“And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.”
And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. The visionary moment is over: when the disciples look up, Moses and Elijah are gone, the cloud is gone, the dazzling white is gone — and Jesus only remains. The Jesus only is the message of the transfiguration: Moses and Elijah have pointed toward Jesus and now recede; the Father's voice has commanded listen to him; the disciples are left with Jesus alone. The entire Hebrew Scripture leads here and then gives way.
Church Fathers on Matthew 17:8
While they thought only of an earthly tabernacle of boughs or tents, they are overshadowed by the covering of a bright cloud; 'While he yet spake there came a bright cloud and overshadowed them.
When the Lord threatens, He shews a dark cloud, as on Sinai [margin note: Ex 19:9,16]; but here where He sought not to terrify but to teach, there appeared a bright cloud.
The bright cloud overshadowing the Saints is the Power of the Father, or perhaps the Holy Spirit; or I may also venture to call the Saviour that bright cloud which overshadows the Gospel, the Law, and the Prophets, as they understand who can behold His light in all these three.
Read all 17 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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