This is My Son...Listen to Him

Luke 9:28-35 tells the story of Jesus' transfiguration. It begins with Jesus going up on the mountain to pray. In Luke, prayer precedes a great event in many instances.

The three disciples, Luke alone tells us, were sleepy. We quickly conclude that they were simply tired, and that they, unlike the Master, could not discipline themselves to stay awake. However we are not told why they were sleepy, only that they were. Fatigue is, of course, the most simple explanation. But consider two other possibilities:

• First, remember the sleepiness of the disciples in the garden, just before His arrest, was, according to the diagnosis of Dr. Luke, the result of sorrow, not simple fatigue (Luke 22:45). They were exhausted from sorrow.
• Second, remember the rather unusual sleepiness which Daniel experienced as the result of a divine revelation, not unlike that which is described here: I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning,his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground (Daniel 10:5-9).

Regardless of why they were asleep, can you imagine what it must have been like to have been in a deep sleep, and to awaken to the sights and sounds that were taking place on that mountain. They must have been awe-struck by the brightness of the three persons, all of whom (Luke tells us that Elijah and Moses were in glorious splendor—was the splendor of our Lord vastly greater here? We do not know for sure —) were radiant. For some unexplained reason the disciples knew who the two men were who were talking with our Lord. They were Moses and Elijah.

Why Moses and Elijah? They may signify the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah), and so confirm Jesus' fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. Both men also received mountaintop revelations of God and were known for their powerful miracles. Jesus' miracles often recall their works (e.g. Moses recalled in the feeding of the five thousand; Elijah recalled in the raising of the widow's son). Both men's lives also ended unusually. Elijah did not die, but was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2). Moses died alone on Mount Nebo and was buried by God himself (Deut. 34:5-6)*.

Whatever length of time this revelation or transfiguration took, it eventually ended. This was signaled by the fact that the two men began to leave Jesus. This action prompted Peter to speak:
“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 9:33). Oh Peter!

If the departure of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter to speak, the ill-thought-through words of Peter seem to have been the cause of this divine interruption, which seems to have stopped Peter in mid-sentence: While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (Luke 9:34-35).

And so, when we find the expression, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen,” it is God’s most emphatic identification of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is Israel’s King. Peter has said so. Jesus has said so. The Father has now said so, in a most emphatic and dramatic way. But the identification of Jesus is just the beginning.

• The transfiguration confirms the identification of Jesus as Israel’s Messiah
• The transfiguration also identified the “kingdom” of which our Lord and His apostles spoke with the “kingdom” of which the Old Testament spoke, and for which the Jews were eagerly waiting.
• It clarifies that Jesus is neither Elijah nor Moses, but, indeed is One who is far Greater.
• The transfiguration demonstrates, once again, that the crown and the cross are a part of one plan.
• Finally, the transfiguration was a testimony to the fact that God is able to raise men from the dead, to possess the kingdom.

The last statement of the Father, spoken from within the splendor of that luminous cloud, explains the significance of Jesus’ identity. Here is the bottom line, the application of the divine affirmation: “Listen to Him” (Luke 9:35).

Peter had spoken well when he confessed Jesus to be God’s Messiah. He had never said anything more profound or more true. But the rest of what Peter said was neither true nor profitable. When Peter resisted the cross of Calvary, the thought as a man, and he spoke as though he were Satan. God’s words, spoken from the cloud were intended to silence Peter, to cause him to be more intent on listening than on speaking, to be more eager to learn from Christ than to correct Him. If Jesus was who Peter said He was, and who the Father indicated, then silence is more golden than speech. Peter had better speak less and listen more. God’s Messiah should be heard and His followers should be learners, listeners.



Sources:
Paragraph with * taken from "Luke", Mark L. Strauss, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. All other notes taken from "The Transfiguration of Christ", Bob Deffinbaugh.