The traditional sight
of the transfiguration is Mt. Tabor
on the NE side of the Jezreel Valley, one of my favorite spots in Israel. But it is doubtful this is the spot. Jesus, a week earlier had been with His
disciples in the region of Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13) which is
at the base of Mount Hermon. Many would
say that this event occurred somewhere up on that magnificent mountain, another
of my favorite spots in Israel. (There
are many!)
So what happened
there? Luke doesn’t actually use the
term transfigured as do Matthew
(17:2) and Mark (9:2). But all three
describe the same event. As Luke says, the appearance of His face was altered, and
His robe became white and glistening.
The term transfigured means to be changed from the inside out. Peter used the term majesty to describe what happened (2 Pt. 2:16).
Jesus was joined by
two men: Moses and Elijah (v30). These
two represent the Law and the Prophets
and their presence makes great sense when you understand the topic of their
conversation. The NKJV says they spoke of His decease. But the word is the Greek exodos, the word for departure and the word used in the New
Testament for the exodus from Egypt
to Canaan by Israel. It is interesting
again that the only other use of the term is by Peter (2 Pt. 1:15) and he uses
it to refer to his own death even as it is used here of Jesus’ death.
So it is a great term
for death. But more important, it is
a subject that the Law and the Prophets predicted, thus making sense that Moses
and Elijah are speaking to Him of this event.
And furthermore we can now clearly see the connection between this event
and the words Jesus had been saying earlier (9:22-26). The death of the Messiah, while predicted in
the Law and Prophets, was impossible for people to grasp. We noted this in Luke 7:18-23 when John the
Baptist asked for confirmation that Jesus was, in fact, the Coming One, or do we look for another. Jesus has now, for the first time, announced
His death to His disciples (Lk. 9:22).
But His decease in no way
diminished His majesty.
And that, friends, is
what I believe is the point of the transfiguration. The death of the Messiah is not the failure
of His mission or the denial of His deity.
It was and is part of the plan of God.
There is no place for three booths. There is only one who is the Beloved
Son of the Father. Hear
Him! The words of Moses and
Elijah are lifeless without the Son of God who fulfills them in their
entirety. Jesus makes sense of the
difficult predictions of the suffering and glory of the Messiah (1 Pt.
1:10-11).
Jesus was transfigured
before these eyewitnesses. Briefly they
saw Him without the shroud of humanity.
And again they heard from heaven as they had at His baptism. The decease
of the Son of God is essential to God’s eternal purposes.
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