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Jesus told the 12 disciples, “There be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” (v1) Whom was Jesus talking about? What did Jesus mean that some disciples standing before Jesus would see “the kingdom of God come with power”? The answer comes from the verses immediately following. In other words, his statement was fulfilled when he was transfigured in the mountain. Let’s see how it was fulfilled.
(the glory of the Son)
6 days later after he made such an astounding statement, Jesus “taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.” (v2) Now we know that “some of them” in verse 1 refers to three of his close disciples. Luke 9:28-29 tells us that “he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.” It is interesting that later when he went to pray by himself in the garden of Gethsemane, he also took these three disciples with him. (Mk 14:33) Of course, in both incidents, he had a special purpose for taking them with him. This is more obvious here in his transfiguration. What is the purpose of taking them to the mountain? The answer is in verse 1--to let them see “the kingdom of God come with power”, the meaning of which was more apparent in Matt 16:28, "till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
How is the kingdom of God manifested with power? It is manifested in the glory of the Son of God. When Jesus was transfigured, “his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” (v3) Matt 17:2 described Jesus’ appearance as “his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” No colour on earth could describe the white color on his clothes. Not only his garment was white and shiny, but his face was completely “altered” (see Luke 9:29 above) and was shining as the sunlight. The scene is not easy to imagine, but it is definitely startling, “for they were sore afraid”. (v6) Anyway, the disciples had a glimpse of the original glory of the Son of God!
Revelation Chapter 1 also manifests the glory of the Son of God, except that he is then the resurrected Jesus. In Rev 1:14-16, John describes the Son of man that “his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters...and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” The description of his face was the same as that in his transfiguration. Let’s see how the apostle John at that time reacted when he saw the glory of the resurrected Jesus: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.” (Rev 1:17) John lost all his strength when he saw the glory of the resurrected Jesus.
(the glorious appearance of Moses and Elijah)
While the three disciples were being startled by the spectacular scene, a strange thing happened out of their big surprise: “there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.” (v4) What were they talking about? Luke gave us the answer: “there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory, and spoke of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31) So, they appeared for a special purpose, not just chatting with Jesus. They discussed with Jesus about his mission on earth, handing himself to his enemies in Jerusalem. Their discussion perhaps involved the timing of his entry into Jerusalem and other related issues. But how could the disciples recognize the two Old Testament characters, Moses and Elijah? They’ve never seen them before. Obviously, they were in a vision and could see things beyond understanding. And before their eyes, Moses and Elijah “appeared in glory”. We are told by the Scripture that we shall all be changed to a glorious body one day upon the Lord’s second coming. (I Cor 15:42-44,52; Rom 6:5) But here there is a hint that even Old Testament characters such as Moses and Elijah are already in some form of glorious appearance while they are waiting to be “redeemed” like the other “sleeping” believers.
Anyway, is there any special meaning for the appearance of Moses and Elijah, both ‘the man of God’ (Deut 33:1; I Kings 7:24), instead of other Bible characters? According to the O.T., Moses died on mount Nebo at the age of 120. However his place of burial was not known at the time of writing. (Deut 34:1,6-7) Elijah was more mysterious. Like Enoch (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5), Elijah was taken up while he was still alive. “There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire…Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (II Kings 2:11) Why were they sent by God to discuss with Jesus about his death? A probable reason is that Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. Both the Law and the Prophets predict the coming of Messiah as well as His mission on earth. Apparently, they have gained the knowledge of how the prophesies about the death of Jesus were to be fulfilled. Paul says in I Cor 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Moses and Elijah, of course, know more than we do after being taken up to heaven, as they have received revelation to certain extent.
(Peter’s response)
Peter was again the first to give response. However, apparently he had little sense of what he was saying. He said, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (v5) Luke’s record gives us more details: “Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said.” (Luke 9:32-33) Since he was in a vision, everything that he did or said was beyond his control. He might be thinking that he has come to paradise. Even though he had no idea of what he was saying, his suggestion was quite meaningful since ‘tabernacle’ represents God’s presence according to God’s instruction for the people of Israel to build and to worship Him. (Exo 25:8-9) Luke tells us that Peter made such a suggestion at the time of the departure of Moses and Elijah. While he was “sore afraid” at the moment of speaking, he felt good about the situation and expressed his joyful feeling that “it is good for us to be here.” (v5) Even this joyful feeling seemed beyond his control and his state is something that we can hardly imagine. Have we ever experienced such a peaceful feeling of God’s presence along with the glory of the Lord and said to ourselves, ‘it is good for us to be here’?
(God’s voice)
There is a response from God but it is not related to his suggestion. “There was a cloud that overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son; hear him.’ ” (v7) After Moses has led the people of Israel to build the tabernacle according to God’s instructions, God came down with a cloud. In Exo 40:34-35 it says, “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” No one can see God face to face, even for Moses. In Exo 19:9, God said to Moses, “Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever.” Exo 20:21 says, “the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.” Only Moses was not afraid to draw near to God. Similarly, God came down from heaven with a cloud to meet the disciples and spoke to them from within the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; hear him.” (v7) How did they feel when God drew close to them and thus said? Matt 17:6 tells us that “when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.” Just as God wanted the people of Israel to believe in Moses when He spoke to him before them, God also wanted the disciples to firmly believe in His Son when He spoke to them. Anyway, it is natural for us to have a fearful heart when we come close to God.
In terms of access to God, however, there is a vast difference between the people of Israel in OT and the followers of Jesus in NT. Even though God was with the people of Israel through the presence of the tabernacle, the veil that hanged between the most holy place and the sanctuary still separated them from God’s throne. The people needed the priests to pass their requests to God on their behalf. Now, in NT period, at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross, the veil (signifying his body, Heb 10:20) was torn in half instantly, implying that Christ (the heavenly high priest, Heb 9:11) offered up himself as a living sacrifice and provided us a direct path to access the throne of God in the most holy place: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” (Heb 10:19-22) As a result, we have become “a holy priesthood”. (I Peter 2:5) We have the privilege to access the most holy place in heaven and speak to God directly before His throne.
(God’s command)
The Father once again witnessed the godly identity of Jesus by saying ‘this is my beloved Son’. (v7) Matt 17:5 says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The first time the Father witnessed the Son was at his baptism. (Mark 1:11) At the time of Jesus’ baptism, God witnessed the Son's divine identity before John the Baptist so that John could further witness to the crowd and his disciples. (John 1:29-36) Now in Jesus’ transfiguration, God witnessed the Son before the three disciples and immediately instructed them to ‘hear’ the Son. This direct command of God to the three disciples further explained the purpose of Jesus bringing them up to the mountain with him to pray. They were put in a vision to see the glory of the Son and to hear God’s command. Undoubtedly, this command was closely connected with their awesome ministry of carrying out the Great Commission after Jesus’ ascension. These were the chief apostles among the eleven in early church times. They were chosen to have the opportunity to see the kingdom of God coming with power before they tasted death. This glorious scene paved the way for their grand ministry. Just like Moses. He was chosen by God to climb up Mount Sanai and saw the glory of God. Afterward, he was more burdened with strength to lead the people of Israel through the wilderness and into the land of Canaan (though he had no chance of entering the land of Canaan).The more gifted you are, the more burden you will be granted for God’s work.
Interestingly enough, Peter mentioned about this glorious scene when he wrote II Peter in his old age. He witnessed in II Peter 1:16-18, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables (乖巧捏造的虛言), when we made known unto you the power of coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” John also witnessed in John 1, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) In addition, as mentioned above, the apostle John in his advanced years had a second chance to see the glory of the Son and witnessed in Rev 1 the glory of the resurrected Jesus with detailed depiction. (Refer to ‘the glory of the Son’ above) They both served as faithful witnesses of the glorified Jesus after perceiving his glory. James was the first martyr for the sake of gospel; he witnessed the resurrected Jesus with his life. (Acts 12:2)
(Vision is gone)
Matt 17:6-8 says, “when the disciples heard it (the voice of God), they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, ‘Arise, and be not afraid.’ And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.” In Revelation, John had a similar experience when he saw the glorified Jesus: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last.’ ” (Rev 1:17) Mark says, “And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.” (v8) At the light and comfortable touch of Jesus, the three disciples suddenly stayed out of vision. They did not see Moses and Elijah anymore but the human Jesus alone. They were no longer afraid now, since the Lord Jesus standing right before them has returned to a human form. They had certainly beheld the kingdom of God come with power when they saw the King of kings in His glorifying state. Now everything was back to the normal state. Then “they came down from the mountain”. (v9)
To them, at least to Peter himself, it was good to keep staying in the vision all the time. However, after viewing the glory of the Lord with His power, they were to move on in their real lives with new insight. It is good for us to feel the presence of the Lord and even perceive His glory during our meditation. We long to stay there and to feel good about it. However, once we are refreshed and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit and have heard the command of God in mount Zion, we are to go down from the mountain and put God’s command in life application. Thus, any “vision” that we experience during meditation can become our mobilizing force to live for Christ. Jesus himself too! After conversing with Moses and Elijah, he had to keep his pace as planned, as he said in verse 12, “how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought (NRSV, be treated with contempt).”
(Elijah)
The great prophet Elijah has finally returned and appeared in glory before the disciples. As the disciples came to their senses and walked down the mountain, they asked Jesus the question they heard about Elijah: “Why say the scribes that Elijah must first come?” (v11) All they knew was that the prophet Elijah would come before the Messiah, according to the saying of the scribes. How did the scribes know that Elijah must first come before the Messiah? Actually they learned it from the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. (Mal 4:5-6) Jesus answered the disciples, “Elijah verily cometh first, and restoreth all things…But I say unto you, that Elijah is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.” (v12-13) Jesus has pointed out that ‘Elijah’ mentioned in Malachi actually referred to John the Baptist. (Refer to the passage of “Elijah” in the article “Who am I?”) The answer is also given in Matt 17:13, "Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." John the Baptist has become the pioneer of Messiah for the sake of the gospel. He preached the gospel of repentance and prepared people’s hearts to receive the Son of God. By this time, he has already been executed by King Herod (Mark 6:27) and has sacrificed for the Word. By the same token, Jesus was going to lay down his life for the Word of God (Herod joined hands with Pilate when judging Jesus), just as he said in Matt 17:12, "Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them." How much are you willing to sacrifice for the Word of God?