So what was the point in Jesus taking his three leading disciples up the mountain to witness his big moment with Moses and Elijah? A display of superhuman status? One of those party-trick moments he was meant to resist following his temptation (see last week’s big story)? Or was something much more serious going on, something essential to his mission, something connected with suffering rather than glory? Matthew seems to think so as he, like the other gospel writers, places this story in a context of suffering and discipleship. Jesus career as he heads towards Jerusalem is going to mirror then surpass the careers of Moses and Elijah, whose faithful witness to God’s will for Israel involved then in much suffering and very little glory.
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Let me know what you think! The comments box won’t bite you…
Howard Pilgrim