Matthew 17:1–9
And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him.
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” (ESV)
Prayer: Dear Savior, on this festival of Transfiguration, enlighten our hearts through the preaching of the Word, that we come to an even fuller understanding of Your person and work, so that we may be renewed and encouraged in our lives in this world, and have the assurance of life eternal. We ask it in Your name. Amen.
When God Interrupts
I. We Listen
II. We Learn
Dear Friends in Christ,
We sometimes picture the disciples as resolute warriors for Christ. Sure. Confident. Faithful. Other times, we see the disciples waver, doubt, and fear. In some regards, both are true. Just as we can at times be confident and bold in faith and then other times be doubtful and weak. Yet, through the example of the disciples, we find comfort, because we see how God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He is patient with us. He wants to teach us. He wants nothing else for us than to see the glory that he has prepared for us in heaven.
Jesus was in the process of teaching his disciples. He had been preparing his disciples for his departure—foretelling his own suffering and death. Peter, if you recall, had trouble with this. He still held out hopes for an earthly Messiah—an earthly kingdom with peace and rest. He didn’t want Jesus to suffer and die. Yet, by trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross—he was preventing God’s mission to save our souls. He didn’t understand.
Jesus explained, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” You cannot be a Christian if you deny the necessity of the cross. If you cover it up, deny it, evade it, or change it into something more palatable to the religious tastes of sinners who don’t think they need the suffering and death of Jesus, then you deny Christ. To confess Christ is to embrace the cross of his suffering where Jesus died for your sins.
Six days after this exchange between Jesus and his disciples, he takes Peter, James, and John with him by themselves to a high mountain. You can imagine their joy as they were privileged to accompany Christ. Just us? With Jesus? This is great. And then they see him transfigured before them! During Jesus’ state of humiliation, he didn’t ordinarily allow his majesty to be revealed, but here Jesus revealed his glory. His face shone like the sun! His clothes become white as light! This was other-worldly. And then, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus about what would soon take place in Jerusalem.
Peter speaks first, as was often the case, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” You put up a tent when you want to stay somewhere. Peter wanted Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to stay there. He wanted the glory Christ revealed to last. He didn’t want it to end. This is important for us to remember. To see Christ in his glory is the greatest thing we can imagine, and this was only a glimpse. When we get to heaven we won’t be wanting anything else. It will be everything we’ve hoped for and more. Unlike many good things in this life, it will never come to an end.
Of course, Peter was enamored with everything going on as would any one of us be. But in the middle of his great planning, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and he was interrupted by God the Father who declared, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Here, the Father reiterates his attitude toward his only begotten Son that he first declared at his baptism in the Jordan river.
This gets us to the purpose of the transfiguration. First, it was for Jesus. He was about to experience the greatest pain, torment, and suffering of anyone who has ever lived. On this holy mountain, he was reminded of the glory which would be bestowed upon him by his Father upon the completion of his saving work. He was encouraged by Moses and Elijah who had preached and foretold of his coming. We often don’t think about this aspect of Christ’s life, but in his state of humiliation he needed encouragement too. The Father was pleased with him.
The second purpose of the transfiguration was to encourage and teach the disciples. Here, they witnessed a glimpse of the glory of the resurrected Christ. The Child born in the manger is true God, our Savior. Peter, James, and John needed this reminder. They were the inner three who Jesus also took with him to Gethsemane. They would witness his deepest degradation—they would see him at the lowest of lows. But the mount of transfiguration was to give them hope and strength for that dark and dreadful night. As they would see the crucifixion of Jesus, they also had in their minds their glorious Savior who shone like the sun.
The Father said, “Listen to Him.” This was more important now than ever. The Father was telling them, listen to my Son, what he says about the cross is right. He did not come to bring about an earthly kingdom—but a heavenly kingdom. As Christians, we know why Jesus had to suffer. We know he had to offer up his life as a perfect sacrifice on our behalf. But it’s still hard. It’s hard to see Jesus on the cross and it’s hard to face the crosses in our own lives. That’s why we need God’s Word. That’s why we need reminders and encouragement. The order of events in our lesson helps remind us of the “why.”
As Jesus was transfigured and Peter offered to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to try to extend this peace and glory on the Mount, God the Father spoke from heaven. He told them to listen to Jesus. The voice frightened them so that they fell down on their faces. They were terrified because of their sin! Then Jesus came and touched them, told them to stand up and not to be afraid. Only Jesus was able to take away their fear. Without Jesus—the one who would go to the cross bearing the sins of the world—the voice of the Father terrifies us. We can’t stand before a holy God. The only way that the voice of God brings peace and comfort is through Jesus who is the One who suffers and dies for us. So that we could hear God speak, stand before his majesty, Jesus went to the cross.
Like Peter, we may at times struggle to understand why Jesus needed to go to the cross. Yet, what I think we may even struggle with more is when we face our own crosses. This is when the rubber meets the road for a Christian so to speak. When a loved one gets sick, our health begins to fail, the demands of life grow and our time doesn’t, or financial troubles come. When we go through struggles it comes naturally for us to doubt God’s love and his goodness, to think that we are being punished by God, to scream and shout, “why, me?!” to think that God couldn’t possibly love us and we are getting what we deserve.
That’s why the transfiguration before the cross was so important. This was God’s beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased! But even he had to endure the cross. He did it so that he could suffer and die for the sins of the world, to tear down the gates of death, opening the way to heaven for all believers.
If you face suffering and experience trials, that does not indicate God’s disfavor of you. Peter learned this and so must we. In fact, we should expect it. Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (I Peter 4:12, 13).
As we go through life’s ups and downs, we certainly do not always react the way we ought. We get frustrated, burned out, and sin. We don’t always accept our crosses with joy. In fact, we rarely do. Our sin and attitude surely don’t merit God’s good pleasure. But in Jesus, we find a Savior who bore all with patience. As the author of Hebrews writes, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame.” He did that for us. He perfectly obeyed the Father’s will, humbling himself under the cross, so that the Father might say to us as he said to Christ, “This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.” Through faith, Christ’s life is ours.
On the mount of transfiguration, Peter got so excited and forward thinking that he seems to have forgotten everything Christ taught about his need to suffer and die—about his coming exodus. We often mirror Peter’s forgetful mind and wishful thinking. We can easily get distracted and try to preserve or create glory here on earth. But then God interrupts. He speaks. He interrupts our busy lives on Sunday mornings. He interrupts every time we open the sacred Scripture. He interrupts our misguided thoughts to direct us to Jesus.
This world is absolutely crazy. It is troubling and chaotic. And we are easily caught up in it. Especially, during these times do we need to be interrupted from the news and our doom scrolling with the Word of God. This is the only thing that is more sure. Peter saw Christ’s glory revealed. He heard the Father’s voice. But he explains in our Epistle lesson, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” This is God’s inspired Word. Through it God reveals his glory, forgives, and encourages us in our daily lives as we descend from the mount.
Christ is your King. Heaven is your home. But so that we do not grow weary, our Lord Jesus encourages us through the Word, which is our “something more sure.” The Word that says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” and “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Peter writes, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:6–9).
When God interrupts, may we listen. A future awaits. His glory will be revealed. Cling to Christ, listen to his Word, and you will receive the salvation of your soul. Amen.