WELCOME TO THE FORUM AUNT B!
I am just adding foot notes
someone else can explain...
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(1 2) After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
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3 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.
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4 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.
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Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents 5 here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
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While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, 6 then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
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7 When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
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But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid."
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And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
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8 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision 9 to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
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10 Then the disciples asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
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He said in reply, 11 "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
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but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."
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12 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
*1 [1-8] The account of the transfiguration confirms that Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 17:5) and points to fulfillment of the prediction that he will come in his Father's glory at the end of the age (Matthew 16:27). It has been explained by some as a resurrection appearance retrojected into the time of Jesus' ministry, but that is not probable since the account lacks many of the usual elements of the resurrection-appearance narratives. It draws upon motifs from the Old Testament and noncanonical Jewish apocalyptic literature that express the presence of the heavenly and the divine, e.g., brilliant light, white garments, and the overshadowing cloud.
*2 [1] These three disciples are also taken apart from the others by Jesus in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). A high mountain: this has been identified with Tabor or Hermon, but probably no specific mountain was intended by the evangelist or by his Marcan source (Matthew 9:2). Its meaning is theological rather than geographical, possibly recalling the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12-18) and to Elijah at the same place (1 Kings 19:8-18; Horeb = Sinai).
*3 [2] His face shone like the sun: this is a Matthean addition; cf Daniel 10:6. His clothes became white as light: cf Daniel 7:9 where the clothing of God appears "snow bright." For the white garments of other heavenly beings, see Rev 4:4; 7:9; 19:14.
*4 [3] See the note on Mark 9:5.
*5 [4] Three tents: the booths in which the Israelites lived during the feast of Tabernacles (cf John 7:2) were meant to recall their ancestors' dwelling in booths during the journey from Egypt to the promised land (Lev 23:39-42). The same Greek word, skene, here translated tents, is used in the LXX for the booths of that feast, and some scholars have suggested that there is an allusion here to that liturgical custom.
*6 [5] Cloud cast a shadow over them: see the note on Mark 9:7. This is my beloved Son . . . listen to him: cf Matthew 3:17. The voice repeats the baptismal proclamation about Jesus, with the addition of the command listen to him. The latter is a reference to Deut 18:15 in which the Israelites are commanded to listen to the prophet like Moses whom God will raise up for them. The command to listen to Jesus is general, but in this context it probably applies particularly to the preceding predictions of his passion and resurrection (Matthew 16:21) and of his coming (Matthew 16:27, 28).
*7 [6-7] A Matthean addition; cf Daniel 10:9-10, 18-19.
*8 [9] In response to the disciples' question about the expected return of Elijah, Jesus interprets the mission of the Baptist as the fulfillment of that expectation. But that was not suspected by those who opposed and finally killed him, and Jesus predicts a similar fate for himself.
*9 [9] The vision: Matthew alone uses this word to describe the transfiguration. Until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead: only in the light of Jesus' resurrection can the meaning of his life and mission be truly understood; until then no testimony to the vision will lead people to faith. Matthew 17:9-13
*10 [10] See the notes on Matthew 3:4; 16:14.
*11 [11-12] The preceding question and this answer may reflect later controversy with Jews who objected to the Christian claims for Jesus that Elijah had not yet come.
*12 [13] See Matthew 11:14.
Chapter 11
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When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, 1 he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
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2 When John heard in prison 3 of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him
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4 with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"
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Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
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5 the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
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And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."
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6 As they were going off, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
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Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
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Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? 7 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
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This is the one about whom it is written: 'Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.'
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Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 8
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From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, 9 and the violent are taking it by force.
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All the prophets and the law 10 prophesied up to the time of John.
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And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
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Whoever has ears ought to hear.
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"To what shall I compare this generation? 11 It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
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'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.'
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For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'
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The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
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Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented.
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"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 12 they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
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But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
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And as for you, Capernaum: 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' 13 For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
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But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
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At that time Jesus said in reply, 14 "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.
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Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
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All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
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15 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, 16 and I will give you rest.
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17 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.
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For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
