Transfiguration of Our Lord—We Saw His Glory
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now as they came down from the mountain, having seen Jesus’ face shine like the sun and His clothes becoming as white as light, and Moses and Elijah talking with the Lord, and the voice of the Father in heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:1–5), as they came down after witnessing all of this great glory and majesty, Jesus commanded Peter, James, and John, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead” (Matthew 17:9).
The Lord shows Peter, James, and John His true divine majesty, shown forth out of His truly human body and soul. He shows them that He really is the Light of the world (John 8:12). He shows Peter, James, and John that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), as Moses, who was given the Law—the Torah—and Elijah the prophet speak with Him, speak with Jesus, concerning His exodus which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:30–31), and then as a fulfillment.
Showing this fulfillment of all that had been written concerning Jesus in the Law and the Prophets (Luke 24:44), the Father proclaims, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him” (Matthew 17:5). And when Peter, James, and John heard this voice of the Father, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid” (Matthew 17:6–7). And then when they had lifted up their eyes, Moses and Elijah were not there anymore, but only Jesus.
The old has passed away in fulfillment—not being abolished, but fulfilled—and now the new has come (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 8:13). They see no one but Jesus only.
The Lord shows these great and glorious truths to Peter, James, and John, and then instructs them not to tell anyone about it until after He has died and risen from the dead.
Why? Why not show this vision to the Twelve? Why not show it to the scribes, the lawyers, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees? Why not show it to Herod, to Pontius Pilate, to Annas and Caiaphas?
It is for the same reason that it is written that after Jesus fed over five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone (John 6:5–15). The same reason that Jesus did not pray to His Father to provide Him with more than twelve legions of angels to prevent His arrest, torture, and murder (Matthew 26:53).
Our Lord Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom, as a price of payment to purchase you and me for Himself—away from sin, away from death, away from unbelief, away from the devil and his power—and to satisfy God’s wrath against you and me for our sin (Mark 10:45; Isaiah 53:10–11; Romans 3:25).
That is why He only shows it to Peter, James, and John and tells them not to tell anyone about it until after He has risen from the dead.
I find it amazing that out of all of the Twelve, Jesus chooses Peter, James, and John. Not long before this Transfiguration of our Lord, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day (Matthew 16:21). He tells them that, and in response to this Peter rebuked Jesus, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” And Jesus turned and said to him, “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” (Matthew 16:22–23).
He calls him Satan just before the Transfiguration, and then Peter would also deny our Lord three times after our Lord’s arrest (Matthew 26:69–75). Jesus knows all this is going to happen, but He decides to show His Transfiguration to Peter.
Not long after the Transfiguration of our Lord, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory” (Mark 10:35–37).
But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John (Mark 10:38–41).
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42–45).
It was to these men—Peter, James, and John—that our Lord decided to reveal the bright light of His true divinity. It was to the man called Satan, destined to deny our Lord three times, and to the brothers who presumptuously, vying for the highest seats in the kingdom next to Jesus, asked Him for it. It was to these men that our Lord gave this great and glorious type in vision fair.
And He told them to keep it to themselves until He died for the sins of the whole world and rose from the dead as proof of His divine Sonship and the Father’s acceptance of His death for our sins—not to say anything about it until after that happened.
Our Lord Jesus revealed His light, His divine majesty, to these men who most needed it—to prepare them for the afflictions they would face very soon: the shame and guilt of denying their beloved God and Savior out of cowardice, and the foolishness of acting like the Gentiles and lusting after worldly power, abandoning the Lord at His most dire hour.
But it was not just to prepare them for the affliction of failure. The Lord revealed this vision of His divine glory, and the Father’s voice, and Moses and Elijah—they are talking with Jesus about His exodus that He would accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). He revealed it to these men to prepare them for the work He had planned for them to accomplish after His saving death and His victorious resurrection from the dead.
Our Lord graciously chose these weak, sinful, and power-hungry men, showed them who He really was, so that they would know, when it came to pass, who it really was that was being arrested, beaten, stripped naked, nailed to the cross, mocked and spat upon, crying out to the Father in heaven, breathing His last and giving up the ghost (Matthew 27:27–50).
So that when they saw these things, they would know who was enduring this and why He was enduring it—so that they would know that it was not just a man. It was not just their dear friend. It was not just their beloved Teacher of three or so years. This was their God. This was their Creator. This was “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed).
With Peter, James, and John, we can also speak these words:
“We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16–18).
Our Lord wanted these weak, sinful, fickle men, prone to fear and doubt, to know that when they saw Him suffer, die, and rise from the dead, it was not just a man doing these things. No mere man can by any means redeem his brother. This is what Scripture says: “No man can redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of their souls is costly, and it shall cease forever—that he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit” (Psalm 49:7–9).
He wanted Peter, who desired to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, to see that He did not need a tent, a tabernacle made with human hands. He wanted these men—Peter, James, and John—to see that Christ Himself came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation; not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11–12).
His human body is that greater and more perfect tabernacle, that tent of meeting not made with human hands, containing the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9), shining brighter than the sun, shining like the sun and white as light.
They were shown the vision, they fell, and they were restored. And the Lord strengthened each of them to carry out their callings faithfully, even unto death.
Peter, that one who once was called Satan and that wept bitterly after denying his Lord three times out of cowardice, would boldly preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ—that He died for the sins of the world, and that He rose from the dead, and that He would come to judge the living and the dead (Acts 2:22–36; Acts 10:42). And he did this even to the point of being crucified himself (John 21:18–19).
James would preach that same God and Savior with great boldness, with Peter and the other Apostles being beaten for it in the Book of Acts, but then going out and giving thanks that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s name (Acts 5:40–41). This one who had seen the Lord’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration—then he, James, would die by the sword at the hand of King Herod for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 12:1–2).
And John, his brother, would write the Gospel, his letters to us, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ that we still hear read in the Church today (John 20:31; 1 John 1:1–4; Revelation 1:1–3). And he would endure rejection, torture, and exile for the sake of the Lord who graciously chose to reveal His glory even before He was exalted at the right hand of the Father—before His Passion and death—to strengthen them.
They suffered all this knowing who it was that suffered, died, and rose for them before they endured these afflictions, because they did not follow cleverly devised myths, made-up fairy tales. They saw the Lord’s glory. They saw the divine majesty working in, with, and through the true humanity—the true human flesh and blood—of Jesus. They heard God the Father in heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Hear Him” (Matthew 17:5).
And we now—because they were strengthened by their Lord, Him revealing His glory to them, Him giving His Holy Spirit to them, and their witness now that we hear even today—we now have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).
Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20–21).
We have the light, through their testimony, that will shine on our path in this present evil age to lead us through failure, through affliction, and through death—the same as them—into the blessed Kingdom, where we, with all the righteous, will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father (Matthew 13:43).
For if in Holy Baptism we have been united with Christ in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We will be glorified with Him. We will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father (Romans 6:5; Matthew 13:43).
Because that is what He is showing them too. They know, as they are being crucified—Peter being crucified upside down, James being killed by the sword, John being boiled in oil, exiled, suffering, being rejected—they know what glory they had to look forward to.
We do not have words from St. James. He was killed before he wrote a letter. But we have words from St. Peter and St. John. Let us listen to them.
Hear it from St. Peter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Hear it from St. John: Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Let us pray. O merciful and everlasting God, heavenly Father, we thank You that You have revealed to us the glory of Your Son and let the light of Your Gospel shine on us. We pray that You would guide us by this light, that we may walk diligently as Christians in all good works, always be strengthened by Your grace, and conduct our lives in all godliness; through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
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