Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [162]
BIBLICAL VOICES
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. (Mark 9:2-8)
What is a Transfiguration?
As Jesus prepared to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover and the climax of his life and ministry, three of the Gospels recount an extraordinary event in which he takes three trusted disciples up a mountain. While the disciples watched, Jesus was mystically miraculously “transfigured,” as his physical being was transformed and the figures of Moses and Elijah, the two great prophets of Judaism, stood beside him. The disciples who witnessed this were amazed at this vision and then heard the voice of God speaking directly above them, saying Jesus was God’s Beloved Son. It was one of only two times—the other being at Jesus’ baptism—in which such a heavenly voice is heard in the Gospels. The accounts all report that Jesus’ face shone, recalling the expression on Moses’ face when he encountered God on Mount Sinai in Exodus, again cementing the connection between Jesus and Moses for his Jewish followers. The Greek word translated as “transfigure” is metamorphé, “to change into another form.”
BIBLICAL VOICES
As he came near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there…. Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spell-bound by what they heard. (Luke 19:41-48)
PLOT SUMMARY: JESUS, THE FINAL DAYS
Jesus and the disciples go to Jerusalem for the Passover and again the Gospel accounts conflict on numerous points. The first three Gospels treat this as Jesus’ first visit to the city, apart from the childhood visit recorded by Luke. But in John, he makes a total of five trips to the city. Jesus sends two disciples ahead to secure a room and bring back a colt for him to ride, again in fulfillment of a Hebrew prophecy. As Jesus enters the city, some of the people cheer him, laying their cloaks and palm branches on the road as he enters the city and calling him the Messiah. This triumphal entry is celebrated by Christians on Palm Sunday. Jesus’ growing notoriety, and the notion that more people were coming to view him as the promised Messiah of the Hebrew scriptures, was also creating enemies. While some Jewish leaders saw him as a false prophet, others viewed Jesus as a danger. He might either threaten their own power or provoke a severe and potentially devastating Roman suppression if the Romans detected any hint of rebellion, especially in the