Peter, James and John were frightened by the Transfiguration. Something was happening that they didn’t fully understand.
In order to calm them, Jesus touched them. (v. 7)
This story teaches us at least three reasons we all need the Master’s touch of courage.
For one thing, these men would need enCOURAGEment for coming conflicts. Peter, James and John made up what has come to be known as Christ’s "inner circle". They were the only ones present with Jesus on several occasions. They were there at Gethsemane; at the raising of Jairus’ daughter, etc.
Why were they the only ones to accompany Christ in these situations? Could be they were the only ones that wanted to. We’re not told. But isn’t it interesting to note that, more than any others, these three men were the three most influential leaders in the early church in Jerusalem?
Could it be that Jesus was giving them an opportunity to experience these wonderful events because He knew they would need the enlightenment and enCOURAGEment they would provide for their responsibilities?
Perhaps you would like to be an "inner circle" Christian. Well help yourself, because the closer you get to Christ, the more elbow room there is. Yes, the closer you get to Christ the more glory you get to see! But not everyone wants to experience that which will make them more useful for Christ.
If the Roman officials had seen Christ’s transfiguration they would have tried to discover the origin of the bright light so they could use it to blind their enemies.
If the Jewish religious hypocrites had seen it they would have disregarded it since it didn’t originate with them.
The Greek philosophers of the day would probably have tried to explain it away. We Americans would probably have tried to sell tickets.
But these men, who were privileged to witness this demonstration of the perfect harmony of spirit and body that will again one day coexist when believers are made partakers of His glory in eternity, would be able to take courage from it in the future.
It must have been an awesome scene! Jesus, both Divine and human at the same time, talking with Moses and Elijah! Moses could testify that Christ is the rock from which springs forth the water of life. (Exodus 17:6; 1 Corinthians 10:4) Elijah could testify that Christ was the barrel of meal that wastes not and the cruise of oil that never fails - the Bread of Life! (1 Kings 17:16)
Simon Peter sees the Lord with these two men and thinks he ought to say something. "This is great! Let’s build some houses here! I’d kind of like to stick around this scene." But of course, Simon Peter missed the meaning of the miraculous. This is often our trouble too.
But before Peter’s comments can echo off the mount, the voice of the Father from heaven thunders, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him."
This wasn’t a time for talking, it was a time for listening, and listening to Jesus the Son is the same as listening to God the Father.
The purpose of the miracle was to confirm the credentials of the Son. These men would need to be sure He was the Son.
One day they would arrest Peter and John and tell them not to preach any more in the name of Jesus. (Acts 4) The threats didn’t work. They had seen too much to lose their courage.
One day Herod would kill James because it pleased the Jews. (Acts 12) James could face death courageously because of what he had seen and heard.
One day they would place John on Patmos in exile for preaching about Jesus. What a mistake the devil made! This courageous man wrote the Revelation of Jesus Christ on that island!
It takes courage to speak of Jesus today. To say that He is the only way to the Father and heaven today is to insult many people. We can’t help it. The Word reveals its true and the Holy Spirit within us gives us the power to stand courageously alone if need be.
But not only do we need courage for conflict, we FIND courage through worship. Since Moses and Elijah are both with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, we can use experiences from either one of their ministries to prove this point. Let’s look at Moses.
This is holy ground scripture. Moses probably had his shoes off again, like the time he saw the burning fiery bush on the backside of the desert.
"As he came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb, and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, draw not hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place wherein thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." (Exodus 3:1-6)
You and I know the rest of this story. God is using this adrenaline-activating experience to call Moses into service. God was calling Moses to be more than a wilderness scout - he is going to need great courage to face obstacles and enemies.
The first thing Moses said was, "Who, me?" (Exodus 3:11), to which God replied, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God in this mountain." (Exodus 3:12)
The Hebrew word translated "serve", can mean to work or worship. The context determines the proper usage, and serving God by worshipping Him is generally agreed to be the concept in mind in this passage.
God is assuring Moses by telling him that He will meet with him again! "I’m not leaving you on your own Moses. Every time you serve me in worship you will be enCOURAGEd, strengthened and motivated to keep on working for Me. If you lift me up Moses, I will lift you up!"
Succinctly put: if we need lifting up, then we need to worship God often and intensely!
Jesus was teaching this same principle on the Mount of Transfiguration. The inner circle disciples would have the glory of God witnessed in worship as an impetus for their courage.
We too can witness the glory of God when we serve Him by worshipping Him!
Finally, the transfiguration experience would remind them of their unworthiness.
When you get a good grasp of what God is like, you see yourself in a better light. That was Isaiah’s experience.
"In the year King Uziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
How unusual. Here the prophet of God, who usually pronounced "woes" on others, pronounced one on himself! "Woe is me."
Isaiah had the same experience the inner circle had on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw the light of God and one would later write: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5b)
Courage doesn’t come from seeing your greatness. It comes from seeing God’s glory!
Speaking of courage, former Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Guliani recently wrote:
"I remember one particular firefighter. He’d gotten hurt the day before September 11th, and that morning, just after the doctor informed him that he couldn’t go back to duty for several weeks, he heard about the attack. And instead of going home, he raced to a nearby firehouse. All the firefighters had gone to the World Trade Center, so he put on some gear and wrote a not explaining why he had taken it. Then he wrote, ’Please tell my mother and father that I love them very much and that I owe everything to them.’"
"I try to recreate in my mind what he did. He drove across the Brooklyn Bridge - and to drive across the Brooklyn Bridge on the morning of September 11, you had to feel that you were driving into hell. You saw an inferno unlike anything I could possibly describe to you. He had every reason not to go. He was injured; he had been told not to report for duty - but he drove there. He went into one of the buildings and he saved people, twice, and then he went in again right before it collapsed, and he died."
"Think of the courage that he had. It wasn’t a lack of fear. Courage isn’t the lack of fear. Courage is all about being afraid, but being able to do what you have to do anyway. Courage is knowing you’re going into the worst fire you’ll ever face and that you may never return. But it’s also understanding that you’re a firefighter, that you can carry people down. Maybe I can’t do that, maybe you can’t do that, but he could do that. That’s what his life was about; that’s what he swore to do."
Followers of Christ find themselves in fearful situations sometimes. But we need to be able to do what we have to do anyway. That’s what our life is about.
There is One who sacrificed His all for us. If we keep our eyes on Jesus He will touch us with His courage.
