Portrait of a Scoundrel^[a]

Chapter 17

Jesus Is Transfigured.^{[a] 1} Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain^[b] by themselves. ² And in their presence he was transfigured; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, conversing with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud cast a shadow over them. Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were greatly frightened. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Stand up, and do not be frightened.” ⁸ And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one, but only Jesus.

Elijah Has Already Come.^{[c] 9} As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come, and he will set everything right again. ¹² However, I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

³² Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in an uproar, and most of the people had no idea why they had all come together. ³³ Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. Then Alexander motioned for silence and tried to offer some type of defense. ³⁴ However, as soon as the crowd recognized him to be a Jew, all of them shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ Finally, the town clerk quieted the crowd and said, “Citizens of Ephesus, is there anyone who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple^[a] of the great Artemis and of her statue that descended from heaven? ³⁶ Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to remain calm and do nothing rash. ³⁷ These men whom you have brought here are not temple robbers, nor have they uttered any blasphemy against our goddess.

³⁸ “Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow artisans have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges there against one another. ³⁹ If there are further charges to present, let these be settled in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting today. There is no reason for it, and we will be unable to offer any justification for this commotion.” ⁴¹ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.