Stein on the Transfiguration

Chapter 12- "The Transfiguration: A Glimpse of the Future"

Just for context, let me give you Mark's account of the Transfiguration.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. ² And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” ⁸ And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. (Mark 9:1-8)

Here then are some of Stein's thoughts:

"The transfiguration account is attached to the events of Caesarea Philippi by one of the few chronological connections found in the Gospels. According to mark 9:2 and Matthew 17:1, the transfiguration  took place 'six days later' than the confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi. In Luke 9:28 the chronological tie is 'about eight days after.' (Luke may be reckoning the time period inclusively whereas Mark and Matthew though exclusively.) Apart from the events between Palm Sunday and Easter, we find no other temporal designation this specific."

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"The transfiguration is intimately tied to the events of Caesarea Philippi. This is true not only temporally, but also theologically. What had occurred at Caesarea Philippi was affirmed, and its implications were further spelled out. What Peter had confessed was now verified by the divine Voice. Jesus was not Elijah, Moses, a prophet, or John the Baptist. The Voice affirmed what Peter had said. Jesus was the Messiah/Christ., the beloved Son of God. This implied that he had no equals. People could not treat him on the same terms as Moses and Elijah--he was much greater.    

What this meant concerning his mission had to be learned from Jesus himself. Peter earlier had sought to impose his own messianic conceptions on Jesus. The result was a Satanic understanding of the messianic role. At the transfiguration, the Voice told Peter and the others that they must 'listen to Jesus.' He alone was the one who could and must interpret the messianic role God had intended. And this role led to Jerusalem and a cross."

--Robert Stein, Jesus the Messiah