biguy2738
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I will demonstrate a more complex form of exegesis, more importantly, so that you can see what a chiasmus structure (otherwise known as a "sandwich" structure) looks like because no close reading of a Biblical text (and it's understanding) is possible without an awareness of the ancient literary techniques that were used. In the instance of a chiasmus structure, one needs to think concentric as opposed to linear; the "sandwich filling" is the most important part of the passage because it tends to be a message or a challenge. So, I'll present Luke 9: 28-37 in this manner:
A Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
B And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
C They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
X Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings one you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah not knowing what he said.
C While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!
B When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
A On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.
Eight days: I mentioned a bit earlier that the use of 7 days presents perfection and/or order in light of this, when one finds the use of eight days, it tells us that its the beginning of a new order and/or perfection; that things will be even better/greater than before.
Moses and Elijah: The Israelites referred to the Torah as the Law and the Prophets. Moses represents the Law and Elijah, the prophets. This implies that Jesus was in the midst of prayer and reading the Torah when the transfiguration took place. A deeper exegesis will reveal that there are parts of the Moses and Elijah stories that would have been of much relevance to Jesus; He found himself faced with a similar situation to that of Moses and Elijah.
Departure: The original Greek word would be exodus and serves as a reminder of the Exodus event and an invitation to look at this situation in light of that event.
Sleep: If Jesus was praying and the disciples ended up sleeping, then it implies that they had no spiritual drive; they werent attuned to God; they were spiritually asleep.
Master, it is good for us to be here.....: This is the most important part of the passage and I will explain its meaning a bit later on in my post.
cloud: A symbol for Gods presence. If you look at all of the times when a cloud comes into the picture (throughout the Bible), youll soon find that it either symbolises Gods presence or else God reveals Himself through the cloud.
Jesus was found alone : It presents Christians with the awareness that we do not need anyone else. We are left with the question, Is Jesus enough for you?
Im going to present a simplified version of the chiasmus structure and give you the meaning of X. I omitted it intentionally so that it can once again reinforce the fact that one needs to approach the passage in context of what is taking place before and after it. There is an additional layer to this story that is found both, before and after this passage. Preceding the transfiguration event, one finds that Jesus predicts his passion and death (Mt 16: 21-28; Mk 8: 31-38; Lk 9:22-27) and we find the same thing taking place once theyve gone back down Mount Tabor (Mt. 17: 12,22-23; Mk. 9:30-32; 10: 32-34; Lk 9:43-45,51)
Jesus prediction of His passion and death
A Jesus and the disciples go up the mountain
B Jesus is with Moses and Elijah
C The disciples see the glory of Jesus
X Peter opts for the status quo
C The disciples hear the glory of Jesus confirmed
B Jesus is alone
A Jesus and the disciples come down the mountain
Jesus prediction of His passion and death
Master, it is good for us to be here.... Peter looks at their current situation. They are despised by the Jewish religious authorities and Jesus has just made them aware that a hit has been put out for him. He is able to identify that they are safe on Mount Tabor and they dont have to deal with the aggravation of people following them etc. Lifes good up on Mount Tabor. They are able to relax etc. and so he says, Why dont we stay here?; lifes good as it is; lets ignore the mission?
The message of this story (and our own self application) would be, When youre up on your mountain where life couldnt be better and you know that, when you go back down that mountain, your life as you know it stands to fall apart, what will you do? ....because if you do opt to go back down and your life does in fact fall apart, hold onto the hope that this is when the transformation of the human heart takes place; a new order will not only take place in your life, but you stand to become a greater person in the process.
To a large degree this pretty much sums up how the Bible ought to be approached and put to use. The role of the Christian church along with its leaders ought to be one where, instead of preaching and putting the fear of God into people, they ought to devote their sermon to breaking open the passage to their congregation so that its understandable, seen in context of life back then and life today and then the congregation as a whole ought to measure themselves up against the broken Word. In an ideal world and setting, each individual ought to spend the week pondering the passage and holding himself/herself up to it. >THIS< is where the Biblical challenge ought to come from. Its not about Bible thumping or using Biblical passages to suit ones private agendas, it ought to be used to build up, to encourage and to also face ONESELF down.
A Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
B And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
C They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
X Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings one you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah not knowing what he said.
C While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!
B When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
A On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.
Eight days: I mentioned a bit earlier that the use of 7 days presents perfection and/or order in light of this, when one finds the use of eight days, it tells us that its the beginning of a new order and/or perfection; that things will be even better/greater than before.
Moses and Elijah: The Israelites referred to the Torah as the Law and the Prophets. Moses represents the Law and Elijah, the prophets. This implies that Jesus was in the midst of prayer and reading the Torah when the transfiguration took place. A deeper exegesis will reveal that there are parts of the Moses and Elijah stories that would have been of much relevance to Jesus; He found himself faced with a similar situation to that of Moses and Elijah.
Departure: The original Greek word would be exodus and serves as a reminder of the Exodus event and an invitation to look at this situation in light of that event.
Sleep: If Jesus was praying and the disciples ended up sleeping, then it implies that they had no spiritual drive; they werent attuned to God; they were spiritually asleep.
Master, it is good for us to be here.....: This is the most important part of the passage and I will explain its meaning a bit later on in my post.
cloud: A symbol for Gods presence. If you look at all of the times when a cloud comes into the picture (throughout the Bible), youll soon find that it either symbolises Gods presence or else God reveals Himself through the cloud.
Jesus was found alone : It presents Christians with the awareness that we do not need anyone else. We are left with the question, Is Jesus enough for you?
Im going to present a simplified version of the chiasmus structure and give you the meaning of X. I omitted it intentionally so that it can once again reinforce the fact that one needs to approach the passage in context of what is taking place before and after it. There is an additional layer to this story that is found both, before and after this passage. Preceding the transfiguration event, one finds that Jesus predicts his passion and death (Mt 16: 21-28; Mk 8: 31-38; Lk 9:22-27) and we find the same thing taking place once theyve gone back down Mount Tabor (Mt. 17: 12,22-23; Mk. 9:30-32; 10: 32-34; Lk 9:43-45,51)
Jesus prediction of His passion and death
A Jesus and the disciples go up the mountain
B Jesus is with Moses and Elijah
C The disciples see the glory of Jesus
X Peter opts for the status quo
C The disciples hear the glory of Jesus confirmed
B Jesus is alone
A Jesus and the disciples come down the mountain
Jesus prediction of His passion and death
Master, it is good for us to be here.... Peter looks at their current situation. They are despised by the Jewish religious authorities and Jesus has just made them aware that a hit has been put out for him. He is able to identify that they are safe on Mount Tabor and they dont have to deal with the aggravation of people following them etc. Lifes good up on Mount Tabor. They are able to relax etc. and so he says, Why dont we stay here?; lifes good as it is; lets ignore the mission?
The message of this story (and our own self application) would be, When youre up on your mountain where life couldnt be better and you know that, when you go back down that mountain, your life as you know it stands to fall apart, what will you do? ....because if you do opt to go back down and your life does in fact fall apart, hold onto the hope that this is when the transformation of the human heart takes place; a new order will not only take place in your life, but you stand to become a greater person in the process.
To a large degree this pretty much sums up how the Bible ought to be approached and put to use. The role of the Christian church along with its leaders ought to be one where, instead of preaching and putting the fear of God into people, they ought to devote their sermon to breaking open the passage to their congregation so that its understandable, seen in context of life back then and life today and then the congregation as a whole ought to measure themselves up against the broken Word. In an ideal world and setting, each individual ought to spend the week pondering the passage and holding himself/herself up to it. >THIS< is where the Biblical challenge ought to come from. Its not about Bible thumping or using Biblical passages to suit ones private agendas, it ought to be used to build up, to encourage and to also face ONESELF down.
All are either some branch of Christian or Jewish. My best friend actually converted from Presbyterian to Catholic in his 20's because he was dating a Catholic priest at the time. 
