"Transfiguration as Usual"

Introduction

New International Version (NIV)

9 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

The Transfiguration

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

Never very comfortable with this story - Always focused on the humanity of Jesus - not to the exclusion of his divinity, but just in an effort to understand the concept of Jesus being fully human. But the transfiguration really is critical if we are going to understand who Jesus really is. It is also critical if we are going to understand the transformation Jesus brings to our lives.

The Story..

It has been a long 3 years.

This occurs event occurs about six months prior to the torture and murder of Jesus. They have been teaching and almost constantly moving for 3 years.

Jesus had made reference to how difficult this was.

New International Version (NIV)“Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Jesus goes up the mountain with the three disciples. Once they are all alone, “There he was transfigured before them.” This appears to be a sudden event. God often gives us a glimpse of his power and majesty at unexpected moments. Moments when we are not expecting it.

“Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

The fullness of Jesus’s mission becomes clear when Moses and Elijah appear. Two significant Old Testament men, Elijah and Moses, appeared miraculously and were conversing with Jesus. Moses, in the role of Israel’s deliverer and lawgiver, represented the Law. Elijah, defender of Yahweh worship and the future restorer of all things (), represented the Prophets. Both were prominent mediators of God’s rule to the nation of Israel (cf. ; ; ; ; ; ). Their presence attested Jesus’ role as the Messiah.

Then we hear God’s voice clarifying who Jesus is and what the expectation is. When he was baptized it is the spirit that attest to who Jesus is. Here it is God the father … with a very direct command - to listen. This does not mean to simply hear Jesus, but to understand and fulfill. The transfiguration adds significance to this. Then there is no one there but Jesus and the disciples. The law, represented by Moses, and the intercession of the prophets, represented by Elijah, are no longer needed. Only Jesus.

What is transfiguration?

Concise Oxford English Dictionary Transfiguration

transfiguration

■ noun

1 a complete transformation into a more beautiful or spiritual state.

Notice the word complete and the word state. This is not simply a change in appearance, but a change in the very state of being - a complete change. There is nothing left of the old - it has been completely transformed into the new. There is a renewal - a new identity - a new “normal.”

Why Now?

A few days before this Jesus had talked with them about the realities of his ministry and what messiah really meant.

“We are at a point in Jesus’ ministry where he is beginning to make it clear that he will suffer. His first plain teaching on this subject is found in 8:31 after the disciples, via Peter’s voice, have correctly identified him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Immediately, Jesus provides them the details of what will soon happen to the Messiah, and it does not correlate with their expectations of Messiah.” – David Talley (Talbot School of Theology – The Good Book Blog)

In other words, the disciples were discouraged and unsure of themselves. They were likely to be questioning the point of the last three years of efforts and there determined commitment to Jesus. They may have been questioning if their expectations - hopes - for Jesus were going to actually be fulfilled. Had they been fools this whole time?

Then there is the transfiguration. It removes all doubt as to who Jesus is and the purpose of his ministry. This changed and confirmed everything. It brought clarity to Peter.

Years later Peter wrote in :

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,(1) with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

It changed everything! It also clarified the completeness of Jesus.

“In the Transfiguration of Jesus we have the various elements of the coming kingdom represented. There is the glorified King, those who will come into the kingdom through death, those who will come into the kingdom through the transformation of their bodies at the rapture of the church, those Jewish believers who will enter into the millennial reign of Christ in their earthly bodies, as well as the people from the various nations who will also enter into the millennium in non-glorified bodies.” - Don Stewart of Blue Letter Bible Ministry (What Was the Significance of Jesus' Transfiguration?)

So what do we need to takeaway from this?

While we can be sure there will be suffering, we can also be assured that God will triumph.

New International Version (NIV)

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

As followers of Christ we are part of his triumph - his victory. Even more then this, we are compelled by his victory. We are certainly open to God’s discipline and are not protected from difficulty, but we are also assured of grace and victory. As David said in ...

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

We are part of this transfiguration. We are forever changed and forever assured of victory.

God never sends us unprepared.

Elisa Morgan, writing in Our Daily Bread, compares this preparation by God to her grandmother’s hand-sewn personalized gifts that she made for special occasions. Each gift was unique to the recipient, made with love and intentionality. She writes that

“each custom-crafted item to discover her signature tag reading, “Hand made for you by Munna.” With every embroidered word, I sensed my grandmother’s love for me and received a powerful statement of her faith in my future.”

She then adds

“We can never be saved by our own good works, but when God hand makes us for His purposes, He can use us to bring others toward His great love.”

God knows his plan and has prepared us individually with love and intentionality for our purpose. The disciples were struggling to come to terms with Jesus as a murdered messiah, but God gave them a glimpse of the fullness of Jesus to prepare them for the coming months and years.

The future is unknown, but if we listen we can understand.

God gives a clear directive in this event. With all the things going on, the only communication directly to the disciples was that Jesus was God’s son and that we should listen to him. Out of this amazing and confusing situation, the message delivered is clear and direct. We often get so distracted by the circumstances that we miss the message. The disciples are approaching a time of extreme distress, danger and challenge. But the path is clear - they are to listen to Jesus.

We should never get too comfortable with Jesus.

For 3 years Jesus had been united with his disciples in hard ministry. They had walked mile upon mile together, eaten together, become exhausted together, become frustrated together. They had shared so much and been together continuously. There was a sense of familiarity with Jesus that we can only imagine. But yet, on the mountain that day the disciples are given a clear view of the divinity of Jesus. We can never forget that Jesus, who taught us to call God our daddy, is also the creator of the universe. Our comfort should always be tempered with awe and respect.

In the end, the world around us is temporary and passing.

The transfiguration, and the presence of Moses and Elijah, makes it abundantly clear that the physical world and our struggles in it are temporary. There is this power beyond the physical. A future beyond the physical. There is a hope beyond the physical. Our God is not a God of the physical, but a God of the eternal.

New International Version (NIV)

New International Version (NIV)

17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

What is your transfiguration event?

We who are believers have encountered Jesus in his glory. We have had these moments where we were faced with Jesus in such power and completeness in our lives that we were overcome - changed - transformed. Jesus has revealed himself to us as more then just some carpenter who was taught well. He is more than a rabbi who is educated and insightful. He is more then a spiritual leader with a keen awareness of the heart of God. He is God. He is beyond comprehension. He is the glory and being of God. And when we are confronted with this incredible truth, we need to hear God’s voice saying,

“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”