Bible Dictionary: The Transfiguration

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

The Transfiguration

(The event in the earthly life of Christ which marks the culminating point in his public ministry, and stands midway between the temptation in the wilderness and the agony in Gethsemane, (Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36) Place . Though tradition locates the transfiguration on Mount Tabor there is little to confirm this view and modern critics favor Mount Hermon, the highest mountain-top in Gaulanitis, or one of the spurs of the Anti-Lebanus. Time . --The transfiguration probably took place at night, because it could then be seen to better advantage than in daylight, and Jesus usually went to mountains to spend there the night in prayer. (Matthew 14:23,24; Luke 6:12; 21:37) The apostles were asleep, and are described its having kept themselves awake through the act of transfiguration. (Luke 9:32) The actors and witnesses . --Christ was the central figure, the subject of transfiguration. Moses and Elijah appeared from the heavenly world, as the representatives of the Old Testament, the one of the law the other of prophecy, to do homage to him who was the fulfillment of both. Mr. Ellicott says, "The close of the ministry of each was not after the common death of all men.? No man knew of the sepulchre of Moses, (34:6) and Elijah had passed away in the chariot and horses of fire. (2 Kings 2:11) Both were associated in men's minds with the glory of the kingdom of the Christ. The Jerusalem Targum on (Exodus 12:1) ... connects the coming of Moses with that of the Messiah. Another Jewish tradition predicts his appearance with that of Elijah." Moses the law giver and Elijah the chief of the prophets both appear talking with Christ the source of the gospel, to show that they are all one and agree in one. St. Luke, (Luke 9:31) adds the subject of their communing: "They spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." Among the apostles the three favorite disciples, Peter, James and John were the sole witnesses of the scene-- "the sons of thunder and the man of rock." The event itself . --The transfiguration or transformation , or, as the Germans call it, the glorification , consisted in a visible manifestation of the inner glory of Christ's person, accompanied by an audible voice from heaven. It was the revelation and anticipation of his future state of glory, which was concealed under the veil of his humanity in the state of humiliation. The cloud which overshadowed the witnesses was bright or light-like, luminous, of the same kind as the cloud at the ascension. Significance of the miracle . --

It served as a solemn inauguration of the history of the passion and final consummation of Christ's work on earth.
It confirmed the faith of the three favorite disciples, and prepared them for the great trial which was approaching, by showing them the real glory and power of Jesus.
It was a witness that the spirits of the lawgiver and the prophet accepted the sufferings and the death which had shaken the faith of the disciples as the necessary conditions of the messianic kingdom. --Ellicott. As envoys from the eternal Majesty, audibly affirmed that it was the will the Father that with his own precious blood he should make atonement for sin. They impressed a new seal upon the ancient, eternal truth that the partition wall which sin had raised could he broken down by no other means than by the power of his sufferings; that he as the good Shepherd could only ransom his sheep with the price of his own life.-Krummacher.
It furnishes also to us all a striking proof of the unity of the Old and New Testaments, for personal immortality, and the mysterious intercommunion of the visible and invisible worlds. Both meet in Jesus Christ; he is the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments, between heaven and earth, between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. It is very significant that at the end of the scene the disciples saw no man save Jesus alive. Moses and Elijah, the law and the promise, types and shadows, pass away; the gospel, the fulfillment, the substance Christ remains--the only one who can relieve the misery of earth and glorify our nature, Christ all in all. (chiefly from Smith's larger Bib. Dic.--ED.)

Library

Transfiguration
... ROMANS TRANSFIGURATION. 'Be ... before.'. But this positive commandment is only
one side of the transfiguration that is to be effected. ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/transfiguration.htm

Transfiguration.
... TRANSFIGURATION. I shall, perhaps, render the following Canon more acceptable
to most readers if, instead of translating the Odes ...
//christianbookshelf.org/neale/hymns of the eastern church/transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration
... THE TRANSFIGURATION. ... If we would understand the Transfiguration, then, we must look
at it as the sequel to Jesus' open announcement of His death. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/the transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration
... THE TRANSFIGURATION. ... But, it is impossible to decide positively which was the Mount
of Transfiguration. And it is not a matter of much consequence. ...
/.../newton/the life of jesus christ for the young/the transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration
... Hymns of the Holy Eastern Church THE TRANSFIGURATION. tr., John Brownlie 8.8.8.8.
I. When glory crowned the mountain top,. And Christ was decked in garments fair ...
/.../brownlie/hymns of the holy eastern church/the transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration
... II. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR The Transfiguration. [1068]285 O wondrous type!
O vision fair [1069]286 Lord, it is good for us to be Also ...
/.../the transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration.
... XII. THE TRANSFIGURATION. I have judged it ... for ever. The transfiguration
then was the divine defiance of the coming darkness. Let us ...
/.../macdonald/miracles of our lord/xii the transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration of Christ
... ILLUSTRATIONS: THE TRANSFIGURATION OF CHRIST. And after six days Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them ...
/.../newton/the life of jesus christ for the young/the transfiguration of christ.htm

Prayer and Transfiguration
... LUKE Chaps. I to XII PRAYER AND TRANSFIGURATION. ... It may be a question how far such
transfiguration was the constant accompaniment of our Lord's devotion. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/prayer and transfiguration.htm

The Transfiguration
... Mark CHAPTER 9:2-8 THE TRANSFIGURATION. "And ... RV) THE Transfiguration is
an event without a parallel in all the story of our Lord. ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 9 2-8 the transfiguration.htm