Luke 9:28–36 We can read about this account as well in Matthew
17:1-9; Mark 9:1–9; and 2 Peter 1:15–19.
What we will study today in The Exodus…01. Now it Came to Pass (Luke 9:28);
02. As He Prayed (Luke 9:29-32);
and 03. Then it Happened (Luke 9:33-36).
01. Now it Came to Pass (Luke 9:28)
Last time we ended with Luke 9:27, and so in our study today we see the
fulfillment of what Jesus said.
Luke 9:28 “Now it came to pass, about
eight days” Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2 both have “after six
days” which doesn’t mean a contradiction. For both Matthew 17:1
and Mark
9:2 state that it was “after” and not “on the sixth day”, while Dr.
Luke records for us that it was “about eight days”,
which means all three accounts are consistent and not contradictory.
Luke 9:28 “after these sayings”
μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους This phrase is implying that the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:28-36)
is connected with the confession of Peter (“The Christ of God” - Luke 9:20), along with the
prediction of His death and suffering at the hands of the Jewish religious
leaders (Luke
9:22), and the call to bear the cross of Jesus (Luke 9:23-27).
Luke 9:28 “that He took Peter,
John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” In the 3rd
century, Origen
identified that this mountain was Mt. Tabor (elevation of
1,886 feet), and this was repeated by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome
in the 4th century. By the 6th century there were three
tabernacles, or churches constructed on the top of Mt. Tabor, trying to link
it to the three tabernacles suggested by Peter (Luke
9:33). On the peak of Mt. Tabor, there is now the
Church of
the Transfiguration. The church contains three caves, which were described
as the tabernacles that Peter mentioned building. The Church of the
Transfiguration has two chapels, dedicated to Moses and Elijah. The
northern chapel dedicated to Moses, and is for the Eastern Orthodox. The
southern chapel is dedicated to Elijah, and is for the Roman Catholics. It is
interesting to point out that these three were constructed even though Jesus
never commanded the construction of them!
More than likely this was not the location of the
transfiguration, though the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics would
disagree. It was more likely that the transfiguration of Jesus took place on Mt. Hermon (elevation
of 9,232 feet) because we know that Jesus and His disciples were in
and near Caesarea Philippi (Luke 9:18-22),
which is located on the southwestern slopes of Mt. Hermon, while Mt. Tabor is located in the
Nazareth area, to the south of Caesarea Philippi. There are some who think that
when Jesus, Peter, John and James went up to pray, that Jesus was praying about
His upcoming death (Luke 9:28).
02. As He Prayed (Luke 9:29-32)
Luke 9:29 “As He prayed, the
appearance of His face was altered” in the Greek its ἐγενετο το εἰδος του προσωπου αὐτου ἑτερον or literally,
“the
appearance of his face became different.” Matthew 17:2 says that, “His face shone like the sun.”
Dr. Luke does not use the word “transfigured” (G3339
μετεμορφωθη metemorphōthē) as
Matthew (Matthew
17:2) and Mark (Mark 9:2) does. He may have avoided this word
because of the pagan associations with this word as Ovid’s Μεταμορφοσες (Metamorphoses).[1]
Luke 9:29 “and His robe became white and glistening.” In the Greek και ὁ ἱματισμος αὐτου λευκος ἐξαστραπτων, or literally, “and His robe white glistening.”
There is no “became”
“and” between “white”
and “glistening.” The participle
G1823 ἐξαστραπτων
(exastraptōn) is from the compound verb meaning to flash (G797
ἀστραπτω [astraptō]) out or forth (G1537
ἐξ [ex]). The simple verb is common
for lightning flashes and bolts.[2]
Luke 9:30 “And behold,
two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,”
The appearance of the “two men”
(Luke 9:30) here is in fulfillment of
the Old Testament requirement for two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; cf. Deuteronomy
17:6;
Matthew 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Corinthians 13:1). In 1 Timothy 5:19,
Paul says that when there are accusations against a leader in the church, that
you don’t even listen to them unless there are two or
three witnesses, then investigate to see if the accusation is true. These
two witnesses testify to the appearance in glory of Jesus, as there were two
witnesses at the resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:4; Luke 24:13-32) and at His
ascension (Acts
1:9-11).
Luke 9:30 “talked with Him,” (συνελαλουν αὐτῳ
[sunelaloun autōi]). Imperfect active, were
talking with him.[3]
Luke 9:31 “who appeared in glory” οἳ ὀφθέντες ἐν δόξῃ, the referents are
Moses and Elijah, “who appeared in glory”
with Jesus (Luke
9:29). Moses and Elijah, both men whose bodies were never found when
they left this earth. For God buried Moses’ body (Deuteronomy 34:5–6), on Mount
Nebo, and Satan argued over his body with Michael the archangel (Jude 1:9)!
Elijah never died, for he “went up by a whirlwind
into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11–12), even though the sons of the
prophets insisted on searching for Elijah, he was no longer found (2 Kings 2:15–18)!
Luke 9:31 “and spoke of His
decease” The phrase “spoke of His
decease” in the Greek (ἐλεγον την ἐξοδον [elegon
tēn exodon]). Is written in the Imperfect active, meaning that they were talking about his ἐξοδυς
[exodus].[4] Moses
and Elijah were talking to Jesus about the very same subject that Peter dared
to rebuke Jesus for mentioning (Matthew 16:22; Mark 8:32).[5] The Greek
noun that is used here for “decease” is G1841
(MS: ἔξοδον) ἔξοδος ĕxŏdŏs,
ex´-od-os,[6] and
it means either: (a)movement from one
geographical area to another, specifically of the mass departure or exodus from Egypt,[7]
(b) departure from among the
living.[8] Obviously,
in this context, it means departure from
among the living.[9] The
other two times that the Greek noun G1841
ἔξοδος ĕxŏdŏs, ex´-od-os,[10] is
used in the New Testament is in Hebrews 11:22 and 2 Peter 1:15. This very word G1841
ἐξοδυς [exodus] (way out) in
the sense of death occurs in 2 Peter 1:15 and is followed by a brief
description of the Transfiguration glory. Other words for death (θανατος [thanatos] Luke 9:27) in the New Testament
are ἐκβασις [ekbasis], exit (Hebrews 13:7),
ἀφιξις [aphixis], departure (Acts 20:29),
ἀναλυσις [analusis],
loosening anchor (2 Timothy 4:6) and ἀναλυσαι [analusai] (Philippians 1:23).[11]
The topic of their discussion was the upcoming death of Jesus! Dr.
Luke is the only Gospel writer to use the Greek word G1841
ἐξοδυς exodus in this account
of the transfiguration of Jesus. The use of the Greek word G1841
ἐξοδυς exodus reminds us of
how God rescued His people out of the bondage of Egyptian slavery, thus
displaying one of the greatest redemptive acts in the Old Testament, and
pointing forward to the finishing work of Jesus on the cross (John 19:30).
Who with His death completely paid and forgave our sins with the shedding of
His blood (Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 12:1–3).
The exodus of the children of Israel was truly a great
redemptive act by YHWH, only to be superseded by the redemptive act of Jesus on
the cross! And this G1841
ἐξοδυς exodus was the topic
of the dialogue between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah (Luke
9:31)! Among the Jews, there was a popular teaching and expectation
that both Moses and Elijah would appear in the end. In fact there are Bible
scholars who believe that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses spoken about
in Revelation
11:1-14.
Moses represented the Law, Elijah represented the prophets, and Jesus
represented the gospel (grace),[12]
thus encompassing the whole Old Testament in its witness of the death and
resurrection of Jesus (Genesis 22:8;
John 1:29; Revelation 5:6). Elijah is to come back before “the great and dreadful day of YHWH.” (Malachi 4:5–6).
Luke 9:31 “which He was about to
accomplish at Jerusalem.” In the Greek, the word that Dr. Luke uses
for “accomplish” is (G4137)
πληρουν plēroun and it means to fulfill,[13] the fulfillment of divine predictions or
promises.[14] It’s as if the law and the prophets are
gathered together in the presence of the Lord Jesus to testify of the
sufferings that he would accomplish in Jerusalem. For the law and the prophets
do testify of him.[15]
Luke 9:32 “But Peter and those
with him were heavy with sleep” Dr. Luke is the only writer who
tells us that they were sleeping.
Luke 9:32 “were heavy with sleep” in the Greek the word for “heavy”
is (G916)
βαρέω barĕō, bar-eh´-o and it
means to weigh down,[16] of physical weariness…of eyelids that have
dropped.[17] The
same Greek word (G916
βαρέω barĕō) is used of the
eyes of these three disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:43; Luke 22:45)
and of the hearts of many (Luke 21:34).[18]
Luke 9:32 “and when they were
fully awake,” written in the ingressive
aorist tense, which means to become
thoroughly awake.[19]
Luke 9:32 “they saw His glory
and the two men who stood with Him.” They wake up, and what do they
see? They see Jesus in His glory with Moses and Elijah!
He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of
the holy angels (2 Thessalonians 1:7–10),[20]
which is the Second Coming of Jesus (cf. Revelation 19:11-21).
03. Then it
Happened (Luke 9:33-36)
Luke 9:33 “Then it happened, as
they were parting from Him” So as Moses and Elijah were leaving “that Peter said
to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here” or
literally in the Greek: Good it is us here to be. καλόν ἐστιν ἡμα̂ς ὡ̂δε εἰ̂ναι—εἰ̂ναι (be in English) is placed at
the end of the sentence to emphasize Peter’s interpretation of this moment: to
be present on the mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in glory is good.[21]
It would seem that Peter, John and James did not hear that
Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about the approaching (G1841
ἐξοδον) exodus
of Jesus (Luke
9:31), and maybe there was some embarrassment n Peter’s behalf that
they had fallen asleep, so Peter speaks like one who was not pay attention and
aware of what was going on.
Luke 9:33 “and let us make three
tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” The
Greek word that is used here for “tabernacles”
is (G4633)
σκηνή skēnē, and it means a tent, place of habitation, tabernacle.[22] Peter,
writing in his second epistle (2 Peter 1:12–18),
speaks about the transfiguration of Jesus and about the temporary nature of the
body by referring to it as a “tent” (2 Peter
1:13-14) and he speaks of his approaching death (“decease” 2
Peter 1:15). The root word for “tent”
(G4638
σκήνωμα skēnōma[23]) in
2 Peter 1:13-14 is the same word that
Dr. Luke used under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for “tabernacles” (G4633
σκηνή skēnē) in Luke 9:33. The Greek word that Peter used for his
approaching death (“decease” in 2 Peter 1:15) is G1841
ἐξοδον exodus.
In John 1:14, John
writing about The Word, Jesus state that “And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The
Greek word for “dwelt” is (G4637)
σκηνόω skēnŏō[24]
meaning to live, settle, take up
residence among us[25]and
it comes from same word that Dr. Luke used under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit for “tabernacles” (G4633
σκηνή skēnē) in Luke 9:33. All
this is foreshadowing when all things will be made new in the new heaven and
new earth (Revelation 21:1–5), and
John records for us that he “heard a loud voice
from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be
their God.” (Revelation 21:3) Both “tabernacle”
and “dwell” in Revelation 21:3 are the same Greek word (G4637)
σκηνόω skēnŏō[26]
meaning to live, settle, take up residence
among us[27]and
it comes from same word that Dr. Luke used under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit for “tabernacles” (G4633
σκηνή skēnē) in Luke 9:33.
The Feast of Tabernacles was near, so Peter suggests making “three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah”, so that they could just stay up on the mountain and not go
to Jerusalem for the feast (Leviticus 23:33–43; Deuteronomy 16:13–15), and Peter
erroneously thought that the Kingdom of God was being established right then
and there. It is not until when Jesus has made all things new (Revelation 21:1–5) that the
whole world will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus will establish
His physical kingdom on earth (Zechariah 14:16).
Luke 9:33 “not knowing what he
said” μη εἰδως ὁ λεγει (mē eidōs ho legei) and in the Greek it
literally means that Peter did not
understand what he said! Luke puts it more bluntly than Mark (Peter’s
account), “because he did not know what
to say, for they were greatly afraid.” (Mark 9:6). Peter acted according
to his impulsive nature and spoke up even though he did not know what to say or
even what he was saying when he spoke. He was only half awake as Luke explains
and he was sore afraid as Mark (Peter) explains.[28]
Peter obviously forgot that suffering must come before glory, that “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the
third day.” (Luke 9:22)
Now,
this request of Peter’s is really, I say, a remarkable thing, because not only
is it senseless—remain on the Mount of Transfiguration—what about the cross,
what about the redemption that he’s to accomplish, what about the plan of God?
Remain here on the mountain? That’s senseless. But not only is it senseless,
it’s sinful. To suggest any kind of deterrent to suffering at on the cross at
and the accomplishment of the redemption, is a sinful kind of counsel. But
Peter would set up a cloister and forget the crowd, forget the redemption,
forget everything else. How often do we think like human beings?[29]
Luke 9:34 “While he was saying
this, a cloud came and overshadowed them” Throughout the Old
Testament, clouds were often proof that God was there. For example, there was
the pillar of cloud during the exodus (Exodus 13:21–22; Exodus 14:19–31; Exodus 33:9–10;
Exodus
40:36–37), the cloud that covered Mt. Sinai when Moses went up to
receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:16), and there were clouds over and
inside of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34–38) and the Temple (1 Kings 8:10–11).[30] The
Greek for “overshadowed” (G1982)
ἐπεσκιαζεν epeskiazen
is written in the Imperfect active tense which means that the shadow began to come upon them, [31] to cause a darkening, cover and was
usually used to reference divine activity
such as a cloud that indicates the presence of God.[32]
Luke 9:34 “and they were fearful
as they entered the cloud.” When all six of them “entered the cloud”, only Peter, John and James “were fearful” or more literally “became afraid” (G5399
ἐφοβηθησαν [ephobēthēsan],
ingressive first aorist passive).[33]
Luke 9:35 In the Greek: Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός or
literally this is Son My beloved. The words from the Father echo what He spoke
at the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3:22. At both the baptism (Luke 3:22)
and now the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:35), the Father was quoting Psalm 2:7. Peter, in his second epistle,
writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit affirms what God said in 2 Peter 1:16–18. The words spoken by the
Father answer the questions raised by Jesus in Luke 9:18-20, (“Who do the crowds
say that I am?”…“But who do you say that
I am?”).
They also hearken us back to Isaac, son of Abraham,
foreshadowing Jesus as he was nearly sacrificed on Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:1-19;
Hebrews
11:17-19), the future site of the Temple (1 Chronicles 21:1-30; 1
Chronicles 22:1-2; 2 Chronicles 3:1;)!
Luke 9:35 “Hear Him!” αὑτου̂ ἀκούετε is
written in the present imperative tense, which is a command and can be taken
literally as, always continue to listen
to Him! This phrase of “Hear Him!” would cause these three Jewish
fishermen to remember Deuteronomy 18:15–20, where Moses, talking to
the generation of Israelites who are about to enter into the Promised Land, and
he tells them to always listen to God, especially the Prophet greater than Moses,
who is Jesus.
Luke 9:36 In Matthew 17:9
and Mark 9:9 we read that as “Now
as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from
the dead.””
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:28). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:28). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[4] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[5] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[6] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[7] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 350). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[8] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., pp. 350–351). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
[9] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., pp. 350–351). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
[10] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[11] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[12] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 17:3). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[13] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:31). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[14] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 829). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[16] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[17] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 166). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[18] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:32). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[19] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:32). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[20] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 229–230). Wheaton,
IL: Victor Books.
[21] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 400). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[22] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[23] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[24] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[25] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 929). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[26] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[27] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 929). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[28] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:33). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[30] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 401). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[31] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:34). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[32] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 378). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[33] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 9:34). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[34] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 76). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[35] Gangel, K. O. (1985). 2 Peter. In J. F. Walvoord &
R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 868). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
