The Transfiguration

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

The first thing to notice about the Transfiguration is when it occurs: Immediately after Peter first recognizes the divinity of Christ and is told that He will have to suffer death, but will rise again. (Matthew 16:13-23) So, in one sense, Peter is the central figure, for the full glory of Christ as the Son of God is fully revealed to him. The presence of John and James is not explained and difficult to understand; but the very Judaistic nature of the event might lead us to think that they are witnesses, there to provide the second and third witness commonly needed to establish truth of an event under Jewish law (as Simeon and Anna witnessed Christ's divinity as an infant).
The appearance of Moses and Elijah is easier to fathom: Moses embodies “the law”, and Elijah embodies “the prophets”. We cannot be sure if they are there in the flesh, or as a vision, but the second seems more likely, because Moses died and was buried. Simply put, they now “pass the torch” to Christ.

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