Oh, good. I'll get back to you asap. Here is something to look at in the meantime. I just picked up MacArthur's Luke Commentaries, and here are his comments on the passage in question. I'll just include what he has to say about v27-28 until you tell me if continuing with the rest would be of any value to you. Other comments forthcoming. ~David
29 Previewing the Second Coming (Luke 9:27–36)
“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. (9:27–36)
One of the most glorious sections of Handel’s masterpiece Messiah is the chorus “And the Glory of the Lord,” which draws its text from Isaiah’s prophecy. Speaking of the coming Messiah, Isaiah wrote, “Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa. 40:5). That text reveals that the Lord Jesus Christ is the glory of God manifest in the incarnation.
The Old Testament records many occasions when God revealed His attributes in visible, light-like glory. Glory appeared in the wilderness, in response to Israel’s complaints about lack of food (Ex. 16:7, 10); in Leviticus 9:23 at the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests; at Mt. Sinai at the giving of the law (Ex. 24:15–18); at the completion of the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–35); in the wilderness in response to the nation’s rebellion (Num. 14:10) and again after the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num. 16:19, 42); when the people complained about the lack of water at Meribah (Num. 20:6); at the completion of the temple (1 Kings 8:10–11); and to Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:28; 3:23; 10:4, 18; 11:23). Whenever the glory of the Lord appeared, it manifested the presence of God Himself.
The Old Testament manifestations of God were shrouded in mystery. “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways,” Job declared, “and how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” (Job 26:14). Moses cried out to God, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (Ex. 33:18). But God replied, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (v. 20) and then told Moses, “And it will come about, while My glory is passing by that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen” (vv. 22–23).The blazing fullness of God’s glory would incinerate anyone who encountered it.
It is in the Lord Jesus Christ that the glory of God is most fully and clearly manifested. The writer of Hebrews began his book with a description of Christ’s glory:
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. (Heb. 1:1–3)
The apostle Paul called Him the “Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8), and in 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 states,
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
James referred to Him as “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (James 2:1). But the event that most powerfully and dramatically proved Jesus Christ to be the true glory of God, though veiled while He walked on earth, is the one recorded in this passage. The transfiguration is a preview of Christ’s unveiled second coming, when He returns in full visible glory (Matt. 24:29–30; 25:31).
The last vision the world had of Jesus was of Him hanging on a cross; only His followers saw Him after the resurrection and witnessed His ascension. Crucifixion was from the Gentile standpoint the ultimate act of disdain toward society’s most wretched people, while to the Jewish people it symbolized being cursed by God (cf.Gal.3:13).
But that is not the final view the world will have of Jesus. While the world sees only His first coming, Jesus spoke often of His return (cf. Luke 9:26; 12:40; 17:24–30; 18:8; 21:27, 36).The two comings of Christ, the first in humility and the second in glory, are the two great themes of biblical prophecy
Still, scoffers question why anyone should believe Jesus’ promise to return. After all, nearly two thousand years have elapsed since His death. “Where is the promise of His coming?” they demand, “For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:4). The same skepticism faced the Old Testament prophets when they predicted events in the distant future. But they also predicted near events, which dispelled skepticism when they came to pass, giving evidence that their future prophecies would also be fulfilled.
In this section Jesus followed the pattern of the Old Testament prophets. Having promised His glorious return in v. 26, which would not come in their day (see the discussion of that verse in the previous chapter of this volume), He promised an event to happen immediately to verify His believability. He told His hearers, “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here (identified in the next verse as Peter, John, and James) who will not taste death (a Hebrew colloquial expression for dying) until they see the kingdom of God.” The preview glimpse they would receive of His divine nature to be fully revealed at His return was a gift to encourage their weak faith. Thus some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. Matthew (17:1) and Mark (9:2) place the transfiguration six days after the Lord spoke these words. There is no contradiction between their accounts and Luke’s; the latter merely bookended the six days by adding the day Jesus made this statement and the actual day of the transfiguration.
Jesus took along Peter and John and James since those three men, along with Andrew, made up the innermost circle of the apostles (cf. 8:51; Mark 14:33). Jesus’ choice of three men reflects the law’s requirement that “on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (Deut. 19:15; cf. Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28). The apostles had been devastated by Jesus’ prediction of His death (9:21–22) and the possibility of their own martyrdoms (vv. 23–24). Matthew (16:22–23) and Mark (8:32–33) tell us Peter rebuked Jesus for even suggesting such plans, for which he was severely rebuked by his Lord. It was extremely difficult to reconcile those unexpected and undesired predictions with their messianic views and the Lord’s promised glory (v. 26). The amazing event that Peter, John, and James were about to witness would was designed as a help to reinforce their faith in Jesus’ glory and kingdom promises.
They had been waiting and hoping for the coming of the promised kingdom since they first began to follow Jesus. They had seen the power of the kingdom every time the King cast out demons, demonstrated control over nature, healed the sick, or raised the dead. They had also experienced divine power operating through them (9:1). But what Peter, James, and John were about to experience would go beyond merely observing the signs that point to the kingdom; they would actually briefly enter the kingdom itself.
In preparation for this glorious event, Jesus took the three apostles with Him and went up on the mountain to pray. On that unnamed mountain in Galilee, in the greatest revelation in His lifetime of who He truly is, Jesus’ glory was manifested in four ways: the Son’s transformation, the saint’s association, the sleepers’ suggestion, and the Sovereign God’s revelation.
MacArthur, John, Commentary on Luke 6-10 Moody Press
