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<DIV><SPAN class=style1><FONT size=4>...these were two of the three OT figures
who, by the NT era, were considered to be "deathless," to use RT France's word
(<EM>The Gospel of Matthew</EM>, p. 648). Elijah was taken up to heaven without
going through death (II Kings 2:11) and would return before the great and
terrible day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5). Moses died, to be sure, but because no one
knew the place of his grave (Deut. 34), and because a new prophet like Moses was
going to arise (Deut. 18:15-19), he was considered deathless. The only other
person who didn't die in the OT was Enoch, who "walked with God and he was no
more, because God took him" (Gen. 5:24). Thus, we have a mini-convention of
deathless heroes.</FONT> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.drbilllong.com/LectionaryIV/Matt17II.html">http://www.drbilllong.com/LectionaryIV/Matt17II.html</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bill Long, 2008</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>v4. The feast of "Booths" commemorates God's presence and
protection during the forty years Israel was in the wilderness. Peter realizes
God's presence in the situation and rightly wants to build some shelters
("booths") to tangibly illustrate the experience. Luke adds "not knowing what he
said." Building booths is not a problem, putting Jesus on a par with Moses and
Elijah is.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/lent2ag.html">http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/lent2ag.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bryan Findlayson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">Transfigured [GSN3339
<I>metamorphoo</I> (met-am-or-fo'-o)]: To experience a metamorphosis, a total
transformation or change of appearance and even of a person’s nature such as
when a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">·<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN></SPAN>His face [GSN4383 <I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">prosopon</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt"> (pros'-o-pon)]: His face or appearance—the very
presence of Jesus was transformed. Even more, the phrase means his
‘appearance was revealed’. This was the true nature of Christ revealed to
the three apostles.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">·<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN></SPAN>Shone like the sun [GSN2989 <I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">lampo</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt"> (lam'-po)]: The light of Jesus radiated
brilliance—he shone like the sun not as a reflection of the sun. The sun
didn’t shine on me—it shown out of him!</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">·<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN></SPAN>His garments [GSN2440 <I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">himation</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt"> (him-at'-ee-on)]: Even the dirty earthly garb
he was wearing was transformed into heavenly beauty; everything connected with
Jesus is turned beautiful with his touch.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=MsoBodyText><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">·<SPAN
style="FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 7pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">
</SPAN></SPAN>Became white [GSN1096 <I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt">ginomai</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="LETTER-SPACING: -0.25pt"> (ghin'-om-ahee)] [GSN3022 leukos (lyoo-kos’)]:
This is the word for completed or accomplished. Leukos is the root word of
Luke and it means that Christ’s raiment became a completed
white. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Matthew/mt_17_01-09.htm">http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/Matthew/mt_17_01-09.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jerry Goebel: 2005 © </FONT><A
style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline"
href="http://onefamilyoutreach.com/"><FONT
size=4>http://onefamilyoutreach.com</FONT></A><FONT size=4>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Blam. In a New York minute, as they say.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>You are looking through shards of glass, wind whips through
the car. You keep driving. That’s all the trek is anyway. Keep driving, punch
the clock, keep the appointments. drift along, put one foot in front of the
other. The Galilean ministry was one appointment after another, the hungry, the
sick, the cynical, the poor, they all came after him, but now he says, come
away. Build an altar before the appointment with death.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Kind people in cars note the bashed-in car and form a kind of
motorcade guiding you to the hospital. This is what transfiguration looks like
in the streets of New York. You stagger out of the car at Metropolitan Hospital.
Somebody comes out of the shadows. A street person sees your clerical collar and
moves in to ask for spare change. He sees your blood-spattered face and takes
your arm. "It’s all right, brother, come with me." He leads you into the
emergency room, gets people moving to help, and stands with you as your Joseph
the guardian. Transfiguration.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Later I see him in the park across the street, lighting a fire
to keep warm in the chill of his trek. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3183">http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3183</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Stephen Paul Bouman, 2005</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...only Matthew records three epiphanies, or more correctly
Christophanies, in which the living and glorified Christ comes to his followers.
(There are countless occasions when others come to Jesus, but in these three
texts Jesus comes to his disciples.) One Christophany occurs following the
resurrection, on a mountain in Galilee. "And when they saw him they worshipped
him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them" (28:17-18) . Another such
occurrence is on the sea of Galilee, in the fourth watch of the night, during a
storm. In a time of fear and faith, doubt and worship, the disciples wonder
whether they are seeing a ghost, as Jesus "came to them, walking on the sea"
(14:25) <I>. </I>The other such appearance is recorded in today’s text. Peter,
James and John see a dazzlingly transfigured Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah
and they hear heaven’s voice declare Jesus the Son of God to be heard and
obeyed.</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=705">http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=705</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>Fred B. Craddock</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
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