At the foot of the mountain a large crowd had gathered, led there by the disciples who had remained behind, and who knew of the favorite resorts of Jesus for meditation and prayer. As they approached the waiting multitude, Jesus charged his disciples to keep secret what they had witnessed, saying, “Tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead.” Jesus knew that neither the people nor the disciples who had led them to the place, were prepared to appreciate or understand the wonderful event of the transfiguration upon the mount. After his resurrection, the testimony of those who had witnessed it, was to be given to substantiate the fact that he was indeed the Son of God. {2SP 332.2}

En stor folkeskare havde forsamlet sig ved bjergets fod, anført af de disciple, som var blevet tilbage, og som kendte de yndlingssteder, hvor Jesus drog hen for at gøre sig betragtninger og holde bøn. Da de nærmede sig skaren, som ventede, bød Jesus sine disciple, at de ikke skulle åbenbare hvad de havde set, idet han sagde: "Tal ikke til nogen om dette syn, før Menneskesønnen er opvakt fra de døde." (Matt 17,9) Jesus vidste, at hverken folket eller disciplene, som havde ledt dem til dette sted, var beredte til at påskønne eller forså den underfulde begivenhed, som var foregået ved forklarelsen på bjerget. Efter hans opstandelse skulle de, som havde været vidner dertil, omtale, hvad de havde set for at stadfæste den store sandhed, at han virkelig var Guds Søn.