Matthew 17:1-8 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Often people try to find another way to God other than through Jesus and him crucified. But this scripture above reveals clearly the One we should hear: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! Peter was reflecting upon his upbringing as a good Jewish boy when he said to Jesus, If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. But God would have none of that kind of thinking even though Moses and Elijah were powerful instruments in his hand. Moses led a whole nation out of slavery, following God’s words and directions. Moses told God he would not lead the Jewish people anywhere without God going with him. Therefore, God led Moses through the wilderness and to the Promised Land. But even though he was faithful to God and knew God’s presence, he was less than Jesus the Christ. Elijah challenged the thrones of the secular world and the religious elite of the world. His words caused a famine in Israel during Ahab’s rule. Now Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel,” Elijah said to Ahab. “As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it.” (1 King 17:1) Elijah, through his faithfulness to God and his words, exposed the priests of Baal as powerless frauds. He had the priests of Baal pour water on the altar where a sacrificial bull lay. They drenched the sacrifice and the altar three times with water. Yet, when Elijah called upon the Lord to consume the sacrifice with fire, God answered. Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. (1 King 18:38) Moses and Elijah were men of God, followers of God’s will, but their obedience to God and their significance as instruments of God paled in comparison to Jesus’ position with God. Listen to him! On the mountaintop, the three disciples were put on notice that no one who ever walked this earth could compare with God’s only begotten Son. The great men of old could be revered, but they could never be considered equal to Jesus. Jesus is the plan of God to bring eternal life to the souls of men. He alone must be listened to for eternal life is resident IN HIM alone.
Jesus led the three disciples up the mountain to see an event that would captivate their hearts for as long as they lived. Many years later we read Peter’s words about that miraculous happening. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18) Jesus did not lead just one disciple to see the transfiguration, but three. Peter said, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. The three together could testify to what they saw and heard. From the mouths of two or three witnesses, one could believe such a story, so we see Jesus leading three men up the mountain to hear the voice of God. What they saw and heard terrified them. They could not place it within the realm of their natural lives, even though they previously had seen Jesus’ supernatural powers. When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. They knew Jesus as a miracle worker. They knew his teachings were resplendent with wisdom and knowledge, but this event went too far into the supernatural for their minds to comprehend. This time they were not just wondering about this man who could teach with great wisdom, heal, calm the sea and knock down the waves—they were terrified by what they saw and heard. This was an experience far beyond their fleshly awareness of the reality of their lives, of what is possible in life. Jesus said to them, “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” These three young men had strong hearts, for they did not die in a faint. They lived, but now with an event in their minds that they could not process in the world of their flesh. But Jesus reassured them, I am with you, Don’t be afraid. After this event, when Jesus would ask, Who do people say I am? The three disciples could not answer as the people might: Ezekiel, Elijah or even Moses. Peter, James and John knew the transfiguration of Jesus had changed their perspective of the man, Jesus, forever. Peter could emphatically exclaim on Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection: Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. (Acts 2:36) The transfiguration assured the three that Jesus was much more than just another holy man. He was the Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah. He was the Eternal One, the Word of God, who rescues people from their finite existence of darkness and sin. Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. They knew now that Jesus was totally different from anyone who had ever walked this world. The transfiguration revealed him as God’s Son: the Light of the World. They had experienced the transfiguration and had seen it with their own eyes.
As with the resurrection, this event is hard to conceptualize. How could such a thing occur? But the three witnesses of this happening gave their lives for these three words: Listen to him! Two of them died violently. John lived on, but under great duress because of his witness for Christ. The revelation of Jesus as Lord transformed their hearts from fleshly reasoning to a spiritual awareness that God was doing a new thing in their day. As Jesus’ retinue, his companions, and sometimes his body guards, they knew they were an integral part of this purpose of God to reveal Jesus as his Son and as the holder of eternal life. Eternity with God was possible IN CHRIST JESUS. They gave their all for him. At the scene of transfiguration, Jesus touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Now, 2,000 years later we often need Jesus to come to us and touch us when we are afraid of moving on in life. Jesus told his disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) Jesus was there on the day of transfiguration: He was near to them; He could walk over to them, tell them not to be afraid, for He was with them. The disciples had terror in their hearts for the reality of Jesus was hitting home with them. He was not just a divine man; the voice from heaven said, This is my Son. This same voice is active in our world, in the hearts of believers. The transfiguration is not part of our lives, but something greater than a physical happening on a mountain is in our hearts: the presence of the Holy Spirit. His voice is the only voice that can comfort the believer completely. When terror affects us, we need to hear him say in his still quiet voice, daughter, son, I am with you. Get up, you are mine, and I will never leave you. This precious voice is with us in this Thanksgiving week. He is far more understanding of us than any human being. He is closer to us than any brother or sister, even though we share their DNA. Jesus told his disciples, do not go alone, wandering into the countryside to find affection and a reason for living. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised. He will give you the reason for living. The enlightenment of the transfiguration will be in your hearts constantly. You will know God and his voice because He, the Spirit, will speak God’s words to you. This precious presence of the Spirit will cause us to live with passion, serving God in everything we do or say. God is alive, alive in us! His voice is not from the clouds, but deep inside of us. Jesus could comfort these three men with his touch and then with his words. But right now, God’s touch and comfort are present with all believers. We who trust in Jesus as our righteousness have the privilege to know God intimately. Jesus made us right with God. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. (Philippians 3:9 NLT) Breakfast companions, today you have more stability in your life than the disciples had in their lives after they came down from the mountaintop. When Jesus was arrested, they all fled. No voice of God in their hearts, just the reality of the circumstance of the Master being in the hands of the Jewish elite, who intended to kill him. They fled, only a few watched the crucifixion. No comforter there, no advocate there, no counselor there, just the scene of Jesus’ death. But resurrection did occur, and to the disciples who were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus called out to them to come and have breakfast with him. He comforted them with his presence. We who live today, eat this breakfast together, knowing the Spirit of God is with us as we partake. He lives IN US. Sorrow will happen, troubles will occur, difficulties will come in life, but the Spirit will always be with us to comfort, advocate, and counsel us. We do not live in one day of transfiguration, but every day is a transfiguration for us. Every day God says, THIS IS MY SON, WHOM I LOVE; WITH HIM I AM WELL PLEASED. LISTEN TO HIM!
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