Matthew 17:1-3: The Incomprehensible Glory of Jesus

His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.   Jesus, transfigured in Matthew 17:2

“Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is higher than the kings of the earth; for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords…Christ is sovereign Lord of all…His knowledge is without bound. His power is infinite, and none can resist Him. His riches are immense and inexhaustible. His majesty is infinitely awful.”   --Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) American Puritan theologian and preacher, from his sermon, “The Admirable Conjunction of Diverse Excellencies in Christ Jesus.”  

“What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”A.W. Tozer, the opening sentence in his book, Knowledge Of The Holy 

West Paces Ferry Road, which is near downtown Atlanta, is a street studded with mansions. The biggest mansion on that road belongs to the governor of Georgia. This awe-inspiring house sits behind a high wrought-iron fence and is guarded by several security check-points.   One time when we lived near Atlanta in the 1990s, I was driving by and gawking at the governor’s mansion.  There the Lord spoke to me in his still small voice.  He seemed to say, “Your view of my majesty is about the same as your view of the majesty of the governor of Georgia.”  

The Spirit’s words were a rebuke to me. 

My weak faith could not grasp the glory and the power of the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  My view of God was, and still is, way too small.   And this passage about Jesus’ transfiguration reveals how small my view of him is.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves (v. 1).   Even among his twelve disciples, Jesus had an inner core.  It was this core of three that he took with him up a high mountain.   This is not the only time Jesus took only these three with him.   When he healed Jarius’ daughter, “he allowed no one to enter with him” into the girl’s house “except Peter and John and James and the father and mother of the child,” (Luke 8:51).  These three also followed Jesus deeper into the Garden of Gethsemane than the other disciples on the night he was arrested (see Mark 14:33).

Peter and James and John following Jesus to the high mountain may parallel with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu following Moses up Mount Sinai (see Exodus 24:1, 9), especially since Moses is part of this Transfiguration narrative. The presence of an inner circle may have caused insecurity among the others and may have led to the argument that begins chapter 18.  We do know that Peter and James and John, along with Andrew, are always mentioned first whenever the disciples are listed (10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16, Acts 1:13).

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light (v. 2).   Other places in Scripture, where we see Jesus glorified, repeat some of the same characteristics mentioned here.   In Mark’s description of the Transfiguration, we read, “Jesus’ garments became radiant and exceedingly white” (Mark 9:3).   Luke’s version (9:29) says, “His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.” For more descriptions of the glorified Jesus, see Acts 22:6, Daniel 7:9, Revelation 1:13-16.

This is the beauty of the transfigured Jesus.  It completely destroys our casual, inadequate mental image of our Lord.  This isn’t a Shakespearian actor in a flowing robe or some Woodstock relic dancing through a meadow while playing a flute with hummingbirds and butterflies dancing around his head.  Here we have Jesus in all His glory and power and wonder, simultaneously infinitely beautiful and infinitely terrible.

The Biblical descriptions of the glory of our Lord, both in their consistency and in their terrible glory, should stretch and strain our paradigms.  Do we worship a Jesus that in our mind looks like a modern coffee shop hipster? Or do we pray to the “Son of Man coming in all His glory” (Matthew 16:27)?   Do we envision a flannel-board Jesus or do we envision the King of Kings and Lord of Lords leading a heavenly army with eyes aflame and a robe dipped in blood (Revelation 19:11-16)?   For too many Christians, our view of Jesus is downright anemic.  No wonder we live in fear, take no risks, and dream dreams no bigger than retiring to a beach villa. 

Matthew 16:27-28: The Cross, Judgment and the Coming Kingdom

“The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of His Father…” Jesus, Matthew 16:27

"When you die there's going to be a tombstone. It's going to have your name. It's gonna have the year you're born and the day you die. In between there's going to be a dash. And that dash is going to represent everything you did in your life, good and bad… What do you want your dash to represent?"
                  (Tim Tebow, from his 2010 documentary, “Everything in Between”) 

Jesus has been fully vetted by Peter in verse 16: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Then, ironically, instead of proclaiming victory over our enemies and the promise of a life of ease, our Lord declares that following him will requiring denying ourselves and taking up our cross (see v. 24).   This initially makes no sense.   Why will the Messiah, who will put his enemies under his feet (Psalm 110:1), call us to walk such a defeated path by demanding we carry our cross and lose our lives?  Our Lord gives two reasons: 1) Life is impossible to hold on to; the man whose treasure is in this life will find both that treasure and his life slipping away (see vv. 25-26).

2) There will be a judgment: “The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father and then he will repay each person, according to what he has done,” (v. 27).    The theme of judgment is constant throughout Matthew’s gospel as well as the rest of the New Testament.  It cannot simply be ignored.

The return of the Son of Man is the focal point of Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" which occupies in an entire wall in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum in Rome.  

Christ calls himself the Son of Man.  This title has a dual meaning, a meaning that emphasizes both sacrifice and judgment.  The first meaning for the title the Son of Man is a reference to Christ’s humanity.  He is the Second Adam who through his death reverses the curse of the first Adam (see Romans 5:17-19).   Additionally, Christ is the “Son of Man” of Daniel 7, who the Jews understood to be the Messiah.    When Christ calls himself the “Son of Man,” in the context of judgment, he is referring to himself as the long-awaited Hebrew Messiah.  (See the devotion in this series for 24:30 as well as verses these specific verses: 13:41, 19:28, 24:30, 25:31, 26:64.)

Salvation is a gift from God; no amount of man-generated works can achieve salvation (Romans 3:23, 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9).  However, in addition to salvation, there will be rewards given to each believer based on how he has invested his life.    (See 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, James 1:12, Revelation 2:10, 3:11).  Even non-believers will be judged based on their works.  But each non-believer will be condemned because no one ever has or ever will achieve the absolute holy perfection required to earn salvation apart from Christ.  

What Jesus said next is recorded by all three authors of the synoptic gospels (Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27).   His words have been used as fodder for critics who say that Jesus was mistaken about the time of his return. “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom,” (v. 28).  Some Bible scholars have offered several alternatives for correctly interpreting this passage.  Some say it was fulfilled with the resurrection of Christ; others say at the preaching of the gospel or at the time of Pentecost.   However, there is still another way to look at this verse that I think offers the best interpretation. 

 In Mark, Luke and Matthew, Jesus statement here immediately precedes his Transfiguration.   Therefore this verse acts as a prelude for the Transfiguration of the Son of Man, which provides a glimpse as to how he will be when he returns to establish his kingdom.   And Peter, James and John, who witnessed the Transfiguration, were some of those standing there with the LORD  (see v. 28).   Peter testified to this moment in 2 Peter 1:16-18. 

Bearing our cross is not an eternal state.  It is only temporary.   But it is mandatory.  The question becomes what kind of life are you living now?   A hundred years from now how will you wish you had lived life?   Are we following the One who will judge the living and the dead?  Or are we desperately holding on to the weak treasures of this temporal life?   Even as followers of Christ, are we playing it safe until Judgment Day?  Or are we taking great risks for Christ’s sake knowing he is coming soon and his reward is with him (see Revelation 22:12)?  

The Day of the Lord may quickly be upon us.  Perhaps the reason Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to witness his transfiguration is so we will realize how quickly and suddenly, without warning, he may return.   Maybe he will come before some of us taste death.   As we take great risks for the LORD, as we proclaim him to all nations, may we also be waiting and watching for His return.  (See 24:42-44)