The Hero

Jesus Transfigured

Picture: Jesus Transfigured 3TC 273.1

This chapter is based on Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36.

Evening was approaching when Jesus called Peter, James, and John to join Him and led them far up a lonely mountainside. They had spent the day traveling and teaching, and the climb added to their weariness. Soon the sun disappeared, and the travelers were wrapped in darkness. The gloom of their surroundings seemed in harmony with their sorrowful lives, around which clouds were gathering. 3TC 273.2

The disciples did not dare to ask Christ where He was going or for what purpose. He had often spent entire nights in the mountains in prayer. He was at home with nature and enjoyed its quiet. Yet the disciples wondered why their Master would lead them up this steep climb when they were tired and when He, too, needed rest. 3TC 273.3

Soon Christ told them that they should not go farther. Stepping aside a little distance from them, the Man of Sorrows poured out His prayer with tears. He prayed for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity. He must gain a fresh hold on Omnipotence, for only then could He contemplate the future. And He poured out His heart-longings for His disciples, that their faith would not fail. The dew was heavy on His bowed form, but He paid no attention to it. So the hours passed slowly by. 3TC 274.1

At first the disciples united their prayers with His, but after a time they fell asleep. Jesus had told them about His sufferings and had longed to lighten their grief by assuring them that their faith had not been misplaced. Not all, even of the Twelve, could receive the revelation He wanted to give. He had chosen only the three disciples who would witness His anguish in Gethsemane to be with Him on the mountain. Now He prayed that they might witness a scene that would comfort them at the time of His supreme agony with the knowledge that He was truly the Son of God and that His shameful death was part of the plan of redemption. 3TC 274.2

God heard His prayer. Suddenly the heavens opened and holy radiance came down on the mountain, covering the Savior’s form. Divinity from within flashed through humanity and met the glory coming from above. Arising from His position facedown on the ground, Christ stood in godlike majesty. His face was shining “like the sun,” and His garments were “white as the light.” 3TC 274.3

The disciples woke up and gazed in fear and amazement on the radiant form of their Master. As they became able to endure the supernatural light, they saw two heavenly beings beside Jesus—Moses, who on Sinai had talked with God, and Elijah, who experienced the high privilege of never coming under the power of death. 3TC 274.4

Because of his sin at Meribah, Moses was not allowed to enter Canaan. The joy of leading Israel into the inheritance of their fathers was not for him. A wilderness grave was his after forty years of toil and heart-burdening care. Moses passed under the dominion of death, but he did not remain in the tomb. Christ Himself called him back to life. See Jude 9. 3TC 274.5

On the mount of transfiguration, Moses represented those who will come out from the grave in the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented people living at Christ’s second coming, who will be “changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. Jesus was clothed as He will appear when He comes the second time “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38; see Hebrews 9:28. On the mountain the disciples saw the future kingdom of glory in miniature—Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen redeemed, and Elijah representing the translated ones. 3TC 275.1

Peter Seriously Misunderstands

The disciples rejoiced to see the favored ones of heaven honor the meek and lowly One, who had wandered this earth as a helpless stranger. They believed that Elijah had come to announce that the kingdom was about to be set up on earth. They longed to linger here. Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” The disciples were confident that God had sent Moses and Elijah to protect their Master and establish His authority as king. 3TC 275.2

But the cross must come before the crown. Bearing the weakness of humanity, burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone among us. As the darkness of the coming ordeal pressed in on Him, His spirit was lonely in a world that did not know Him. Even His loved disciples had not understood His mission. In the world He had created, He was alone. Now heaven had sent messengers—not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow and could sympathize with the Savior. 3TC 275.3

Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of the lost. Moses had pleaded for Israel, “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” Exodus 32:32. 3TC 275.4

Elijah had known loneliness of spirit, as for three and a half years of famine he had endured the nation’s hatred and woe. He had run away to the desert alone in anguish and despair. These men had come to talk deeply with Jesus concerning His suffering and to comfort Him. The topic of their conversation was the salvation of every human being. 3TC 276.1

Overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what happened between Christ and the heavenly messengers. They had not received what God wanted to give them—a knowledge of Christ’s sufferings and the glory that would follow. They lost the blessing that could have been theirs. Yet the experience assured them that all heaven knew of the Jewish nation’s sin in rejecting Christ. They received a clearer insight into the work of the Redeemer. They were “eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16) and realized that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and that the heavenly universe recognized Him as such. 3TC 276.2

While they were still gazing at the scene, “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!’” As they heard the voice of God speak in fearful majesty that caused the mountain to tremble, the disciples fell stricken to the earth, their faces hidden, till Jesus came near, dispelling their fears with His well-known voice, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” The heavenly glory had faded away, and the forms of Moses and Elijah had disappeared. They were alone with Jesus. 3TC 276.3