Luke 9:28-43
Jesus’ Mountaintop
Transfiguration
Transfiguration
The mountains are
the most ideal places to pray and experience God. At the mountaintop, we can
have intimate fellowship with God and experience spiritual uplifting.
At all important
junctures, Jesus would retreat, quieten down, and pray earnestly. This time, He
brought with Him three disciples to the mountains to pray. But the three specially
chosen disciples were useless companions. They fell asleep. Anyway, Jesus was
often all alone in His experience of internal turmoil and struggles.
Although they
were asleep, the disciples woke up just in time, by the grace of God. They witnessed
the transfiguration of Jesus’ appearance and His dazzling white clothes. This
was the eternal Christ in His post-resurrection glory!
Jesus’
transfiguration tells us that He is not merely a spiritual guru, He is full of glory, honour, and authority. He is the sovereign
Lord of our lives.
Let’s come and
look up to the mountains and behold the glorious and bedazzling appearance of
Christ!
Go Up to the Mountaintop
and Go Down to the Valley and Plains
The transfiguration
of Jesus on the mountains and His radiant white clothes affirmed His identity
as the eternal God the Son.
This was also an
anticipation of Jesus’ glorification after His death, resurrection and
ascension.
Moses represented
the Law while Elijah represented the Prophets. The appearance of these two
great representatives of Israel tradition next to Jesus showed that His
identity is unparalleled.
Elijah and Moses
discussed with Jesus concerning His departure (or, exodus), which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (v. 31). The
two luminaries were cheering Jesus on, affirming and encouraging Him to
accomplish his God-given mission. Their discussion was not merely about Jesus’
individual fate but involved the prophecies of the Law and the Prophets
concerning the Messiah who would accomplish salvation for all nations through
His suffering and death.
Jesus, the
Messiah died on the cross to accomplish salvation, leading the people out of the
bondage of sin and death, which we term the “second exodus.” In Christ, we receive God’s promised inheritance,
which are the redemption of all things and a renewal of life.
Jesus’
mountaintop transfiguration is a kind of “peak experience.” We ought to desire
this kind of peak experiences. These are like “tonic” to revive and renew us.
We gain strength and solidify our faith through these peak experiences.
Have you ever had
such “peak experiences”?
Let’s retreat to
the “mountaintop” to pursue God’s presence and to desire the anointing of the
Holy Spirit. We need to experience the miraculous signs and wonders, immerse
ourselves in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, see visions, dream dreams, and
have extraordinary fellowship with the Lord.
“Peak experience”
is very good indeed! That’s why Peter said, “Why don’t we build three tents to
keep the glory and not leave this mountain?”
But the
tent-building project did not materialise because Moses and Elijah were taken
away. Theologically they had to be gone. They were not supposed to linger in
the tents along side with Jesus because their era had passed and now Jesus came
and inaugurated a new era of salvation.
And then Jesus
and His disciples went down from the mountain the next day and a great crowd
met them. One of them cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my only son. An
evil spirit seized him. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth. My son
is hurt. You disciples wanted to cast it out, but they could not.”(Vv. 39-40)
Not only did the
disciples fall asleep on the mountains, but now, back on the plains, they could
not cast out a spirit.
They were really
useless. Then God’s only son, Jesus reprimanded the unclean spirit, healed the
only son of this father, and gave the boy back to his father, and the crowd was
amazed at the majesty of God (vv. 42-43).
Jesus did not
stay long in the mountains. Instead, He went down to the crowded valley and
plains in order to heal those in need and cast out demons.
Jesus understood
that His “peak experience” on the mountains was to equip Him to accomplish what
was recorded in the Books of the Law and the Prophets. On the plains, in the
countryside, Jesus fought against the forces of evil; set free those who were
oppressed and enchained; and to sacrifice His own life for the salvation of the
world.
Coming down from
the mountains, Jesus served ceaselessly throughout His entire journey to
Jerusalem until He arrived at another mountain, Golgotha, to suffer humiliation
and to be crucified on the cross.
When He was
crucified, Jesus was not accompanied by the illustrious Moses and Elijah.
Instead, He was accompanied by two robbers who were crucified next to Him. This
time, the Father did not speak from heaven. What a contrasting “peak experience”!
Whether it was
the mountaintop or the valley and plains, whether on this mountain or on that
mountain, whether it was the glory of bedazzling brightness or the glory of
humiliation, Jesus embraced it all and never flinched!
Conclusion
We must not be
contented with the busy service or the boring and monotonous life of the “plains”.
We need to “go up the mountains” to experience God and pursue the sweetness and
power of being filled by the Holy Spirit.
For example, we
can have these experiences through listening to an inspiring sermon, or
participating in praise and prayer rally, or signs and wonders conference, or
silent retreat.
Let me quote the Alders
gate experience of John Wesley which was his “peak experience”.
On May 24, 1738,
John Wesley’s seeking for the grace of God ended in a meeting house on Alders
gate Street in London. He wrote in his journal that now-famous account of his
conversion: “In the evening I reluctantly
attended a meeting in Alders gate. Someone read from Luther's Preface to the Epistle to Romans. About 8:45 p.m. while he was
describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I
felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for
salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even
mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
It took John Wesley some time to learn how to live the life of
faith, for he was not always possessed of joy and thought he had fallen from
salvation. It took time for him to see that it is not Christ and good works,
but Christ alone who saves, resulting in good works.
As time went on, John Wesley was mightily used of the Lord to
reform England. His Methodists became a national force. John rode thousands of
miles (as many as 20,000 a year) preaching as only a man filled with the Holy
Spirit can preach, telling the gospel to all who would listen. He acted
"as though he were out of breath in pursuit of souls." Wherever he
preached, lives changed and manners and morals altered for the better. It is
often conjectured that his preaching helped spare England the kind of
revolution that occurred in France.
The “peak
experiences” we are talking about come with responsibilities, that is, to “go
down to the valley and plains” to serve the needs of the crowd.
As we serve, our
character will be transformed and subjected under the authority of Christ. This
is the way of achieving sanctification!
If we do not “go
down to the plains” to serve, then all our so-called “peak experiences” are
merely the pursuit of endless emotionalism. This will not bring any changes to
lives or to the world.
When we go down
to “the plain” to serve the crowd, we will see for ourselves the rampancy of
evil and the sufferings of the people. We can truly practice the power of faith
and let the almighty power and the brilliant glory of Christ overcome the evil
forces of darkness. Serving at the foot of the mountain gives us a broader
experience of life, which is filled with challenges and endless surprises!
Some people, even
after many decades of believing in the Lord, are still telling the same old
testimony. They talk about how they had experienced the Lord years ago when
they were heartbroken, or when they fell ill, or when they failed their exams,
etc.
This is akin to
Peter requesting to remain on the mountain. One day we will discover that this
particular experience cannot sustain us to journey on in faith. God wants us to
experience His grace and faithfulness anew every day.
If we walk with
God, every day will be a new day. We will enter new realms and experience new
horizons. We will be able to tell fresh testimonies one after another. Forget
what is behind and strive forward to what is before.
Where is your
“valley and plains”?
Your “valley and
plains” could be the workplace, or at school, or in your small groups, or in
your various ministries, or at home, or in the messiness of human
relationships; you need to take up the challenges and make things right.
I Will Move On
Even All by Myself
A cloud
overshadowed the disciples and a voice said, “This is My Son, my Chosen One;
listen to Him”. After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone (vv. 35-36).
The Father spoke,
Moses and Elijah departed, and Jesus was all alone. This description shows the
importance and uniqueness of Jesus. The encouragement by Moses and Elijah had
ceased and even the affirming voice of the Father had passed.
The “peak experience”
of Jesus had come to an end and now He was alone. Who else could He rely upon?
All He had before
Him were three drowsy disciples. Yet, Jesus persevered in His journey to
Jerusalem where He would suffer and sacrifice His life to defeat the Devil and,
thus, accomplish salvation.
There are many
people who can’t stand being alone. They must hear the voice of others. If
there is no one around, they will turn on the television to be comforted by the
sound it makes. God wants to train each of us to endure loneliness in order to
cultivate our tenacity so that we may be resilient against failures and
frustrations. In this way, we will be able to withhold the realities of life
which contain blood and tears, joy and uncertainties.
Are you all alone
at the moment? Do you feel lonely? Do you feel disillusion? People around you
don’t understand you? They can’t help you? Jesus also had to face many
important moments alone!
The affirmations,
applauses, and protection from those around us will pass away.
Many, who,
despite having believed the Lord and were fed and taught for many years, are still
unable or unwilling to be leaders or teachers. Some even refuse to lead prayer
and list their excuse as “I don’t know how to pray! I am not qualified!” Yet,
these are the same people who murmur and complain the most.
Do not throw a
self-pity party. You can still journey on despite being alone. It is time to
learn to stand up! You are all alone in this journey because God has chosen
you. This is an honour for you. God is honing you to accomplish your mission.
The word of God
proclaims, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
We have no choice
but to obey the Lord’s instructions and follow in His footsteps. Even though we
may be alone, we still ought to stand up and serve, feed, and lead others. Do
not wait for others to serve you!
Jesus was filled with
the Holy Spirit from the moment He was conceived in Mary. When He received the
anointing of the Holy Spirit, He began His ministry. He preached the gospel,
healed the sick, cast out the demons, called the disciples, and accomplished
His mission by obeying the Father even to His death.
Likewise, let’s
now “go up the mountain” and pray for the Holy Spirit to fill and empower us,
so that despite being all alone and facing various constraints, we can stand up
and “go down to the valley and plains” to take up the challenges and accomplish
our mission.
