Jesus took his inner circle to the top of a mountain. Luke said that they went there to pray. In fact, it might have seemed routine to the disciples, for Jesus often took his disciples aside to pray. They had no idea of what they were about to see. The disciples were often like children. Luke notes that the disciples went to sleep, apparently while Jesus was praying.

When they awoke, they awoke to an astonishing sight. Before their eyes, they saw Jesus change. Transfigured is the word that Mark uses. Transfigured comes from the same Greek word from which we get the word metamorphosis. Every child in grade school learns what metamorphosis is. It is that change that an ugly caterpillar goes through that causes him to turn to a beautiful butterfly. Teenage boys know what that word means as well. It is that girl who, on the last day of school, went home ugly and on the first day of the new school year came back a beautiful young woman. It takes longer for boys, they need more than a summer.

Jesus went through some kind of change and the disciples saw the future. They saw the Son in all of his glory. For one brief moment they did not see the earthly Jesus who walked among them; they saw the resurrected Lord who had conquered all and reigned with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They saw who he had been before the incarnation and who he was to be after the resurrection.

The disciples saw the shekinah, the glory of God in Jesus. I have always been fascinated by the idea of glory. It has to do with greatness and accomplishment and it almost always has to do with light, brightness, shining.

The concept of shekinah glory is the awesome presence of God dwelling among his people. The word shekinah is from the Hebrew verb shakan, which means "to dwell." (EBCOT, Numbers 9:17) The idea of glory, not only bears the idea of light, it also carries the idea of heavy and rich. As a part of the covenant that God made with Israel, he would dwell among his people. When God occupied the Tabernacle, his glory came down upon the tent in visible form as it had been in the pillar of fire that lead them in the wilderness. The Hebrew word, shakan means to tabernacle. God, tabernacled among his people.

The concept appears in John 1: 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." John affirms that the glory of God tabernacled among men, but this time it was God become flesh. John said, "We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." He had in mind nothing less than the full presence of God. Jesus is the same as he who dwelled among Israel. The writer of Hebrews picked up on the idea in Hebrews 1:3 "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature." Jesus is the effulgence, the outshining of the glory of God, the very essence of that glory.

For first time, the disciples saw Jesus in his glory. His face shone like the sun and his garment became white as light. Mark notes that "His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them." It was the same glory that Moses saw on the Mountain so many thousands of years ago and then he could only see the back side of God.

In my mind I see all sorts of atmospheric events, wind blowing, clouds swirling, lighting flashing and thunder pealing. Jesus shines so brightly that the sun seems dull. Suddenly there are two figures with Jesus. Somehow the disciples recognize them as Moses and Elijah.

Why did Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus? Some say that they were encouraging Jesus in the things that were about to take place. That may be so, but I think that it was something else. I think that it was primarily for the sakes of the disciples, they were given a very special vision. Moses was the law giver and the one who made the covenant with God on behalf of Israel. Elijah was always thought of as an eschatological figure, that is, someone who pointed to the future, to the end of time. By appearing with Jesus, it told the disciples that Jesus stands in the middle of Salvation History, Jesus holds the beginning and the end together. He is the one who brings it all into focus. All of salvation history pivots on this one person, the God-Man who lays down his life for our sins and who is raised from the dead. The promises of the past are being fulfilled in Jesus and the promises of the future are secure in him.

This was beyond the imaginations of the disciples. Peter started babbling when it was best to be quiet, "Rabbi it is good for us to be here and let us make three tabernacles: One for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah," and Luke adds, "not realizing what he was saying."

If this was not enough, a bright cloud overshadowed them and God spoke to them directly, "This is my Son, My Chosen One, Listen to Him!" I can't imagine the disciples ever being the same again. They did not just see the resurrected Lord, they saw the victorious Lord, the conquering God, the one who sets at the right hand of the Father and whose feet rest on the enemy as a footstool. They knew now that no matter what happens to them God will win. They could be victorious or they could suffer and die and they knew that it was not in vain because God had already won the war and victory is his.

We are fallen, sinful creatures. Our souls are dull and brittle and fragile. Our lives are punctuated with suffering and grief. We know that this in not the way life is supposed to be. So, God in his mercy has shown us the future. One day, Jesus will return in all his glory. And every knee shall bow before him. He will return as the conquering king to judge the heavens and the earth.

What will happen to us when he comes? The Bible says that we who are in Christ also will be changed! Paul said: 1 Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." We will be transfigured! John said 1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." (NASB)

We are promised the glory of God, a sharing in the glory if you will. Our sufferings are, as Paul put it, momentary light affliction compared to the eternal weight of glory that is far beyond all comparison. Here, that old idea of glory as something heavy, weighty, rich dominates over the idea of light. I believe that the currency of heaven will not be silver or gold, but the glory of God that has been produced in us. What a thought to dwell upon in times when we feel oppressed or lonely or afraid.

What a view of the future! Transformation comes to those who have put their faith in Christ. Let us live life, not in defeat, but in victory, as the Sons and Daughters of our glorious God!