And lo, two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elias,
Luke does not describe the visitors as angels or as figures of legend. He says two men, and one commentator notes that the wording fits this Gospel's outlook, along with the subject the three of them were discussing.
In Luke we find something else: "And behold, two men were talking with Him, Moses and Elijah." Luke calls them "men" here in a pointed way, because he wrote this Gospel with people in general in view. These men "appeared in glory and spoke of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." What they talked about is of the deepest interest for us all.
Moses and Elijah were not random names from Israel's past. Each left the world in a way no one else did, and each stood for a different part of God's dealings with the nation.
They were two heads of Jewish history. Moses was the lawgiver, and Elijah the reformer. Moses had died, and the Lord Himself buried him. Elijah had never died; a chariot of fire had carried him up to heaven. He had tried to call a people who had turned away from God back to the law they had abandoned. But he failed, and fled to Horeb, the place where God had given the law.
Moses and Elijah could have spoken of the kingdom. They chose something else.
They speak not of His glory, nor of His kingdom, but of what they felt just then: He was going to lay down His life for those who were His. It is sweet to see how, in the company of the Lord, the heart learns what suits Him.
The two men appear for a moment and then withdraw. That withdrawal, writers point out, is itself part of the message of the scene.
So the law and the prophets, these two great witnesses, come in here for one reason. Everything was about to disappear, and Jesus alone would be left. At the end everything goes. Moses is gone, Elijah is gone, and Christ alone is left. He remains for ever. This brings to mind that Scripture, "The Law and the Prophets were until John."
There is a second reason for the pairing. One of the two died; the other never did.
They show us what that blessed moment will be like, when the saints are raised and changed. Moses must have been raised, for he had died. God buried him, and no man knew the place of his grave. Elijah went to heaven without dying. So you have an exact picture of the two groups: those who will die, and those who will not pass through death. "We shall not all sleep" means that we shall not all die. "But we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." They appeared in glory; He glorified, and they glorified with Him.
The same picture has room for the three disciples watching on the mountain.
Jesus appeared in His majesty, and with Him were two men. We see the heavenly saints in Moses and Elijah, and the earthly saints in Peter, James and John. In mortal bodies they saw the glory of God.
Commentators differ here. Some speak confidently of Moses as risen; but when a reader asked how this squares with Christ being the first to rise from the dead, the answer given was deliberately restrained.
There is no difficulty about Elijah, who did not rise from the dead. And Scripture does not say that Moses rose either. We may not be able to explain more than this: both appeared in glory at the transfiguration. But Scripture cannot be broken: Christ is the firstfruits.
The disciples knew at once which man was which. One writer draws a promise from that.
It is perfectly plain that there will be recognition in eternity. They knew Moses, and they knew Elijah. They confused neither of them. They were sure about each. I do not think we shall fail to recognise each other when we pass into eternity. This scene shows plainly that people are known after resurrection. The relationships of this life belong to time, but each person keeps who he is into eternity.
- Two men. Luke calls the visitors men, because he wrote for people at large. Their talk with Jesus was about His death at Jerusalem.
- Two ministries. Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the reformer stand for the law and the prophets. Their day ran until John.
- Two departures. God buried one with His own hand. The other went to heaven without dying. Together they picture saints raised and saints changed.
- Two companies. Moses and Elijah picture the heavenly saints. Peter, James and John picture the earthly side of the coming kingdom.
- One left standing. Moses and Elijah come, shine, and go. Christ alone remains. And because they were still themselves in glory, we know we shall recognise one another there.
who, appearing in glory, spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
On a mountain, Jesus' face and clothing shone with light. Two men from Israel's distant past stood beside Him and talked with Him. Their one subject was His death. Only Luke records what they said. His wording turns that death from a tragedy that happened to Jesus into a work He carried out.
Moses received the law and died. Elijah called Israel back to God and went to heaven without dying. Both now stand with Jesus, and the light on them is not their own.
Luke tells us the subject of the conversation between the Lord, Moses, and Elijah. They spoke of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. He had announced for the first time His coming suffering and death (verse 22). That death was demanded by the Law (Moses) and predicted by the prophets (Elijah). It had to happen, and it had to come before His glory. That is the great theme. Moses and Elijah "appeared in glory" — not their own glory, but His glory.
Luke does not use an ordinary word for death here. One writer looks at the Greek word behind "departure".
"Departure" is the Greek word exodos. The word "exodus" appears again in 2 Peter 1:15. On this being the theme of the conversation, Dr. Torrey asked in one of his London addresses, "Could anything show more clearly how basic His death is?"
The verse says He would accomplish it. One writer presses on that word.
They talked of His exodus — of "His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." Notice the word accomplish. It means to fulfil — to bring to completion — to be so perfected that nothing is lacking. There is no flaw, no failure in it. He had come to do the work that God had given Him to do, and in John's record of the crucifixion we learn that it was done. His own words were, "It is finished."
That word sets Him apart from the two men beside Him.
Moses brought down the law from God. But at the end of his life he had to tell that people: "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you" (Deut. 9:24). Elijah appeared among the people at a critical time and sought to lead them back into the path of obedience. Both Moses and Elijah failed, for the flesh is an evil thing. But the One who was about to give His life for sinners could not fail.
The place named is the city of the throne. To a Jewish ear that pairing would jar.
They also see where He would accomplish His death: "at Jerusalem." How strange to a Jew. The Messiah is going to reign from that very place. There He will receive a throne and a crown. Yet there He was to accomplish His death, and receive a cross and a grave. On the Mount they speak of such wonders without astonishment. There all is clear. The kingdom's glory must rest on righteousness. To meet the righteous claims of God He must accomplish His departure. The sufferings must come before the glory.
Just before this and just after it, Jesus spoke of His death to His disciples. They did not take it in. The two who did understand came from heaven.
In Luke 9, death with its unspeakable sorrows filled the thoughts of the Lord. As said before, no creature on earth could share in His grief... So He went to seek them in heaven. There He meets two glorified saints, and these, in contrast with those on earth, will understand Him. They know why they are in the bliss and glory of heaven. They know it was not through their own works, faithful and mighty as their testimony had been. They know that God has forgiven their sins because of Christ's propitiation — a propitiation still future at that moment.
That conversation on the mountain was not a one-off.
Moses and Elijah represent the saints who have died and been raised, and those who are living and changed. Moses died and is seen here as risen, and Elijah is the pattern of those who will be changed... This is the great topic of heavenly conversation. There can be no fact above so precious as the death of Jesus. It will be the grand theme throughout eternity. It is the foundation of all the ways of God in redemption, the highest moral glory of God, as it is the fullest proof of His love.
- Departure. Luke's word for His death is exodos, the Greek word behind "exodus".
- Accomplished. He did not just die. He completed a work, so perfected that nothing was lacking — "It is finished."
- Unlike them. Moses and Elijah both failed. The One about to give His life for sinners could not fail.
- At Jerusalem. The city of His throne became the place of His cross. The kingdom's glory had to rest on righteousness — suffering first, then glory.
- Forever. The two glorified men chose the subject of eternity. The death of Jesus is the foundation of redemption and the fullest proof of God's love.