The Transfigured Christ
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13–17:13
Meditation
The ups and downs of Peter’s emotions follow the contour of the mountain that he’s now descending. Seven days ago, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. They deflected the question by referencing the opinions of the masses.
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets”.
“ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’”
Each opinion was wrong—all except Peter’s.
“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.’ ”
Peter was the only one who got it right. But it was the Father, not anyone else, who had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah.
After his confession, Peter was spiritually on top of the mountain. He understood who Jesus was, “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But as the events of the week progressed, it became clear that Peter didn’t understand, nor did he like, what this Jesus was about to do.
He might have understood the person of Christ but he didn’t understand his work. When Jesus began to speak of his impending suffering, death, and resurrection, Peter rebuked him.
“Never, Lord!” he said, “This shall never happen to you!”
To which Jesus turned to Peter and said,
“Get behind me, Satan!”
Within a span of minutes, Peter had moved from the mountaintop of revelation to the valley of rebuke. In the valley he’s confused, unclear, and uncertain about what it means to follow Jesus. Though Peter has bottomed out, Jesus raises him up.
“I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Six days after Peter’s confession, Jesus invites him, James, and John to follow him up a mountain. It’s time they get a glimpse of his majesty. On the mountaintop, his appearance is “transfigured” from the inside out. He doesn’t turn into someone else. He shows his disciples who he really is. He lifts the veil of his humanity and lets the divinity blaze in all its glory. From the inside out, his face shines like the sun. His clothes become as white as light. Moses and Elijah appear and talk with him and a voice from a cloud shouts,
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
The disciples are eyewitnesses to his majesty. They have just seen the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. But being on the mountain is one thing; staying there is another.
Jesus can’t stay.
He won’t stay.
The disciples plead with him to stay. They even offer to build three shelters—one for Moses, the Lawgiver; one for Elijah, the representative of the prophets; and one for Jesus, the Messiah, the fulfillment of all that went before.
But just must descend the mountain. He must walk toward Jerusalem and then walk up another mountain—Calvary.
While Moses and Elijah were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they talked with him about his crucifixion. They referred to it as his “departure” — his “exodus”.
“They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31)
The Mount of Transfiguration.
The Mount of Crucifixion.
Both mountains give a glimpse of his glory. From one the glory blazes from the inside out. From the other, it bleeds from the outside over and into the hearts of all humanity.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ divinity bursts through human flesh and shines like the sun. On this summit, he reveals his glory. He pulls back the veil that covers his majesty. The God-Man is seen as God, and the Creator is revealed to be among his creation!
Nothing is hidden. All is revealed.
On the Mount of Crucifixion, the suffering of the Son of Man is offered as The Sacrifice to the heart of the Father. On this summit, Jesus reveals his grace. His love blazes in the darkness of sin. His salvation shines. Forgiveness flames and flares for all to see. At the cross, when humanity is showing God its worst, there Christ is, arms stretched out wide, showing humanity God’s best.
Again, nothing is hidden. All is revealed. All is given.
He is God, but more than that, he is good.
On this mountain, God is not only among His creation.
He is for His creation!
“We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about 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 came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18)
Prayer
Father,
During your Son’s earthly ministry, he didn’t always use his divine power or fully reveal his divine nature. In his state of humiliation, he took on human flesh. He wrapped the veil of his humanity around his eternal majesty, and hid his glory.
But on the Mount of Transfiguration, he lifted the veil. His glory blazed, his face shone like the sun, his clothes became as white as snow, and his disciples became eyewitnesses of his majesty.
During this day, I want to see, through the veil of my humanity, glimpses of the Transfigured Christ.
May his face shine in the darkness and despair of my life. May his presence blaze in my world. I want to be an eyewitness of his majesty. And when I see his majesty, may I be transformed into his likeness.
In the name of the Transfigured Christ I pray. Amen
Reflection
If Jesus were to ask you, “who do you say that I am?”, what would you say?
How has the Transfigured Christ shown you his glory?
How has the Crucified Christ shown you his glory?
What does your story about Christ consist of? In what way are you an “eyewitnesses of his majesty”?
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day (Matthew 16:13–17:13). Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted in parenthesis. All Scripture quoted on this site is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
