And Jesus Said (Part Seventeen)

We left the Apostle Peter in a difficult situation in the last part of our study. Here’s what happened.

Jesus asked His disciples who they believed He was and Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded by saying:

‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:17-19

So far, so good for Peter.

Jesus then began to show to His disciples “that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” Peter had a problem with that. He took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” Jesus responded by saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Not so good for Peter.

We pick up the story from there.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ And He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Mark 8:34-9:1

Keep in mind that Peter had rebuked Jesus because He said He was going to Jerusalem to die. Now Jesus is saying that whoever desired to follow Him would need to deny himself and take up his cross. Whoever desired to saved his life would lose it, but whoever lost his life for Jesus and the Gospel would save it. Then Jesus put His words into the context of the coming of the Kingdom of God, which was a central theme of His Gospel message. Jesus even said there were some people standing with Him who would not taste death until they saw the Kingdom of God present with power. Peter probably wondered what Jesus meant by that.

The King Transfigured

Peter wouldn’t have to wait long to see what Jesus meant.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’— because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ Then He answered and told them, ‘Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him. Mark 9:2-13

This is a remarkable event! Jesus was “transfigured” (metemorphōthē – transformed) in front of Peter, James and John. The word comes from morphóō, which means “changing form in keeping with inner reality.” The English word metamorphosis comes from the Greek word.

Jesus transformed before His disciples eyes so they saw the Lord’s “inner reality.” The outer reality of Jesus of Nazareth was human flesh (e.g. John 1:14; Romans 1:3; 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 1:7). The inner reality of Jesus was that of the Son of God and that’s what He showed to Peter, James and John.

Here’s how Matthew and Mark described Jesus at the moment of His transfiguration:

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Matthew 17:2

His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Mark 9:2

Notice key words about the “inner reality” of Jesus:

face shone like the sun
clothes became as white as the light
clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow

Now, compare the “inner reality” of Jesus that Peter, James and John saw at the Transfiguration to what John saw years later on Patmos. Keep in mind that this is how Jesus looked on the outside. We might call that the “outer and inner reality” that John saw.

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. Revelation 1:14-16

What John saw at the Transfiguration was similar to what John saw decades later on Patmos:

head and hair white like wool, as white as snow
countenance like the sun shining in its strength

We can also look back at the Old Testament of the prophets’ visions of God in Heaven as well as what the Apostle Paul saw when Jesus called Him.

I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. Daniel 7:9-10

While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. Acts 26:12-13

The transfiguration of Jesus in front of Peter, James and John was a supernatural event. What strikes me most at this moment is that I will one day see Jesus in all His bright glory, as will all who trust in Him for salvation.

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:23

The Witness of the Law and Prophets

Another amazing part of this remarkable event was that Elijah and Moses appeared with the transfigured Jesus and talked with Him. You may remember that God took Elijah to Heaven without Elijah dying (2 Kings 2) and that God personally buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34). Elijah represented the Prophets and Moses represented the Law.

I’m reminded what Jesus told His disciples after His resurrection:

Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:44-45

The “transfiguration” of Jesus is one of more important events of His earthly ministry. It demonstrated clearly to His inner circle of disciples that Jesus was the Son of God and Son of Man. It also proved that He was on a special mission from God that connected directly to the Law and the Prophets. Jesus was the fulfillment of everything written in the Hebrew Bible.

What did Moses and Elijah say to Jesus? What did Jesus say to them? The Bible does not tell us. We don’t know if they spoke for a few seconds or a few minutes. We don’t know what Moses said, what Elijah said, or what Jesus said. That’s one of those secret things that belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29). However, the fact that Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses is something God revealed to Peter, James and John, and to us through the writings of Matthew and Mark. Whatever they talked about was certainly important and probably relevant to the Lord’s upcoming death and resurrection.

Moses had long before spoken about a Prophet who would come some day to the people of Israel and they would hear what He had to say:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear … And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. Deuteronomy 18:15, 17-18

Jesus was that promised Prophet.

Peter didn’t know what to say as he witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, and the appearance of Moses and Elijah. However, as was usual for the outspoken disciple, Peter said something:

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’— because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

Peter, James and John next saw a cloud overshadow them and heard a voice come out of the cloud:

‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’

These words were similar to what God the Father said at the baptism of Jesus:

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Mark 1:9-11

Just as quickly as the transfiguration began, it came to an end.

Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

There would be no time or need for Peter to build the three tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Jesus told them not to say anything to the other disciples, “till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” That was a direct reference to what Peter had rebuked Jesus about only days earlier. Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die and rise from the dead. Peter needed to accept that fact.

Jesus told Peter, James and John not to tell the other disciples what they had seen until He had risen from the dead. The inner-circle disciples did as they were told and kept what happened to themselves. They did question what the rising from the dead meant. They also asked Jesus why the scribes said that Elijah must come first. Jesus answered:

Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.

Peter, James and John then understood that Jesus was speaking about John the Baptist.

Next Time

Jesus was not finished telling His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to die and rise from the dead. We’ll look at that in more depth as we continue our special series, And Jesus Said.

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