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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 17

1 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them privately up a high mountain.⁠ 2 And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.⁠ 3 Then Moses and Elijah also appeared before them, talking with him. 4 So Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my one dear Son, in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!”⁠ 6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things.⁠ 12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist. 14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to heal him.” 17 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 20 He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.” 21 When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 22 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed. 23 After they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” 24 He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes—from their sons or from foreigners?” 25 After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 26 But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 17:2 and 2 Baruch 51:3

New Testament · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Matthew 17 describes Jesus shining with radiant light at the transfiguration. 2 Baruch 51 uses similar language to describe the righteous as luminous, both drawing from Jewish traditions based on texts such as Daniel and ancient Near Eastern traditions.

Passages

Matthew 17:2

New Testament
1 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them privately up a high mountain. 2 And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then Moses and Elijah also appeared before them, talking with him. 4 So Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

2 Baruch 51:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
1 And it shall come to pass, when that appointed day has gone by, that then shall the appearance of those who are condemned be afterwards changed, and the glory of those who are justified. 2 For the appearance of those who now act wickedly shall become worse than it is, as they shall suffer torment. 3 Also as for the glory of those who have now been justified in My law, who have had understanding in their life, and who have planted in their heart the root of wisdom, then their splendour shall be glorified in changes, and the form of their face shall be turned into the light of their beauty, that they may be able to acquire and receive the world which does not die, which is then promised to them. 4 For over this above all shall those who come then lament, that they rejected My law, and stopped their ears that they might not hear wisdom or receive understanding. 5 When therefore they see those, over whom they are now exalted, but who shall then be exalted and glorified more than they, they shall respectively be transformed, the latter into the splendour of angels, and the former shall yet more waste away in wonder at the visions and in the beholding of the forms.
70–135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Baruch

References

"... Matthew 17:2 ... Moses' face shone because it reflected something of God's glory (Exodus 34:29–30). But as for Jesus, he himself was transfigured. The verb metamorphoo ('transfigure,' 'transform,' 'change in form') suggests a change of inmost nature that may be outwardly visible (as here; compare Exodus 34:29; 2 Baruch 51:3-5) or quite invisible (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18). That Jesus was transfigured 'before them' implies that it was largely for their sakes: whatever confirmation the experience may have given Jesus, for the disciples it was revelatory. As they would come to realize, they were being privileged to glimpse something of his preincarnate glory (John 1:14; 17:5; Philippians 2:6-7) and anticipate his coming exaltation (2 Peter 1:16-18; Revelation 1:16). Their confession of Jesus as Messiah and his insistence that he would be a suffering Messiah (16:13-21; 17:9) were confirmed. Therefore they had reason to hope that they would yet see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (16:28). The contrast between what Jesus had just predicted would be his fate (16:21) and this glorious sight would one day prompt Jesus' disciples to marvel at the self-humiliation that brought him to the cross and to glimpse a little of the height to which he had been raised by his vindicating resurrection and ascension ..."
Frank Ely Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Pickering & Inglis, 1984), 385.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Matthew 17:2 and 2 Baruch 51:3

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