Transfiguration of Jesus - New Testament Accounts

New Testament Accounts

In the Synoptic Gospels, (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36) the account of the transfiguration happens towards the middle of the narrative. It is a key episode and almost immediately follows another important element, the Confession of Peter: "you are the Christ". The Transfiguration narrative acts as a further revelation of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to some of his disciples.

In the Gospels, Jesus takes Peter, James, son of Zebedee and John the Apostle with him and goes up to a mountain, which is not named. Once on the mountain, Matthew (17:2) states that Jesus "was transfigured before them; his face shining as the sun, and his garments became white as the light." At that point the prophets Elijah and Moses appear and Jesus begins to talk to them. Luke is specific in describing Jesus in a state of glory, with Luke 9:32 referring to "they saw his glory".

Just as Elijah and Moses begin to depart from the scene, Peter begins to ask Jesus if the disciples should make three tents for him and the two prophets. This has been interpreted as Peter's attempt to keep the prophets there longer. But before Peter can finish, a bright cloud appears, and a voice from the cloud states: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him". The disciples then fall to the ground in fear, but Jesus approaches and touches them, telling them not to be afraid. When the disciples look up, they no longer see Elijah or Moses.

When Jesus and the three apostles are going back down the mountain, Jesus tells them to not tell anyone "the things they had seen" until the "Son of Man" has risen from the dead. The apostles are described as questioning among themselves as to what Jesus meant by "risen from the dead".

In addition to the principal account given in the Synoptic Gospels; in 2 Peter 1:16–18, Apostle Peter describes himself as an eyewitness "of his sovereign majesty." The Gospel of John may also briefly allude to the same episode in John:1–14.

Elsewhere in the New Testament, Apostle Paul's reference in 2 Corinthians 3:18 to the "transformation of believers" via "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord" became the theological basis for considering the Transfiguration as the basis for processes which lead the faithful to the knowledge of God.

Although Matthew 17 lists the disciple John as being present during the Transfiguration, the Gospel of John has no account of it. This has resulted in debate among scholars, some suggesting doubts about the authorship of the Gospel of John, others providing explanations for it. One explanation (that goes back to Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century) is that John wrote his gospel not to overlap with the synoptic gospels, but to supplement it, and hence did not include all of their narrative. This is not the only incident not present in the fourth gospel, and the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is another key example, indicating that the inclusion of material in the fourth gospel was selective. The general explanation is thus the gospel of John was written thematically, to suit his theological purposes, and has a less narrative style than the synoptics.