Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 17:2-4

"and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Peter answered, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." — Matthew 17:2-4 (ASV)

Remigius of Auxerre: In this Transfiguration experienced on the mountain, the Lord fulfilled the promise He had made to His disciples within six days, that they would see His glory; as it is written, "And after six days he took Peter, and James, and John his brother."

St. Jerome: A question is raised as to how He could have taken them after six days when Luke says eight. The answer is easy: one account counted only the days in between, while the other also added the first and last days.

St. John Chrysostom: He does not take them up immediately after making the promise, but six days later, so that the other disciples would not be affected by any human passion, such as jealousy, or so that during these days, the disciples who were to be taken up might be kindled with a more eager desire.

Rabanus Maurus: It was fitting that He showed His glory after six days, because the resurrection is to come after six ages.^{i 1}

Origen of Alexandria: Or, it is because this entire visible world was made in six days; so one who is above all the things of this world can ascend the high mountain and there see the glory of the Word of God.

St. John Chrysostom: He took these three because He held them in higher regard than the others. But notice how Matthew does not hide that others were preferred over him; John does the same when he records the high praise given to Peter. For the company of the Apostles was free from jealousy and vainglory.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: In the three who were thus taken up with Him, the election of people from the three lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth is symbolized.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, He took only three disciples with Him because many are called, but few are chosen. Or, it is because those who now hold the faith of the Holy Trinity with an uncorrupted mind will then rejoice in the everlasting sight of it. ²

Remigius of Auxerre: When the Lord was about to show His disciples the glory of His radiance, He led them up a high mountain apart. In this, He teaches that all who seek to contemplate God must not grovel in base pleasures but, through a love for things above, should always be raising themselves toward what is heavenly. He also shows His disciples that they should not look for the glory of divine radiance in the abyss of this present world, but in the kingdom of heavenly blessedness. He leads them apart because the saints are separated from the wicked by their whole soul and the devotion of their faith, and they will be utterly separated in the future; or, because many are called, but few are chosen.

It follows, "And he was transfigured before them."

St. Jerome: He was seen by the Apostles as He will be at the time of the Judgment. Let no one suppose that He lost His former form and features, or laid aside His bodily reality to take on a spiritual or ethereal body. The Evangelist shows how His transfiguration was accomplished, saying, "And his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white as snow." The fact that His face is said to shine and His clothing is described as becoming white does not take away His substance but confers glory.

In truth, the Lord was transformed into that glory in which He will hereafter come in His Kingdom. The transformation enhanced His radiance but did not destroy His face, even though the body was spiritual. Therefore, His clothing was also changed and became so white that, as another Evangelist expresses it, no fuller on earth could whiten it. But all of this is a property of matter and is subject to touch; it is not of a spirit or something ethereal, an illusion for the sight seen only as a phantom.

Remigius of Auxerre: If, then, the face of the Lord shone like the sun, and the saints will shine like the sun, is the radiance of the Lord and the radiance of His servants to be equal? By no means. But since nothing is known to be brighter than the sun, it is expressed this way to give some illustration of the future resurrection: the radiance of the Lord's face, and the radiance of the righteous, will be like the sun.

Origen of Alexandria: Mystically, when anyone has passed the six days as we have described, he beholds Jesus transfigured before the eyes of his heart. For the Word of God has various forms, appearing to each person as He knows it will be beneficial for them, and He shows Himself to no one in a way that is beyond their capacity. This is why the Evangelist does not simply say, "He was transfigured," but "before them."

For in the Gospels, Jesus is merely understood by those who do not ascend the high mountain of wisdom through uplifting works and words. But to those who do ascend in this way, He is no longer known according to the flesh but is understood to be God the Word. Jesus is transfigured before these, then, and not before those who live sunk in worldly affairs. But these, before whom He is transfigured, have been made sons of God, and He is shown to them as the Sun of Righteousness. His clothing is made white as the light; that is, the words and sayings of the Gospels with which Jesus is clothed, according to what was spoken of Him by the Apostles.

Glossa Ordinaria: Or, the clothing of Christ represents the saints, of whom Isaiah says, "With all these you shall clothe yourself as with a garment" (Isaiah 49:18). They are compared to snow because they will be white with virtues, and all the heat of their vices will be put far away from them. ³

It follows, "And there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with them."

St. John Chrysostom: There are many reasons why these two should appear. The first is this: because the crowds said He was Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, He brings the chief of the prophets with Him here, so that from this, at least, the difference between the servants and their Lord might be seen.

Another reason is this: because the Jews were always charging Jesus with being a transgressor of the Law and a blasphemer who was usurping the glory of the Father. To prove Himself guiltless of both charges, He brings forward those who were eminent in both respects: Moses, who gave the Law, and Elijah, who was zealous for the glory of God.

Another reason is so that they might learn that He has the power of life and death, which He showed by bringing forth Moses, who was dead, and Elijah, who had not yet experienced death. A further reason, which the Evangelist also reveals, is that He might show the glory of His cross and thus soothe Peter and the other disciples, who were afraid of His death. For they talked, as another Evangelist declares, of "His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem."

Therefore, He brings forward those who had exposed themselves to death for God's pleasure and for the people who believed, for both had willingly stood before tyrants: Moses before Pharaoh, and Elijah before Ahab. Lastly, He also brings them forward so that the disciples should emulate their virtues and be meek like Moses and zealous like Elijah.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Also, the fact that only Moses and Elijah, out of the whole number of the saints, stood with Christ means that Christ, in His kingdom, stands between the Law and the Prophets, for He will judge Israel in the presence of the very ones by whom He was preached to them.

Origen of Alexandria: However, if anyone discerns a spiritual sense in the Law that agrees with the teaching of Jesus, and finds in the Prophets the hidden wisdom of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:7), he beholds Moses and Elijah in the same glory with Jesus.

St. Jerome: It should also be remembered that when the Scribes and Pharisees asked for signs from heaven, He would not give any. But now, to increase the Apostles' faith, He gives a sign: Elijah descends from heaven, to where he had gone up, and Moses arises from the grave, just as Ahaz is told by Isaiah to ask for a sign in the heaven above, or in the depth beneath (Isaiah 7:10).

St. John Chrysostom: Upon this follows what the fervent Peter said. Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Because he had heard that He must go to Jerusalem, he still feared for Christ; but after his rebuke, he dares not say again, "Be propitious to thyself, Lord," but suggests the same thing covertly in another way. For seeing great quiet and solitude in this place, he thought it would be a suitable place to make their dwelling, saying, "If you will, let us make here three tabernacles." He wanted to remain there forever, and so he proposed the tabernacles. For he concluded that if he did this, Christ would not go to Jerusalem; and if He did not go to Jerusalem, He would not die, for he knew that the Scribes were lying in wait for Him there.

Remigius of Auxerre: Alternatively, at this sight of the Lord's majesty and His two servants, Peter was so delighted that, forgetting everything else in the world, he wanted to remain here forever. But if Peter was so filled with admiration then, what rapture will it be to behold the King in His own beauty and to join the choir of the Angels and all the saints? In that Peter says, "Lord, if you will," he shows the submission of a dutiful and obedient servant.

St. Jerome: Yet you are wrong, Peter, and as another Evangelist saysⁱ, you do not know what you are saying. Do not think of three tabernacles when there is only one tabernacle of the Gospel, in which both the Law and the Prophets are to be contained. But if you will have three tabernacles, do not set the servants as equal to their Lord. Instead, make three tabernacles—or rather, make one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that They, whose divinity is one, may have but one tabernacle in your heart.

Remigius of Auxerre: He was also wrong in desiring that the kingdom of the elect should be established on earth, when the Lord had promised to give it in heaven. He was also wrong in forgetting that he and his companions were mortal, and in desiring to reach eternal happiness without tasting death.

Rabanus Maurus: He was also wrong in supposing that tabernacles were needed for life in heaven, where houses are not needed, as it is written in the Apocalypse: "I saw no temple in it" (Revelation 21:22).

1. e Bed.
2. e Bed.
3. e Bed. in Luc.