Transfigured Faith
“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.” (II Peter 1:17-18 NKJV)
(https://www.bible.com/bible/114/2pe.1.17-18.nkjv)
In this passage, Peter is referencing what has come to be known in Christendom as The Transfiguration. He, James and John were the only eye-witnesses to this event. Interestingly, there is a parallel between that miraculous event and one at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry.
Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36 all three tell versions of the Transfiguration story, all three of them quoting at least part of Matthew’s account; “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’” (Matthew 17:5 NKJV).
Incredibly, this was the second time the Father had testified of Jesus. In Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew records, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV). Also recorded in Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22, both of these accounts relate it in the second person, spoken to Jesus, rather than about Him.
(The other notable thing which occurred during or just after the baptism of Jesus was that the Spirit was seen alighting on Him, like a dove. In John 1:32-34, John the Baptist says this evidence is what assured Him that Jesus was the Lamb of God.)
Imagine this, though. At His baptism, Jesus was affirmed as God’s chosen Messiah to John and those at the River Jordan that day. The Transfiguration utterance was a reaffirmation to these three key disciples of the same thing John had heard. “In case you were uncertain, He is the real deal,” God essentially told these three.
Then, in Matthew 17:9 Jesus gave them a curious order. “Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’” (Matthew 17:9 NKJV) Mark’s account in 9:9-10 indicates they obeyed, but wondered, “what the rising from the dead meant.” I can imagine after the shock of the resurrection, when they eventually remembered to tell their fellow disciples, there was among them some degree of consternation at being kept out of the loop on this momentous event.
What, then, was the point of this event, if they were not even allowed to share it with their fellow disciples? Consider the context. Just before this, presuming a fairly chronological reading of the events in Matthew, Jesus laid some heavy news on them. “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matthew 16:21 NKJV) Peter, the impetuous one, had drawn a rebuke from Jesus when he responded to this news, essentially, “No way, Lord!”
Shortly thereafter, this inner circle of His disciples were awakened from their slumber to see Jesus in all His glory. How amazing! Jesus, however, didn’t want this event to be the basis of faith for His followers. Instead, His resurrection needed to be the glue to which their faith was cemented.
The reported divine appearance to three men might be discounted as a dream or hallucination. Paul tells us that after His post-resurrection appearance to the Twelve, Jesus appeared to many. “After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.” (I Corinthians 15:6 NKJV)
In your walk with God, there will be times of glorious intervention, where you know that He has worked on your behalf. When I was around 8 years old, I had chronic ear infections which caused a lot of pain and threatened to cause hearing loss. My childlike faith was strengthened when, after my parents’ fervent prayers, I was suddenly and completely healed of those infections. The only problem with my ears thereafter was when I got popped right in the ear with a soccer ball, bursting my eardrum. That healing is something I’ve held onto throughout my life as a time when I experienced His healing touch.
But what about when your faith faces a time of spiritual death, when all hope seems to be gone? These times of glory help during such times but in the final analysis, it has to be as Jesus told Thomas. “. . . ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (John 20:29 NKJV).
The writer to the Hebrews said, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV) Are things looking tough right now? Hold on. Our God is faithful. He who raised Jesus from the dead will stand beside you.
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