SECTION 8: THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE KING
CHAPTER 40
JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED
OR
HEARING AND LISTENING TO JESUS
Scripture To Consider:
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up to a high mountain by themselves, and Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.”
“Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While Peter was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'”
“And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” Matthew 17.1-8
Something To Consider:
The transfiguration of our Lord, while He and three of His disciples were on the slopes of Mount Hermon, is closely and vitally related to the teaching He has been giving to His disciples near the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus has accepted Peter’s great confession as to His divine person, and now, out of the heavenly glory, comes the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son…”
Jesus has taught His disciples particularly of His approaching death; and now upon the mountain, Moses and Elijah appear talking with Him. Luke records that Jesus spoke to them also of His death which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. He has also predicted His return in glory, and now, as Peter afterwards declared, Jesus gives the disciples a foretaste of what that glory would be.
Just what is meant by the statement, “He was transfigured before them?” It is difficult for us to clearly understand. It is surely an experience quite different from that of Moses on the mountain. The face of Moses shone with a reflected light; but in the case of Jesus, a glory from within bursts forth and illuminates His whole being, until not only His face, but His very garments were radiant with a dazzling light.
Matthew has been picturing for us the career of the King. It is as if the monarch had been walking in disguise, only occasionally beneath His humble garment has been revealed a glimpse of purple and the gold of royalty. Here, for a time, the disguise is withdrawn, and the King appears in His real majesty and in the regal splendor of His divine power and with an Old Testament approval no other has been granted.
Jesus had been alone, with Peter, James, and John, when the startling change in His appearance occurred. But as the three disciples gazed on Him in wonder, the record states, “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.” The two men, whose departure from the world had been veiled in secrecy, were chosen for this mysterious return. Moses is commonly supposed to represent the Law, and Elijah the Prophets; both had pointed forward by symbol and prediction to the atoning work of Christ. Therefore, these men could speak intelligently with Jesus concerning His coming death.
Then, too, these men had been prepared peculiarly, by personal experiences, to understand the grace of God, and therefore, they best of all could comprehend the love of God in the gift of His Son. And Peter said, that is, his remark was brought about by the startling experience, therefore, Peter declared, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter might have been dazed by the wonder and mystery of the scene. he may not have known what to say.
Looking back, Peter’s words may seem absurd; beings from the unseen world would hardly care for huts on the mountain side. It also would not be a kindness to detain here on earth visitors from heaven. However, his suggestion is far from meaningless. Peter is not to be ridiculed too quickly. He realized the blessedness of his experience; however clumsily expressed. His desire was to prolong such a privileged vision. In spite of his fear, Peter wished to continue in such blissful companionship.
Even while Peter was speaking, a bright cloud came and overshadowed them all. The scene was about to end; but first there came out of the cloud the voice of the Father conveying the supreme message of the hour, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” There was no need of detaining Moses and Elijah. Jesus had come, of whom Moses in the Law and Elijah and other prophets had testified, even Jesus, the divine Son of God. The time had come when those who wished to know the nature and the will and the saving grace of God, could find them completely and finally revealed in Jesus Christ His Son.
Something Else to Consider:
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were greatly afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus only. They needed none other; it was Him they were to hear and to listen to. And yet, for a time as the heavenly light grew dim; they were to follow Jesus into the dark shadow of death. But they could never forget the vision of His revealed glory. Henceforth, Jesus was to them more truly than ever before a divine Lord and the coming King.
This unique experience was of deep significance to our Lord Himself. It prepared Him for the pain and death He so soon was to endure. It assured Him again of His divine position as Son of His Father and Almighty God. It reminded Him that if He lost His life He would find it, if He endured the cross even unto the end, that He would surely rise from the dead and meet the saints of old in a state of newly found glory prepared for Him from the foundation of the world. He would awake to find Himself in a rightful position of supreme glory in accordance with His heavenly Father’s perfect will.
This event was of still greater significance to His disciples. They too, needed to be prepared for the experiences which lay before them. Their belief in the divine nature of their Lord was strengthened by this vision of His glory. The mysterious predictions of His death and resurrection were confirmed by what they had seen and heard. The splendor of His final coming was henceforth more real, and in view of its certainty they were more ready than before to take up the cross and to come after Him.
No less important are the messages for his followers today. We are reminded that by faith in Him, as we now behold his glory, we too can be transformed as His early disciples were, into the same image, as if transfigured, not by an outward appearance as was Christ, but by the operation and daily influence of an inner power, none other than the Holy Spirit of God and with the help of the living Word of God.
So too, we see predicted more clearly the circumstances of His future appearing. Then some, who, like Moses have died, and whose bodies have disappeared in burial, will appear in bodies deathless and immortal. And others like Elijah, of whom there is no biblical record of his death, will not taste of death, but will be transformed, transfigured, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and to ever be with Him. But the splendor of the scene will be embodied and centered in the majestic form and radiant face of the returning, triumphant King.
Something More to Consider:
In the midst of two of the Old Testaments greatest heroes of faith, Moses and Elijah, God the Father announced the monumental decree; “This is My Son [Jesus], in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” These three most fortunate disciples, along with every Old Testament saint of every generation since Moses and Elijah, had heard and listened to the teaching and instruction of both Moses and Elijah repeated as truth over and over again. But according to God the Father, a new age had dawned, a New Covenant, a New Testament was being established in and through God’s beloved Son, Jesus.
We must, therefore, keep in mind; Jesus did not come to do away with the Law of Moses, or nullify the prophets of which Elijah rightfully represented. Jesus came to reach beyond the Law and the prophets, and He did. Therefore, the New Covenant cries out, “Hear Him [hear Jesus].” The New Testament shouts to all true believers, “If you want to know the truth, listen to Jesus.”
If ever in doubt, let us be found by Jesus searching the Scriptures to reveal what Jesus declares on any given subject, what Jesus proclaimed the truth to be. In essence, Jesus should have the final word in all matters, not man, not any denomination, and not any so-called religious ruling leader, Jesus only! And that is exactly what this website, “According To Jesus” is all about. Are we therefore, learning the tremendous volume of lessons of a lifetime available to be searched out within the sacred pages of Scripture? And if not, why not? Our lives are rendered shorter by every passing day. Let us, therefore, heed the words of Jesus, “Take heed [be warned] that no one deceives you [or me].”
A Few Final Words:
Hebrews chapter 12, of course, follows chapter 11, the hall of faith chapter. It begins as follows: “Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
That is beyond a shadow of any doubt, my most favorite run on sentence in all of Scripture. In it we are challenged to be found by Jesus and the on-looking world, looking unto Jesus which also includes our hearing Him and listening or heeding or observing what it is Jesus has declared.
Jesus was transfigured there on the mountain that day. Can we admit that we too are being transfigured or transformed into the image of Jesus? Can we confess honestly, that we, in our time of seeking deliverance, searching for guidance and divine direction, and our pursuing holiness and godliness, that we are looking unto Jesus, hearing, and listening to Jesus?
In Closing:
Or are we fixing our eyes, our ambitions, our longings, on Jesus plus our career, Jesus plus our spouse, Jesus plus our financial portfolio, bank accounts, worldly possessions. and or earthly achieved positions? Hearing and listening to Jesus while looking unto Him first and foremost, allows us to truly enjoy all that God brings into our lives. Therefore, according to our heavenly Father and Almighty God, “Hear Him [hear Jesus]!”
Let’s Pray:
Our Father in heaven, thank You for the recorded mountain top revelation of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah being transfigured while being watched and witnessed by Peter, James, and John. Thank You Father, for the lesson of a lifetime concerning our hearing and listening to Jesus above every other voice. And even in the midst of turmoil and end time tribulation, convince us at all times to hear and to obey Jesus’ command to, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 