Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

Thanks for joining. Today, we're talking about the Transfiguration. Why did Moses and Elijah show up on that mountain?

Whenever you read commentaries on the Transfiguration, a lot of people get hung up on the location of the mountain.

Scholars disagree on its location, but the good news is we don't have to know the precise

location of the mountain in order to understand the story. And while we don't know exactly which

mountain it was, we know that back in the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses both had significant

encounters with God atop a mountain,

taking the phrase, mountain top experience, quite literally.

Today's mountaintop story starts out pretty simple.

Jesus takes a few of his disciples up a mountain, which makes sense, as it would provide

a great amount of privacy far away from the rest of civilization.

And who does Jesus take up the mountain?

Peter, James, and John, his closest guys, or said differently, his inner circle.

In Matthew 17, verse 2, we read, and he, referring to Jesus, was transfigured before them,

Peter, James, and John, and his face, face, Jesus shone like the sun, and his clothes

became white as light. Think about this. Peter, James, and John knew the Old Testament stories.

When Moses came back down after his mountaintop experience, his face was shining. But in this instance,

it's important to note a distinction.

Moses reflected the glory of God, whereas Jesus' shining face was revealing his own glory.

Another detail that's worth noting is that Jesus' clothes became white as light.

According to one commentator, wherever the Greek word for white is used in other places in the New Testament in regard to clothing,

it always refers to either angels, being surrounded with glory, or to the garments of saints who have entered or will enter a glorified state in heaven.

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