Ain’t Nobody a Stranger to Me
Psalm 99; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
"The Transfiguration", Carl Bloch (1872)
Peter, James, and John were on a mountain with Jesus. That, on its own, is significant because mountains are often where God speaks and reveals himself. This is called the Transfiguration Scripture because the three disciples saw Jesus’ appearance change – it was radically transformed; his face shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white. Jesus’ true nature became visible: the veil of his flesh was pulled back and they saw the light of the glory of God shining. Can you imagine being there?
A second shock for the disciples was seeing two older men with Jesus; we’re told it was Moses and Elijah. One received the 10 commandments on a mountain after dealing with a vengeful Pharoah in Egypt. The other was a prophet who also went up a mountain, chased by King Ahab. God came to Elijah there and spoke to him in a still, small voice. He recorded this and foretold the coming of the Messiah.
These two men, who’d had their own mountaintop experiences, spoke with Jesus about his coming departure. He’d already set his face toward Jerusalem and told his disciples he’d suffer and die, but they didn’t believe him. Moses and Elijah surely strengthened Jesus; they had been hated and rejected, they’d suffered for doing God’s will. The three of them together represent the larger picture of God’s work in history: the law, the prophets, and Jesus who fulfilled both.
Our attention is then drawn to Peter. He stood there, feeling terrified and thrilled. As he watched the three in their holy conferencing, he couldn’t contain himself. Peter blurted “It is good we are here!” You think? He’s on a mountaintop shielding his eyes from the radiant light of Christ. That was amazing, but interrupting Jesus showed how clueless Peter was. But never one to easily learn things, he suggests building three small shelters, so they can each remain on the mountain. As if any of them needed such a thing! Jesus ignored that comment because Peter had again missed the mark.
Before he had a chance to come up with anything else, God acted: a cloud, brilliant with holy glory, descended gently over them, enveloping them. Within that luminous place God spoke, saying: “Listen to my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
Peter and the other disciples had heard this same voice three years ago, on the day Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. Whatever doubts and struggles he and the others had coped with over the last three years must have evaporated as they heard that voice and were surrounded by God’s holy shekinah glory. In the book of Exodus, we have Moses’ story describing him in their tabernacle of worship, with a bright cloud descending and filling the place. It was a glorious experience to be surrounded by this holy glory of God! If you turn in the Bible to the book of I Kings this same brilliant glory again descends; this time it fills the new temple, where God would be worshipped. God’s shekinah cloud of holy radiance appeared and people saw it; they experienced it in Moses’ day and again when they arrived in the Promised Land. All who witnessed this firsthand no longer had any doubts; they believed in the one true, holy and living God.
On the mountaintop that day Jesus – who put on flesh and knew he’d soon face darkness, suffer and die – was for a short while pure light and radiance. The full manifestation of God shone that day. Imagine seeing that! When it gently lifted, and Jesus stood there alone, looking as he had earlier that day, he understood that his departure was near.
Something quite powerful about the word “departure” is that in the Greek it means “exodus”. For Jews and Christians alike the word exodus has great significance. Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt; this exodus of Jews who had long been slaves – their departure – was something God fully orchestrated. He saved his people from suffering and gave them new freedoms they never imagined. Jesus knew his departure from earth would lead people out of bondage to sin; his sacrifice would save them from the captivity of death.
When it came time to walk back down the mountain, I think the men were all lost in their own thoughts. But at one point, Jesus turned and looked at the three followers he’d chosen to go with them and said they couldn’t share what they’d seen and heard that day. They had to keep it to themselves until he was raised from the dead! They did manage to do that, but we’re told that they kept talking with one another about what Jesus meant when he said he’d be raised from the dead. To believe in Jesus meant walking in faith, not understanding everything, but trusting in him day by day.
Those three men saw brilliant light. God’s radiant shekinah glory descended around them and for the second time in their lives they heard the voice of God. They also saw Moses and Elijah. But best of all they saw Jesus, whose face shone like the sun and whose clothing was dazzling white. These images of light and clouds, of Moses and Elijah, but especially Jesus – they were burned into their retinas, remaining vivid in their mind and memory.
The men needed to draw on that day’s experiences many times over the years. They needed it when they were in the upper room and learned Judas had betrayed the Lord, giving his location away to those who sought to kill him. They needed Jesus’ transfiguration etched in their mind as they saw Jesus burdened by the weight of the cross on his shoulders. They needed to recall the shekinah glory when Jesus was lifted up on a cross on another hill, where the sun would refuse to shine for three hours. They needed the remembrance when Jesus breathed his last, when his bloody corpse was sealed in a cold tomb. They remembered God’s voice saying at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son,” and another time on a holy mountain, when God said, “Listen to my Son, whom I love.”
Three of the disciples were eyewitness to these things; they saw Jesus’ suffering and his majesty, they saw him in the flesh and revealed as the Holy One. They had their doubts at times but came to believe, to fully trust that his words were truth and his promises were fulfilled. They placed their hope in Jesus Christ and were not disappointed.
Today’s Scripture is so important for us as we prepare for the seven weeks of Lent. We’ll be on a journey, from Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness all the way to his resurrection on a Sunday morning, and many things will be hard to hear and grasp… so it is good to have this holy mountain and Jesus’ transfiguration etched in our memories. It will strengthen us along the way, fortify our faith.
That day on the mountain accomplished four important things.
May we who journey today as Jesus’ disciples have faith. Believe what has been written about Jesus, especially about his departure – his exodus. He is our Savior; if we follow Him, He’ll take us all the way to the promised land, not in Egypt but in heaven, into glory. Thanks be to God – amen.
A second shock for the disciples was seeing two older men with Jesus; we’re told it was Moses and Elijah. One received the 10 commandments on a mountain after dealing with a vengeful Pharoah in Egypt. The other was a prophet who also went up a mountain, chased by King Ahab. God came to Elijah there and spoke to him in a still, small voice. He recorded this and foretold the coming of the Messiah.
These two men, who’d had their own mountaintop experiences, spoke with Jesus about his coming departure. He’d already set his face toward Jerusalem and told his disciples he’d suffer and die, but they didn’t believe him. Moses and Elijah surely strengthened Jesus; they had been hated and rejected, they’d suffered for doing God’s will. The three of them together represent the larger picture of God’s work in history: the law, the prophets, and Jesus who fulfilled both.
Our attention is then drawn to Peter. He stood there, feeling terrified and thrilled. As he watched the three in their holy conferencing, he couldn’t contain himself. Peter blurted “It is good we are here!” You think? He’s on a mountaintop shielding his eyes from the radiant light of Christ. That was amazing, but interrupting Jesus showed how clueless Peter was. But never one to easily learn things, he suggests building three small shelters, so they can each remain on the mountain. As if any of them needed such a thing! Jesus ignored that comment because Peter had again missed the mark.
Before he had a chance to come up with anything else, God acted: a cloud, brilliant with holy glory, descended gently over them, enveloping them. Within that luminous place God spoke, saying: “Listen to my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
Peter and the other disciples had heard this same voice three years ago, on the day Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. Whatever doubts and struggles he and the others had coped with over the last three years must have evaporated as they heard that voice and were surrounded by God’s holy shekinah glory. In the book of Exodus, we have Moses’ story describing him in their tabernacle of worship, with a bright cloud descending and filling the place. It was a glorious experience to be surrounded by this holy glory of God! If you turn in the Bible to the book of I Kings this same brilliant glory again descends; this time it fills the new temple, where God would be worshipped. God’s shekinah cloud of holy radiance appeared and people saw it; they experienced it in Moses’ day and again when they arrived in the Promised Land. All who witnessed this firsthand no longer had any doubts; they believed in the one true, holy and living God.
On the mountaintop that day Jesus – who put on flesh and knew he’d soon face darkness, suffer and die – was for a short while pure light and radiance. The full manifestation of God shone that day. Imagine seeing that! When it gently lifted, and Jesus stood there alone, looking as he had earlier that day, he understood that his departure was near.
Something quite powerful about the word “departure” is that in the Greek it means “exodus”. For Jews and Christians alike the word exodus has great significance. Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt; this exodus of Jews who had long been slaves – their departure – was something God fully orchestrated. He saved his people from suffering and gave them new freedoms they never imagined. Jesus knew his departure from earth would lead people out of bondage to sin; his sacrifice would save them from the captivity of death.
When it came time to walk back down the mountain, I think the men were all lost in their own thoughts. But at one point, Jesus turned and looked at the three followers he’d chosen to go with them and said they couldn’t share what they’d seen and heard that day. They had to keep it to themselves until he was raised from the dead! They did manage to do that, but we’re told that they kept talking with one another about what Jesus meant when he said he’d be raised from the dead. To believe in Jesus meant walking in faith, not understanding everything, but trusting in him day by day.
Those three men saw brilliant light. God’s radiant shekinah glory descended around them and for the second time in their lives they heard the voice of God. They also saw Moses and Elijah. But best of all they saw Jesus, whose face shone like the sun and whose clothing was dazzling white. These images of light and clouds, of Moses and Elijah, but especially Jesus – they were burned into their retinas, remaining vivid in their mind and memory.
The men needed to draw on that day’s experiences many times over the years. They needed it when they were in the upper room and learned Judas had betrayed the Lord, giving his location away to those who sought to kill him. They needed Jesus’ transfiguration etched in their mind as they saw Jesus burdened by the weight of the cross on his shoulders. They needed to recall the shekinah glory when Jesus was lifted up on a cross on another hill, where the sun would refuse to shine for three hours. They needed the remembrance when Jesus breathed his last, when his bloody corpse was sealed in a cold tomb. They remembered God’s voice saying at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son,” and another time on a holy mountain, when God said, “Listen to my Son, whom I love.”
Three of the disciples were eyewitness to these things; they saw Jesus’ suffering and his majesty, they saw him in the flesh and revealed as the Holy One. They had their doubts at times but came to believe, to fully trust that his words were truth and his promises were fulfilled. They placed their hope in Jesus Christ and were not disappointed.
Today’s Scripture is so important for us as we prepare for the seven weeks of Lent. We’ll be on a journey, from Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness all the way to his resurrection on a Sunday morning, and many things will be hard to hear and grasp… so it is good to have this holy mountain and Jesus’ transfiguration etched in our memories. It will strengthen us along the way, fortify our faith.
That day on the mountain accomplished four important things.
- It revealed the true nature of Jesus as God incarnate.
- It strengthened Christ as he began his lonesome march toward the cross, where he would lay down his life for our sins.
- It strengthened the disciples, empowering them to obey the call to radical discipleship.
- For us today, who have not glimpsed the glory of God or the transfiguration of Christ, we have this written account and believe it is true.
May we who journey today as Jesus’ disciples have faith. Believe what has been written about Jesus, especially about his departure – his exodus. He is our Savior; if we follow Him, He’ll take us all the way to the promised land, not in Egypt but in heaven, into glory. Thanks be to God – amen.