What does the word “transfigure” means when pertaining to Jesus Christ?? Thank you very much. ~ Sonny
The biblical account of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ appears in Matthew 17:1-5 and Mark 9:2-7. Luke 9:29 records about the same occurrence that “the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening” (NKJV). The Greek word translated “transfigured” means “transformed,” and so it is translated in Romans 12:2; in 2 Corinthians 3:18 the same Greek word appears as “changed.” These are the only instances of the Greek word behind “transfigure” that appear in the Bible.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the term as “to change into another form.” Barnes’ Notes says of the word for “transfigure” that: “It does not denote the change of the substance of a thing, but simply of its appearance. It puts on a new aspect.” Adam Clarke’s commentary adds: “That fullness of the Godhead, which dwelt bodily in Christ, now shone forth through the human nature…” The Gospel Advocate Commentary for the Book of Matthew, likewise, observes: “Jesus was ‘transfigured’ or appeared in his glorified state not veiled by human flesh.” Even more descriptive, James Burton Coffman in his commentary remarked: “The heavenly glory of Christ irradiated his face and clothing, demonstrating his eternal nature in a way to make the apostles who witnessed it absolutely certain that Christ was God in human form. The profound impression made by the event was permanent. Long afterward, John wrote, ‘We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14).” Note also: “Although His features retained their recognizably human form, everything else about Him took on a blinding light, blazing with sun-like glory. This is the incident which so marvelously encapsules what the Apostles meant when they said: …‘We were eyewitnesses of His majesty’ (2 Pt. 1: 16ff)” (Fowler). More expressive yet of what the three apostles beheld, we have the following:
The usual outward expression of our Lord in His humiliation was that of the Man Christ Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, the One acquainted with grief. He, to the world, was the travel-stained, itinerant preacher, the claimant to the Jewish Messiahship. What the world saw was a peasant from Galilee, clad in homespun, the son of the carpenter of Nazareth. But now, that outward expression was changed. Out from within the inmost being of the Son of God, there shone that dazzling glory of the essence of Deity which He possesses co-eternally with God the Father and God the Spirit. It shone right through the clay walls of His humanity and through the clothing He wore. (Wuest)
The appearance of Jesus Christ on the occasion of His Transfiguration corresponded with the audible words from God Himself: “…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5). Both by divine, audible confirmation and observable, visual evidence, the apostles of Christ (who were soon to be deprived of personal contact with Jesus) were sufficiently assured of the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth that they could carry on for a lifetime, come what may, as ambassadors of Christ in every way. The Transfiguration was temporary in manifestation, but permanent in affect, first to the apostles, and then for all humanity afterward as the testimonies of those eyewitnesses are recorded upon the Pages of Inspiration.
Works Cited
Barnes, Albert. Barnes’ Notes. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.
Boles, H. Leo. Gospel Advocate Commentaries. CD-ROM. Austin: Wordsearch, 2005.
Clarke, Adam. Clarke’s Commentaries. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.
Coffman, James Burton. Coffman’s Commentaries. CD-ROM. Abilene: ACU P.
Fowler, Harold. Bible Study Textbook Series: Matthew, III. CD-ROM. Joplin: College P., 1978.
Vine, W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.
Wuest, K. S. Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader. CD-ROM. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
