28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,[b] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[c] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
Dazzling White
Many commercials for detergent claim to make your clothes dazzling, or whiter than white. In ancient Israel I can imagine that it was hard to keep anything clean. Jesus’ purity was veiled during his time on earth. He would have been touched by the dust in the heat of the day as much as everyone else. However, when the veil is lifted and Jesus is revealed in his glory, his holiness and purity shines through with unspeakable brightness. He stands with prophetic figures of the ages, indicating prophetic fulfillment. When the disciples see this and Peter recognizes the characters he is beholding, he wants to build them all booths or tents. However, he has made a mistake. He has equated Jesus as the Messiah with the great deliverers of ages gone by. He sees Jesus as merely a great man, but God the Father singles Jesus out from the other two great Jewish figures.
Who is Jesus? He is the pure, holy, radiant, Son of God. Buddha, Mohammad, and other moral reformers may bring a religious code in their wake, but they are not the same category of person as Jesus. Jesus does not teach about God through a holy book or by profound teaching, Jesus teaches about God by being the reflection of the Father, by being God incarnate. There is no-one like Jesus. Unlike Peter, we should never elevate anyone to a status equal in our lives to Jesus. No spouse, child, friend, or relation is equal to Jesus. Our whole lives have to be oriented around him.
Prayer
There is no-one like you.
You are more beautiful
Than anyone ever
Everyday You’re the same
You never change, no never
And how could I ever deny
The love of my Savior
You are to me everything
All I need forever
How could You be so good to me?
There is no one like You
There has never ever been anyone like You
Everywhere You are there
Earth or air surrounding
I’m not alone, the heavens sing along
My God You’re so astounding
How could You be so good to me
Eternally I believe that’
You, You, You, You, You, You
How could You be so good to me?
How could You be so good to me?
We’re not alone, so sing along
We’re not alone, so sing along, sing along, sing along
There is no one like You
There has never been anyone like You
There is no one like You
There has never been anyone like You
There his no one like our God, yeah
Questions
- Where is Jesus? How does this experience compare to the Exodus?
- Why do Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus?
- How does the Father correct the disciples?
- Who competes with Jesus for time and attention in your life?
- How can you listen to Jesus more intently?
Plymothian 