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Jesus’ transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-13
Key verse: 2
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
Today’s passage is about Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus went up on a high mountain and was transfigured before his disciples. His appearance was changed from that of an ordinary man to the holy Son of God. The disciples who eye-witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration and heard the voice of God had absolute assurance that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Their faith became firm and genuine. Since then, they lived a holy and godly life, having a glorious living hope in the kingdom of God. As we study this passage, let us turn our eyes on Jesus and keep his glorious image in our hearts.
Look at verse 1. “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” “After six days” refers to the time Peter made his confession of Christ and Jesus began to teach the disciples about his suffering, death and resurrection. Despite Peter’s strong objection to Jesus’ suffering and death, Jesus was resolute to do the difficult work of the Messiah. Moreover, he taught his disciples to deny themselves and to take up their cross and to follow him. After six days, then Jesus took his three core disciples, Peter James and John with him and went up on a high mountain. Many scholars say that this mountain was Mount Hermon, which rose about 9200 feet above sea level. Why did Jesus take his disciples up a high mountain? Was it for sight-seeing so that they could take a deep fresh air and see a panoramic view of the land and forget about difficult life problems? No. Jesus wanted to show a glimpse of his divine glory to them.
Look at verse 2. “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” According to Webster dictionary, the word “transfigure” means “to give a new and typically exalted or spiritual appearance to.” As we know, these days, plastic surgery is popular. We are often surprised to see those who went through plastic surgery and appeared very gorgeous and pretty. But this kind of “makeover” does not deal with the underlying causes of an undisciplined lifestyle and the person usually reverts back to the old appearance or to the uglier appearance later. Transfiguration is not just the little change of appearance through haircut or makeup or plastic surgery. It was not a temporary phenomenon either. Jesus’ transfiguration fundamentally revealed the substance of God to the disciples.
Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. So a Renaissance artist Raphael in his famous painting, “The Transfiguration” portrayed the three disciples to cover their eyes because they could not look at Jesus’ shining glory. Until now Jesus had appeared as an ordinary man grown up in a small town Nazareth. He didn’t appear as a divine being with a halo around his head. In view of the Bible, Jesus’ physical appearance was not really attractive. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” He lived a poor life, having no place to lay his head. So the religious leaders despised him and rejected him. Even Peter dared to rebuke Jesus in the last week’s passage. But when Jesus was transformed, he was changed from his ordinary looking human form to reveal his original image as God.
Jesus is in very nature God. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us (Mt 1:23). He was the Word that became flesh (Jn 1:14). But he renounced his power and glory and majesty and humbly came into this world as a man. He was veiled in human flesh and took the nature of a servant, being obedient to God to the point of death. On earth, he had lived just like you and me, a very ordinary person. He had become the compassionate friend and good shepherd to everyone. He took up our infirmities on himself and carried our sorrows. For this, Jesus was humiliated and struck and killed by the Jewish leaders. Yet, he didn’t open his mouth to the end just like a lamb to the slaughter (Isa 53:7). In this way, the Son of God was ridiculed and murdered by his creation. As Jesus bore all this, his features began to look pain-stricken. Jesus’ clothes were very ordinary, not ‘Gucci' vestments. But when he was transfigured, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Through the transfiguration, the Son of God lifted the corner of the veil to show Peter, James and John the glory that Jesus had had originally and which waited him in heaven.
Jesus’ transfiguration made a lasting impact on Peter, James and John. Until that time, they had seen only his human appearance. But through the transfiguration, they saw God in Jesus veiled in his human appearance. In awe, they realized that they had been with God. The power of Jesus’ blazing figure could drive out all the darkness from their hearts and all the relativism and doubt and human thinking and planted God’s glorious hope in their hearts. Later these disciples became powerful and fearless servants of God. Before the Sanhedrin, Peter courageously proclaimed, “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Ac 4:11-12). In Peter’s heart, the glorious image of the transfigured Jesus had been kept until he died. In 2 Peter 1:16, he said, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Jesus’ glorious image in his heart made his faith strong and unshakable and empowered him to bear suffering for Christ. What about James? James later became the glorious martyr. What about John? Keeping Jesus’ glorious transfiguration in his heart, John later confessed in John 1:14b, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John was confined in the island of Patmos as an exile because of the name of Jesus and suffered tremendously. But there he saw again the blazing image of Jesus through God’s revelation and he endured all hardships. Moreover, he shepherded the early church by sending his letters and the book of Revelation.
We are living in an audio-visual technology era. There are billions images and video clips online. ImageShack has over 20 billion images and Facebook over 15 billion images. Youtube has over 120 million videos and to watch them all you need 600 years. Over 2500 movies are made every year around the world. Among these images, videos and movies there are many horrible, wicked and corrupt ones that make a very bad effect on youth. Perpetrators of Columbine high school Massacre, Eric Herris and Dylan Klebold in 1999 and of Montreal mutilation killer Luka Magnotta in this year were all influenced by violent video games and movies. Many people are also addicted by porn and have shame and guilt. They have a dark and lifeless face. In this very dark and godless world, how can God’s children live? First and foremost, we must turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face as a Hymn song encourages us. We remember, the first Christian martyr Stephen who turned his eyes from the murderous Sanhedrin members to Jesus standing at the right hand of God full of God’s glory. He could overcome fear and boldly spoke about Jesus. And his face was radiant like the face of an angel.
We all have problems and issues of life. Facing these things, sometimes we can get down and feel life is unfair. Prophet Isaiah felt the same. So he fell into despair and spoke many impure words. But when he saw the glorious God one day in the temple, he realized that the real problem was not the godless world and godless people, but his blind eyes that could not see the majestic presence of God who rules the whole world. Seeing the image of God, he was awestricken. He was filled with the glory of God. He then was willing to go to the stubborn people of Israel as God’s messenger. Living in this dark time, we must turn our eyes to Jesus so that our hearts can be filled with his glory enough to keep spiritual fight and serve this generation.
Look at verse 3. “Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” Here we see clearly that Moses and Elijah are alive. They were transformed into glory. They had suffered a lot on earth to do the work of God as Jesus had. But God crowned them with everlasting glory after they had done their mission on earth. God’s servants who suffer for Christ will also share in the glory of Christ in his kingdom. Paul said in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Now look at verse 4. Upon seeing Jesus in glory, Peter burst out with the words, “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.” Peter again didn’t know what he was talking about. He still didn’t accept the way of the cross. He still longed for ease and glory without suffering. He is just like us who want to see much fruit without much effort and suffering. While Peter was talking nonsense, 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!” It was God’s rebuke to Peter to repent his human thinking and to accept the teaching of Jesus about his suffering, death and resurrection. Let us accept Jesus’ way of the cross and bear God’s fruit, instead of seeking human comfort and ease.
Now when they heard the voice of God, the disciples fell facedown to the ground. They were greatly frightened. Then Jesus touched them and said, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.” Look at verse 8. “When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” Moses and Elijah were there no more. The blazing image of God in Jesus’ face was gone. The disciples saw only the Son of Man Jesus. One of human beings’ master passions is to live together with their loved ones and children in glory and ease forever. They may have this until their children are in grade school. After their grade school, all family members scatter and their human desire to live together with their loved ones turn out to be in vain. The disciples experienced this when they looked up and saw no one except Jesus. Their prospect to live in ease and glory with Moses and Elijah and Jesus was gone, and only Jesus was there. When everyone is gone, Jesus is always there to be with us. Let us participate in Jesus’ suffering and we can live in ease and glory with Jesus at God’s house, the kingdom of God.
In verse 9, Jesus instructed his disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until Jesus would be raised from the dead. Here, Jesus again taught them about his resurrection. He also told them about his suffering again in verse 12. Jesus’ future glory that is his resurrection would come after his suffering and death. As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” “No death, no resurrection.” “No study, no good mark.” “No fishing, no sheep.”
In today’s passage, we learned of Jesus’ glorious transfiguration. Is Jesus’ glorious image living in our hearts? Or other mundane or sinful image? We must have quiet time with Jesus on our own transfiguration mountain and see Jesus’ glory through personal Bible study and deep reflection writing. May we turn our eyes upon Jesus and keep his glorious image in our hearts so that we can become God’s children and gospel workers in our times.