Chapter BY Chapter

The Southern slopes are in Golan Heights, which are now in Israel.  The summit is right on the border of Lebanon and Israel.  There is skiing from January to March on these mountains.  When the snow melts on these mountains, the water ends up in the Jordan River.  According to the description of the Promised Land, this mountain is its Northern border.

​

So, Jesus told his disciples a few days ago that some would not die before they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.  How is that going to happen?  Let’s see what happens here.

​

Verses 1-13 is as follows:

​

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.  And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.  But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”  And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

​

And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”  And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”  He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.  But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”  Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

​

(End of passage)

​

So, they get up to the high mountain and Jesus was transfigured before them.  The Greek word for transfigured here is metamorphOthA.  From this word we get our word, metamorphosis, as in a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis to turn into a butterfly. 

​

So, Jesus is transfigured, his face shined like the sun and his clothes became as white as light.  Then Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Jesus. 

​

By the way, Elijah is spelled in the Greek as Elias, as in Elias Brothers, you know, the restaurant.  I spent some time once working for Elias brothers as a cook.  I made sandwiches during the lunch hour.  Someone came in everyday and ordered a Slim Jim sandwich.  That was on a long bun with ham and mozzarella cheese.  I would put the ham on the grill with the cheese between the ham and the bread.  Well one day, it was a little overdone, but I thought it would pass, so I put it on the plate anyway.  Little did I know that the person ordering the Slim Jim was my mother-in-law.  I really heard about it later that day, but little does she know that I was the one making the sandwiches. 

​

Back to Jesus, Moses and Elijah…

​

Peter says something.  The normal word for “says” is not used here.  It is the word for “answered.”  It is depicting that Peter is responding immediately.  Peter says, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  Peter thinks this is really cool.  This is the kind of thing that Peter was expecting - a glorious coming of the Son of Man in his kingdom.  Peter wants this moment to last for a while.  That is why he wants to make tents for them.  He didn’t like the idea of Jesus dying.  Maybe if he can get Jesus to stay here in a tent, with Moses and Elijah, then maybe he won’t go through that death experience. 

​

And right while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud comes overhead and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  What do the disciples do then?

​

They fall on their faces.

​

Why?

​

They were terrified.

​

Why were they terrified?

​

Probably because a voice came out of the bright cloud and it was probably very loud. 

​

What happens next?

​

Jesus came and touched them and said, “Rise and have no fear.”

​

What then?

​

They look up and only Jesus is there.

​

What is the significance of this occurrence?

​

They saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.  In many ways, Jesus was already teaching that his kingdom was already here.

 

Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

Matthew 4:17, From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

​

Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Jesus taught his disciples to teach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

 

Matthew 10:7, “And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

 

Jesus gave the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to his disciples.

 

Matthew 13:11, “And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”

 

The kingdom of heaven was something precious that they could have now.

​

Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

 

Jesus likened his disciples to scribes of the kingdom of heaven.

 

Matthew 13:52, “And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

 

Jesus said his disciples would be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

​

Matthew 16:19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

So if Jesus will give the disciples the keys of the kingdom of heaven, how is it that His kingdom is not coming?

It can’t be not coming.

 

Jesus uses the phrases, “Son of Man” and “kingdom of heaven” for a reason.  Because he is alluding to Daniel 7:13-14, which says,

 

“I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

    there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

    and was presented before him.

And to him

was given dominion

    and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

    should worship him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

    which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

    that shall not be destroyed.”

 

Now, how is he going to get all peoples, nations and languages to worship him?  Is he going to go around and bonk people on the head till they worship him?  Imagine if you will, one of those worshippers saying, “Oh here comes Jesus.  I better worship him again before I get bonked on the head.”  Maybe it would be better if he showed his love to people, and those that received his love would always worship him and would always want to obey all his commandments, even when they didn’t see him coming.

​

Now someone might ask, when was Jesus given his dominion and why doesn’t he have it yet?  Look at how Adam and Eve were given dominion.

​

Genesis 1:28,

​

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

​

Did Adam and Eve have dominion over all the earth as soon as God gave it to them?  No, because they didn’t multiply and fill the earth and subdue it yet.  In the same way, Jesus was given his dominion as soon as God said, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”  At that point, Jesus did not have all of his worshippers yet.  It was his will to find worshippers that would truly be worshippers from the heart by sending his disciples into all the earth, making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he has commanded.

​

So, now Jesus says that some will see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom, and there on the mountain, Jesus is transfigured and the disciples see him as he is in his kingdom.  Both the gospel of Mark and the gospel of Luke place this promise of Jesus as Matthew does, just a few days before the Transfiguration.  It is no mistake that this is what Jesus means.  Jesus shows his disciples that everything will happen as God has planned by giving them a preview of what it will be like.  Peter, James and John saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.  His kingdom is in the here and now right while Jesus is teaching his disciples.

​

Do you see the Son of Man in His kingdom?

​

Then as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus says, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

 

Why do you think that Jesus told them not to tell until he is raised from the dead?

1. To confirm that he was going to definitely be raised from the dead.

2. To keep from being mobbed and taken to be king by force.

 

Then the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”

 

(This is from Malachi 4:5)

​

What is Jesus’s answer?

 

“Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.  But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”

 

Remember back in Matthew 11:4, Jesus said this about John the Baptist:

 

“If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

​

We discovered there that Jesus was talking about in the future.  So, not necessarily that John the Baptist currently was Elijah.  We also noted that John the Baptist did not claim to be Elijah when people asked him if he was Elijah.  Now Jesus says that Elijah has come and that he will also come in the future to restore all things.  He then alludes to John the Baptist being Elijah.  Is this a contradiction?

No, because back in 11:4, Jesus does not say that John wasn’t Elijah.

​

Is this a contradiction of scripture that in John 1:21, John the Baptist denies that he is Elijah?

No. Because John the Baptist was not the actual physical Elijah, but the spirit and power of Elijah.  We see this in Luke 1:17, “And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.”

​

So, what are the implications of this?

​

There is still a future coming of Elijah.  This means that there will be a second coming of the Messiah.

​

So, they come down from the mountain, and guess what is waiting for them?  A crowd!  Let’s see what happens next.

 

Verses 14-21,

 

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.  And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”  And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”  He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

​

So, there is a boy with seizures and Jesus’ disciples could not heal him.  Jesus heals him and tells his disciples they could not heal him because of their little faith.  Then he tells them that if they have as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, they can move a mountain.  I wonder if anyone has done this ever.  What do you think?

​

One thing that I often hear from Atheists is the argument of "tangible proof."  "There is no tangible proof," the atheist will say.  I ask, "Are you deaf?  Are you blind? Do you have no nerve endings, so that you cannot feel?"  There have been plenty of miracles throughout time.

​

People saw, heard, or felt those miracles.  Historical records exist that verify the historicity and validity of those miracles.  The Miracle of Moving the Mokattam Mountain is one such tangible event.  This event left us with several historical results that verify its validity.

The purpose of God in his plan of salvation is not to leave himself without a witness in the Middle East. His sovereign choice is that his witness be located in Egypt where the largest surviving, and therefore the most important, Dhimmi Christian community in the Middle East lives on: "In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border” (Isaiah 19: 19); "The Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, blessed is Egypt My people" (Isaiah 19: 25a). Every one thousand years, Christ makes his powerful statement in Egypt corroborating this prophecy. He seems to declare out loud that his witness in Egypt shall remain for the following one thousand years, or till his second coming in glory, whichever occurs first.

​

The first millennium was characterized by a series of persecutions of the Coptic Church of Egypt by the Romans, the Chalcedonian Byzantines and the Muslims. This miracle occurred at the end of the first millennium in the tenth century in the reigns of the Fatimid Muslim caliph al-Muizz (952-975) and the Coptic Patriarch Ephraem the Syrian (the 62nd Patriarch -- 975-978). The Muslim caliph had a finance minister called Jacob-ibn-Killis, who had changed his religion from Judaism to Islam in order to get a high position in the government. Jacob hated Christians and Christianity. He strove to prove that Christianity is a false religion. He requested that a debate be arranged with Coptic representatives in the court of the caliph. The Caliph granted him the debate. He failed the debate, and the top Coptic theologian, Bishop Sawires Ibn el-Muqaffa’, prevailed. This infuriated him greatly, and he walked out of the debate determined to do whatever he could to obliterate Christianity from Egypt. In order to accomplish that, he spoke to the Muslim caliph about Jesus’ teaching to his disciples in Matthew 17: 20: “For assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” He advised the caliph to have the Christians of Egypt prove the truthfulness of their religion by moving a huge mountain called al-Muqattam at the outskirts of the city of Cairo. The caliph summoned the Coptic Patriarch Ephraem and gave him three choices: either to move the mountain; or all the Copts of Egypt convert to Islam; or all the Copts be dispossessed and exiled. Upon his request, the Patriarch was granted three days in order to prepare for what was to be done. The Patriarch then ordered the Christians of Egypt to fast every day to sunset, and to continually offer prayers that the Lord may protect his Church from final annihilation. The Church kept vigil and prayer for three days and three nights. In the morning of the third day, the Patriarch was totally exhausted. He dosed off briefly in the ancient church of St. Mary, known as the hanging church, where he was maintaining vigil (this church still stands till this day in Old Cairo). He saw a vision of St. Mary, the Theotokos. She gave him detailed directions to find a man on whose hands the Lord would move the mountain. He followed her directions and found that man who was a poor tanner called Simeon clothed in filthy rags. Simeon was one-eyed. He plucked out his other eye when a woman tried to seduce him, as he understood Jesus’ teaching of Matthew 5: 29 literally. He used to carry water jugs to provide water to the elderly, the handicapped, and the destitute—the brothers of the Lord (Matthew 25: 35,40). Simeon informed the Patriarch of what was to be done.

​

The Patriarch informed the caliph that the Lord would move the mountain. The caliph took all the prominent men of his court and his private guards and went to the vicinity of the mountain. The Patriarch took Simeon the tanner in his filthy rags, his bishops and a large congregation of the Copts and went to the foot of the mountain. After celebrating the divine liturgy, he and all the people bowed down crying out to the Lord and saying "Lord have mercy." At that moment, the earth shook, and a loud noise was heard as the rocks at the base of the huge mountain began to fracture. As the Patriarch and the congregation raised their heads up, the mountain was lifted up to the sky, as if by invisible hands, till the sun shone through underneath it. As they bowed down glorifying the might of the Lord, the mountain came down. They did that three times, and the Mountain rose and descended three times following their movement. This frightened the caliph, his court, and his troops. He ran to the Patriarch trembling with fear and begged him to stop, as he now knew for certain that Christ was true. As a result of this miracle, Christianity was spared in Egypt, and the conditions of the Copts were greatly improved during the reign of that caliph. New churches were built and ruined churches were repaired. Al-Muizz favored the Copts so much that he ordered the tearing down of a mosque that was built facing the church of Anba Shinuda in Old Cairo. Despite Muslim denials, there is a strong historical circumstantial evidence that al-Muizz converted to Christianity, was baptized, abdicated the throne to his son, al-Aziz, and spent the latter part of his life in a desert monastery. In fact, his son, al-Aziz married a Melkite Christian woman, favored the Copts in high administrative positions, permitted the building of new churches and restoration of old ones, and lifted the heavy tax burden off the Copts.

​

http://www.samaanchurch.com/en/miracle_en.php

 

http://www.wisdomlib.org/christianity/compilation/miracles-of-the-living-god/d/doc4735.html

 

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/synexarion/simon-popeabraam.html