And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart,
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
ily I say unto you, &c.; this mountain—viz, Tabor, from which I am coming down. This is miraculous faith, which is not different from justifying faith, as the heretics maintain, but the same; for there is only one faith ( Ephesians 4:5). This faith, however, is united with a sure confidence in God"s assistance to perform the miracle which is aimed at. This confidence arises, first from the liberty of a holy conscience, which is familiar with God, which makes use of God as a friend, and penetrates into the treasures of His grace, that it may enjoy them; according to those words of S. John ( 1 John 3:21): "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him."
2. From an interior instigation of God, as it were animating men, and stirring them up to such a miraculous work, and tacitly promising them His help to effect it. Vide Franc. Saurez, Tract. de Fide disp8 , sect1 , where he teaches that the faith of miracles, as regards...
And after six days, &c. There seems to be here a discrepancy with Luke 9:28, who says, it came to pass about an eight days after these things. S. Jerome answers, "The solution is simple, because in S. Matthew the intervening days are given; in S. Luke there is an addition of the first and the last day." Matthew then and Mark do not count the first day, in which Christ spoke what we have heard, and gave the promise of His Transfiguration; nor yet the last and eighth, because Christ was transfigured on the morning of it. Luke indeed only counts the entire days, and therefore says, about. Christ put off His promised Transfiguration for six days that, as S. Chrysostom says, the rest of the disciples might not feel any movement of envy. The second reason for delay was because Christ wished to be transfigured on Mount Tabor, which is distant from Cæsarea Philippi twenty leagues. Christ therefore journeying slowly according to His custom, occupied six days in preaching in the villages and co...
And after six days. St. Matthew reckons neither the day of the promise, nor the day of the transfiguration; St. Luke, including both, calls the interval about eight days, osei emerai okto. (St. Chrysostom)
He took Peter, as head of the apostolic college; James, as first to shed his blood for the faith; and John, as he was to survive all the rest, and to transmit to posterity the circumstances of this glorious mystery; or, according to St. Chrysostom on account of their more excellent love, zeal, courage, sufferings and predilection. The mountain is generally believed to be Thabor, and as such is considered by Christians as holy, and was much frequented by pilgrims, as St. Jerome testifies. Ven. Bede tells us that three churches were built upon it; and Mr. Maundrell, in his Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 112, says there are still three grottoes, made to represent the three tabernacles proposed by St. Peter. According to Le Brun, Thabor is situated about 12 miles from the sea of G...
Indeed, in this type of event, reason, harmony and example are served. For after six days the appearance of the Lord’s glory is revealed. No doubt, with the cycles of six thousand years having unfolded, the glory of the heavenly kingdom is prefigured. And the three were taken up in analogy to the descent of the three, Shem, Ham and Japheth. By this the coming election to divine favor of the people is shown.
Now it is asked how after six days he took them and led them separately onto a high mountain, whereas the Evangelist Luke established the number at eight. The answer is easy because in Matthew the days in the middle are counted, but in Luke the first and last are added. For Luke does not say after eight days Jesus took Peter and James and John but “now about eight days after.” .
Now another says, after eight, Luke 9:28 not contradicting this writer, but most fully agreeing with him. For the one expressed both the very day on which He spoke, and that on which He led them up; but the other, the days between them only.
But mark thou, I pray you, the severe goodness of Matthew, not concealing those who were preferred to himself. This John also often does, recording the peculiar praises of Peter with great sincerity. For the choir of these holy men was everywhere pure from envy and vainglory.
Why does he take only these three with him? Because each one of these three was elevated above the rest. Peter showed his preeminence by exceedingly loving him; John by being exceedingly loved by him. James showed his superiority by his ready response to his brother: we are able to drink the cup and by his works and by doing what he said. For so earnest was James, and grievous to the Jews, that Herod himself imagined that he had bestowed a great favor on the Jews by killing him. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
This does not contradict what Luke says, "And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings" (Lk 9:28). For Luke counts both the first day and the last day on which they ascended the mountain. But Matthew counts only the days in between. Christ took Peter because of Peter’s strong love for Him; He took John, because Christ loved him; and He took James, because James, too, was zealous. That James had zeal is evident from his promise to drink the cup that Christ would drink (Mt. 20:22) and from the fact that Herod slew him with the sword to please the Jews.
