
Matthew 17:1-13
17:3 | Moses and Elijah – the great lawgiver and the great prophet – were probably chosen to join Jesus and the disciples at the Transfiguration as representatives of the Old Covenant. Moses was the one through whom the covenant came, and Elijah was its preeminent reformer.
17:4 | Those present at the Transfiguration provide a picture of the coming kingdom of Christ: Moses represents those who died in Christ (Deut. 34:6; Jude 9); Elijah represents those who will be raptured someday (he had been taken to heaven without dying – 2 Kgs. 2:11); the three apostles represent redeemed Israel; and Christ is the King.
17:5 | God interrupted Peter’s brief, awkward speech with His own announcement. Out of the bright cloud – no doubt an appearance of the shekinah glory that in the OT signaled the presence of God Almighty (2 Chron. 5:14) – God affirmed Jesus and commanded the frightened disciples to hear Him. Although Moses and Elijah stood with Him in that moment, all attention was focused on Jesus, God’s only Son (Ps. 2:7; 2 Pet. 1:17).
17:10-13 | Jesus confirmed that the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6 would indeed be fulfilled in John the Baptist, who ministered in the power of Elijah. Elijah will probably be one of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11, who will prophesy and work miracles during the Tribulation before the Second Coming.