Classic Problems That The Disciples Faced Series

“Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. (29) As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. (30) And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, (31) who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. (32) But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him”

Four men had scaled the mountain but when the disciples awoke (v. 32) they found Jesus in the company of two more men (Moses and Elijah) who had appeared out of nowhere. These two Old Testament witnesses highlight that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament hope, as representatives of the law and the prophets.

For a moment the veil of Jesus’ humanity was drawn back to reveal His divine glory.

Peter in his excitement asks Jesus if three booths should be built. In verse thirty-three Peter says, “Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. (34) While he was saying this, a cloud came and over-shadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. (35) And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"

Unfortunately Peter seems to put Jesus and Moses and Elijah all on the same spiritual level, which of course they are not. Peter wants to preserve this magical moment. The Father interrupts Peter when he bathed the scene in a cloud of glory and speaks out of the cloud commending his son. In addition to telling them that Jesus is his beloved son, part of what the father reminds the disciples of is their responsibility to, “hear him” – that is that they must pay attention to what Jesus is saying. There is no need for three booths, they just need to listen to one voice, that of Jesus. We still have the timeless challenge to listen to the voice of Jesus today. How Peter’s desire to remain on the mount is dealt with is a reminder to us that as with all wonderful spiritual experiences, they are not intended to the basis of our Christian walk. Experiences come and go but the word of God remains. That is why the Father said “Hear Him” and it is a lesson the apparently Peter never forgot. For in his retelling of the experience in 2 Peter 1:16-21 it leads him to reiterate the importance of the word of God. Peter suggests they build three booths and stay forever, he wanted to preserve this spiritual high point, instead the very next day they returned to the valley and the needy crowds below. This is exactly what Peter wanted to avoid, contact with needy people. But Jesus moved from the mountaintop to the valley of need, because that is where the gospel is really relevant. The only real way to preserve the value of a spiritual experience is to use it, and that is what Jesus is doing when he comes down from the mountain. True faith is meeting God in the private place and then serving God in the marketplace. We dare not try to stay on the mountain top when there is a battle going on down in the valley. Mountaintop experiences are only given to us for strength and encouragement to continue the battle to meet the daily needs of a needy world in the plains below.