the text suggests the vision of three forms floating in the air, with which Raphael’s glorious picture has made us familiar.