Text: “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2).
You have heard this Scripture many times. Have you ever thought about what it really means? The word “transfigure” means to radically change in appearance.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines transfiguration as “a radical transformation of figure or appearance; metamorphosis.” The word metamorphosis is a big word, but we all learned about this during our school years. We might have forgotten the word, but we can recall a prime example of the process.
We all have seen the butterfly. It is usually very pretty in color and neat to watch as it goes from one plant or flower to another. The truth of the matter is the butterfly was not always pretty. There are 4 stages to the life cycle of the butterfly. There is the egg; larva; pupa, and then the adult.
When the egg hatches, a caterpillar emerges. We have all seen a caterpillar in our day. After the caterpillar becomes fully grown, a change takes place. It forms itself into a pupa or cocoon. The outside changes are visible, but the real change is taking place inside the cocoon, also called a chrysalis.
Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar is changing into a beautiful butterfly. This change is called metamorphosis. This is a radical or drastic transformation or change from caterpillar to butterfly.
When Jesus went upon the mountain with His three disciples a transformation or metamorphosis took place. The Scripture about the Transfiguration occurs in Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36. The three disciples actually saw as Jesus was glorified.
These three disciples, Peter, James and John knew Jesus only in His human form, but He was more than that. He wanted His disciples to see Him in His heavenly glory so that they could better understand Him. Jesus needed to demonstrate His deity or divinity or His holy being to His disciples.
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves” (Matthew 17:1). This was six days after Jesus had informed His disciples about His death and His Resurrection.
Why would Jesus take the disciples to a high mountain? Why didn’t He just call them aside or why didn’t Jesus meet with them in a room and carry through with the Transfiguration? He must have had a reason or maybe many reasons He chose the high mountain.
Jesus chose the mountain because He wanted a private place for what was about to happen. The Transfiguration had to happen away from the public because many did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Besides that, you may recall that whenever Jesus talked to the Father through prayer, he always did so in private.
He knew that in privacy there would be no distractions, thus He would give all His attention to the Father. Also, the Father would be able to direct all His attention to the Son.
If we are going to have a transforming or changing relationship bringing us closer to God, we must ascend higher by lifting up our heart and looking beyond what the world has to offer. Jesus took His disciples up to the top of the mountain, but we don’t have to do that. We can seek a private place so as not to be distracted and we can pour out our hearts desire to the Father and He will hear us and we will be transformed as He changes us from the inside out.
Our bodies will remain the same, just as Jesus’ body remained the same when He was transfigured. The real change will take place in our heart and that change will radiate from us to people around us.
Jesus physical body did not change into a spirit. His weak looking human body which was about to take great abuse appeared in power and in glory.
“His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). The disciples knew Jesus by His face just as we recognize people by their face. If we saw a picture of someone from the neck down, there is a good chance we would not be able to recognize them. A person’s face is the identifying part of his or her body.
Jesus’ face shined like the sun. The sun is bright and the sun is powerful. When His face shined in His glory, it indicated to the disciples a tremendous amount of strength. His face was bright and very clear.
Think for a moment when the sky is cloudy. The sun is still up there, but because of the clouds it is not visible. When the cloud barrier separates, the bright sun then shines forth through the separation with a great amount of light, heat and radiance. Jesus’ radiant face was like the sun breaking through the clouds.
Scripture tells us that His clothes also appeared “…white as the light” (v. 2). The shining of Jesus’ face was due to divine light which also shined on His clothes revealing the white robe of the Messiah. White indicates purity and a white robe is the robe of a high priest.
Jesus took three disciples with Him to the mountain top. These three, Peter, James and John were very close to Jesus. They comprised His innermost circle. They were like His cabinet or His right hand men. These disciples would witness the pain and agony Jesus would soon suffer.
“And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him” (Matthew 17:3). Why did Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus? The two men were glorified saints from the Old Testament times.
Both these men were prophets. Moses represents the Law. He penned the words of the first 5 books of the Bible which is known as the Pentateuch. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Moses predicted the coming of the Messiah. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). The prophet referred to is Jesus Christ.
Elijah was one of the great prophets who told about the coming of the Messiah. Malachi 4:5-6 says, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
After the death of Malachi, he being the last prophet, there would be silence for the next 400 years. The Elijah who would appear before the coming of the Lord would be John the Baptist.
Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come” (Matthew 11:12-14).
Upon witnessing the Transfiguration, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (v. 4).
Why did Peter make such a statement? Maybe Peter made the statement because he was so excited about what he saw and wanted to make a memorial for all to see. Perhaps, Peter wanted to honor the two great men of the past by building a shelter or memorial. Maybe what Peter said was said without him thinking and the words were not under his control. We really don’t know.
“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” (v. 6) A cloud came over Jesus, Moses, Elijah and the disciples. There are numerous times recorded in the Old Testament when a cloud appeared. The cloud was something the people could see and indicated God’s presence.
It is interesting to note that this cloud was a bright cloud. The instances in the Old Testament involved thick dark clouds. It is understandable that a dark cloud presents a feeling of fear, terror or oppression. On the other hand, a bright cloud gives the feeling and impression of joy, independence and love. This bright cloud expressed or communicated a sense of spiritual being.
Then God spoke to them through the cloud, and “…they fell facedown to the ground, terrified” (v. 6). God did not speak in a loud thundering voice. There was no fanfare such as trumpets or lightning, but God spoke through a small still voice. God speaks to us through the same still small voice. We have no reason to be frightened or terrified.
Jesus touched each one of the fallen disciples and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid” (v. 7). This is exactly what Jesus does when we reach the very bottom of life or when we are fearful or frightened. He touches us and tells us not to be afraid because He is with us. He promised us that He would always be with us. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Conclusion:
When the disciples came down from the mountain, Jesus was by their side. When we leave the church service where we have been worshipping Almighty God, Jesus must leave with us just as He left with the disciples. The experience of seeing the Transfiguration placed them as close to God as was possible, but realty was going to reappear.
The disciples saw Christ in His glory. There was no doubt in their mind that He was the Messiah. Jesus said to the disciples “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (v. 9).
He said this because He knew the disciples did not fully understand what they had seen and since they didn’t fully understand, it would be impossible for them to explain it to anyone. The disciples would soon learn much more about the death and resurrection of Jesus and His glory would be confirmed.
The Transfiguration experience gave Jesus encouragement as He faced the Cross. This event involved glory in addition to suffering. God placed His approval for His Son to be our Sin bearer. Lastly, the Transfiguration paved the way to glory in which Jesus would ultimately reign.
Amen.
