A reflection on the Transfiguration and Gethsemane scenes
In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus chooses only three disciples to accompany him during certain intimate moments: Peter, James, and John. Three times, they are his privileged companions: at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, on the mountain of the Transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The contrast between the last two episodes is striking:
- On the mountain (see for example Mark 9:2–10), they see Jesus transfigured in his glory. Peter is delighted; he suggests putting up three tents—as if he wants to prolong the moment.
- In the garden (Mark 14:32–42), as Jesus is overwhelmed with distress and asks them explicitly to stay awake with him, they fall asleep. Unable to keep watch, they flee from the image of a suffering Messiah.
👉 These two scenes reveal how difficult it was for the disciples to accept the idea of Christ’s death. Nothing in their religious tradition had prepared them for it: the Messiah they were waiting for—a royal, saving figure—was not supposed to die. He was expected to deliver them from Roman oppression.