Of all the events Peter witnessed in his life, it was
the transfiguration of Jesus that came to his mind as he was anticipating his
own death.Notice how he made his case
as an eyewitness in 2Peter 1:15-18:
15And I
will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to
call these things to mind.16For
we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His
majesty.17For when He received
honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him
by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased" -- 18and
we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the
holy mountain.
The transfiguration was a truly glorious spectacle,
for it was the revelation of Christ's innate deity and glory.It is our privilege to remember it through
the writings of the Scriptures.
THE EVENTS
For context, let us consider the events just prior to
the transfiguration.
Peter made the
great confession of Jesus' identity (Matt. 16:13-20).
Jesus predicted
His death in Jerusalem, for which Peter rebuked Him (Matt. 16:21-23).
Jesus taught His
disciples about self-denial and sacrifice (Matt. 16:24-26).
Jesus declared that
the kingdom would come during His disciples' generation (Matt. 16:28)
Let us study the transfiguration verse by verse in
Matthew's account with insights from the other writers.
Matthew 17:1 -- Six
days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led
them up on a high mountain by themselves.
Jesus took these three on the mountain to pray (Luke
9:28).
Peter, James, and John fell asleep while Jesus was
praying (Luke 9:32).This is similar to
the later time when these same three slept in Gethsemane while Jesus prayed
(Matt. 26:37-40).
Matthew 17:2 -- And
He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His
garments became as white as light.
The word "transfigured" is translated from the Greek
word metamorphoō (μεταμορφόω) from
which we get the word "metamorphosis."It means His form was changed.
The true glory of Jesus shone forth, which is the same
glory that will illuminate the "New Jerusalem" in eternity (Rev. 21:23).
Matthew 17:3 -- And
behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Luke tells us that they "were speaking of His
departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31).His "departure" (exodus, ἔξοδος) was His death.
Moses and Elijah had certain similarities to
Jesus.All three were powerful prophets;
all three once fasted forty days (Ex. 34:28; 1Ki. 19:8; Matt. 4:2) all three
had unusual departures from this world (Deut. 34:5-7; 2Ki. 2:11; Acts 1:9-11).
Matthew 17:4 -- Peter
said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make
three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Mark says that Peter "did not know what to answer; for
they became terrified" (Mark 9:6).Luke
says that Peter was "not realizing what he was saying (Luke 9:33).
Peter's suggestion would have put Jesus on the same
level with Moses and Elijah.
Matthew 17:5 -- While
he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice
out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased;
listen to Him!"
Peter quickly had his answer.Jesus was not on the same level with Moses
and Elijah; He was above them.The
Father testified of this directly.
Moses was associated with the Law, and Elijah was one
of the Prophets.Jesus was the
fulfillment of both the Law and the Prophets, and His word would exceed
theirs.Indeed, He was the Prophet
foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:19 (John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37).
Matthew 17:6-8 -- 6When
the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were
terrified.7And Jesus came to
them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid."8And lifting up their eyes, they
saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
LESSONS FROM THE TRANSFIGURATION
The transfiguration proves that Jesus is God.
The likeness of
man was rolled back to reveal the true, divine nature of Christ.
This event
confirmed what the Scriptures make abundantly clear.
John 1:1-3 -- 1In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through
Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Colossians 1:15-16 -- 15He is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all
things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been
created through Him and for Him.
Philippians 2:5-7
-- 5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.(Notice that this was His first
transfiguration -- from God to man.)
Hebrews 1:3 -- And He is the radiance of His glory and
the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of
His power. When He had made purification
of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
The transfiguration shows that Jesus is superior to
Moses, Elijah, and all others.
Peter sought to
make a tabernacle for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, giving them each equal
importance.
The voice from
heaven made it clear that Jesus and His word were to be regarded above Moses,
Elijah, or anyone else.Notice the
change that is indicated in Hebrews 1:1-2:
1God,
after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in
many ways, 2in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
The transfiguration demonstrates that there is life
after death.
Moses and Elijah
were aware and conscious, and they retained their identities.They even seemed to know more about what was
happening than the Lord's disciples, who were still alive on earth.
Jesus
acknowledged the continual existence of the dead when He taught the Sadducees
about the resurrection in Luke 20:37-38:
37"But
that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning
bush, where he calls the Lord the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.38Now He is not the God of the
dead but of the living; for all live to Him."
Jesus also taught
this truth in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
Death is not the
end of existence for anyone, and for Christians it is merely a transfer to a
better existence.This is why we can
say, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21).
We must learn the same rule Peter had to learn:
"Listen to Him!"
The word of Jesus
must have our foremost and primary attention.This is not just a matter of hearing His words but also of obeying them
(Luke 6:46).
The words of
Jesus hold more promise than any others we can hear.Consider these Scriptures:
John 8:31-32 -- 31So Jesus was saying to
those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are
truly disciples of Mine; 32and you will know the truth, and the
truth will make you free."
John 6:68 -- Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have words of eternal
life."
We must be transfigured as well.
The same word
that is translated as "transfigured" is used in regards to us in two passages:
Romans 12:2 -- And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the
will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
2Corinthians 3:18 -- But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Our
transfiguration is a transformation into the image of the Son of God (Rom.
8:30-31).We must become like Him in
this life to live with Him for eternity.
