Theophylact Bulgarian. Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 17: 1. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James and John, his brother, and led them to a high mountain alone,
Matthew 17: 2. And he was transfigured before them: and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white like the light.
He elevates them to a high mountain, showing that whoever does not rise is not worthy of such contemplations. Christ does this especially because He used to perform His greatest miracles in secret, so that, seen by many, like God, they would not be considered a man by them, like a ghost. When you hear about the transformation, do not think that He then rejected His body: His body remained in its form, for you hear both about His face and about clothes. He became brighter when His Deity showed several of its rays, and this is as much as one could see. Therefore, he called the transfiguration the Kingdom of God before, since it showed the ineffability of His power and taught that He is the true Son of the Father, and showed the glory of His second coming by the ineffable enlightenment of the face of Jesus.
Matthew 17: 3. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
What did you talk about? “About the exodus,” says Luke, which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem, that is, about the cross. Why did Moses and Elijah become visible? To to show that He is the Lord of the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, for Elijah was a prophet, his prophecy was still alive, but Moses is the lawgiver and died. In addition, and in order to show that Jesus Christ is not an enemy of the law and not an enemy of God. Otherwise Moses would not have talked to him, just as he would not have talked with someone who opposed him, and Elijah, the jealous one, would not have endured His presence if He had been the enemy of God. Also in order to destroy the suspicion of those who considered Him Elijah or one of the prophets. How did the disciples know they were Moses and Elijah? Not by images, for making images of people was then considered a lawless business. Apparently, they recognized them by the words they spoke. Moses, perhaps, said: You are the One whose suffering I have depicted in advance by slaying the lamb and having completed the Passover; Elijah: You are the One, whose resurrection I have previously portrayed by resurrecting the widow's son, and so on. By showing their disciples, the Lord teaches them to imitate them, that is, like Moses, to be meek and accessible to everyone and, like Elijah, to be zealous and unyielding when necessary, and like them ready to be exposed to dangers for the truth.
Matthew 17: 4. At this Peter said to Jesus: Lord! it's good for us to be here; if you want, we will make three tabernacles here: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
Peter, by much love for Christ, wishing that He did not suffer, says: 'It is good to be here', not to leave and not to be killed, for if anyone had come here, we have Moses and Elijah as our helpers; Moses defeated the Egyptians, but Elijah brought fire down from heaven; so they will be when the enemies come here. He spoke this out of great fear, as Luke remarked, not knowing what he was saying. For the extraordinary struck him or he really did not know what he was saying, wishing that Jesus would remain on the mountain and not go away and suffer for us. But, being afraid to seem wayward, he says: 'if you want.'
Matthew 17: 5. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.
You, Peter, wish there were booths made with hands; The Father, having surrounded Me with another tabernacle, with a cloud not made by hands, shows that as He, God, was ancient in the cloud, so was His Son. Here the cloud is light, not dark, as in antiquity; because He did not want to frighten, but to teach. There is a voice from the cloud to show that He was from God. The words 'in which I am well pleased' - instead of the words: 'in which I rest and which is pleasing to me.' But with the words: “Listen to Him,” he teaches: do not resist Him, even if He wishes to be crucified.
Matthew 17: 6. And when the disciples heard, they fell on their faces and very scared.
Matthew 17: 7. But Jesus, coming, touched them and said: Get up and do not be afraid.
Matthew 17: 8. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus alone.
Unable to bear the cloudy light and voice, the disciples fell on their faces. Their eyes were heavy with sleep. By sleep, we mean fainting from vision. So that fear, remaining for a long time, does not destroy the memory of what he saw, Jesus awakens and encourages them, but it turns out only so that you do not think that the voice was relative to Moses and Elijah, and not relative to Him: for He is the Son.
Matthew 17: 9. And when they went down from the mountain, Jesus rebuked them, saying: Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.
Out of humility, he commands not to tell anyone, and at the same time, so that, having heard about this, they would not be tempted when they later see Him crucified. For they could take Him for a deceiver, who in a phantom did what was decent to God. Pay attention to the fact that the contemplation of God took place after six days, that is, after the world was created in six days. For if you do not go out of the world and do not climb the mountain, you will not see the light: neither the face of Jesus, I mean His Deity, nor the clothes of the flesh. Then you will be able to see Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, for both the law and the prophets, and Jesus say one thing and agree with each other. When you find someone who would clearly interpret the thought of Scripture, then know that he clearly sees the face of Jesus; if he explains the turns of speech, then he sees the white clothes of Jesus, for the expressions of thought are her clothes. But do not say like Peter: “It’s good for us to be here,” because we must always succeed and not dwell on one degree of virtue and contemplation, but move on to others.
