Luke 9:28–36 About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! 31They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure, which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.
32Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they were completely awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.
34While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. 35Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 36After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 7:12)
The Transfiguration of Jesus is kind of like the big blockbuster superhero movies … except in reverse.
In the movies, you’re looking forward to seeing Iron Man blow up a tank with a missile, Captain America throw his shield at Red Skull, the Hulk smash Loki, or Spider-Man fight Doc Ock. You’re not so excited if you only have a glimpse of the superhero in the waning moments of the movie. Then most of the time is spent on an introspective of Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers, Bruce Banner, and Peter Parker.
But that’s kind of like Jesus’ life and ministry. For three-and-a-half years we see Jesus teaching and preaching. Sure, he does some marvelous things like driving out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. But even then, Jesus looks ordinary while he’s doing those miraculous things. The four Gospels are an introspection of Jesus as true God and true man. Occasionally, the divinity shines through the humanity, but mostly we see the humanity covering the divinity. Until the waning moments of Jesus’ life when he’s on the mountaintop.
While Jesus was teaching his disciples about discipleship he said, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). He gave them a week to ponder these words in their hearts.
Luke tells us, “About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” This is the first day of the second week. I believe it’s intentional on Luke’s part. What happens on the mountain is intentional. For the disciples to be ready to endure persecution, trial, and even death, they need to see Jesus’ glory uncovered in his transfiguration. They need this vision of Jesus’ glory uncovered before they see Jesus’ body covered in humility, shame, and blood on the cross.
Before you invest your time in watching a movie, you probably ask your friends if they’ve seen it and recommend it. Their testimony means more than a review on Rotten Tomatoes. In the Old Testament, two or three witnesses were required to testify to the truth. Jesus is making sure future generations who would hear of this event on the mountain would be able to trust that it happened. Peter, James, and John are given a unique privilege to see Jesus’ glory prior to his death, resurrection, and ascension.
While Jesus is praying (and in Luke, Jesus always prays at key moments on his ministry), his face was changed in appearance, and his clothing became dazzling white. This is an “epiphany” – a revealing. Jesus’ divinity is shining through his humanity, causing his face and clothing to glow with an earthly brightness. It is a visual reminder that this Jesus is certainly man, but he is no ordinary man. He is fully God and fully human. He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. Though deeply hidden beneath his humanity, Jesus’ divine nature and his glory as the Son of God are there. They are simply hidden from the eye.
In the Old Testament, Moses glowed when he came down from Mt. Sinai after meeting with God. It’s as though the glory of God’s presence created a temporary effect. It’s kind of like a glow-in-the-dark watch that glows for a while after being placed in the sun. With Moses, it was a temporary and fading glory, indicating that his covenant was temporary and fading. But Jesus’ glow came from within himself, as every cell of his humanity glowed with the glory of God. This was the glory that filled the tabernacle and the temple. This was the glory of the pillar of cloud and fire. This was the sign that God himself was present on this mountain. This was the Lord’s mountain of which Isaiah had said, “Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh together will see it” (Isaiah 40:5).
Sinful people cannot even handle the reflection of the presence of God. Even the reflection shines too brightly in the blackness of our unholiness. Moses wore a veil so the children of Israel could handle him being around them (Exodus 34:29–35). The Word became flesh (John 1:14) so the people could handle their holy God walking around in their presence. Otherwise, they would have fled in panic and terror.
Jesus rarely let his glory shine forth fully. And when he did, the people were terrified. So, the Son of God veiled his glory with human flesh so he could be with us.
Jesus did not put on this veil and take it off from time to time. The Son of God put on this veil in the womb of Mary. Jesus did allow his glory to shine through the veil at his transfiguration. But he has never taken that veil off.
In the old days, we listened to Siskel and Ebert to give their reviews of movies. On the mountain, Jesus listened to Moses and Elijah – the two great prophets of the Old Testament. Moses and Elijah are representative of the Law and the Prophets.
Luke tells us Moses and Elijah are talking with Jesus about his departure that he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. The word Luke uses here is “exodus.” They are talking about Jesus’ exodus, and who better to talk about that then Moses? Luke anchors this vision in Jesus’ death on a cross, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension forty days later. This is his “exodus” by which Jesus brings all of humanity through death to life and glory. He takes his people on an exodus from slavery to sin here on earth to the Promised Land of heaven. The transfiguration is a preparation for that. The Jesus who shines like the sun, who radiates the glory of God on earth, is the same Jesus who hangs dead in the darkness on Good Friday bearing the sin of the world.
Have you ever gotten settled in for a movie, got your tub of popcorn, your gallon of soda, turned on the seat warmer, reclined your seat … and then promptly fallen asleep? You wake up right at the climactic end of the movie with all the brightness, explosions, and triumphant music.
Peter, James, and John nearly miss the whole thing. They are “weighed down with sleep.” Sleep? That’s right. Sleep. Just as these same three would be heavy with sleep upon the Mount of Olives when Jesus asked them to pray while they were with him in the garden.
When they awake, they get an eyeful – Jesus glowing, Moses and Elijah standing with him. That will wake you up in a hurry! And Peter blurts out, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.
Peter seems to be suggesting that this mountain become a permanent dwelling place for the three disciples. Although Luke admits that Peter didn’t know what he was talking about. His request may have been motivated by a desire to avoid the carrying of the cross Jesus said was coming.
We can often become like Peter. It’s good for us to be here in church. This is where the Law and the Prophets are read and explained. This is where we see, hear, and experience Jesus in Word and Sacraments. This is where we see Jesus in his humility and his glory.
But we can be tempted to stay here. It’s dangerous out there. Out in the valley of the shadow of death where the cross of persecution, difficulties, and suffering is always before us. It’s scary to talk to others about Jesus and invite them to come to church with you here. You open yourself up to cancellation when you refuse to follow the wokeness of our culture. You will be demoted and denigrated when you speak about what the Bible calls evil but our culture calls good,.
It's easier to stay on the mountain. Or, sadly, it’s even easier to never venture to the mountain. It’s easier for us to stay at home, hidden behind the walls, enjoying the comfort of our couches. If no one knows we’re Christians, then no one can persecute us as Christians. We can avoid carrying our crosses.
The cloud that once descended upon the temple now descends upon the mountaintop. It surrounds all six individuals. “While [Peter] was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’”
The same Voice was heard speaking from heaven at Jesus’ baptism, identifying him as the suffering Servant-Son. The Father speaks, making it clear to all cross-carrying disciples that Jesus is unique and there is none other like him. He is greater than Moses, greater than Elijah, greater than any religious leader who has ever walked the face of the earth. He alone brings about the exodus of his death and resurrection to save us. He alone washes away the stain of sin with forgiveness covered in the water of Baptism. He alone gives salvation covered in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Super. He alone has the words of eternal life covered in the spoken and written Word.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father proclaims Jesus to be the Son of God revealed in brightness and glory. On Mt. Calvary, a Roman centurion proclaims Jesus as the Son of God revealed in darkness and gore. “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
Jesus did not come down from the Mount of Transfiguration displaying his full glory. Instead, Jesus would reveal his greatest glory later as he went up another mountain to be crucified for humanity’s sins.
We would be terrified if we were the Israelites seeing God’s glory reflected in the face of Moses. So, Moses covered that glory under a veil.
We would be terrified if we saw the Son of God on earth in all his glory. So, the Son of God veiled his glory in flesh and blood.
We would be terrified if the visible God was standing before us in the fullness of his glory in church. So, our gracious and loving God, who desires to be in the presence of his people, covers his glory with the words of absolution, the words in our Bibles, the waters of Baptism, and the bread and wine of Holy Communion. What a powerful and glorious God we have. One so powerful and glorious – and so gracious – that he covers his glory to be among his people.
You may have guessed I’ve seen lots of superhero movies. But honestly, they get boring if there is no backstory, no introspection of the main character, no motivation for becoming a superhero. It’s just fighting, explosions, and victory.
Yawn.
The greatest superhero movies spend time on character development, giving the motivation for the regular person for becoming a superhero.
Jesus is a superhero – the divine God wrapped in the body of an ordinary human. This makes his teaching, preaching, and miracles all the more poignant and powerful.
Today we see a glimpse of Jesus’ glory as the superhero Son of God – the Son of God so glorious, powerful, and gracious that he covers his glory to be among his people. It’s good for us to be here with Jesus on the mountain in church. But it’s good for you to go down the mountain into the world carrying your crosses as Jesus’ disciples. Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3–5)