Mark is writing to a Gentile audience, and like us, they wouldn\u2019t know what on earth the line about the tents is about. In fact Peter was suggesting that he build three little tabernacles for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. This was like the Tent of Meeting that Moses built when the glory of God came down. This connects with the Jewish feast of Tabernacles when they all built little tents to serve as holy places\u2013like the Tent of Meeting. The fact that this detail was kept in rather than excised for the Gentile audience attests to the story\u2019s authenticity.<\/p>\n
Thirdly, Matthew places this story directly after Jesus\u2019 conversation with Peter in which Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus says, \u201cYou are Peter and on this Rock I will build my church.\u201d That Peter not having a clue what was going on is placed directly after the bold claim for Peter in the chapter before indicates that this detail of the story is a direct memory of an eyewitness account\u2013otherwise Matthew (out of respect for Peter) would have airbrushed that embarrassing detail out of the story.<\/p>\n
Fourth: the criterion of impossibility comes into play. Basically, the more supernatural a story is, the less it was likely to have been made up. If someone reports to you that they saw a ghost you tend to believe that they really saw something and had some sort of weird experience because to tell people that you\u2019ve seen a ghost or a Jewish rabbi all radiant like a god is overwhelmingly embarrassing. While you can\u2019t say what happened when weird things are reported, it is very reasonable to say\u00a0something\u00a0<\/em>happened. If people are making up stories they would make up believable ones. Because the transfiguration is so \u201cunbelievable\u201d they must have had a genuine mystical experience.<\/p>\n Finally, the idea that the supernatural stories about Jesus were just a pious fiction or a myth were clearly circulating in the early days of the church. The first reading from the second epistle of Peter says this:<\/p>\n Beloved:
\nWe did not follow cleverly devised myths
\nwhen we made known to you
\nthe power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
\nbut we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
\nFor he received honor and glory from God the Father
\nwhen that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,
\n\u201cThis is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.\u201d
\nWe ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
\nwhile we were with him on the holy mountain.
\nMoreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
\nYou will do well to be attentive to it,
\nas to a lamp shining in a dark place,
\nuntil day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n