Chapter 9:1-13 The Transfiguration

9:1 And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power - When Jesus was declared both Lord and Christ, by the wonderful effusion of the Holy Spirit; the Gospel spread in the world both among Jews and Gentiles, in spite of all opposition, under the power and influence of the grace of God, to the conversion of thousands of souls; and that branch of Christ's regal power exerted in the destruction of the Jewish nation.

9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and He was transfigured before them.

By themselves - That is, separate from the multitude.

9:3 And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

White as snow, such as no fuller can whiten - Such as could not be equalled either by nature or art.

9:4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses - Or Moses and Elijah.

9:5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias - Luke adds, "not knowing what he said";.....he spoke as a mistaken man, being ignorant of the design of this appearance; which was, not that this glory should continue, only that should be an emblem and pledge of what was future; and besides, he was wrong in putting these two men upon an equal foot with Christ.

9:6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

For he wist not what to say - He did not know what he should say, or what was proper to be said by him, at such a time, in such circumstances.

9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.

There was a cloud that overshadowed them, and was a shelter to them. And a voice came out the cloud, saying, this is My beloved Son, hear Him. - This was the voice of God the Father, bearing a testimony to the sonship of Christ.

9:8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

The vision, being designed only to introduce the voice, when that was delivered, disappeared; Suddenly when they had looked round about, as men amazed to see where they were, all was gone, they saw no man any more. Elias and Moses were vanished out of sight, and Jesus only remained with them, and He not transfigured, but as He used to be.

9:9 And as they came down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen; on the mount, as the transfiguration of Himself, the persons of Moses and Elias, and the bright cloud from whence the voice came, which bore testimony of Christ's sonship: He ordered to keep the whole of this a secret from every man, even from their fellow disciples till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

9:10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

questioning with one other what the rising from the dead should mean - they inquired, disputed, and reasoned with one another, what should be the meaning of such an expression: not that they were ignorant of the general resurrection of the dead; for this was the hope of Israel, and the general sense of the Jewish nation: but they did not know what he meant by His particular rising from the dead: whether He meant it in a literal sense, which supposed His death; and that though He had lately told them of, they knew not how to reconcile to the notions they had of a long and flourishing temporal kingdom of the Messiah.

9:11 And they asked Him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

And they asked Him, saying - Being put in mind of it, by seeing Elias on the mount, or else by what Christ had said concerning His resurrection, or both: why say the Scribes, the Vulgate Latin adds, "and Pharisees", that Elias must first come? before the Messiah comes;

9:12 And He answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nought.

and how it is written of the son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nought -  The sense of Christ is, that John the Baptist, whom he means by Elias, comes first, and restores all things: and among the rest of the things he sets right, this is one, and not of the least; namely, that He gives the true sense of such passages of the sacred writings, which related to the contemptuous usage, rejection, and sufferings of the Messiah; as that in these He was the Lamb of God typified in the sacrifices of the law, who by His sufferings and death takes away the sin of the world; and therefore He exhorted and directed those to whom He ministered, to look unto Him, and believe in Him.

9:13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

But I say unto you, that Elias is indeed come - Meaning John the Baptist.