Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
MATTHEW 17:4
How often did Peter say and do exactly what we might have done—if we’d been there and had the nerve? He walked on water, after all! It seems like he was always running ahead or sticking his foot in his mouth. At times he probably felt foolish, as when he cut off the servant’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In Matthew 17, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain by themselves. While they were there, “he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light” (v. 2).
Can you imagine what it would have been like to see that? Just being one of Jesus’ disciples must have been extraordinary to begin with . . . but to see Him transformed in that way is impossible to grasp. Then, as if that weren’t enough, Moses and Elijah appeared and started talking with Jesus!
Who can blame Peter for losing his head? He was so entranced, he wanted to put up shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah so they could all stay there.
It’s unlikely that any of us has experienced anything to match what Peter saw that day. But like Peter, we often want to linger too long in our own mountaintop experiences. Scripture does not record the details of what Jesus, Elijah, and Moses talked about, but you can be sure there was a purpose for their conversation. God has a purpose for each of our mountaintop experiences, too. It may be to strengthen our faith or teach us something new. Maybe He wants to expand our vision or clarify our understanding of who He is. There are countless possibilities.
Whatever gift God has for us, we can’t stop time and bathe in it indefinitely. We have to absorb it and trek back down the mountain to our everyday reality, where our new understanding can influence our whole life. That’s what it’s for.