This was one of the most surprising scenes in the life of our blessed
Lord. It forms a great contrast to the other events mentioned in his
history. He "came to visit us in great humility." When we read how he
was born in a stable, and cradled in a manger; how he had "not where
to lay his head;" when we read of the lowliness, and poverty, and
suffering that marked his course, day by day, we come naturally to
think of him as "the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." And
though, when we remember how he healed the sick, and cast out devils,
and raised the dead to life again; how he walked upon the waters, and
controlled the stormy winds and waves with his simple word, he seems
wonderful in his power and majesty; yet there is nothing, in all his
earthly life, that leads us to think so highly of him, as this scene
of the Transfiguration, of which we are now to speak.
The account of this event is given us by three of the evangelists. We
find it described by St. Matt, xvii: 1-13. St. Mark ix: 2-13. St.
Luke ix: 28-29.
A short time before this took place, Jesus had told his disciples how
he was to go up to Jerusalem, to suffer many things, to be put to
death, be buried, and be raised again on the third day. St. Matt,
xvi: 21. He also told them of the self-denial, which all who became
his disciples would be required to exercise. This was very different
from what they were expecting and must have been very discouraging to
them. They did not yet understand that their Master had come into the
world to suffer and to die. Instead of this, their minds were filled
with the idea that the object of his coming was to establish an
earthly kingdom and to reign in glory. And, for themselves, they were
expecting that they would share his glory and reign as princes with
him. And so they must have been greatly troubled by his words. To
encourage and comfort them, therefore, he told them that, before they
died, some of them should "see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
And then, some days after this, he took three of his disciples, the
favored John and James and Peter, and went up with them "into a
mountain, apart by themselves, and was transfigured before them." We
are not told what mountain it was that was thus honored. Mount Tabor,
near Nazareth, on the borders of the Plain of Esdraelon, has long
been regarded as the favored spot. But, in our day, many persons
think that it was not on the top of Tabor, but on one of the summits
of Mount Hermon, where this wonderful event took place. One of the
principal objections to supposing that Tabor was the place is, that
in those days there was a large fortress on the top of this mountain,
and this, they think, would interfere with the privacy that would be
desired on such an occasion. But, for myself, I still incline to
think that Tabor was the mountain chosen. I went to the top of this
mountain, when in Palestine. And though there is a large convent
there now, yet the summit of Tabor covers a wide space of ground. And
outside of the walls of the convent, and even out of sight of its
walls, I saw a number of retired, shady places that would be
particularly suitable for such a scene as this.
But, it is impossible to decide positively which was the Mount of
Transfiguration. And it is not a matter of much consequence. Those
who think it was Hermon are at liberty to think so; and those who
think it was Tabor, have a right to their opinion, for none can prove
that they are mistaken in thinking so.
And when we come to consider this great event in the life of our
Saviour, there are _two_ things to speak of in connection with it;
these are the _wonders_ we see in it; and the _lessons_ we may learn
from it. Or, to express it more briefly--The Transfiguration--its
wonders, and its lessons.
There are three wonders to be spoken of, and three lessons to be
learned from this subject.
_The first wonder is_--THE WONDERFUL CHANGE--that took place in the
appearance of our Lord on this occasion.
Jesus went up the mountain with his disciples. It was probably at the
close of one of his busy days that he did this. It would seem from
St. Luke's account,--chap. ix: 32--that Peter and his companions were
weary with the day's work, and soon fell asleep. But, while they were
sleeping, Jesus was praying. And it was while he was engaged in
prayer that the Transfiguration took place. St. Luke tells us it
was--"_as he prayed_."
Let us notice now, what the different evangelists tell us about this
change. St. Matthew says--"He was transfigured before them: and his
face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light."
St. Mark says, "His raiment became exceeding white as snow, so as no
fuller"--one who cleans, or whitens cloth--"on earth can white them."
St. Luke says--"As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was
altered, and his raiment was white and glistening."
These are the different accounts we have of this surprising scene. If
the disciples had been awake when this marvellous change began to
take place, we cannot for a moment suppose that they would have gone
to sleep while the heavens must have seemed to be opening above them
and this blaze of glory was shining around them. They were, no doubt,
asleep when the transfiguration began. And, as we know that the
taking of an ordinary light into the room where persons are asleep
will often awaken them, it is not surprising that the disciples
should have been aroused from their slumber by the flood of light and
glory that was beaming round their Master then. How surprised they
must have been when they opened their eyes on that scene! They would
never forget it as long as they lived. It was more than half a
century after this when St. John wrote his gospel; and it was, no
doubt, to this scene that he referred when he said, in speaking of
Jesus;--"_we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father_" St. John i: 14. And, not long before his death, St.
Peter thus refers to it:--"We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For
he received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came
such a voice from the excellent glory, saying, This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased." II. Pet. i: 16, 17.
One object for which this wonderful transfiguration of our Lord took
place was, no doubt, to give to the disciples then, and to the
followers of Jesus in all coming time, an idea of what his glory now
is in heaven, and of what it will be when he shall come again in his
kingdom. He had told his disciples about his sufferings and death,
and the shame and dishonor connected with them; and here, as if to
counterbalance that, he wished to give them a glimpse of the glory
that is to shine around him forever.
How wonderful it must have seemed to the astonished disciples! When
they had last looked on their Master, before going to sleep, they had
seen him as "the man of sorrows," in his plain everyday dress, such
as they themselves wore: but, when they looked on him again, as they
awoke from their sleep, they saw his face shining as the sun, and his
raiment dazzling in its snowy whiteness.
To what may we compare this wonderful change? Suppose you have before
you the bulbous root of the lily plant. You look at it carefully, but
there is nothing attractive about it. How rough and unsightly it
appears! You close your eyes upon it for a brief space. You open them
again. But what a change has taken place! That plain-homely looking
bulb has disappeared, and in its place there stands before you the
lily plant. It has reached its mature growth. Its flower is fully
developed and blooming in all its matchless beauty! What a marvellous
change that would be! And yet it would be but a feeble illustration
of the more wonderful change that took place in our Saviour at his
transfiguration.
Here is another illustration. Suppose we are looking at the western
sky, towards the close of day. Great masses of dark clouds are
covering all that part of the heavens. They are but common clouds.
There is nothing attractive or interesting about them. We do not care
to take a second look at them. We turn from them for a little while,
and then look at them again. In the meantime, the setting sun has
thrown his glorious beams upon them. How changed they now appear! All
that was commonplace and unattractive about them is gone. How they
glow and sparkle! Gold, and purple, and all the colors of the rainbow
are blending, how beautifully there! Are these the same dull clouds
that we looked upon a few moments before? Yes; but they have been
transfigured. A wonderful change has come over them. And here we have
an illustration of our Lord's transfiguration. The first wonder about
this incident in his life is the wonderful change which took place in
his appearance then.
_The second wonder about the transfiguration is_--THE WONDERFUL
COMPANY--_that appeared with our Saviour then_.
At the close of his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus had some
wonderful company too, but it was different from what he had now.
_Then_, we are told that "_angels came, and ministered unto him_."
And in the garden of Gethsemane, when he was sinking to the earth,
overcome by the terrible agony through which he was passing, he had
more company of the same kind; for we read that--"_there appeared
unto him an angel from heaven strengthening him."_ St. Luke xxii: 43.
But it was not the company of angels that waited on him at the time
of his Transfiguration. No: but we read that, "there appeared unto
him Moses, and Elias," or Elijah. And if we ask why did not the
angels come to him now, as they did on other occasions? Why did these
distinguished persons, of the Old Testament history, come from heaven
to visit him in place of the angels? It is easy enough to answer
these questions. This transfiguration of Christ took place, as he
himself tells us, in order to give his disciples a view of the glory
that will attend him when he shall come in his kingdom. When he shall
appear, on that occasion, all his people will come with him. Those
who shall have died before he comes will be raised from the dead and
come with him, in their glorious resurrection bodies. And those who
shall be living when he comes will, as St. Paul tells us,--"_be
changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye_"--I. Cor. xv: 52,
53--and have beautiful, glorified bodies, like the bodies of those
who have been raised from the dead. And both these classes of
Christ's people were represented by the distinguished persons who
formed the company that appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration.
Moses had been in heaven nearly fifteen hundred years when this scene
took place. He had died, as other men do, and had been buried. It is
supposed by many wise and good men that his body had been raised from
the dead, that he might appear in it on this occasion. And thus Moses
represented all the dead in Christ, who will be raised to life again
at his coming. Elijah had been in heaven for almost a thousand years.
He had never died, and never lain in the grave. He was translated.
This means that he was taken up to heaven without dying. But St. Paul
tells us that bodies of flesh and blood, like ours, cannot enter
heaven. I. Cor. xv: 50. They must be changed, and made fit for that
blessed place. And so, we know, that as Elijah went up to heaven, in
his chariot of fire, the same wonderful change must have passed over
his body which we have seen will take place with those of Christ's
people who shall be living on the earth when he comes again.
Jesus was transfigured that we might know how he himself will appear
when he comes in his kingdom. And Moses and Elias "appeared with him
in glory," to show us how the people of Christ will appear when they
enter with him into his kingdom. And this was a good reason why these
very persons, and not the angels, should have formed the company that
came to visit our Saviour on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was
wonderful company indeed that waited on Jesus then. But, it was a
wonderful occasion. None like it had ever occurred before; none like
it has ever occurred since; and none like it will ever occur again
till Jesus shall come in the glory of his heavenly kingdom. The
second wonder of the Transfiguration was the wonderful company.
_The third wonder connected with this great event was_--THE WONDERFUL
CONVERSATION--_that took place between Jesus and his visitors_.
All the three evangelists, who tell of the Transfiguration, speak of
this conversation. St. Matthew and St. Mark merely state the fact
that Moses and Elias "were talking with Jesus;" but they do not tell
us the subject of the conversation, or what it was about which they
talked. But St. Luke supplies what they leave out. He says, "_they
spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem_" This
means that they talked about the death upon the cross which he was to
suffer. And when we remember that these great and good men had just
come down from heaven, where God, the loving Father of Jesus dwells,
and where all the holy angels are; and that this was the only time
when they were to be present with Jesus, and have an opportunity of
talking with him, during all his life on earth, we may wonder why
they did not choose some more pleasant subject of conversation. And
yet they did not make a mistake. God the Father had sent them from
heaven to meet his beloved Son on this occasion. And, no doubt, he
had told them what subject they were to talk about, and what they
were to say to Jesus, on that subject. And then they knew very well
how Jesus felt about this matter. And painful as the death upon the
cross would be, they knew it was the nearest of all things to the
heart of Jesus. It was the will of his Father that he should die on
the cross, and it was the delight of his heart--the very joy of his
soul to do his Father's will. And here we learn the unspeakable
importance of the death of Christ. The apostle Paul was showing his
sense of its importance when he said, "God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus." Gal. vi: 14. He puts the
word "_cross_" of Christ, for the death of Christ, but it means the
same thing.
Some one has compared the cross of Christ to a key of gold, that
opens the gate of heaven to us, if we believe in Jesus; but if we
refuse to hear and obey the words of Jesus, it becomes a key of iron,
and opens the gate of destruction before us.
"The Power of the Cross." A heathen ruler had heard the story of the
cross and desired to know its power. When he was sick and near his
end, he told his servants to make him a large wooden cross, and lay
it down in his chamber. When this was done, he said--"Take me now and
lay me on the cross, and let me die there." As he lay there dying he
looked in faith to the blood of Christ, that was shed upon the cross,
and said--_"It lifts me up: it lifts me. Jesus saves me!_" and thus
he died. It was not that wooden cross that saved him; but the death
of Christ, on the cross to which he was nailed--the death of which
Moses and Elias talked with him, that saved this heathen man. They
knew what a blessing his death would be to the world, and _this_ was
why they talked about this death. Here is one of Bonar's beautiful
hymns which speaks sweetly of the blessedness and comfort to be found
in the cross of Christ.
"Oppressed with noonday's scorching heat,
To this dear cross I flee;
And in its shelter take my seat;
No _shade_ like this to me!
"Beneath this cross clear waters burst;
A fountain sparkling free;
And here I quench my desert thirst,
No _spring_ like this to me.
"A stranger here, I pitch my tent
Beneath this spreading tree;
Here shall my pilgrim life be spent,
No _home_ like this to me!
"For burdened ones a resting place
Beside this cross I see;
Here, I cast off my weariness;
No _rest_ like this for me!"
Moses and Elias understood how the blessing of the world was to flow
out from that death upon the cross which Jesus was to suffer; and so,
we need not wonder that during the short visit which they made to
Jesus, amidst the glory of his Transfiguration, the subject, above
all others, about which they desired to talk with him--was his death
upon the cross,--"his decease, which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem."
These are the three great wonders of the Transfiguration--the
wonderful change--the wonderful company--and the wonderful
conversation.
And this brings us to the second part of our subject, which is--_the
three lessons_ taught by the Transfiguration.
_The first of these is_--THE LESSON OF HOPE.
One thing for which the Transfiguration took place was to show us
what we may hope to be hereafter, if we are the servants of Christ.
We are told how Jesus appeared on this occasion. His glory is
described. The brightness and glory that shone around him exceeded
that of the noonday sun. But there is no particular description given
Moses and Elias. We are not told how they looked. It is only said of
them that--"they appeared in _glory_." St Luke ix: 31. I suppose the
meaning of this is that they shared in the glory which Jesus himself
had when he was transfigured. Their raiment was as white as his; and
the same brightness and beauty beamed forth from their faces which
made his so glorious. They shared their Master's glory. And, if we
are loving, and serving Jesus, this is what we may hope to share
with him hereafter. This is what we are taught to pray for in the
beautiful Collect for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. These are
the words of that prayer: "O God, whose blessed Son was manifested
that he might make us the sons of God, and heirs of eternal life;
Grant us, we beseech thee, that having this hope, we may purify
ourselves, even as he is pure; that when he shall appear again, with
power and great glory, _we may be made like unto him in his eternal
and glorious kingdom;_ where, with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy
Ghost, he liveth and reigneth, ever One God, world without end.
Amen."
And it is right to offer such a prayer as this, because the Bible
teaches us to hope for this great glory. How well a hope like this
may be called "_a hope that maketh not ashamed_," Rom. v: 5; "_a good
hope through grace_," II. Thess. ii: 16; "that _blessed hope_," Tit.
ii: 13; "_a lively hope_," I. Peter i: 3. And how well it may be
spoken of as "_a helmet_"--to cover the head in the day of battle;
and as "an anchor" to keep the soul calm and steadfast when the
storms of life are bursting upon it! Moses and Elias appeared with
Jesus at his Transfiguration, and shared his glory on purpose to
teach us this lesson of hope, and to show us what we shall be
hereafter. We shall be as glorious as Jesus was on the Mount of
Transfiguration! This seems something too great and too good to be
true. But no matter how great, or how good it is--_it is true_. Jesus
taught this lesson of hope when he said--speaking of the time when he
shall come in his kingdom, "_Then shall the righteous shine forth as
the sun in the kingdom of their Father_," St. Matt, xiii: 43. He
taught us the same lesson, in his prayer to his Father, when he said,
speaking of all his people, "_And the glory which thou gavest me, I
have given them_," St. John xvii: 21. And the apostle John taught us
the same lesson, when he said,--"We know that when he shall appear
_we shall be like him_," I. John iii: 2. These sweet passages make
this lesson of hope very sure. And this is just the way in which we
are made sure about other things we have not seen.
"How we Know There is a Heaven." A Sunday-school teacher was talking
to one of her scholars about heaven and the glory we shall have when
we reach that blessed place. He was a bright boy, about nine or ten
years old, named Charlie. After listening to her for awhile, he said:
"But you have never been there, Miss D., and how do you know there
really is any such place?"
"Charlie," said the teacher, "you have never been to London; how do
you know there is such a city?"
"O, I know that very well," said Charlie, "because my father is
there; and he has sent me a letter, telling me all about it."
"And God, my Father, is in the heavenly city," said Miss D., "and he
has sent me a letter, telling me about the glory of heaven, and about
the way to get there. The Bible is God's letter."
"Yes, I see," said Charlie, after thinking awhile, "there must be a
heaven, if you have got such a nice long letter from there."
The lesson of hope is the first lesson taught us by the
Transfiguration.
_The next lesson taught us here is_--THE LESSON