Luke 9:21-22  “…warned and commanded them…tell…no one…Son of Man must suffer many things…and be killed…raised the third day”
I think this is the reason Jesus always told people to tell no one what had happened.  He knew the people did not understand what He was there to do, that the Messiah was not going to be an earthly king at this time.  If He had allowed them to make a big deal of everything and tell others as they wanted, He would have to deal with such a crowd of people who would have wanted to go ahead and make Him an earthly ruler.  Judas was probably part of that ilk.  Finding out that Jesus definitely wasn’t going to be that expected ruler may have played a part in getting him to betray Jesus.

25  “…he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost”
It should be obvious to anyone that no one lives forever.  Everyone dies at some point in some way.  And when someone dies, all their earthly possessions are left behind, even their bodies.  So, why would anyone base the purpose of their life on things, knowing they couldn’t take them with them?  At best, even the things we own are only borrowed for our use while we’re here.  What we leave simply becomes someone else’s or is destroyed once we’re gone.

27  “…shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God”
Went through this in Matthew and Mark.  Could be a reference to what Peter, James, and John will see in the Transfiguration incident or could be a reference to how the disciples will see God’s kingdom begin to grow after the Resurrection.

29  “…appearance of His face was altered…”
Not told exactly how it was altered.  Glorified body.  Could be the basis for why Jesus wasn’t immediately recognized after His resurrection.

31  “who appeared in glory…”
Both men appeared this way.  We know Moses died because God buried him, but Elijah was taken up.  Now both are in the same condition.  I don’t think it matters how we pass through the veil.  Raises some interesting questions.  Do Enoch and Elijah already have their glorified bodies?  As far as we know, their bodies aren’t down here as both were taken by God.  And we know that those who are alive and remain when Christ comes for the family will be changed in a moment, they don’t die and then disappear.  Here we see Elijah already appearing in glory.  Interesting questions.

32  “…Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep…”
Assuming they tried to pray as Jesus was, but succumbed to drowsiness from being still for so long.  We can’t lay too much indignation on them for being frail humans.  I don’t think they understood what was going on at the time.  I don’t think we would have either in their shoes.  We have the advantage of the Holy Spirit and of hindsight.

36  “…told no one in those days…”
Obviously anyone they told wouldn’t have understood any better than they did.  Plus there was the chance of envy among the disciples.  Raises the question, how did Luke find out?  Apparently either spoke directly to Peter, James, or John or to someone who was told about the incident.  As his version is slightly different than the others, I would guess he spoke to someone besides Matthew and Peter or Mark.

41  “…how long shall I be with you and bear with you…”
Seems a harsh rebuke from Jesus.  But not so when you think of all that was going on.  I can understand His frustration.  The people were swayed by whatever was happening.  They either seemed to have great faith or none at all depending on whether they got what they wanted.  And the disciples seemed to waver in their own faith of Jesus’s power.  In the other accounts, Jesus tells them some demons are only removed with fasting and prayer, or a consistent faith borne of that.  That was their problem.  They weren’t completely sold out on who and what Jesus was.  And we remember, they didn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at that point.  After they did, they had no problem dealing with illness and demons.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word. May it accomplish what He desires. Please feel free to comment or post questions. Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.