And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.
Parallel translations
- WEB Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.
- KJV And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
- BSB And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
- NKJV When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
- NASB And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the disciples look up, Moses and Elijah are gone and only Jesus remains. This signals that Christ alone is the fulfillment to whom the Law and the Prophets pointed.
Overview
Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets) had appeared with Jesus, but they vanish, leaving him alone in view. The lesson matches the Father's command to listen to the Son: the old covenant witnesses give way to Christ, their goal and completion. He alone is now the one to whom God's people must look.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Mark 9:8Suddenly looking around, they saw no one with them any more, except Jesus only.
- Luke 9:36When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
- Acts 12:10–11When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out, and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 17:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.