Janice flew to Washington with her work and spent some
time with Sunita and her family. Jessy and Tom were on vacation in Nicaragua and
are back in Philly, facing another snow storm. Praise the Lord for He is in
control. All is well.
It was good to be in the House of the Lord yesterday.
It was Transfiguration Sunday, just before the Lord set His face towards
Jerusalem... on His journey to the Cross. He took three of disciples up to the
High Mountain where He was transfigured before them. Moses and Elijah show up
in the mountain that day, and they conferred with Jesus our Lord about His
departure, exodus, and Jerusalem.
In Mark 9 it is written,“…and He was transfigured before them. (3) His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. (4) And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. (5) Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "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"—(6) because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. (7) And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (8) Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.”
Luke's Gospel is telling us that the disciples were weary after the climb up the mount and evidently as Jesus prayed they fell asleep (Luke 9:32). When they awoke it was a very spectacular and surreal scene before their eyes. The reason that His clothes became brilliant white is from the light emanating from His body.
In Mark 9 it is written,“…and He was transfigured before them. (3) His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. (4) And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. (5) Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "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"—(6) because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. (7) And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (8) Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.”
Luke's Gospel is telling us that the disciples were weary after the climb up the mount and evidently as Jesus prayed they fell asleep (Luke 9:32). When they awoke it was a very spectacular and surreal scene before their eyes. The reason that His clothes became brilliant white is from the light emanating from His body.
The word translated
“transfigured” is the word that we get metamorphosis from. When the Bible says
that Jesus was transfigured it means he became on the outside what he was on the
inside. “For a brief moment the veil of his humanity was lifted and his true
essence was allowed to shine through. The glory which was always in the depths
of his being rose to the surface for that one time in his earthly life.” [R.
Kent Hughes. “Jesus Servant and Savior” Volume II (Westchester, ILL:
Crossway Books, 1989) pg. 15]
The reason that this event is so important in the life
of Jesus’ life is because it confirms His deity. The Psalmist used similar language to
describe God, “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You
are clothed with honor and majesty, (2) Who covers Yourself with light as with a
garment…” (Psalms 104:1-2)
Daniel used a similar description
to describe the One who was seated on the throne of Heaven, “I watched till
thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was
white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a
fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;” (Daniel
7:9)
John used similar language in the book of
Revelation to describe the One he saw seated on the throne of
Heaven. “The city had no need of the sun or of the
moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its
light.” (Revelation 21:23)
The disciples were given a glimpse of the glory
that all believers will behold when we get to Heaven. The writer of Hebrews
said, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of
his being” Hebrews 1:3 (New International Version) The Bible uses that same
word in several places to describe the change in a believer’s life after
receiving Jesus Christ – in Romans 12:2 - the believer is to “…be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” in 2 Corinthians
3:18 we are told that we are “being transformed into the same image from glory
to glory…” In Romans 8:29-30 are told believers are “…predestined to be
conformed to the image of His Son…” In other words, when we are saved, our
lives should begin to take on the image of Jesus Christ in us. Then one day we
shall be completely like Him!
In the
event of transfiguration we have the glimpse of the might and the majesty of
Jesus, the glorious King. It is written, "The
kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and
he shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 11:15
We live in His
Kingdom that is eternal. He is almighty. Because He is the Glorious One we can
live on earth in confidence, we can worship Him with great adoration, we
can invest in His Kingdom with great hilarity, and we can serve Him with great
tenacity and great abandon. One day we shall behold Him face to face. That will
be the real "FACETIME". WOW!
In
Christ,
Brown
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