Background Scripture (read 2-3 times during the week)
Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36
Story Summary
Jesus took his 3 closest disciples (Peter, James, and John) with him to a high mountain. Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and while he was praying his disciples become sleepy. They woke up to Jesus transfigured. What does "transfiguration" mean? That's just a fancy way of saying he "changed appearance" ("trans" means "change" and "figure" refers to Jesus' appearance). His appearance changed in two ways: his face was shining as bright as the sun and his clothes were whiter than you can imagine.
They saw 2 other people talking with Jesus about the fact that he was getting ready to depart, to leave earth and return to the heavens. Peter was so confused, he didn't really know what to say. You can imagine him just trying to come up with something, so he said, "Jesus, should we build shelters for the three of you?" While he was speaking, the voice of God from heaven began speaking: "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:6)
The sound of the voice of God was just too much for the three disciples, and they fell to the ground terrified. Jesus approached them, told them not to be afraid and to get back up. When they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone. As they went down the mountain, Jesus told them not to share their experience with anyone until after his resurrection.
Which Mountain Was the Transfiguration On?
None of the 3 gospels report the name of this mountain, so we can only guess. Historically, Mount Tabor was the leading candidate as it is a striking mountain very near the western part of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus did much of his ministry. There is an ancient church on the top of the mountain now because of this tradition.
Others think the Transfiguration occured on Mount Hermon because it is the largest mountain in the region and it is close to Caesarea Philippi, which is where both Matthew and Mark place the disciples and Jesus in the chapter just before this story in their respective gospels.
Why Did Moses and Elijah Appear with Jesus?
First, nothing in the actual narrative names Moses and Elijah, so we don't actually know how Peter, James and John knew it was those two figures. But the story doesn't record every word of their conversation. It does say that the 3 were discussing Jesus' soon "departure," so perhaps something in that conversation made it obvious to them. Or maybe, as they were walking back down the mountain, one of the disciples asked Jesus, "Who were those guys?!?!"
Now, as to why those two figures were the ones who met Jesus on that mountain, we can only explore the Biblical themes going through the Old Testament to understand the significance.
Jesus Fulfilled the Law and the Prophets
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "Do not think I have come to get rid of what is written in the Law or in the Prophets. I have not come to do that. Instead, I have come to give full meaning to what is written." God gave Moses the Law on Mount Sinai. Elijah was the arguably the most famous prophet and was the first major prophet to call Israel to repentance after the kingdom split. So those two people could be said to represent the Law and the Prophets that Jesus came to fulfill. This was them "passing the baton" to Jesus for him to finish his fulfillment.
Shared Mountaintop Experiences
Both Moses and Elijah had "mountaintop" experiences with God on Mount Sinai. Moses received the Law there, and Elijah heard from God in his "still, small voice" on Mount Sinai in 1 Kings 19. So here they are, all 3 on top of a mountain again, experiencing the very presence of God together.
Unusual Ends to their Lives
In Deuteronomy 34:6, we learn that God himself buried Moses on the top of Mount Nebo, a mountain overlooking the Promised Land that Moses was not allowed to enter. "To this day no one knows where his grave is."
In 2 Kings 2 we learn that God took Elijah from earth into heaven on a chariot of fire without dying.
Of course, Jesus died and then 3 days later rose from the grave!
Jesus Fulfilled Old Testament Prophecy about the Messiah
Moses, in his final speech to the Israelites before they entered the promised land actually predicted a coming figure that would be raised up from Israel: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him." (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Because of Elijah's strange departure from earth, many Jews of his day associated the promised Messiah with Elijah himself returning. That's why the Jewish leaders actually asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah in John 1:21. In John 6, after Jesus fed the 5,000, the crowd immediately assumed he was "The Prophet" they were waiting on. See Peter's sermon in Acts 3:12-26.
Why Did Peter Want to Build Three Shelters?
Another word for "shelter" here is "tabernacle." Peter asked Jesus if he could build 3 "tabernacles" for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. It seems like Peter thought it was a good idea for them all to stay up there as long as they could. God's voice didn't correct him directly, but ignored the idea.
Also, remember that the Tabernacle in the Old Testament was the place where God's presence dwelled among the Israelites as they were wandering the wilderness after the Exodus. Maybe Peter was trying to come up with some plan to capture the moment and keep God's presence there? He didn't realize that God's presence (through his Holy Spirit) was going to be poured out on all believers on Pentecost!
What did God say on the Mount of Transfiguration?
In Matthew 17:5, God spoke and said, "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!" In Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was being baptized, God spoke and said, "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him." Sound familiar?
It seems like God was publicly putting his stamp of approval on Jesus at the beginning and the end of his ministry.
Why Did Jesus Tell Them to Keep It Quiet?
This is another question the story just doesn't give us the answer to. Jesus often told people to not tell others about miracles he had done, or to keep quiet the fact that he was the Messiah. We can only say that Jesus had a reason to tell them this and it served his purposes better for them to keep it quiet until after his resurrection.
After all, according to Luke 9:31, the discussion the 3 of them were having was about his "departure," or literally his "exodus." As soon as you hear the word "exodus" in the same conversation as Jesus predicting his death, burial and resurrection, you should be thinking of the Passover, Israelites being redeemed from the Egyptians, and that whole story. Jesus was determined to accomplish his purpose and in his wisdom, he knew that sharing this experience before his death and resurrection was not going to help that.
Where Is the Transfiguration in the Bible?
You can find the Transfiguration in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (also known as the "synoptic" gospels). John does not record the Transfiguration in his gospel. Transfiguration Bible verses: Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36
My Notes
1 Warm Up get your kids talking and engaged
What is the brightest thing you've ever seen?
Today, we're going to learn about a time when Jesus became as bright as the sun, right in front of some of his disciples' eyes!
2 Teach the Story teach a holistic story
Read story from a Children's storybook Bible for younger children.
For older children, read the story from an age-appropriate Children's storybook Bible or read directly from the Bible.
3 Bible Mastery give them basic Bible skills
Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Matthew 17:1-9
4 Comprehension Questions make sure they understand the story
First, ask the children if they have any questions about the story. What to do if you don't know the answer?
- Who were the 3 disciples Jesus took up on the mountain with him?
- Peter, James, and John
- What happened when they were up on the mountain?
- Jesus's appearance was changed and his face became bright as the sun, and his clothes became bright white
- Who else appeared with Jesus?
- Elijah and Moses
- What did Peter want to do when he saw this?
- Build 3 tents for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses to stay on the mountain for a while
- What happened when Peter was making his suggestion?
- A bright cloud came around them and a voice from the cloud began talking
- What did the voice say?
- This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!
- Who was talking?
- God himself
- What did the disciples do when they heard this?
- They became very frightened and fell to the ground
- What did Jesus do?
- He told them not to be afraid and came and touched them
5 Faith Questions open up a conversation about faith and the gospel; close with prayer
- We learn in this story that God sent his Son to the earth. Jesus was God himself.
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 Memory Verse hide God's Word in their heart
All 11 activities below are free to use with no sign-up — complete with instructions, supply lists, and an age label for all-ages, early elementary, or late elementary classes.
Things that Change
- Discuss things that change.
- Caterpillars change into butterflies- Have live butterflies and caterpillars or a cocoon or pictures of each.
- Trees change with the season- Have pictures of a tree in different seasons. If possible, bring in a branch.
- Seeds change into flowers and fruit. Provide seeds and the flowers and fruits that grow from each seed. (You can have students guess which seeds will grow into which flowers or seeds).
Look at the Sun
- With the pin, punch a hole in the center of one of your pieces of paper.
- Hold the paper up and aim the hole at the Sun. (Don't look at the Sun either through the hole or in any other way!)
- Now, find the image of the Sun that comes through the hole.
- Move your other piece of paper back and forth until the image rests on the paper and is in focus.
- What you are seeing is the actual image of the sun.
Make a Change Game
- Divide students into two groups.
- Have each group study the other group. (Pay attention to clothing, jewelry, hair, etc).
- Separate groups and have them each choose one person to make a change to their appearance.
- The change can be to switch shoes, take their hair down, remove jewelry, etc, but must be noticable!
- Get groups back together and have them try and figure out what the change was.
- Jesus' transformation was quite obvious and was one of the clearest signs that Jesus is God himself.
Listen to the Sound Activity
- Encouage the kids to listen carefully and try to guess the sound.
- Show a "Guess the Sound" Video.
- You can split into teams, if desired, and the first team to guess wins a point.
Cloud Snack
- Layer blue jello and cool whip in cups.
- When complete, it looks like fluffy clouds in the sky.
Making a Cloud 2
- Cut a piece of ivory soap. A little goes a long way.
- Place soap onto the plate and place in the microwave.
- Turn microwave on for 2 minutes.
- Soap will expand and turn into a cloud. It looks white and puffy, but is actually dry and flaky.
- Ask students how they would feel if they saw a large cloud appear and heard a voice speaking from the cloud.
Transfiguration Snack
- Have the students create the scene of the transfiguration on paper plates using the supplies provided
- Marshmallows -> cloud
- Teddy grahams -> Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, John
Transfiguration Stained Glass
- Trace the outline of Jesus onto the contact paper with a black sharpie.
- Stick pieces of yellow tissue paper for his head.
- Stick pieces of white tissue paper on his body.
- Stick blue tissue paper on the outside of the outline to cover the rest of the contact paper.
Making a Cloud 1
- Follow instructions on proper handling of dry ice.
- Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. Instead of melting, dry ice turns directly into carbon dioxide gas but does not melt like real ice. Dry ice must be handled with care as it is -110 degrees F ( -78 degrees C).
- It must be handled using gloves or tongs, as it will cause severe burns if it comes in contact with your skin.
- Do not allow students to come in contact with dry ice.
- Put warm water into a glass bowl.
- Place a piece of dry ice into bowl.
- It will immediately begin to make a cloud.
- When you drop the piece of dry ice in a bowl of water, the gas that you see is a combination of carbon dioxide and water vapor.
News Cast
- Write scripts like a news story detailing what happened.
- Have eye witness accounts from the disciples.
- You can split into groups and have more than one newscast.
- Record the newscasts so they can watch themselves.
Up on a Mountain Mad Lib
- Complete the Mad Lid.
- Read the original story to finish the activity.
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