The Story of Jesus: The people of Israel were living under Roman rule and they were crying out and longing for God to send an 'anointed king' to rescue them. Jesus, not what they had expected, who was announced by John the Baptist, anointed by the Spirit and confirmed to be the ‘Son of God’ by the voice from heaven at his baptism (Luke 3:22). Jesus was led into the wilderness where he overcame the devil’s temptations and he came back in the power of the Spirit proclaiming the ‘kingdom of God’. He gathered a new twelve around himself. Jesus demonstrated his power and authority over demons, over sin, sickness and even death itself. In the previous story in Luke, Peter confessed that Jesus was the ‘Christ of God’. Jesus told them to keep quiet about this and further confused them by saying that the, “Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” He also told them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (9:22-23).
So in the ‘transfiguration story’ Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and went up onto a mountain. This was a significant climb since Matthew and
Mark say it was a ‘high mountain’ (Mt.17:1, Mk.9:2). Luke’s exclusively emphasizes Jesus taking Peter, James and John up the mountain to pray and that Jesus
was praying when ‘his glory’ was revealed (Luke 9:28, 32). As he prayed the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning (Luke 9:29). Matthew says Jesus’ face
shone like the sun. Both Matthew and Mark tell us Jesus was ‘transfigured’; a word
from which we get the word ‘metamorphoses’. Peter and John testify
elsewhere (2 Pet. 1:16–18; John 1:14) of the ‘transfiguration’ as a revealing of Jesus' divine nature which was concealed during his earthly ministry. Here his
disciples get a glimpse of the “brightness of His glory” (Heb. 1:3) to be revealed
when he would come in Father’s glory and of the holy angels (Luke 9:26, 29, 21:27).
Luke then tells us of two men, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glorious
splendor. They spoke about Jesus' departure, or his ‘Exodus’, which
he was about to bring to
fulfillment at Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions ‘awake’
from their sleep to see Jesus’ glory and Moses
and Elijah standing
with Jesus. They see Jesus’ glory in continuity with Moses,
Israel’s great deliverer and law-giver, and Elijah, Israel’s great prophet. God
used Moses to form Abraham’s children into a nation and Elijah was at the beginning of
a series of prophets calling for Israel’s renewal. The far greater Jesus brings
bring these traditions together in a ‘New Exodus’ to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
So they get their eyes opened to God’s true King who will bring God’s reign
into realization in his death, resurrection, and ascension all of which will be fulfilled in Jerusalem (9:31).
As the men,
Moses and Elijah were
leaving Peter said to Jesus, “Master,
it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” Luke tells us that Peter didn’t know what he was
saying. Jesus had told them how Jesus must suffer many things, be rejected and be
killed. Jesus also said that his followers must ‘take up their cross daily’ and follow
Jesus. That was heavy and almost incomprehensible message for the disciples. Now Peter was
with Jesus, Moses and Elijah and he didn’t want them to prolong the wonder of the moment and so he wanted to build three shelters.
However, Jesus was not equal among Moses and Elijah, but that
Jesus stood alone in unique relationship with God. Jesus was the one to restore God's reign and bring a
reconstituted Israel formed around him to fulfillment. The 'Shekinah
Glory’ witnessed by Moses and manifested in the tabernacle and in
Solomon’s temple was clearly present in Jesus (9:32, Ex.40:34-35, 1Kings 8:10-11)!
Then while Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice from the cloud, said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” They tremble like Israel at Sinai and the voice from heaven affirms what was previously said at Jesus’ baptism. Luke emphasizes that Jesus is God’s Son, God’s chosen one and that the disciples must must listen to Jesus! Then after the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. This corresponds with the previous story but here what Peter and his companions failed to comprehend from their dialogue with Jesus, they are now learning by experience. Now as previously instructed (9:21), the disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen. The story concludes when the next day they came down from the mountain, and the met a large crowd (9:37).
Luke depicts that through prayer Jesus' glory is revealed and the eyes of his disciples’ were opened to see Jesus’ glory. His appearance and his garments were illuminated and Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, appear with Jesus. They speak about Jesus' departure (exodus). What Jesus had previously told his disciples would be fulfilled in Jerusalem (Luke 9:22). While Peter wanted to construct shelters and prolong the visit, the story comes to a climax when the cloud (God’s presence) covers them and the voice affirms what had previously been said at Jesus’ baptism (3:22). That Jesus is God's Son is here directed to Jesus’ disciples who had confessed Jesus to be Messiah. The voice confirms Jesus' unique Sonship who ends up alone in the disciples sight. Jesus is God’s Son—and while the way the kingdom would come (cross, resurrection) and the disciples own kingdom role (self-denial, cross-bearing) still didn’t make sense to them, what was clear was that they were to listen to God’s Son, Jesus!
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