Matthew 17:1-8. 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Jesus is the King of Glory. That which was in Him, that which was His glory, was made visible in the Transfiguration. Hebrews 1:3 tells us “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. . .” The event made a profound impact on Peter, James, and John. For many years later, John penned these words in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John had been an eyewitness to the glory of God in Jesus Christ and in his Gospel, he emphasized the deity of Jesus and the glory of His person all throughout his writing.
Jesus had laid aside His glory when He came to earth. Listen to Jesus praying to the Father in John 17:5, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” And here, for a brief moment, He resumed his identity as the King of Glory in front of Peter, James, and John.
Jesus is the answer to the Old Testament questions asked in Psalm 24:7-10 7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty– he is the King of glory.”
Who is this King of Glory? The Transfiguration tells us as we see Jesus displayed in great light. His face was ablaze like the sun, and His clothes were whiter than any white the disciples had ever seen. Jesus is the King of Glory because He is the Light of the World. That which He declared about Himself was now on display.
He is the King of Glory because He is Supreme. Who was it that showed up on this mountain with Jesus? Moses and Elijah, right? Moses received the Law and gave it to God’s people. Elijah was a great prophet. Their attendance at this mountaintop event signaled to the disciples that Jesus was greater than the Law and the Prophets.
In Matthew 5:17 Jesus had said that he did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them. Therefore, the presence of these two heroes is a beautiful picture of the validation of Christ’s ministry. Moses and Elijah pointed to him. In fact, Moses said something very interesting in Deuteronomy 18:15 – “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers – it is to him that you shall listen…” We will see that God the Father says the same thing about Jesus in our Transfiguration passage. He told Peter, James and John to listen to Jesus.
The Law and the Prophets were never intended to be the end-all-be-all for the sin problem. They were to point people to Jesus. They were to ready people for something greater. The prophets didn’t provide salvation. The Law couldn’t provide salvation. The Law offered a way to deal with the sin problem through animal sacrifices, but those bloody sacrifices had to be repeated. It was just a temporary fix. The curse of sin was an ongoing problem. Jesus not only became our sin, but also took the curse of sin on Himself as well which meant He removed it from us!
Galatians 3:13 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Jesus became cursed by sin so that we could go free.
The fact that Moses and Elijah, who had once lived on earth, appeared with Jesus added further understanding to the disciples about Jesus as the King of Glory. This encounter would have confirmed what they had learned and known in their heads but now saw with their eyes. There is life after this life! Jesus is the King of Glory because He is King over death. Moses and Elijah, who were dead, appeared with Jesus who was and is the “Resurrection and the Life.”
Don’t you think Peter, James, and John, when the going got tough, when they were being persecuted for their faith, when James was being put to death by the sword, when John was in prison, when according to historical tradition, Peter was being crucified upside down, don’t you think they remembered that their King of Glory was Lord over death? Don’t you think they gained courage and strength from having witnessed the reality that those who die in the Lord go on to live with Him? They had seen it firsthand!
Jesus said to John in Revelation 1:17-18 “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” When John heard those words and started to write them down, his mind would have gone back to the mountain, back to what he witnessed. He would have recalled that Moses and Elijah, though “dead,” were still “alive” in a different sense and were having a conversation with Jesus about His mission.
Interesting too, that Luke gives us a detail about Moses and Elijah’s appearance that Matthew and Mark leave out. Luke says Moses and Elijah appeared in “glorious splendor.” They were already in some way, experiencing Jesus’ glory. They had been somehow transformed.
Romans 8:17-18 says, “17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Moses and Elijah were sharing in the glory of Christ on that mountaintop. We are meant to share in Christ’s glory!
Since we live on this side of the resurrection, we know Christ succeeded in His mission. He is the King of Glory because He is the Living One!
He is the King of Glory because He reigns forever and forever! Presidents and kings come and go, but Jesus is eternally the King of Glory.
He is the King of Glory because He is the Locksmith Supreme. He has every key, including the keys to hell and death and He can release anyone from anything, including the curse of death. Listen to Him! Are we listening to Him?
We hear the voice of God the Father, the voice that declared something similar at Jesus’ baptism, declare, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matt. 17:5) However, God went on to add to this declaration at the Trasnfiguration when He said, “Listen to Him.” God was announcing to Peter, James and John, that Jesus was not only the Son of God, but He was God. He was the Revelation of the Divine Word. Colossians 1:19 says, 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” They see and hear it more clearly than they ever have before. Jesus is God. “Listen to Him,” meant OBEY HIM!
Jesus is the whole focal point of God’s redemptive plan. He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) No one else was transfigured in this passage. No one else was endorsed by the Father. Jesus stands out! He stands above all. He stands alone as Supreme! In Christ alone I place my trust and find my glory in the power of the cross! Jesus is the King of Glory because He is God! We are to listen to Him by obeying Him!
Just as the cloud fully enveloped those who were there on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus wants to fully envelope you; body, mind, and spirit. He wants to deposit His glory inside of you. II Cor. 4:6-7 tells us, 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, and a walk with Christ is a walk of increasing glory. II Cor. 3:18 “18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” You know what that means? Like Peter, those of us who have truly experienced transformation through salvation and who are walking with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, we want more and more of the glory experience of being up close and personal with Jesus. It means life with Jesus gets better and better every day.
Some of you need to open yourself up to the possibility of seeing Jesus differently. Some of you need to let Him deposit His glory into your hearts by accepting His invitation for salvation. Some of you need to adjust your worship, your witness, and your daily walk to reflect that you are living for the One who is the King of Glory. Whatever you need to do in order to respond to the King of Glory, He is speaking. Listen to Him.
