Read Matthew 17:1-9 with your family.

Trans means change, and Transfiguration means the person of Jesus, his ‘figure’, changed. He was still himself, but there was a new sense of purpose and this time Jesus’ closest friends were there to witness Jesus once again being given the responsibility to make the world different. The disciples were told that Jesus was the one to listen to.

In the Hebrew tradition, Moses represented the laws of the faith, and Elijah represented all the prophets who encouraged people to follow God’s teachings. It is interesting hearing this story in Matthew after we have been assured during the Sermon on the Mount in Chapter 4, that everything Jesus said followed the teachings of both Moses and Elijah.

The earliest followers of Jesus were still trying to figure out how important Jesus was compared to those two great men of the Hebrew tradition. This story shows that all of them, Jesus, Moses and Elijah, were in agreement and socialized together, however Jesus was the one with the message that was now to be followed.

Jesus was not going to say anything from either Moses or Elijah was wrong or needed to be changed, he was going to take those teachings and explain them further so people could do what God wanted them to do.