“He was Transfigured.”
The Transfiguration of Christ
THIS GLORIOUS EVENT, which has with justification been termed one of the most astonishing of all our Lord’s experiences on earth, has received too little attention in contemporary teaching and preaching. The transfiguration was the one occasion on which the full glory of the Godhead was permitted to blaze forth. F. F. Bruce expresses the feeling of many when he says that the transfiguration is one of the passages in our Lord’s earthly history that an expositor would rather pass over in reverent silence, for who is able fully to speak of that wondrous night scene among the mountains, during which heaven was for a few brief moments let down to earth, and the mortal body of Jesus shone with celestial brightness?
Few the homages and small
That the guilty earth at all
Was permitted to accord
To her King and hidden Lord.
Dear to us for this account
Is the glory of the Mount,
When bright beams of light did spring
Through the sackcloth covering.
Rays of glory found their way
Through the garment of decay
With which, as a cloak, He had
His divinest splendour clad.
R. C. TRENCH
The location is almost certainly Mount Hermon and not Mount Tabor. Mark informs us that after the event, Jesus “departed thence, and passed through Galilee” (Mark 9:30) to Capernaum, and thence to Jerusalem. An intermediate visit from Caesarea to Tabor and then twenty miles to Capernaum would seem to be purposeless. Further, at that time Tabor was crowned with a fortified city, which would render it unsuitable for such a manifestation. The incidental mention of the cloud that enveloped them corresponds with the rapid cloud formation characteristic of Mount Hermon. Since it is recorded that the disciples were heavy with sleep, a nocturnal scene is doubtless described.
The memorable privilege of being present on this occasion was granted to only three disciples, our Lord’s intimates, Peter and James and John; intimates not because of favoritism, but because they more than the others were willing to pay the high price of following Him closely. Like them, we are each as close to the Lord as we really want to be.
For those three it was an unforgettable experience. In reading John’s record of it written half a century later, we can almost detect the awe in his words, “We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Peter too records the indelible impression the experience made on him, “We … were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The passing years had only served to deepen their awe and wonder.
This incident undoubtedly meant much to the God-man in the days of His humiliation. Following Peter’s great and comforting confession of His deity, the voice of His Father again confirmed to Him His divine Sonship. He had shared with the disciples the fact of His impending death, and now two heavenly visitants, Moses and Elijah, converse with Him about His “decease.” He had predicted that He would come again in glory, and now His disciples are given a foretaste of that glory.
In the absence of sympathy and spiritual dullness of His earthly friends, this interlude when He received fresh assurance of heaven’s approval would be greatly treasured. It would assure them, too, that He was not speaking empty words when He told them He would rise from the dead and meet the saints of old in a state of glory. Such a blessed experience would do much to nerve and strengthen Him for the grim ordeal that lay ahead.
It was before His disciples that He was transfigured (Mark 9:2). It was to them that the voice came from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5). To them the radiant sight must have held great significance, confirming as it did the Lord’s prediction of His impending death at Jerusalem. The vision of glory would reconcile them somewhat to His sufferings.
Then, too, His essential deity was manifested before them in such a way as to dispel doubt. The purpose of His mission to earth was interpreted to them by the two chosen representatives of Judaism. At last they were fully convinced of the preeminence of Christ, and the memory would help carry them over the coming days of gloom. The presence of Moses and Elijah would be to them the pledge of their own immortality. There was tangible evidence that the grave is not the end.
To these disciples there was granted a threefold vision.
A vision of His glory. “We beheld His glory,” was John’s comment. It appears as though the evangelists vie with each other in their endeavor to convey the impression of the glory of the Lord on that occasion. Matthew records that “His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow” (Mark 9:3; see also Matthew 17:2). Luke adds other elements: “The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering” (Luke 9:29). The “form of God” shone through the form of a servant (Philippians 2:6).
These descriptions make it clear that the illumination was not merely external, as from a spotlight. The change came from within, first the countenance and then the garments, which had the translucent whiteness of pure light. Common to all records are the two features of dazzling whiteness and blazing light. The word “glistering” means to emit flashes of light. Combining the three descriptions, we have the purity of snow, the majesty of lightning, and the beneficence of light emanating from the person of the Lord. Small wonder that Peter wanted the experience perpetuated!
Wilbur Smith maintains that we are justified in saying that there was some actual physical change in our Lord’s body. This is indicated in the use of the aorist tense—an actual change, not rays of light on His face and clothes. If it was, as would appear, a nocturnal scene, where would this bright light come from? The change they saw in His countenance was only the index, the visible manifestation of a change that had taken place in His whole body. His garments shone “from the emergence through them of the brilliant light emanating from the transfigured body of the Lord—an emanation from the fountain of light within.”
The glory on Moses’ face was merely reflected glory whereas that of Christ was from within. Is it without significance that it was “as He prayed” the fashion of His countenance was altered? Is that not still the method of transfiguration?
A vision of His cross. The central theme of conversation at this remarkable gathering is recorded: “[They] spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). The word translated “decease” is the same as the word “exodus.”
In the temple at Ravenna, there is a mosaic of the sixth century, which represents in emblematical form the transfiguration of Christ. A jewelled cross, set in the midst of a circle of blue, studded with golden stars, is presented to the eye of the observer. In the midst of the scene appears the cross of Christ, while from the cloud close by is thrust a divine hand that points to the cross. In the mind of the artist, the cross was the center of the transfiguration scene. To unregenerate man, the cross is an offense, but to the inhabitants of heaven, far from being a disgrace, it is a glory and honor.
It is natural to ask why Moses and Elijah were chosen for this sacred rendezvous rather than, say, Abraham and Ezekiel. Was it because they were the only two who had experienced a revelation from God in which He caused a manifestation of Himself to pass before them (Exodus 33:17–23; 1 Kings 19:9–13)? Was it because of the peculiar nature of their own “exodus” that they were chosen to speak with Him of His exodus?
In any case it was most fitting that Moses and Elijah, the acknowledged representatives of the law and the prophets should foregather with Jesus on the mount. According to the rabbinic legend, Moses had died by a kiss of the mouth of God, and Elijah had been translated to the accompaniment of a whirlwind and a chariot of fire. These were the heavenly ambassadors, commissioned by the Father to converse with His Son concerning His “exodus.” The two representatives of Judaism surrendered their seals of office to their Master and Lord.
As the disciples listened in to heaven’s sacred conversation, they were led to look at the impending death of their Lord from the viewpoint of heaven rather than from that of the world. We too need a new vision of the centrality and cruciality of the cross in God’s program.
A vision of His coming. In recalling his impression of the mountain scene, Peter wrote, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). He saw in that momentous event a foreshadowing of “His power and coming.” Could there be, in miniature, a clearer picture of the outstanding features of His advent?
How will He come? As He appeared on the Transfiguration mount, “with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30). “He cometh with clouds” (Revelation 1:7). “[He] shall come in his [own] glory” (Matthew 25:31).
Who will meet Him? Those of whom Moses was a representative, “The dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). “Them also which sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). And those of whom Elijah was a representative—those who are translated at His coming and never see death. “We which are alive and remain shall be caught up … so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Could this be the explanation of the cryptic words of Jesus that precede the account of the scene? “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). It was a momentary glimpse of the kingdom to be set up when Christ returns in power to reign.
Moses and Elijah departed. The heavenly voice was silent. The clouds dispersed. “They saw no man any more save JESUS ONLY.”