The Transfiguration

Going forward in chapter nine, we are exposed to an event that must have been wonderful and scary to see. In verse 28, Luke tells us that Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him to pray in the mountains. The apostles fell asleep and when they woke up, they saw Jesus standing with two men who were talking to Jesus about fulfilling God’s plan by dying in Jerusalem. All three were dazzling white and the face of Jesus had changed during the process. The apostles identified the two men as Moses and Elijah and after they left, Peter suggested the building of three tabernacles to honor the event. Luke then tells us that a dark cloud went over them and they were gripped in terror as they heard the voice of God declaring that Jesus was His Son and that He was proud of Him.

Again, I see myself doing the same thing that Peter did, shuffle around, make a lame suggestion and miss the point completely. The apostles spent a lot of their time in wonderment as they hung around with our Lord. Like us, the events that happen in our lives may not make sense when they happen but down the road we are able to absorb them and use them to our advantage.

I have again taken advantage of the website, Walking In Their Sandals, to give you more specific geographic and historical information regarding the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. You may go to http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/mount_meron.htm yourself, to obtain more information.
I believe that it is very important to understand that these events happened and they happened at specific places that you and I can visit today. We live in a world asking for specifics and getting none. That is not the case regarding God’s word. The following information came from the website:

A few miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee, the terrain begins to rise sharply to form the high rolling hills of Upper Galilee. Just beyond the ancient city of Safed, the highest city in Israel, stands the highest mountain in Israel, Mount Meron, at 3,926 feet above sea level.

Mount Meron is situated about ten miles northwest of the lake-side city of Tabgha. It is located on the upper reaches of the rugged Wadi Amud that flows down through a gorge to the Plain of Gennesaret into the Sea of Galilee.

From Mount Meron, one can view the Sea of Galilee below, especially, the shoreline that extends from Tiberias to Capernaum to the Decapolis. Mount Tabor, twenty miles to the south and Mount Hermon, some fifteen miles to the northeast, are clearly visible. The whole Upper Jordan Valley lies more than 4,000 feet below.

Historical and Biblical Significance

Several considerations commend Mount Meron as the site of the Transfiguration, rather than the other two traditional sites, Mount Hermon and Mount Tabor:

1. The Transfiguration occurred a week after the conversation at Caesarea Philippi near the base of Mount Hermon. Matthew and Mark refer to six days and Luke mentions "some eight days," the "some" indicating that this number was approximate (Matt 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-37). Although it is quite possible that Jesus and His men spent these days climbing up the slope of 9,200-foot Mount Hermon, this week could represent the travel time down the Upper Jordan Valley to Mount Meron, a distance of about fifteen miles.

2. If the Transfiguration took place on Mount Meron, Jesus and His disciples would have passed through Galilee from there to Capernaum (Mark 9:30-33). Mount Tabor, however, was located about a day’s journey south of Capernaum. It would have been unlikely that Jesus and His disciples would have traveled this distance beyond Capernaum and then retraced their steps back to that city on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. If Jesus and His disciples were at Mount Hermon for the Transfiguration, the main part of their return journey to Capernaum would not have been through Galilee as Mark indicates, but more likely through the Tetrarchy of Philip.

3. Mount Tabor was located a considerable distance from Caesarea Philippi where Jesus had made His historic announcements to His disciples six days earlier. Higher mountains were available between Caesarea Philippi and their next destination, Capernaum, notably Mount Meron, the highest mountain in Galilee, Samaria, or Judea.

4. When He descended from the mountain the next day after the Transfiguration, Jesus found His nine disciples surrounded by a great crowd, including scribes (Mark 9:14). Mount Meron is located in an area where the scribes and the large Jewish crowd would have had ready access to challenge the nine disciples. It would be unlikely that these observant Jews would have followed Jesus into the largely Gentile territory of Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon or that such a crowd would have appeared there expecting His disciples to perform a miracle.

5. In the ruins of a second century synagogue near Mount Meron, the lintel over a doorway has been cracked. An idea persists in the area that the lintel will fall when Messiah comes. Although this prediction has no Scriptural or objective basis, it may reflect a tradition that it was nearby that Messiah appeared in His glory. Another tradition suggests that when Messiah comes, He will arrive first on Mount Meron and from there proceed to Jerusalem.

6. On a large stone near Mount Meron, a prediction is recorded that when Messiah appears, He will be accompanied by Elijah. Although this idea also lacks objective support, it could reflect a tradition that originated when Elijah joined Messiah on that mountain.

The Transfiguration took place during the last days of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. It followed immediately after His historic meeting with His disciples at Caesarea Philippi, where He announced to them His purpose to build His Church. This prediction was followed by His shocking announcement that He would now be going to Jerusalem to be crucified. His disciples, led by Peter, reacted with consternation and unbelief. The thought of His dying seemed totally incompatible with His preaching that "the kingdom is at hand." Further, they had been sent out two by two to call people to repentance in preparation for the establishment of that kingdom. What did this talk of a kingdom have to do with a new community of called-out people, an ekklesia? Or with His death on a cross? The disciples were, in fact, anticipating the reaction that a crowd in Jerusalem would soon express, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can you say, ‘the Son of Man must be lifted up?’" (John 12:34)

It was the Transfiguration that provided the answer to this apparent paradox. Jesus of Nazareth would indeed die on a cross, but He would be resurrected and one day would appear in all His glory as Messiah to rule in His kingdom. He was giving Peter, James and John a preview of His messiahship, confirmation of the fact that the Jesus who would die would be the King who would reign. These three men needed this even more than the other disciples because of the special assignments Jesus would give them. Peter would be the first leader of the Church, the human agent through whom the Holy Spirit would be introduced to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles; John would be Peter’s companion and later become the pastor of the church at Ephesus and the writer of five books in the New Testament, including the last one that would be a final "revelation of Jesus Christ" ; James would become the first disciple to die for his testimony to Jesus.

Bibliography

1. Liefeld, Walter L. "Theological Motifs in the Transfiguration Narrative." New Dimensions in New Testament Study. Longenecker, Richard N. and Merrill C. Tenney, eds. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1974. 162-179.