Traditions: Christian Gospel of Mark; Christian Gospel of Luke Motif: Jesus appears with Moses and Elijah on a mountain Connection verdict: Related Gospel scene with distinctive speech and prayer framing Article status: Expanded Date: 2026-10-29
Summary
Mark 9:2–8 and Luke 9:28–36 narrate a mountain revelation with Moses, Elijah, a cloud, and a voice.
Read the two scenes
Both accounts follow a period of difficult teaching about Jesus’s path. On the mountain, the older figures are not anonymous decorations: their names invite readers to connect the scene with Israel’s scriptural past. Luke’s mention of the subject of their conversation, often translated “departure,” can evoke an exodus while also pointing toward Jerusalem. Mark leaves that subject unstated and gives the disciples’ bewildered response a sharper role. Comparing the narratives in sequence is better than assembling one expanded vision from both.
What connects—and what does not
Luke introduces prayer and reports the visitors speaking of Jesus’s coming departure; Mark gives less of their conversation and stresses the disciples’ fear.
The shared cast and scene establish relation; the later theological resonance of “departure” needs attention to Luke’s wording.
Why read them side by side?
A shared scene can frame the future differently when one narrator lets readers hear what the visitors discussed.
Sources and reading notes
- Mark 9:2-8 — NRSVUE passage locator; compare surrounding context and translation.
- Luke 9:28-36 — NRSVUE passage locator; compare surrounding context and translation.
Research limit
A named parallel can establish literary reuse or related tradition; a general resemblance alone cannot prove borrowing. Linked editions and translations vary. Where a source is identified as secondary orientation, the comparison does not claim direct close reading of that tradition’s primary text.