Mountaintop Moments: When Heaven Touched Earth
Pt. 4
“Mount of Transfiguration: Who to listen to”
Matthew 17:1-8 “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 covered 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.'”
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The Mount of Transfiguration is the mountain Jesus was transfigured on (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9).
The actual location of this mountain is unknown so we don’t know its exact height, only that it was a high mountain as Matthew describes it.
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Now, if we drop back to chapter 16 we find Jesus telling His disciples some heavy stuff.
He would soon be abused and killed by the elders and chief priests, but also raised to life again (verse 21).
This is where Peter rebukes Him: “Never, Lord!” he says. “This shall never happen to you!” (verse 22).
Jesus in turn rebukes, not Peter, but Satan who has apparently influenced Peter to try to talk Jesus out of the crucifixion.
From there the Lord goes on to explain that whoever will be His disciple must “take up his cross,” that is, be willing to die also.
Then in the final verse of chapter 16, Jesus makes a statement that at first no one understood:
“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (see also Luke 9:27).
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Some have taken His words to mean that He would return during the lifetime of some of those standing there.
But if we fast forward six days later we see His words fulfilled when He takes Peter, James, and John with Him up to a “high mountain.”
Once they arrive, something breathtakingly amazing unfolds:
Vs. 2 “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”
So the first thing the awestruck disciples see is an amazing transformation of Jesus before their very eyes.
The word ‘transformed’ here means a profound, visible change that proceeds from an inward reality as opposed to an outside source.
This glorious light came from who He was within!
So this vision reveals that the light exuding from his face and clothes was coming from who He was as God the Son!
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We’re told in Scripture that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all”–1 John 1:5
Paul writes of the risen Jesus, “He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light.”–1 Tim 6:15
The risen savior we find in the Book of Revelation’s first chapter is described as “His countenance was as the sun shining in its strength.”–1:16
And this is how he appeared on the mountaintop!
His face shone like the sun.
His clothes became white as light.
A brilliant manifestation of the glory of God exuded from Him.
A few commentators have put it, He was “resplendent with a divine brightness,” “a dazzling glory,” “bright as snow.”
Worth noting is that in Luke’s account we read that this happened while Jesus was in the act of prayer.
It was while He communed with His Father that the divine glory flowed out into visible brightness.
So THAT is what Jesus meant when He said, “some are standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (see also Luke 9:27).
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But then his already amazed disciples saw something else:
“Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus” (Matthew 17:2–3).
LUKE’s account adds that they were talking about His coming death on the Cross.
–This is an interesting echo of what happened on Mount Sinai.
–Moses went up to a mountain to meet the Lord and came back with his face shining (Exodus 34).
–In the New Testament, Jesus goes up a mountain and meets with Moses, and shines like the sun.
Peter, who so often put foot in mouth when he didn’t know what to say, suddenly blurted out a loony idea:
“Lord…if you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’”–vs 4
And “while he (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!”–vs. 5
–Say with me, “God cares about who you allow to speak into your life!”
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Years later Peter refers to this incredible experience in vivid detail:
“For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice from the Majestic Glory came to Him, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain”–2 Peter 1:16-18
John describes it, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”–John 1:14
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Now, what is the message of this mountain, the Mount of Transfiguration?
I. It was a sneak preview of things to come
In order to encourage Peter, James, and John, who were reeling under the news of the cross, Jesus gave a sneak preview of what He would look like in His coming kingdom.
His visible person, in all His glory, was meant to show them what He would be like when He came a second time.
Though everything would soon fly apart at His arrest and crucifixion, He was still large and in charge as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
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II. It revealed His God-ness
The transfiguration showed his disciples a glimpse of His Glory as very God.
Before the transfiguration they had only known Jesus in his fleshly body.
But now they were able to see Him in His glorious, glorified body–which undeniably, irrefutably spoke of His deity.
Nothing like this had ever been seen, and this experience branded itself on the disciples’ memory for the rest of their lives.
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III. It was a new day
Elijah represented the PROPHETS, and Moses represented the LAW.
When God spoke from heaven commanding them to “hear Him,” He was informing them that Jesus was:
–the fulfillment of the Law (He perfectly lived it out sin-free), and that He was:
–the fulfillment of the many prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament.
The entire OT pointed to his coming arrival, death, burial, and resurrection.
The GOSPELS record His arrival, death, burial, and resurrection.
And the EPISTLES look back and expound on His arrival, death, burial, and resurrection!
Jesus is the focus of the entire Word of God!
Hebrews 1:1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”
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So what is the message of this mountain that we can put in our pocket and walk away with today?
It is ‘HEAR HIM!’
–We’re to crown Jesus the ultimate and supreme voice in our life.
Give Him your ear,
your obedience,
your problems,
your questions about life and living, and meaning, and purpose.
Let Him be your counselor,
your teacher,
your guide,
your advisor,
your instructor, and
the source of your wisdom in all things!
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If the voice you’re listening to is not in line with His teaching, it’s not the voice for you.
If the voice or voices you’re listening to suggest another path for your life, that voice is not the voice for you.
“Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden with sin and stress, and I will give you rest. Yoke yourself to Me and let Me teach you, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest deep within your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”–Matt 11:28-30