Tags
Bible Study, Bible themes; Revelation;, Colossians 1:16, Elijah, Exodus, Glory of God, Law and Prophets, Luke 9:28-36, Moses, Revelation 1:16, Romans 3:21-22, Three Tents, Transfiguration
Do you have a favorite class from High School or College? Not necessarily one in your field of study, but just one you enjoyed for the kind of work you got to do. I loved Literature classes. Be it Shakespeare, American Literature, or Classics, I love reading something where the author has put meaning into choices he made about everything, even minor details of the story. Many times, the connections do not become clear until you have read the whole story, but then you can look back and see a fullness that you might have missed before.
Of course, God is the master of this, and the Bible is full of richness and detail that we can only begin to understand. But I still love when I see new connections and shades of meaning in the details of events described in its pages. I recently got a new clarity of details in the accounts of The Transfiguration of Jesus from a sermon by our pastor, Paul Browne, at New Life OPC. The event is described in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and mentioned in John and Peter’s second letter. For now, I will share Luke’s account with you.
Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. (Luke 9:28-36)
“These sayings” were Jesus telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem and die and then be raised, which was understandably hard for them to accept. And then Peter makes the first confession of Jesus as the Messiah, and infamously tells Jesus He should not go to Jerusalem to be killed. I would imagine this would cause some uneasiness among the Apostles- especially after Jesus rebukes Peter and calls him Satan!
So Jesus takes a few with him to go up on a mountain to pray- communicate with His heavenly Father. And as he prays, the appearance of Jesus’ face is altered. It is shining forth some of His glory, which is veiled in His flesh. God gives Peter, James and John a glimpse of the glory which Christ has set aside to come to earth as a man. John is given another chance to see this in his vision of Christ returning, recorded for us in Revelation.In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (Revelation 1:16) They are given a preview of the fully glorified body Jesus will have at His return.
Even his clothing is altered in appearance. This is a symbol of how He will renew all of creation at His triumphant return. Of course, not just his face, but his whole body is glorified, so the radiance of His body shining from underneath this clothing just accentuates the pure whiteness of it. I find it amazing that all three of the men recording this noticed the brightness of his clothes. Not many men that I know of pay much attention to clothing that others are wearing. This must have been truly remarkable for all three men to make note of it. Can we even begin to imagine how extraordinary the renewed heavens and earth will be?
And we will have glorified, radiant, perfected bodies. You know, Adam and Eve were created with perfect bodies, and they were naked and unashamed. Will we even need clothing in the new creation? An interesting question that does not seem to be answered in Scripture.
Next the disciples see two men talking with Jesus, who also appear “in glory”, and the disciples identify them as Moses and Elijah. We are not told how they recognize these Old Testament figures, but however God revealed it to them, it is plain. Why Moses and Elijah? They represent the Law and the Prophets of the Old Covenant. And they are confirming the Apostle’s discovery of who Christ is, the Messiah, the one promised by the Old Covenant to “crush the head” of Satan. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. (Romans 3:21-22a) And these two are speaking with Jesus of his departure. The word used here is actually Exodus, which again serves to tie God’s rescue of His people, as He did from Egypt, with what Christ is about to do in Jerusalem.
Of course Peter then makes another of his infamous blunders, which scripture faithfully records for us, to keep us from the same errors. He speaks of making tents! Again, there are many levels to this error. First it seems that Peter is still trying to avoid the cross. He wants to stay there on the mountaintop with the glorified Jesus. He does not think about the fact that tents are temporary, and what Jesus wants to do is permanent. God did not stay in the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. Peter is also putting the Law and the Prophets on equal footing as Jesus, wanting to make three equal tents. But God does not allow this error to go unchecked.
God appears, His glory veiled in a cloud, just as he appeared to Israel in the wilderness. And God speaks similar words to those He spoke at Jesus baptism. These words confirm His identity, His authority, and for Jesus they provide encouragement and strengthening for what He is about to undertake. And then the Apostles saw Jesus alone….and that is the point. For it is in speaking of Jesus that Paul says, For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.(Colossians 1:16)
Soli Deo Gloria,
Diane