Eyewitness of His Glory. Luke 9:28-56 The training and teaching of the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ did not only involve how they were to interact with people and how they were to do the work of the Lord in preaching and teaching, but it also taught them the importance of taking care of their own souls. The second time in this chapter where we read of the Lord praying, He took Peter, John, and James with Him up on a mountain, apart from other people, to pray. Our Lord expects those who know and follow Him to be available and willing to pray.
Sometimes, prayer is an urgent response to an unexpected situation that arises in our lives. Other times, prayer is significant communion with our heavenly Father, leading us to praise and worship the Lord. There are also times we set aside deliberately to pray, which may be the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing we do at night. Abraham had a place where he would go and stand before the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ made it a specific point to be alone with His Father in places where He would not be interrupted.
He prayed at the time of His baptism by John at the beginning of His public ministry. Then God spoke from heaven, saying, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” In this chapter, we read of Him praying on the mountain shortly before going to Jerusalem, where He would be betrayed, suffer, be crucified, and rise again. The three disciples were at a distance asleep and missed the first part of the transfiguration of the Lord as He talked to Moses and Elijah. They hadn’t learned the impact of believing-payer for themselves even though they had been with the Lord for three years.
The Lord Jesus Christ was entering the final stages of His time here on earth and needed the fellowship with His Father that only a Perfect Man could have. He prayed first and then took action to fulfill the work of His Father. How much more should we ensure we are doing our heavenly Father’s will before venturing into some new service sphere for Him? When we make changes in our lives, we need to remember those will affect others besides ourselves and impact what we have been previously involved in.
This incident in Luke’s account of the “things most surely believed among us,” would likely come from one of those who were there on that mountain as eyewitnesses of His glory. To be transfigured means the outward appearance is changed from what it had been previously. That is God’s intention for us. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (transfigured) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and acceptable and perfect will of God. [Ro.12:2].” The Lord’s inherent glory was revealed briefly to those three disciples.
It is as important to us as it was to those three men that we realize God can meet with us anywhere and at any time He chooses. It would have been obvious to them that when God spoke from heaven, He was speaking to them personally. James and John had heard the same voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized, but on this occasion, they were being spoken to personally, which made them afraid. What Peter had to say wasn’t all that important to anyone. “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him,” words from the cloud that covered them would have shut Peter’s mouth tight and struck them all with fear as a cloud settled over them, hiding the glory of the Lord from their view.
Holy fear and respectful reverence for God are characteristics of those who have realized they have been in the presence of God. When God’s voice is heard through His word and the Holy Spirit impresses divine truth on our souls, that is a time for silence, wonder, and worship from the heart. Words at such times seem out of place when our hearts burn within us because of what God says to us in the voice of His word.
When the Lord Jesus had prayed, His attention would likely have been focused on what He knew was before Him in Jerusalem. Moses, as the representative of the law, had been a participant in the first “exodus” of the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The Lord had delivered His people from bondage by His mighty power. The “decease” (exodus) of the Lord, in which He was to accomplish the release from the bondage of sin of millions of people, was the subject of the conversation with Moses and Elijah. The Lord would break the bondage of sin, Satan, and even death by His power. He would “give His life as an atonement for sin, and open the life-gate that we might go in,” and then be raised from the dead by resurrection power that only God has.
Elijah, the prophet, was the representative of all the scriptures written before by all the prophets who told of the coming of the Messiah. Many statements of the Old Testament prophets, written hundreds of years before Christ came, were going to be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem as the Christ of God. He was the long-awaited Messiah who had demonstrated His power and authority through His words and miracles. To those who saw, listened, and believed in Him, they knew He was the Son of God, came as the Son of Man to save them. We don’t often know the big picture behind everything that happens, but when we know the Lord, we are sure that whatever happens is right.
Whatever Peter meant by suggesting making three shelters is not really clear. If it was to keep Moses and Elijah on earth with Jesus, that was certainly not God’s will for that time. If it was a testimony to his faith in the law, the prophets, and Jesus, that was definitely not right because Jesus is greater than the law and the prophets. He is the fulfillment of both the law and prophecy. God clarified Peter’s mistake with a very short comment. The Lord Jesus alone is God’s chosen One to settle all matters. “Listen to Him.”
Peter learned that lesson and realized no one is equal to God’s Beloved Son. He later wrote that when he had grown in wisdom and understanding, Jesus was the chosen and precious cornerstone of the church, which is God’s dwelling place with His people today. After the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, much of what He had taught His disciples made significant sense to them. The visual transfiguration of the Lord before their eyes had an unforgettable impact on them as it moved their senses. When they remembered His words and what He taught them, they were moved body, soul, and spirit to respond to what He wanted. Faith is far more important than sight in our walk with the Lord.
“Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and grace.”
The three disciples were not yet mature enough spiritually to see beyond the visible and physical aspects of what they had seen and heard. If they had talked about the glory they had seen instead of the Savior and had not understood the reality of the “decease” that the Lord would accomplish at Jerusalem, the whole point of them being there would have been missed. His suffering comes before the open display of His glory. There is a glory that He always has, but He veiled that glory when He came here to die for our sins on the cross.
After our Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection, Peter could speak of what they had witnessed. The theme of the Gospel message is the importance of the Person and the redemption He provided for us. Those three men likely didn’t understand why they should keep silent about what they had seen, but they were proving themselves to be obedient, trustworthy servants who would do what their Lord said.
For all of us, there is a time to be silent and speak. Some of our experiences with God are very personal, and other people do not need to know why we did what we did or didn’t do what they thought we should do. Some things are between us and the Lord alone and should remain that way. There are other times when we are not to be silent. There is a time to proclaim the Gospel openly, and this is such a time. People need to know they can be saved from their sins and the consequences of their sins by putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is offered to whosoever may come and take it even though they know they are a guilty sinner. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and reveals Christ to people through the truth we tell them from the scriptures.
Mountain-top experiences are wonderful times to reflect and remember the holy things we have seen and learned. However, most of our lives are at the bottom of the mountain where most people live. The struggles of life in a sinful world constantly challenge us and our faith. If we focus our attention on the evil around us and wonder what we can do about it, we will be as powerless as those disciples who tried to cast out a demon without the power of the Lord. They tried to control and free the boy from demonic power, “but they could not.”
The only power and authority we have come from God alone. There is power in Jesus’ blood, and there is power in Jesus’ name. Unbelief on the part of any of us is displeasing to the Lord. When I am made conscious of my unbelief, I am ashamed and must confess to God my sin of unbelief that “does so easily beset” me. Even though we have experienced God working through us on many occasions, we must still rely on Him as much as ever, perhaps even more.
There is a tendency to think that if we have overcome something or if the Lord has been pleased to use us by His grace to accomplish some worthwhile purpose, we have passed some kind of milestone and are free and clear of making the same mistake again. Pride of any kind will disqualify us from doing something for our Lord until we are humbled with a contrite spirit and convicted by the word of God to do what is right in God’s eyes.
The disciples heard the word of the Lord again, telling them about His betrayal and coming death in Jerusalem, but they could not grasp the fact that such a thing could ever happen. They were still thinking about the kingdom of God they had gone around the country telling people about. Their argument about their hopes for a high position in the kingdom was even more concerning. It had not sunk into their souls that the Lord “left the splendors of heaven” behind Him when He came down to the world to save sinners. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. He became obedient to the death of the cross so that He could bring us to God. But it seemed like all the disciples could think about was which one would be greatest in the kingdom.
Our minds are so quick to deceive us that even when we have been used by God for some purpose, we want to claim credit for ourselves rather than be thankful for the privilege of being used by God. We know better but still allow such thoughts to enter our minds. To “bring every thought into captivity” is not always easy. An honest evaluation of ourselves will consider our weaknesses and failures, not only perceive what we think are our “strong points.” When we think about all that has been done that is of a positive nature, we must acknowledge that it is God who is working in us to do His will through us in spite of our inability and weakness.
As our Lord Jesus Christ was fully aware of their thoughts, He chose to teach them another important lesson right on the spot. He pointed out two things to them. First, a child is as important to God as any person. What is important is what God thinks about you rather than what you think about yourself. The second lesson is that paradox in God’s kingdom that the way up is down. The way to win is to lose. The way to get is to give. The way to live is to die. The lowest apostle will be the greatest.
These same principles continue in the kingdom of God today of which all saved people are a part. Divisions and strife among God’s people should never happen. Even John, who is known as the apostle of love, wasn’t always one who demonstrated love. Because a man was serving God who wasn’t one of their group, John tried to stop him from doing what was right. The Lord immediately taught His disciples another lesson. Even though there are people who are different from us and do things differently, they are not enemies.
That same lesson was repeated as they traveled through a Samaritan village that would not receive the Lord. It is not our right to bring down judgment on others even though they reject the Lord. John and James had to learn again what they had been taught by the Lord. “Blessed are you when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you for My sake.” With patience, the Lord Jesus again reminded them that His purpose was not to destroy people but to save them.