Note 1 at Mt. 17:2: It is interesting to compare Jesus' transfiguration with that of Moses'. Jesus' face shone as the sun and His garment was as white as the light. This certainly exceeded what Moses experienced (Heb. 3:3), and yet Jesus' face did not continue to shine when He came down off of the mountain as Moses' face did.

Moses' face reflected the glory of God but Jesus was the glory of God (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3). Moses put a veil over his face to conceal the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35) so that the people would not be afraid to come near him. Jesus' body was His veil that concealed His true glory within. During His transfiguration, He pulled back the veil of His flesh, and we simply caught a glimpse of His glory that he had with the Father before the world was (Jn. 17:5). At Jesus' death, the veil of His body was "rent in two" giving us direct access to the glory of God (Heb. 10:19-20).