Luke 9.28-36 (NRSV)
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these sayings
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the
mountain to pray. 29And while he was praying, the
appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they
saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared
in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish
at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with
sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men
who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,
‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one
for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. 34While he was
saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as
they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my
Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And
they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
In this study we see
Jesus, Peter, James and John on the top of a mountain where Jesus confirmed to
them what they had come to understand as Jesus' true identity - that Jesus was
the Messiah. Appearing with Moses can be seen as symbolising Jesus as the total
fulfilment of the Law; appearing with Elijah can be seen as symbolising Jesus
as the fulfilment of everything the prophets had foretold about the Messiah.
This great event therefore confirms the truth of what the disciples had
confessed about Jesus - that he was in fact the Messiah, the Christ, the
Saviour of the world. This reaches a climax in verse 35 when the Father spoke:
'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him'.
The Father told the
disciples to listen to Jesus. Remember what Jesus had been telling them - that
he was on his way to Jerusalem where he would suffer.[1] The
disciples needed some encouragement after hearing the hard words about bearing
a cross; they also needed some graphic confirmation that Jesus was who he
claimed to be.
It must have been an
amazing experience. It was so wonderful that Peter never wanted it to end.
Peter's desire to remain and revel in this ecstasy is indicative of what many
of us feel in our moments of glory. The commentator in the Life Application Bible writes:
Sometimes we too have
such an inspiring experience that we want to stay where we are - away from the
reality and problems of our daily lives. Knowing that struggles await us in the
valley encourages us to linger on the mountaintop. Yet staying on top of a
mountain prohibits us from ministering to others.
Peter's response also
reveals another danger - the problem of people running after wonderful
experiences. There is no doubting that it is important to have encouraging and
uplifting experiences - but we must never fall into the trap of trying to
rekindle them to the exclusion of everything else. So many people fall into
this trap. Some have become spiritual grasshoppers - jumping from church to
church in search of experiences. Many churches go through times of incredible
growth when they introduce something new and exciting. People flock from all
other churches and join - but they only remain until some other group creates
something fresh and new or the experience has worn off.
This is a truth in all
areas of life. We only really enjoy and appreciate
the times of delight and happiness when the times of sadness remind us of our
great blessings. We take many things for granted until something happens to
make us to cherish our blessings. People who are told that they have a limited
time left to live start taking notice of their loved ones and their environment
in a special way - sometimes for the first time in years. I am sure you can
think of many other examples.
To base one's life and
faith on experiences is a terrible mistake because our experiences are so
fickle. What we need to base of lives on is the Word of God. Wiersbe writes:
As wonderful as these
experiences are, they are not the basis for a consistent Christian life. That
can come only through the Word of God. Experiences come and go, but the Word
remains. Our recollection of past experiences will fade, but God's Word never
changes. ... That was why the Father said "Hear Him!" and why Peter
made this same emphasis on the Word in his report [in] 2 Peter 1:12-21.
Listen to excerpts from
Peter's message in that passage:
... with our own eyes
we saw his true greatness ... We were there with Jesus on the Holy mountain and
heard this voice speak from heaven. All of this makes us even more certain that
what the prophets said is true. So you
should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining
in some dark place. (CEV)
When we base our lives
on the Word of God, we begin to experience the process whereby we experience
our own personal, spiritual transfiguration. Luke does not actually use the
Greek work that is translated as transfiguration.
Matthew and Mark do. The word is metamorphose
which means to experience a change in our nature
and character. This is what
salvation is all about, the transforming of people from sin to holiness. This
is God's will for us. Paul explains in Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, my friends,
I implore you by God's mercy to offer your very selves to him: a living
sacrifice, dedicated and fit for his acceptance, the worship offered by mind and heart. Conform no longer to
the pattern of this present world, but be transformed
by the renewal of your minds. Then you will be able to discern the will of
God, and to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect.
In Christ's
transfiguration on the mountain the Father also emphasised this very point - He
told the disciples to listen. In the
context of the passage the Father was saying to the disciples - as paraphrased
by Donald Miller:
Unreasonable as his
account of his suffering may seem, and incongruous though it may be with your
idea of Messiahship, nevertheless listen to what he is saying, and believe it!
You are the ones who do not know what you are saying ... Jesus does. Listen to
him!
It is only in Luke's
account that we are told of the conversation that took place at the
transfiguration. In verse 31 we read: 'They ... talked about all that Jesus'
death in Jerusalem would mean'.
Because this was the
topic of conversation at such a time 'shows how central the death of Jesus is'
(Morris). The word Luke uses to describe 'death' here is exodos. Because this is an unusual word to use in this context we
should take note of some special significance. Morris explains that we are
intended to see Jesus' death as it is related to Israel's exodus out of slavery
in Egypt. He elaborates:
The Exodus had
delivered Israel from bondage. Jesus by His 'exodos' would deliver His people
from far worse bondage.
Ellis links the
significance of this to what Jesus had taught the people beforehand:
The 'exodus' typology
is clearly in view. Jesus is the new Moses who establishes a new Israel, gives
a new covenant, and through his death and resurrection delivers God's people
from the 'Egypt' of sin and death.
The death of Jesus is
the central teaching of the Scriptures. The entire Old Testament looks forward
to it and the entire New Testament elaborates on it - taking us into the depths
of what it means. As J C Ryle states:
Let us take heed that
this death of Christ is the ground of all our confidence. Nothing else will
give us comfort in the hour of death and the day of judgement. ... Christ dying
for our sins and rising again for our justification must be our only plea, if
we wish to be saved.
Ryle concludes: 'If
saints in glory see in Christ's death so much beauty, that they must needs talk
of it, how much more ought sinners on earth!'
The Cross of Christ is
central to our faith. But more than that, because of the Cross of Christ we not
only have a wonderful eternity waiting for us after death, we have the
opportunity to know heaven on earth as we fight and conquer sin in our lives in
the power if the Holy Spirit. We are offered forgiveness and transfiguration -
the metamorphosis of our lives as God renews our minds and thereby our lives.
Let us not be like Peter and seek only the joy of the mountain top experiences.
But let us listen to God's word and allow it to transform us into the likeness
of Jesus Christ.
[1]. Leon
Morris offers the following interesting comment: 'The combination of glory and
the conversation about the death of Christ [was] also a way of teaching the
disciples that true glory and the cross are not incompatible. But we should
also understand it all as having significance for Jesus Himself. In the
quietness He had doubtless thought long about the outworking of His vocation.
He was about to go up to Jerusalem and die for men. This vision on the mountain
set the seal of divine approval on the step He was about to take'. (Morris,
p. 171. See also Caird, p. 132).
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