03-18-07-The Transfiguration
Last week we talked about the way of the cross. We saw that while Jesus was on a retreat with His disciples at Caesarea Philippi He told them that He must go to Jerusalem to be killed then raised from the dead after 3 days. He talked to them about the cost of discipleship and how it involved sacrifice. He also told them that if they would deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him, even to the death if necessary, the Father in heaven would reward their sacrifice. Today, I’d like to look at another event that happened while they were on this retreat, the Transfiguration of Christ.
¨ Matthew 17:1-13 (NIV) 1 After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 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.”
¨ 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
¨ 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus took the 3 disciples of His inner circle up on a mountain nearby. The question arises as to why Jesus took only these 3 disciples—Peter, James & John—why not all 12 disciples? For the answer to that we can only speculate, but I think it is because He knew He could trust them with the revelation of who He was.
Now it may seem that Jesus played favorites with Peter, James & John, but the reality is that any good leader pours himself into those he can trust and believes will be good leaders themselves. It is wise leadership to use your time and energy to train those who will be the best leaders, especially when you know that they will be carrying on your mission after you are gone. Actually, Jesus was often found with His inner circle away from the other disciples (Matthew 26:37—Garden of Gethsemane; Mark 5:37—the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead; Mark 13:3—they questioned Him privately about the signs of the future).
Let’s also not forget that the purpose for this retreat was to prepare His disciples for the last phase of Jesus’ life—His death and resurrection. Jesus knew His disciples well and He knew their hearts and motives better than they did. To reveal the true glory of Jesus to some of the disciples (e.g. Judas Iscariot—a zealot) would have been to put in their hands the tools that probably would have gotten them into a lot of trouble and that would have interfered with the plan of the Father to bring salvation to the world. They would have used this revelation to try to convince everyone that Jesus was the one who had come to set them free from the bondage of Rome. They had just recently been told by Jesus that He was the Messiah—the Son of the Living God—and this would have absolutely convinced them. Notice in verse 9 we see Jesus telling even the 3 disciples not to tell anyone what they saw.
¨ Matthew 17:9 (NIV) “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
So if He told the 3 most trusted men He had to be quiet about what they saw, it would be only wise in the first place to limit the number of people who would know the reality of His glory and be tempted to tell others.
So, Jesus takes Peter, James & John with Him up a mountain. Luke tells that He went up there to pray. Jesus often went off to pray.
¨ Luke 9:28-29 (NIV) 28 About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
While Jesus was praying His appearance changed and He became transfigured. That means that His form changed the way He looked.
3339 μεταμορφόω [metamorphoo /met·am·or·fo·o/] v. From 3326 and 3445; TDNT 4:755; TDNTA 607; GK 3565; Four occurrences; AV translates as “transfigure” twice, “transform” once, and “change” once. 1 to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure. 1a Christ appearance was changed and was resplendent with divine brightness on the mount of transfiguration. Additional Information: For synonyms see entry 3345, metaschematizo.See entry 5863 for comparison of synonyms.
Up to now Jesus’ true glory had been hidden in a body of flesh. But now His face and clothes became radiant like the sun and dazzling bright, a visible manifestation of His deity, just as the glory cloud or Shekinah in the Old Testament symbolized the presence of God. This transfiguration was a preview of what the Lord Jesus will be like when He comes back to set up His kingdom. Then He will not appear as the sacrificial Lamb but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. All who see Him will recognize Him immediately as God the Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords!
This same word used for transfigured appears in 2 Cor 3:18 which tells us that we are being transformed into His likeness by the Holy Spirit to reflect the glory of God.
¨ 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Can you imagine that God wants to shine His glory through you? Well, it is true—He does! If we could see beyond the veil of this flesh, we would see the real man that we are—the spiritual man.
¨ Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
In both 2 Cor 3:18 & Rom. 12:2 the idea of transformation refers to an unseen process in Christians which takes place during our lifetime. You see, when we are born-again, we are no longer an old dead spirit, but our spirit is made alive in Christ. Peter says that we have God’s divine nature in us:
¨ 2 Pet 1:3-4 (NIV) 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 4 Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate (share) in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
So that means that God’s glory is to be reflected in each of His children. One day we will all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:51-52), and this fleshly body will be put off, then the real man will be revealed. I believe it will be a glorious man that will reflect God’s glory.
¨ Luke 9:30-31 (NIV) 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
Not only was Jesus transfigured, but also Moses and Elijah appeared. Luke says, that they appeared in glorious splendor and talked to Jesus about His departure. Moses represented the Law (John 1:17) and Elijah represented the prophets. So we see the Old Testament Law and Prophets pointing towards the sufferings of Christ and the resulting glory that would follow.
But what does that mean—about His departure? It shows us that in the heavenly realm the plan of God was already known and anticipated. The disciples could not understand why Jesus would want to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die, but heaven knew and couldn’t wait for it to happen. Although God’s plan was hidden on earth, everyone in heaven knew about it and was waiting for it’s fulfillment through the death of Jesus on the cross. The reality was that the cross was not an afterthought of God, but a part of His plan to bring salvation to the world.
Oh friends, do you see how, just like the disciples, so much seems hidden to us about God’s plans for us while we are in this flesh? As Paul said:
¨ 1 Cor 13:12 12 For now we see through a glass, darklyf; but then face to face:
So many things seem so difficult for us now because we do not see clearly into the spirit realm. But one day the veil will be lifted, whether through death or rapture it does not matter, and then we will know the reality of the spirit realm.
In true form, Peter suggests that they build 3 tabernacles—one for each of those he saw in the transfiguration. Now Peter’s heart was right, but he did not realize what he was saying. He did not say let us build one tabernacle for Jesus because He is the Messiah—The Son of the Living God—but instead he said let us build one tabernacle for each of them. Peter was right in putting Jesus first, but he was wrong in not giving Jesus the superiority over Moses and Elijah. Without realizing it Peter was actually put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Jesus is not one among equals but Lord over all!
The voice of the Father (Matt 17:5) interrupted while Peter “was still speaking.” In order to show them who Jesus was, God the Father covered them all with a bright cloud, then He said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” Luke says God spoke these words, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35). The words were the same as those spoken from heaven at Christ’s baptism (3:17).
God the Father spoke clearly to all. God the Father loved Jesus and was pleased with Him. God the Father had chosen Him for the work of redemption. God the Father was in control of everything that would happen—it was all part of His plan. So God the Father told the disciples, “Listen to Him!”
You probably have heard of E. F. Hutton, a financial service that used a motto, “When E. F. Hutton speaks, people listen.” Maybe you remember the TV commercial where the setting was in a busy restaurant or some other public place. Two people are talking about financial matters, and the first person would repeat something his broker had said concerning a certain investment. The second person would say, “Well my broker is E. F. Hutton, and E. F. Hutton says. . .” At that point every single person in the place would stop dead in their tracks, turn, and listen to what the man was about to say.” Well, I think that this was an E. F. Hutton moment. God had gotten the attention of the disciples and He wanted them to hear what Jesus was trying to tell them.
Do we sometimes get so caught up in what we see going on around us that we miss the still small voice speaking to us? Are we so caught up in working for the kingdom that we miss the One who is the King of the kingdom? Maybe God is trying to get us to stop our busyness and listen to Him.
Frightened by the glory cloud and by the voice of God, the disciples fell on their faces. But Jesus told them to get up and not to be afraid. As they got up, they saw no one but Jesus. I think from that point on these 3 disciples listened much more when Jesus spoke. Why God the Father had told them to, so it would be wise to do so. Can you imagine what must have been going through their minds? Jesus really is the Son of God! God Himself spoke to us! We heard the voice of God and we’re not dead!
Coming down the mountain, Jesus told His disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until after He had risen from the dead. Jesus knew that the Jews were so anxious for anyone who might liberate them from Roman bondage, that they would have welcomed Him to save them from Rome, but they did not want Him as a Savior from their sin. For all practical purposes, Israel had rejected her Messiah, and it was useless to tell the Jews of this vision of Messianic glory. After the resurrection, the message would be proclaimed worldwide not only to Jews but also to Gentiles.
Notice that now there was no discussion about why Jesus had to die and suffer. Instead they wanted to know why the scribes said that Elijah must come first, before the Messiah could come. Now, that they knew He was the Messiah, they just wanted to understand more about the truth that was being taught by the religious leaders. We saw a couple of weeks ago that this was prophesied in the last words of the Old Testament in Malachi 4:5-6.
¨ Malachi 4:5-6 (NIV) 5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
So Jesus explained to them that Elijah had already come and been mistreated and killed by the religious authorities. Not only did this happen to the fore-runner of the Messiah, but it would also happen to Jesus—The Messiah. So we see that the disciples finally understood that if the forerunner of the Messiah—John the Baptist—had not been spared from suffering, then neither would Jesus.
The transfiguration may be a hard thing for us to grasp because of its supernatural nature. Yet, it is truth and shows us that God is on the throne, working everything out according to His plan. It gives us a peek into the spiritual realm that reveals to us the awesome glory of our God. It shows us that there is hope of a life after we leave this world.
Our choice is to decide how we will use that revelation. Will we be like Peter and want to build temples to commemorate a moment—like when we were born-again? Or have we chosen to take what God has given us and use it to build His kingdom? Have we as Christians decided to settle down and sit and soak becoming stagnant in our walk with God? Or will we decide to spend more time listening to God’s still small voice and doing what He tells us to do? The choice is up to us.
¨ Luke 9:28-36 (NIV) 28 About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
¨ 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
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v v: verb
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TDNTA Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
f darkly: Gr. in a riddle