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Jesus Traditions |
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Material
in red = Mark .. in blue
= Q
.. in green = Special Matthew ..
in fuchsia = Special Luke
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Contents
of Jesus Traditions |
The Transfiguration as
End-of-Time Experience
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| A virtual end-of-time
experience for the disciples is described in the synoptic account of the
Transfiguration. |
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Matthew
17:1-8 |
Mark
9:2-8 |
Luke
9:28-36 |
| 1Six
days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John
and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And
he was transfigured before them, and
his face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly
there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. |
2Six
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, 3and his
clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach
them. 4And there appeared to them
Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. |
28Now
about eight
days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and
James, and went up on the mountain to
pray. 29And while he was praying,
the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling
white. 30Suddenly they saw two
men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
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31They
appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was
about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now
Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since
they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood
with him. 33Just as they were
leaving him, |
4Then
Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you
wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah.’ 5While he
was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with
him I am well pleased; listen to
him!’ |
5Then
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.’ 6He did not know what
to say, for they were terrified. 7Then
a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ |
Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master,
it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for
you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ —not knowing what he
said. 34While he was saying this,
a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as
they entered the cloud. 35Then
from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen;
listen to him!’ |
| 6When
the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome
by fear. 7But Jesus came and
touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ |
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| 8And
when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. |
8Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but
only Jesus. |
36When
the voice had spoken, Jesus was found
alone. And they kept silent and in
those days told no one any of the things they had seen. |
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| Whatever mysterious,
transcendent experience it was that Jesus shared with his inner circle of
disciples, Mark takes pains to associate it with end-of-time expectations.
Consider that:
• The narrative may be represented as a preview of the future
glorious coming of the Son of Man (refer to Mark
8:38);
• The account suggests their participation in the Kingdom of
God which even as they speak/hear/see is coming with power (refer to Mark
9:1);
• The presence of Elijah and Moses surely suggests a glimpse
of the age to come, reminiscent of Luke 13:28-29;
cp. Matthew 8:11-12;
• In the sequel to the Transfiguration scene we have a
reference to the resurrection (Mark 9:9), an end-of-time event; and
• We have the precursor of end-of-time events in the
appearance of an Elijah figure (Mark 9:11-13), presumably understood as
John the Baptizer.
Matthew’s version of the Transfiguration receives a subtle but
significant touching up to emphasize its end-of-time character, when he
uses a phrase found already in Matthew 13:43, with its characterization of
the righteous in God’s future kingdom:
Matthew 17:2 And
he was transfigured before them, and
his face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became dazzling white.
Matthew 13:43 Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Let anyone with ears listen!
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Transfiguration and Spirituality
Without minimizing the end-of-time character of the Transfiguration
narrative, we do not overlook its significance for the spiritual life,
serving as it does for a paradigm of the beatific vision. This is evident
from the following considerations:
• Its ineffable quality, which is illustrated by the attempt to
find superlatives for the glory of Jesus, a quality which is put into
sharp profile by the (understandably) mindless words of Peter, “who
did not know what to say,” but spoke nevertheless.
• The presence of a world beyond this, where the boundaries
between past, present and future are erased.
• The echoing of this passage in 2 Corinthians 3:18, one of
the key texts in Paul’s contribution to spirituality,
the difference being that in Mark it is Jesus who was transfigured,
whereas in Paul it is he and his families of congregations who are in
the process of being transfigured.
Mark 9:2 And he was
transfigured [metemorphôthę] before
them
2 Corinthians 3:18 18And
all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though
reflected in a mirror, are being transformed [metamorphoumetha]
into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes
from the Lord, the Spirit.
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| Revised
February 7, 2004
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Contents
of Jesus Traditions
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