City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

The Transfiguration

²⁸ About eight days after these sayings, He [Jesus] took along Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.³² Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. ³³ And as these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; and let’s make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But while he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

Luke 9:28-36 ESV

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. ⁵ And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-5; 14 NASB

Reflection

Peter, James, and John (at Jesus’ invitation) witnessed Heaven breaking into earth on that mountain, when they got a glimpse of Jesus’ divinity.

As devout Jews, seeing Moses (Israel’s Law Giver) and Elijah (OG of Israel’s Prophets) speaking with Jesus would have filled them with awe. However, while both men were empowered by God’s Spirit to act greatly in redemptive history, both were sinful men and not God. Also striking is what their great signs and miracles couldn’t accomplish: atone for sins and get Israel to keep their covenant with Yahweh.

Breaking covenant with God wasn’t only a problem for Israel but for all of us. Both the Law and the Prophets pointed to God’s Anointed One, who would atone for sins, providing a path for true repentance for Israel and humanity. Jesus, God’s Son, who was fully God and fully man, fulfilled what the Law and Prophets foretold. In fact this is what Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus about: His departure which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem — by giving up His life and dying on a cross for all sin.

So when Peter makes his impetuous blunder, wanting to worship Moses and Elijah alongside Jesus, God graciously wastes no time setting him straight. Jesus is God’s most precious gift — His Son, chosen by God to set us free from sin forever and to empower us to remain faithful to Him.

Application

It is only by God’s mercy and grace that anyone can truly see Jesus. He is the Word and the Son of God, who is God, who became human. He is Savior and Lord, and He is the only Way for us to receive forgiveness for our sins and to walk faithfully in the new life God gives us.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, please purify my eyes and heart to truly see Your Son Jesus. Help me to worship Him faithfully and to grow in my trust in Him, in His name I ask, amen.