A Mountain Top Experience

Luke 9:28-36

Have you ever had a time in your Christian life where God seemed especially close in an extraordinarily spiritual way?  Perhaps it was on a special retreat, or in the midst of some revival meetings your church had, or after some special personal prayer time you had.  You might never have wanted it to end. In our Scripture passage for today from the Gospel of Luke, we can look into just such a powerful experience that the Apostles Peter, James, and John had.  Let’s take a look at this spectacular and unforgettable time that they experienced, and see what we can learn from it.

About a week after Peter had made his great public confession of believing that Jesus was the promised Messiah, Jesus took His three closest apostles, Peter, James and John off by themselves to a mountaintop to pray together (vs. 28). That in itself would be a wonderful privilege, to go off with Jesus on a prayer retreat. It was here on the mountain with Jesus that these three witnessed an extraordinary event, that of the transfiguration of Jesus.

The word “transfiguration” means to have a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.  Jesus underwent a dramatic change in appearance, which enabled the three apostles to behold Him in His glory (vs. 29). They saw Jesus as the glorified Messiah, in all of His heavenly splendor.  Appearing with Him were both Moses and Elijah (vs. 30 - 31). They represented the Law and the Prophets. Both the Law and Prophets had foretold of Jesus’ sacrificial death. This is what the two Old Testament figures came to speak to Jesus about.  Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. The human side of Jesus would naturally have dreaded and feared the upcoming scourging and crucifixion, as that was an awful, tortuous death. Jesus knew and completely accepted that this was God’s plan from eternity past, and that He would be the sacrifice for our sins.  Moses and Elijah were there to encourage Him.

As Peter was beholding the three, he speaks up, not really comprehending what he is saying (vs. 32 - 33).  Peter’s suggested that they erect three booths, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. However, the suggestion to do that was putting Moses and Elijah as equal with Jesus.  Nobody, not even such spiritual giants as Moses or Elijah, could even come near, let alone be equal, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is superior to everyone and everything.  He is God’s Son, His only Son (vs. 35),  and the second Person of the Trinity.

Peter also did not want to leave the mountaintop and have this glorious appearance of Jesus, along with the two Old Testament figures, end. Sometimes we may have such a wonderful and inspiring experience, that we don’t want it to end. We don’t want to leave and go back to our regular life and routines, with all our problems and toil.  For Peter, James, and John, this was literally a “mountain top experience”. However, God wants us to go back out into the world to bring His message to the lost. We do need times of retreat and renewal.  Jesus took them. Nevertheless, after these special times we then need to go out and serve in Jesus’ Name.

After Moses and Elijah left, a cloud overshadowed them on the mountain top, and the voice of God came to them from out of the cloud (vs. 34 - 35).  He spoke to the disciples there, telling them that this was His Son, and to listen to Him. This was similar to the words that God the Father spoke at Jesus’ baptism.  The Father publicly declared His great pleasure in His only Son, Jesus, who He identified as such here. Only then, after God identified Jesus as His Son, did the Father tell us to listen to, obey, and follow Him.  We are not to listen to or follow the teachings of any other so-called spiritual leaders that the world highly acclaims. We are to listen and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one that God has called His Son.