Matthew 17:1-13

The Mount of Transfiguration
Book of the Bible
Matthew
Speaker
Tony Ferguson
Sermon Date

So Jesus told the disciples of the sufferings that He would face, and also spoke to them the glories that would follow. He told them in Matt 16:28:

"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." 

All 3 synoptic gospel writers give their version of that statement directly before the transfiguration which would take place one week later. Jesus would take Peter, James and John up on the mount reveal to them a foretaste of His glory.

As a matter of fact, Peter will refer back to this experience in 2 Peter 1:16-18 as the substantiation of their claims of the power and coming of the Lord Jesus.

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  (17)  For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  (18)  And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain."

Description of the book of Matthew

As you come to the New Testament the first three books you encounter (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are referred to as the "synoptic" gospels. They are called the "synoptic" gospels because for the most part, they have a "similar view" of the life and ministry of Jesus. Though they account for much of the same narrative regarding the life and ministry of Jesus, they are not identical, nor are they intended to be. They assemble the accounts in different contexts, and contain different amounts of detail, but they are all important. God always seeks to establish a matter on the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses, so having these 3 synoptic gospels about the life an ministry of the Son of God is in no way redundant.

Matthew’s gospel communicates to us the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus in the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. From His lineage, to His birth, to His miraculous ministry, to His teachings, to His crucifixion, Matthew will time and time again point out that these things happened “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet…”.