Jesus' Transfiguration and the Believers' Transformation: A Study of the Transfiguration and Its Development in Early Christian Writings

Simon Lee examines Jesus' transfiguration story found in the narrative account of Mark, tracing the development of its multiple readings through the first two centuries of the Christian era. The transfiguration story is especially interesting for the study of early Christianity, since the story reveals Jesus' divine glory in his lifetime. This study pays special attention to texts in which Peter is described as being the main witness to the event - the Synoptic Gospels, 2 Peter, Apocalypse of Peter and Acts of Peter. It also analyzes 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul explains believers' transformation on the basis of the comparison between Jesus' glory and Moses' glory. In comparing Paul's account with that of Mark, this study shows that there are some common theological patterns or ideas behind their accounts and that both inherited certain views from early Jesus traditions.