As Jesus’s ministry was coming to a close, He intentionally spent more and more time with the disciples in order to prepare them for His death and the trials they would face in the days that followed.
Despite His repeated explanations to them that the salvation of man could only be accomplished through His death, the disciples had a hard time accepting this. They had been pre-conditioned for their entire lives to believe that the Messiah would set up His temporal kingdom here on earth when He appeared. Yet, now, He told them He would have to die. This was so difficult to accept.
You can read the Biblical accounts of the transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9: 2-13, and Luke 9:28-36.
After a long day of healing and teaching people, Jesus led Peter, James and John up a steep rugged mountain where He would proceed to spend hours in prayer with His Father. The prayers He offered were not for Himself alone, but also for the disciples He had chosen to bring with Him.
He had opened their minds to the humiliation and shameful death that he would endure. Peter especially had great difficulty accepting this contemptible revelation and insisted it could not be. To this Peter was rebuked for his unbelief. Jesus went on to explain to His disciples that they must also suffer for His name, endure humiliation, reproach and shame, or they could never share in His future glory.
As they heard the unmistakable words that Jesus, who lived a life of a humble, homeless wanderer, would soon die the death as a criminal, a great sadness enslaved their hearts. It seemed unimaginable that the Son of God should have to endure such a cruel, shameful humiliation.
Jesus understood the perplexity and anguish of His disciples and wished to give them additional proof of His being the Son of God. He desired that their faith would not fail them in the sorrowful days to come. At Jesus’ command, the weary disciples accompanied Jesus up the side of the steep mountain and though they tried to pray with Him, as the darkness closed in sleep overtook them.
Jesus continued to pray, pleading with His Father that the sleeping disciples would witness such a manifestation of his divinity as to forever remove all doubt and unbelief from their minds that He was anything except the long awaited Messiah. He wanted to give them comfort and assurance that He surely was the Son of God. They must not forget that His death was a part of the plan of salvation for fallen man.
Our Father heard the petition of our Lord and Saviour and granted His request.
He sent Moses and Elijah, who had been previously taken to heaven, to come and engage in conversation with Jesus about His coming sufferings in Jerusalem. They were chosen since they had lived upon earth as men, had experienced sorrow and suffering, they could sympathize with Jesus in His trials while here on earth.
As the disciples slept in the darkness of the night, a sudden flood of glory illuminated the mountain top awakening them. They struggled to focus their eyes upon the divine glorious sight. In front of them they saw Jesus, standing in God-like majesty, in the purest white and glittering garments, brighter than the sun.
In answer to our Lord’s prayer, the heavens had opened, revealing the golden gates of the City of God with a holy radiance surrounding a glorified Jesus, as well as Moses and Elijah. In this unearthly brilliancy, the disciples witnessed Jesus’ countenance now shining with a serene light, so much different from how they had seen him in a few hours earlier. Now Jesus stood before them glorified and exalted with clothes emitting brilliant beams of light.
As Peter recognized His Lord with Moses and Elijah, he joyfully said, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses and one for Elias.” Peter had once again briefly forgotten the frequent explanation from Jesus that the plan of salvation could only occur through his own suffering and death. Moses and Elijah had not come to establish Jesus in a temporal earthy kingdom at this time. They had come to encourage Jesus as well as to reveal Jesus in His true glory to the disciples.
God our Father, ever watching and listening, immediately appeared in a cloud of glory and spoke from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” The disciples heard the voice of God with accents of majesty and the mount trembled as if shaken from its foundation. They could not endure the grandeur that overwhelmed their senses and fell stricken to the ground. Not until Jesus spoke to them to “Arise, be not afraid”, did they dare to look up from the ground where they lay. Once again, they were there alone with Jesus. The divine glorious radiance that had shown on Jesus, along with Moses and Elijah, was now gone.
The morning soon came and Jesus, with His disciples, descended the mountain to the people awaiting them below. As they descended Jesus told the disciples, “Tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead.” He knew that the other disciples, nor the people, would be able to appreciate or understand this incredible scene that they had had the privilege to witness. Rather, after his resurrection, their testimony of this event should be given to prove that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. They themselves were eye witnesses.
These three disciples had been very privileged to witness this glorification of Jesus in advance of His coming into His Kingdom in the future. And Peter was faithful to relate this testimony to people as we read in 2 Peter 1:16-18:
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 2 Peter 1:16-18
What a loving, compassionate and merciful Saviour we have. Even as He was about go through His terrible time of suffering and death for us, His concern was for His beloved disciples that they should have no reason to disbelieve or doubt His mission as the Son of God. And we can be assured that Jesus is the Son of God as well.
I'm here 😊