The Greek verb metemorphōthē, rendered in English as transfigured,
means that Jesus’ glory does not shine upon him from the outside, but from inside himself (see the use of this word in Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 3:18), suggesting that he appeared to them with a glorified, heavenly body.
The nature of the transfiguration is also seen in what follows. Jesus’ face shining like the sun and his clothes becoming white as light reminds us of Moses descending, with shining face (see 2 Corinthians 3:18), from Sinai. Matthew 17:2 shows that Christ changed only in terms of his face’s appearance, and not in his being.
The Greek verb metemorphōthē, translated into English as transfigured,
signifies that the glory of Jesus does not shine upon him from the outside, but from inside himself (see also the use of the same word in Romans 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 3:18). This suggests that at that moment he appeared to them with a glorified, heavenly body.1
The nature of the transfiguration is also explained in what immediately follows: Jesus’ face shining like the sun and his clothes becoming white as light immediately reminds of Moses descending down from Sinai (see also 2 Corinthians 3:18). Moses’ face also shone (Exodus 34:29), and it is evident that Christ here in Matthew 17:2 changed outwardly only in terms of the appearance of his face, and not in terms of his being.2
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.