29. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

The other nine disciples were left at the base of the mountain, as we see by the events of the following morning.

Went up into a mountain. The practically unanimous opinion of modern scholars is that the Transfiguration occurred on Mount Hermon, near Cæsarea Philippi, where we left Jesus in our last lesson. "Mount Hermon is the most conspicuous feature in the scenery of Palestine, rising 9200 feet above the Mediterranean in a domelike summit, usually covered with snow till late in summer." - Hastings' Bible

Dictionary.

Dr. William Wright says that he has spent twenty nights on its top, sometimes alone, and once twenty-five men and one woman spent the night there with him in a picnic and a prayermeeting." On the top is an irregular angular space, four hundred or five hundred yards from edge to edge, surrounded by a jagged fence of broken rocks. "There is not another spot of earth so fitted for the Transfiguration scene as that plateau, the loftiest place on earth known to the men of the Bible; the land of Israel spread out below,

and the vast kingdoms of the world hemming it round."

To pray. As usual with Jesus in all crises. It may be at this time that "in the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears" (Heb. 5 : 7). In this case there was not simply prayer but a prayer meeting. Doubtless the three disciples joined with their teacher in prayer.

As in music there are effects produced by a single voice that no chorus can accomplish, yet also there are sources of power and emotion in a harmony of voices and of parts which no single voice, however perfect, can produce. So in praying there are peculiar blessings in united prayer, a binding of souls together, an uplifting power, a fulness of answer from God. In spiritual things, one plus one is far more than two.

II. THE TRANSFIGURATION, v. 29. And as he prayed. Greek, "in his praying," during his prayer, and in answer to his prayer. We can imagine what he was praying for, for we know what was on his heart. The fashion, or appearance, of his countenance was altered. Matthew and

The Transfiguration.

Raphael.

Mark say "he was transfigured before them." The verb (see Vincent's Word Studies) implies a change not only in outward appearance but in something deeper; it was the true nature, the divine nature, of Jesus shining forth.

And his face did shine as the sun (Matthew). Nothing less than the brightest and most glorious of all objects within human knowledge so bright that it destroys the eye to gaze directly upon it could express the radiant glories of Jesus' face, when his heavenly nature shone through the veil of his flesh. And his raiment was white and glistering. The Am. R. reads, "His raiment became white and dazzling." Mark says, "His raiment became shining [Am. R. glistering"], exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them." Matthew makes the comparison, " His raiment was [Am. R. " became "] white as the light." Compare the radiant vision of Christ that Paul saw (Acts 9 : 3), and John (Rev. 1 16); the shining of Moses' face after his talk with God (Ex. 34: 29); and

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30. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

31. Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Stephen's face at his trial (Acts 6:15). And the description in Heb. 1:3, “the brightness of his [God's] glory, and the express image of his person."

Jesus was a prince in disguise. Even in his fleshly form he was so winning, so courteous and gentle, so full of loving kindness, and everything delightful, that the children were attracted to him, the sick and sorrowful felt that he sympathized with them, and would help them, and even the sinner felt he could come to him as to a Saviour. Now for once he threw off his outward guise and appeared in his own royal glory.

III. THE TWO HEAVENLY VISITORS, vs. 30, 31. And, behold, there talked with him two men, Moses and Elias, Elijah. "These persons were really present. It was not a vision." Schaff. "The implication is that the disciples not only saw the appearance, but recognized in the persons Moses and Elijah, as is evident from Peter's proposition (ver. 33)." - Abbott. The conversation would reveal who they were.

31. Who appeared in glory. In their glorified bodies; something like that of the transfigured Jesus, but with lesser radiance. Of Moses at Sinai it was said that "the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance" (2 Cor. 3 : 7). "To know

Rather consists in opening out a way

Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape,

Than in effecting entry for a light

Supposed to be without." - - Browning.

Note the peculiarity of the ending of the earthly life of these two "of whom one had not died (2 Kings 2: 11), and the other had no sooner tasted of death than his body was withdrawn from under the dominion of death and of him that had the power of death (Deut. 34: 6; Jude 9).' Cambridge Bible. And thus with their resurrection bodies they were peculiarly fitted to appear on this occasion as examples of the complete redemption of man, for which Jesus came to the earth. Both, like Christ, "had endured a natural fast of 40 days and nights; both had been on the holy mount in the visions of God." Alford.

Moses, the Representative of the Law, was the giver of the Law, and the founder of the Jewish dispensation, which had for centuries been preparing the way for Christ, and which was to be transfigured and transformed by Christ into the heavenly and glorious dispensation of the Gospel.

Elijah was the Representative of the Prophets, who foretold the coming of Christ, and prepared the way for him, and had expressly pictured the sufferings of the Messiah, as well as his kingly glory.

The Subject of Their Conversation, And spake of his decease. Of his exodus, in the Greek; his going out of this evil world, as the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. "Departure [the exodus] is a most fitting word, for it contains at the same time the ideas both of death and ascension. Ascension was as much the natural

way for Jesus as death is for us." Which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. By being crucified, as he had told them just before (vs. 21-27), and rising again from the dead. The conversation would enable the disciples to see the importance and necessity of that which they most dreaded, and which was to them the greatest mystery. The atonement on the cross was the great event of the world's history; this was the culmination of the salvation brought by the Messiah; this was the great act to which all the sacrifices appointed by Moses looked forward, and which gave them meaning and value. It was the beginning and source of the world-wide development of the kingdom of God, and of those glorious times which the prophets had foretold. It is the central theme and power of the church of Christ in all ages. The whole transaction would comfort and strengthen Jesus. It would relieve all his perplexities. He stood almost alone against the scholarship of the age in regard to the sufferings and death of the Messiah; but the representative of the prophets stood on his side. If he hesitated in his assurance of his resurrection, here were those who had triumphed over death. He had been obliged to seem in antagonism to the Mosaic Law; but Moses was with him now. He realized the foreshadow

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32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

33. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. ings of his own glory that was to be, and his ever-abiding kingship as the Son of God. His prayer was answered.

IV. THE THREE WITNESSES, vs. 32, 33. Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. They had been with Jesus during the prayermeeting on the mountain top, and were doubtless weary with their long climb. We do not know how long they were listening to the conversation between Jesus and the two heavenly visitants. The earlier part of the time was probably spent in at least semi-darkness, and the change into a brilliant light while the conversation was proceeding would tend to make them "heavy with sleep." But they overcame the drowsy influence and kept awake. When they were fully awake (Am. R.). This phrase, which in the old version gives the idea of waking from sleep," is one word in the original, and means having watched through, having remained awake, for they had overcome the force of sleep.' Thayer's Greek- English Lexicon. Their reward was that they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. It was no dream, no mere vision, but a waking reality.

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33. As they departed. Were departing. Literally, in their departing. Peter, with his natural impulsiveness, Master, it is good for us to be here. The experience was good, and would make him a

or

better and more useful man all the rest of his life. It widened his outlook. It gave him a new idea of the glory that awaited the faithful. It exalted his knowledge of Jesus as a Saviour. It increased his faith. It enabled him to bear more bravely his burdens. Let us make three tabernacles, or booths Woven from the branches bushes, like those used at the Feast of Tabernacles. He would make one for each so that they might remain there and not haste away as they seemed to be doing. The visit was all too short. Not knowing (realizing) what he said. Mark reads (Am. R.) "For he knew not what to answer; for they were sore afraid." He had not time to think what was best, to see all the effects of his plan, and how little it could do toward the accomplishing of his desire that they should remain and prepare for the inauguration of the

Tabernacle Booths.

glorious Messiah. What if all the Jews could see how glorious was the man who claimed to be the Messiah; how worthy to be the king of the Jews! What if Jesus in his glory should now proclaim his kingdom and begin his Messiah reign!

Jesus made no answer; the events that followed were the answer. It was not good to remain there. There was need of them all in the world below. Working for Jesus was better than standing and gazing at his glory. All that was gained upon the mountain top must be taken down into the sinful, sorrowing world. There the light must shine, for it was sent in order to shine in the darkness.

V. THE DIVINE VOICE, vs. 34-36. There came a cloud. "A bright cloud (Matthew), like the Shekinah of old, betokening the immediate presence of the Father." Sadler. Such as was seen during the 40 years the Israelites were in the

34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

36. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had

seen.

wilderness. And overshadowed them, the whole company, for they entered into the cloud. "It was first above them, and then seemed to descend over them and envelop them." - Sadler. The cloud was an incarnation of the ineffable light of God, veiling its glory, yet making it visible to man, as the clouds that veil the sun enable us who cannot gaze into his face yet to see his beauty and glory.

"Light in its utmost intensity performs the effects of darkness, hides as effectually as the darkness would do." Compare 1 Tim. 6: 16, and the words of Milton, "dark with excess of light," and of Wordsworth, a glorious privacy of light.” Trench's Studies, pp. 205, 206. "Light is the shadow of God."

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And there came a voice out of the cloud. "The same voice which had been heard once before at the baptism (Matt. 3: 17), and which was to be heard again when he stood on the threshold of his passion (John 12: 28), attesting his divinity and Sonship at the beginning, at the middle, and at the close of his ministry." Camb. Bible. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matt.). Adding the voice of God to the attestation of the scene itself, and interpreting the scene. This truth must be impressed upon the disciples so that they should never lose their faith even in the dark times that were to follow; and while others were calling Jesus a criminal and blasphemer, the disciples could always see him in his true glory. Hear ye him. For he is the ambassador of God, bringing the message of love from heaven. "Hear" implies both faith and obedience.

They fell on their face and were sore afraid (Matt.). For God himself was there. The great manifestations of God's power at hand fill the soul, conscious of weakness and sin, with dread solemnity. Jesus came and touched them (Matt.). "Act and words were both expressive of an almost brotherly tenderness." Ellicott. Be not afraid. Only in Jesus can we draw nigh to God without dread.

36. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. Matthew says "and when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only." Mark makes the scene more definite, "When they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves." The two heavenly visitants had passed away in the cloud.

And they kept it close and told no man. Matthew (179) gives the reason. "As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen from the dead." Jesus thus commanded them because (1) the disciples were not prepared to tell about it, they were too ignorant, as they showed by the questions they asked at once about the resurrection (Mark 9:9-13). Also (2) the people were not ready to receive the story; they would think it a mere invention. Christ's resurrection was the only light in which the meaning of the event could be read.

THE HEART OF THE LESSON.

1. Our richest and most heavenly experiences come in and through prayer, and often from united prayer.

"Lord, lead us to the mountain height; to prayer's transfiguring glow;
And may we bring a heavenly light to the dark world below."

"Remember the lamp of Aladdin, which needed only to be rubbed to bring forth unseen powers to do the bidding of the possessor." Hugh Black.

Keep the Avenue Heavenward Open. "The fault is in the chimney,' said the expert, who had come to see what was wrong with the kitchen range. 'A stove has, of course, no draught in itself; it is only its connection with the flue that makes the fire burn and the smoke ascend, and the higher the chimney the stronger the draught. At shops and foundries where fierce fires are needed, they run their stacks up to a great height. Your stove clogs, chokes, and smokes, because your chimney is too

low. You must build higher.' Our lives will be sordid just where they should be pure and upright, if the religious life which should be inspiration and impulse to the lower cares of life, is low or clogged with selfish purposes." Baptist Teacher, 1908.

2. We all need the highest and sweetest experiences of the love of Christ, to see him in his beauty and glory, to glance through the gates ajar, to feel the breath of heaven, and hear the voice of God. They help us bear our burdens, overcome our temptations, do our Christian work. We are amid sin, but we have seen the glory of the Master able to conquer it; we dwell amid sorrows, but we know him who has power to transform them; we see the work to be done, but here is new inspiration and hope. Light, victory, glory, heaven, shine henceforth on all the dark earth.

"O Master, it is good to be

Entranced, enwrapt, alone with thee;

Till we, too, change from grace to grace,
Gazing on that transfigured face." -A. P. Stanley.

Clear Vision on the Heights. "I recall attending a conference where young men were being advised by an old godly returned missionary concerning making decisions for or against the field of foreign missions. He said Make your decisions on the

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mountain of your clearest spiritual vision. That is the surest way to know that you are following the call of God. You can never expect to see your duty vividly, or have the power to decide upon it, when you are surrounded with all the conflicting voices of the world. Decisions like this are calls from God, and not from men.'

"Such was evidently Paul's view, as he left even the circle of apostles to go off into the wastes of Arabia to make his decisions in the presence of God alone. In another place he says, ' Sin revived, and I died.'

"One needs pure air to breathe if he is to enrich his spiritual vitality. There are some things that neither flesh nor blood can reveal to us, things that grow bright only in the presence of God himself." The Christian Herald.

3. The Transfiguration was a promise, a prophecy, and a vision of the resurrection life. "It gives a remarkable reality to many intimations of the heavenly state which God sets before us." It would show to the apostles that death did not end all, that if they were to follow their Master in the bearing of the cross, they would also follow him in the glory of the crown. "He shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body." "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." "We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." "As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory." "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory." "We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed." And we know that the dead are raised to life because after so many centuries in heaven Moses and Elijah showed themselves alive to the three disciples.

And it shows forth some of the activities of the future life. Are Moses and Elijah less active, less useful, than when they were on earth? "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation ? "

4. The faith and hope of these disciples were greatly strengthened by seeing examples, or specimens, as it were, of redeemed humanity. They saw the rewards of faithful service which would encourage them in many a trial. Here they saw specimen fruits of the Gospel they were to preach. It was that men might become such glorious beings as they now saw in Moses and Elijah that they were suffering and toiling. It was worth every cost to bring men into such a state.

5. Vision and Service. The next day when Jesus and his three disciples had come down from the mountain they saw a great multitude in the valley where the other nine disciples had been left. Picture the story as it is told in the first three Gospels : the boy, the father, the nine disciples, the scribes, the multitudes; the failure of the nine, and the cure by Jesus.

Here was abundant opportunity for service by those who had seen the vision.

"The contrast is between the sorrows of earth, and heaven and its joys above. It is a vision of heaven's interest in this world, and its desire and power to help." "It is great to have a vision, but it is still greater to be true to it." Only by descending from the mountain to the common daily life could the vision