After
Jesus’ announcement of the necessity of his suffering and death in the
Caesarea-Philippi context, Jesus predicts that some of the disciples “who are
standing here” (16:28) will witness the Son of Man’s coming in the Kingdom. In
the immediately following story of the Transfiguration, Matthew presents Jesus’
glorious appearance as a proleptic revelation of the Son of Man’s glory.
I
do not think, however, that Matthew intends the Transfiguration to be an
enthronement event for Jesus,
since Matthew relates the glory to the Son of Man rather than the Davidic
Messiah. In Matthew’s mind, Jesus is the Son of Man from the beginning of his
earthly ministry (8:20; 9:6) and this Son of Man will come to judge humanity as
the eschatological king in his glory (25:31-34; 16:27-28). Like Mark, Matthew
in 22:41-45 problematizes Jesus’ identification with the son of David since
David called the Son of God “my Lord” rather than his son. Although Matthew
wants to ground Jesus in the history of Israel, through the passion narrative
he contrasts Jesus’ kingship with worldly forms of royal power. Matthew asserts
that Jesus’ kingdom is different from the Davidic kingdom, which the people of
Israel have longed for as an expression of their national restoration (cf.
26:52). Instead, Jesus’ kingship supports the Matthean community’s hope for a
final vindication at the last judgment and their own judgment of “the twelve
tribes of Israel” (19:27-28). (Simon S. Lee, Jesus’ Transfiguration and the
Believers’ Transformation [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament
2.Reihe 265; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009], 98, emphasis added)
