The Transfiguration of Our Lord

A Meditation on the Word of God | Mark 9:2-9

When the Son of God came into this world as a Man, he set his glory aside and put on humility (Phil. 2). This means that, to see Jesus, the incarnate God, in his day-to-day existence was to see an ordinary human being. Jesus looked no different than other men. He had to become like us in every way, which means he had to be and look ordinary, the way we are and look ordinary.

But for one brief moment, Jesus takes his disciples—Peter, James, and John—up a mountain apart. There, he is transfigured before them. That means his form literally changes (the Greek word for Transfiguration is “metamorphosis.”) His face begins to shine like the sun. Light radiates through his clothing. The divine nature in all of its glory shines through the human nature. Moses and Elijah appear. They talk with Jesus. Moses represents the Law, Elijah the prophets. It’s a sign that all the Law and the Prophets are about Jesus and are fulfilled in Jesus. He is the center of the Scriptures. A bright cloud descends. The Father’s voice booms: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; Listen to him.” The disciples fall on their faces terrified. Jesus touches them. They look up. And all of it is gone in a moment. And they see Jesus only.

At his Transfiguration, we see Jesus for who he really is, as the Son of God in human flesh. And that’s really what Epiphany is all about. Christmas is the season where God gives us the heavenly gift, which is Jesus. Epiphany is the season where we see the gift unwrapped. At Epiphany, Jesus is revealed for who he really is: the Son of God. God from God, Light from Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. For one brief moment, we see it.

Ultimately, the Transfiguration of our Lord is a great comfort. When we see Jesus shining on the mountaintop, we’re getting a glimpse into the life that awaits every Christian. We’re getting a sneak peek of the Resurrection—when we too will be glorified like Jesus, with immortal, incorruptible bodies, free of sin and free of death. Christ by his cross has taken our sin and death so that we might live forever with him. The Transfiguration is a picture of the life of the world to come. Jesus gives us that picture now, so that when we struggle under the cross and sufferings of this present life, we might be comforted with the promise of life and resurrection. And so the Transfiguration is a living preview of what awaits the Christian. Jesus shines on the mountaintop; and at our resurrection from the dead, we will be glorified with him.

The Transfiguration is the last Sunday in Epiphany. After this Sunday, we enter the season of Lent. We put away the Alleluias and the Gloria in Excelsis for forty days. We leave the mountaintop, and follow Jesus to the cross. We will ponder anew the sufferings and death which won our salvation, so that we might learn to find in Jesus a beauty that we cannot find anywhere else in the world. There is no beauty, there is no light, there is no life, there is no hope, there is no peace outside of Jesus. But with Jesus, we have the promise of salvation. We gladly go where he leads in the confidence that, even should our Savior lead us into death, he has overcome death and the grave and risen victorious over all our enemies. He shares his Easter with us. We go forward in that hope and promise.