Luke 9:31Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Or else this took place because the multitude said He was Elias or Jeremias, to shew the distinction between our Lord and His servants. And to make it plain that He was not an enemy of God, and transgressor of the law, He shewed these two standing by Him; (for else, Moses the lawgiver, and Elias who was zealous for the glory of God, had not stood by Him,) but also to give testimony to the virtues of the men. For each had ofttimes exposed Himself to death in keeping the divine commands. He wishes also His disciples to imitate them in the government of the people, that they might be indeed meek like Moses, and zealous like Elias. He introduces them also to set forth the glory of His cross, to console Peter and the others who feared His Passion. Hence it follows, And spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Or, He takes these with Him as men who were able to conceal this thing, and reveal it to no one else. But going up into a mountain to pray, He teaches us to pray solitary, and going up, into stooping to earthly things.

The mystery, namely, of His incarnation, also the life-giving Passion accomplished on the sacred cross.

Or, Peter went up, who received the keys of the kingdom of heaven; John, to whom was committed our Lord’s mother; James, who first suffered martyrdom. (Acts 12:1.)

Matthew and Mark indeed say that the transfiguration took place on the sixth day after the promise made to the disciples, but Luke on the eighth. But there is no disagreement in these testimonies, but they who make the number six, taking off a day at each end, that is, the first and the last, the day on which He makes the promise, and that on which He fulfilled it, have reckoned only the intervening ones, but He who makes the number eight, has counted in each of the two days above mentioned. But why were not all called, but only some, to behold the sight? There was only one indeed who was unworthy to see the divinity, namely Judas, according to the word of Isaiah, Let the wicked be taken away, that he should not behold the glory of God. (Isai.

About eight days had elapsed following these statements. Taking Peter, John, and James with Him, He ascended the mountain to engage in prayer. As He prayed, His face was transformed, and His clothes became radiant and luminous. Suddenly, two figures appeared, conversing with Him—Moses and Elijah; in their glory, they spoke of His impending departure, which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Matthew provides a clearer account of this Transfiguration in his thirty-fourth chapter, where the details are laid out explicitly. His transformation occurred through prayer, illustrating that authentic prayer has the power to metamorphose and illuminate an individual.

Yet the Jews remain unconvinced, so let us inquire of them: What is so unusual about our proclamation that God took on human form, especially when you acknowledge that Abraham encountered the Lord? What is so extraordinary when Jacob declared, "I saw God face to face, and my soul was preserved" (Gen 32:30)? The same Lord who dined with Abraham has shared a meal with us. Thus, what is so peculiar about our message? Furthermore, we present the two witnesses who stood in the presence of the Lord on Mount Sinai. Moses once hid in the cleft of the rock, and Elijah also experienced the shelter of the rock. Those same figures appeared on Mount Tabor alongside the Lord as He was transfigured, speaking to the disciples about the Exodus that He was destined to complete in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31).

Our Lord, when He made known to His disciples the great mystery of His second coming, that it might not seem that they were to believe in His words only, proceeds to works, manifesting to them, through the eyes of their faith, the image of His kingdom; as it follows, And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

For as He rose from the dead after the seventh day of the Sabbath, during which He lay in the tomb, we also after the six ages of this world, and the seventh of the rest of souls, which meanwhile is passed in another life, shall rise again as it were in the eighth age.

The Lord swiftly addressed the stark contradiction presented to the sacrament of faith with a firm admonition. Nevertheless, it seems that Peter's internal state may have still needed further restoration. This healing process likely continued with Moses and Elijah, who, during their conversation with Jesus on Mount Tabor, “spoke of His exodus, that He must fulfill in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Their discourse centered on His impending suffering and sacrificial death on the cross, serving as a moment of deep reflection and prayer. In contrast, for Peter, it represented a persistent teaching on the cross, which he had the audacity to resist.

As they departed from one engaged in prayer, they beheld two other figures accompanying Him, radiating with divine glory - Moses and Elijah. The likeness of their faces remained unfamiliar to them. However, the countenance of Jesus had transformed, and the brilliance of the Lord’s glory illuminated their physical and spiritual sight, allowing them to recognize their Lord, the Christ, the Messiah, alongside Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the prophet and herald of the Messiah. This vision unfolded gradually, enabling them to grasp not only the visible reality but also to enter, albeit momentarily, into the profound dialogue between Christ and these representatives of another realm. The earthly witnesses of this revelation were astonished as they heard the affirmation of the Lord’s teachings on suffering articulated by the mouth of the Law and the prophets.

A miraculous event unfolds as two figures, Moses and Elijah, manifest in glory and converse with Jesus. This appearance, while primarily before Christ, is also witnessed by His disciples. Their discussion pertains to His impending departure, a significant moment to be accomplished in Jerusalem, as noted in Hebrews, and referenced in 2 Peter 1:15. It becomes apparent from Peter’s remarks that during this revelation, the apostles identified Moses and Elijah, likely due to their dialogue with Jesus. The intent behind this vision of Moses and Elijah may have been to affirm the apostles' recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, distinguishing Him from Elijah, Jeremiah, or any other resurrected prophet from the Old Testament.

The disciples who had been sleeping awoke and were filled with wonder at the remarkable vision of Jesus, who illuminated the night with His divine radiance. Standing alongside Him were two figures, conversing with Christ. The apostles speculated that these individuals were Moses and Elijah. As noted by Luke, they appeared in glory, meaning that they were seen in a form distinct from the earthly appearance of humanity.

Beside Him stood two venerable figures, radiating with the same glorious light; they were recognized as Moses and Elijah, the revered initiator and steadfast protector of the old covenant, which Christ had come to both fulfill and transform. Their presence from the heavenly realm signified that the law and the prophets would now yield to the new covenant. Yet, they bore an additional purpose. They manifested from the eternal realm to reveal the joyous celebration that awaited God's faithful servants after death. No one could convey the significance of Christ's imminent sacrifice in Jerusalem better than they could, offering solace that tempered His natural sorrow with the promise of extraordinary glory.

"Manifesting in splendor": in that radiant form in which the exalted saints reside in heaven, and occasionally appear from there to earth to reveal God's desires to humanity. "They spoke of His departure," referring to the impending events that would unfold in Jerusalem, namely His suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. Exodus, in its most precise sense, denotes a true death (see 2 Pet. 1:15), and thus the heavenly beings focused solely on the Lord's death; however, since the resurrection is inherently linked to this death, there is no necessity to limit the term to its strictest interpretation. This observation regarding the dialogue of those who appeared to Jesus is a distinctive feature of Luke's account when compared to the other Evangelists.