It had been one of those weeks. Rumors about who He was were spreading among the villages that surrounded Caesarea Philippi. Some were saying that He was a manifestation of John the Baptist, others were saying He was a reincarnation of Elijah, still others thought He was one of the prophets. Jesus was curious about Who the disciples thought He was. “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”[1] The disciples had spent nearly three years with Jesus. They had seen him walk on water, feed the hungry, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and more than that they had heard Him teach as one who has authority. No doubt they had shared their suspicions with one another for a while now but at long last they were ready to confirm and confess those suspicions. Peter, speaking for the group as he so often did, declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[2] This confession had to be encouraging to hear. After all the time, effort, and energy Jesus had put into these disciples they were at last ready to confess Him as the Christ.

Jesus was eager to build on their understanding of Who and what the Christ is. So, He “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”[3] Jesus wanted His disciples to understand what was about to happen to Him. He wanted them to be prepared, but also, as true man, Jesus would appreciate all the encouragement and support they could give Him. Instead, what He got was a rebuke. “Never Lord!” He [Peter] said. “This shall never happen to you!”[4] Peter, one the disciples that was closest to Him, now stood against Him. Jesus had no choice but to say to His friend “Get behind me, Satan!”[5] We will take a closer look at that statement in a few weeks, but for today it is enough for us to imagine how discouraging this conflict had to be for both Jesus and His disciples.

Have you ever had one of those weeks; a week where just when you thought things were finally starting to go your way, suddenly and unexpectedly the rug gets snatched out from under your feet and you find yourself down in the dumps? I don’t know, maybe you get passed over for the promotion you thought you were sure to get, or maybe you find out that a friend you had been confiding in has been talking behind your back, or maybe you got a Valentine’s Day card with someone else’s name in it? There are all sorts of reasons why at the end of a promising week you might find yourself down in the dumps.

I think most of us can relate to the kind of week Jesus was having. That’s why I think most of us will appreciate our gospel lesson from Mark 9:2-9. This is Mark’s account of Jesus’ transfiguration, where Mark tells us when Peter saw Jesus transfigured before him, he exclaimed, “5 Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” I have borrowed Peter’s words as my theme for this sermon and what I hope to do today is show you that it was good for Jesus, it was good for His disciples, and it is good for us to be here.

First let me show you why I think it was good for Jesus to be there.[6] As I just said, Jesus has not been getting much support and encouragement from His closest friends. But on the mountain of transfiguration, Mark tells us “4 and there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” There is a lot of speculation as to why Elijah and Moses were on that mountaintop. Some say it was because Moses was a representative of the Law and Elijah was a representative of the gospel. Personally, I suspect the reason why Elijah and Moses were on that mountaintop was because they were two of Jesus’ oldest friends. It was the preincarnate Jesus who spoke to Moses from the burning bush after Moses had been exiled from Egypt and it was the preincarnate Jesus who spoke to Elijah in a still small voice as Elijah hid from Jezebel in cave. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus go way back. Considering the recent conflict with His disciples, it was good for Jesus to receive support and encouragement from these old friends.

Another reason why I think it was good for Jesus to be there was because of what Peter says in verse 5. “5… Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter wants to put up a shelter for Jesus and His friends. Likely Peter had in mind the kind of shelter they built for the festival of Tabernacles, a week-long festival that celebrated the dwelling of God among His people. Peter wanted Jesus to dwell in this moment, he wanted Jesus to enjoy His transfiguration for as long as possible. Partly this is because Peter still did not understand why the Christ had to suffer and die, but at least a part of Peter correctly understood that Jesus deserved to dwell in glory. Despite their confusing about what it meant to be the Christ; it was good for Jesus to be adored by His disciples.

A third reason why I think it was good for Jesus to be there was because of what God the Father said about Jesus in verse 7. “7… This is my Son, whom I love.” God the Father had said something similar at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Then it seems the primary audience was John the Baptist, here it seems the primary audience is Peter, James, and John. However, it must have been encouraging for Jesus to hear that, as He nears the end of His earthly ministry, God the Father had not changed His mind about His Son. God the Father was proud of the perfect life that Jesus had lived and fully approved of the sacrificial death Jesus was preparing to die. As the cross loomed ever larger in the foreground, it was good for Jesus to receive this validation from His heavenly Father.

On the Mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus received support from old friends, the adoration of His disciples and validation from His heavenly Father. That’s why I think it was good for Jesus to be there.

Now let me show you why I think it was good for the disciples to be there. As I have repeatedly said, the disciples struggled to understand why the Christ had to suffer and die. It was good for them to hear Elijah and Moses “4… talking with Jesus”. In the gospel of Luke, we learn that the topic of their conversation was Jesus’ “departure which He was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.”[7] Though they would continue to resist, the additional confirmation from these heroes of the Old Testament made it increasingly difficult for the disciples to reject the fact that the Christ was going to suffer and die. It was good for the disciples to hear what Elijah and Moses had to say.

Another reason why I think it was good for the disciples to be there was because of what happened to Jesus. In verses 2-3 Mark tells us, “There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” Something like this had happened to Moses when he spoke with the LORD atop mount Saini. The Israelites saw the glory of the LORD reflected off of Moses’ face and knew that Moses spoke to them as one who had been given authority. The main difference here is that Jesus did not reflect the glory of the LORD. Rather, Jesus is the glory of the LORD. Jesus did not speak with authority that had been given to Him. Rather, Jesus spoke as the giver of authority. It was good for the disciples who had recently rebuked Him to be reminded that in Jesus all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.

A third reason why I think it was good for the disciples to be there is because of what God the Father said to the disciples in verse 7. “7… Listen to him!” The disciples, like so many others, had their own idea what the Christ should be. They thought he should be someone who would make this world a better place; someone who would solve their problems and supply their wants and needs. The disciples were so convinced of this that they kept trying to convince Jesus this is what it meant to be the Christ. But they were so busy telling Jesus how they thought things should be that they forgot who the Rabbi in their relationship was. It was good for these disciples to be reminded by the heavenly Father that the defining characteristic of disciple is not one who talks, but rather, one who listens.

On the mountain of Transfiguration, the disciples heard Moses and Elijah talk about Jesus’ suffering and death, they saw that Jesus spoke as one who possesses absolute authority, and they were reminded that the job of a disciple is to listen. It was good for the disciples to be there.

Finally, now let me show you why I think it is good for us to be here. Time has allowed us to have a rather broad view of the Transfiguration. For Peter, James, and John who looked upon the face of the transfigured Christ and stood inside the cloud of the LORD’s glory, the events of the Transfiguration were overwhelming; they were frightened by it and struggled to understand what was happening in the moment. We, on the other hand, have the luxury of viewing these events from a distance. From our vantage point we are not excited by the sight of Moses and Elijah or distracted by the ramblings of Peter, James, and John. Rather, we look upon the mountain of transfiguration and see the great law giver, and a powerful prophet from the Old Testament standing side by side with the prominent Apostles of the New Testament. We see that Christianity is not a breakaway from the Old Testament; Christianity is not a new or different path to salvation. Rather, we see how the prophecy concerning the seed of Eve in Genesis 3:15 is fulfilled in the proclamation of the one and only Son in John 3:16. It is good for us to see the timeless harmony of God’s salvation plan.

Another reason why I think it is good for us to be here is because we get to see Jesus having one of those weeks. There was a reason Jesus climbed that mountain. Personally, I believe part of the reason was because, humanly speaking, He needed it. I think it is comforting for us to know that Jesus has been there done that. Jesus knows how disappointing and discouraging life can be. When Jesus invites us to come to Him with our concerns and worries, we do not approach a cold and callous Christ who tells us to “suck it up buttercup”. Rather, when we approach Jesus, we approach someone who has sympathy for our situation and empathizes with our frustrations. It is good for us to see Jesus having one of those weeks.

A third reason why I think it is good for us to be here is because of what it says in verses 8-9, “8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Jesus did not except Peter’s offer to build Him a shelter so that He could enjoy His transfiguration as long as possible. Rather, after the heroes of the Old Testament had departed and the glory of the Lord had faded away, Jesus came down the mountain. Instead of keeping the company of old friends, Jesus came down the mountain where He was surrounded by enemies. Instead of listening to the adoration of disciples who wanted to build Him a shelter, Jesus came down the mountain to hear the screams of those who sought His humiliation on a cross. Instead of basking in the validation of His heavenly Father, Jesus came down the mountain in order to be forsaken by His Father. It is good for us to understand what Jesus sacrificed when He came down that mountain.

As we look upon the mountain of Transfiguration from our vantage point in time, we see the timeless harmony of God’s salvation plan, we see the humanity of our Savior Who empathizes with us, we see the sacrifice Jesus made in order to save us. As curious as we might be about what it would have been like to be there, I think it is good for us to be here.

So, regardless of what kind of week you have had prior to our celebration of the Transfiguration, I hope that I have been able to show you why I think it was good for Jesus, good for the disciples, and good for us to be here. Amen

[1] Mark 8:29

[2] Matthew 16:16

[3] Mark 8:31

[4] Matthew 16:23

[5] Mark 8:33

[6] I’ll confess that I don’t often think about the transfiguration from Jesus’ point of view. I think I get all caught up in the sight of my Savior glorified that I tend to overlook the fact that, humanly speaking, Jesus probably needed to be on that mountaintop as much as anybody else.

[7] Luke 9:31