Editing Transfiguration of Jesus (section)

===Importance===

[[File:Saint Catherine's Transfiguration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Mosaic of the Transfiguration, [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], [[Mount Sinai]]]]

[[Christian theology]] assigns a great deal of significance to the transfiguration, based on multiple elements of the narrative. In Christian teachings, the transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=2}}

The transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God (as in his baptism), but the statement "listen to him", identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=47–49}} The significance of this identification is enhanced by the presence of Elijah and Moses, for it indicates to the apostles that Jesus is the voice of God "par excellence", and instead of Moses or Elijah (representing the Law and the prophets) he should be listened to, surpassing the laws of Moses by virtue of his divinity and filial relationship with God.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=47–49}} [[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Peter#1:16|2 Peter 1:16–18]] echoes the same message: at the Transfiguration God assigns to Jesus a special "honor and glory" and it is the turning point at which God exalts Jesus above all other powers in creation, and positions him as ruler and judge.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=319–320}}

The transfiguration also echoes the teaching by Jesus (as in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Matthew#22:32|Matthew 22:32]]) that God is not "the God of the dead, but of the living". Although Moses had died and Elijah had been taken up to heaven centuries before (as in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Kings#2:1|2 Kings 2:11]]), they now live in the presence of the Son of God, implying that the same return to life applies to all who face death and have faith.{{sfn|Poe|1996|p=166}}