At the foot of the mountain a large company had gathered, led hither by the disciples who had remained behind, but who knew whither Jesus had resorted. As the Saviour drew near, He charged His three companions to keep silence concerning what they had witnessed, saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." The revelation made to the disciples was to be pondered in their own hearts, not to be published abroad. To relate it to the multitudes would excite only ridicule or idle wonder. And even the nine apostles would not understand the scene until after Christ had risen from the dead. How slow of comprehension even the three favored disciples were, is seen in the fact that notwithstanding all that Christ had said of what was before Him, they queried among themselves what the rising from the dead 427 should mean. Yet they asked no explanation from Jesus. His words in regard to the future had filled them with sorrow; they sought no further revelation concerning that which they were fain to believe might never come to pass.

Ved bjergets fod havde en stor skare samlet sig. De var ført derhen af de disciple, der var blevet tilbage, men som vidste, hvor Jesus var gået hen. Da Frelseren nærmede sig, pålagde han sine tre ledsagere at tie om det, de havde været vidne til, idet han sagde: "Tal ikke til nogen om dette syn, før Menneskesønnen er opvakt fra de døde." Den åbenbaring, som disciplene havde oplevet, skulle de overveje i deres egne hjerter og ikke fortælle om vidt og bredt. At berette om den til skarerne ville kun vække latter eller unyttig forundring. Og selv de ni apostle ville ikke, kunne forstå denne begivenhed, før efter at Kristus var opvakt fra de døde. Hvor langsomt opfattende selv de tre udvalgte disciple var, ser man af den kendsgerning, at de til trods for alt, hvad Kristus havde sagt om, hvad der forestod ham, alligevel drøftede med hinanden, hvad det ville sige at opstå fra de døde. Dog bad de ikke Jesus om nogen forklaring. Hans ord med hensyn til fremtiden havde fyldt dem med sorg. De søgte ikke nogen yderligere åbenbaring af det, som de helst ville tro aldrig skulle ske.