Matthew Chapter 17 Verses 1 – 2

• What an awesome scene! So awesome that Peter will just straight lose his mind in a second but consider what he sees! In an instant, Jesus is changed right before their eyes. He shines like the sun, pure and white as light! The King reveals His concealed perfection by putting off, for one moment, the likeness of men, and explodes with radiance!
• There are so many miraculous revelations happening in this one scene but I want to first key in on this word, just for a moment, that describes what happens to Jesus. He was transfigured…literally transformed…Optimus Prime style! Ha! One second He looks and appears as a mere man, and the next He is blazing, brilliant, gleaming, dare I say glittering!!! HA! Luminous, glorious and sublime…and the Kingdom of God beams through Him into this world!
• This word transfigured (metamorphoo in the Greek) is a word found four times in the Bible…twice talking about this scene…and twice talking about you. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord!” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
• This manifestation of the Kingdom of God present with power, in this scripture set, in this scene in Mark…only for Jesus…but know this…He has given it to you through the cross, man…and now you are something else…or you can be…your choice. The very presence and power of God is within you Christian and we too are to beam, become brilliant, become luminous, light up the darkness…spread glitter man! HA! Make folks around you flip out and glorify God! This is simply what happens as you give your life over to Him day in and day out…man you’re transformed…here a little, there a little until you’re there on that mountain top life, hanging with the saints of old and revealing the very Kingdom of Heaven here on earth…
• There’s so much to love about this scene but one more thing I want to point out before I move on. No mere man can reveal this. No mere profit can do this. No lowly angel can manifest this…This is Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of all creation and that is proven, eye witness proven, right here in this scene as He just for a moment lays aside His humanity…He even has the power to do that! That is comforting, reassuring and encouraging to me in my faith! But even more, He didn’t need James, John or Peter there…Not in the least…He didn’t have to let them come…but His grace, man…Watch what else happens…

Matthew Chapter 17 Verses 3 - 8

• This scene is literally miracle after miracle. Yes Jesus in all His glory is revealed, but, what about Moses and Elijah showing up? That is a miracle and a comforting one at that by the way because that is a proof positive for you and for me of life after death, right? Resurrection! Eternal and everlasting life. Here are two that had breathed their last on earth 1,000 years-plus before this and now they stand talking with Jesus! Third miracle, how did Peter know who they were? Were they wearing name plates on their shirts? Brother Elijah, Elder Moses, HA! I think not! There are no name plates in the Kingdom of God! HA! In that moment, in light of God’s glory man, in the presence of Jesus illuminating power, he just knew and it’s amazing…when you are hanging out with Jesus, close to Him, what you’ll just know…
• You’ll look back and say, “How on earth…?” But the answer is simple, Jesus was there. Fourth miracle. Jesus stayed on earth. He could have just gone back with Moses and Elijah, right? He’s perfect, fit for heaven, He could even go where Moses and Elijah could not…into the very presence of the Father…but He chose to stay on earth, to finish the work of redemption! Miracles all around in this scene and Peter loses it. He just can’t contain himself
• Now, this is the scripture that most folks lean on when they identify the two prophets or two witnesses of the Great Tribulation spoken of in Revelation 11. The two that have super powers as it were. They breathe fire and have power over the skies as they can stop rain. They can turn water into blood and they can cause plagues. Then the beast kills them but three days later, they stand on their feet and then take off Ironman style into the clouds! Some folks believe these two are indeed Moses and Elijah…
• Now, watch this! We are going to see something sweet and subtle but so very important. Peter can’t contain himself…he has seen a glory glimpse of the Son of God. He sees Moses, He looks upon Elijah and his heart explodes! “Lord, this is good…if You want, I’ll right now build entire tabernacles…I’ll do great works for You!” It’s a beautiful call to the Lord…

• And then the Father speaks…the implication is that James, John, Peter, Moses Elijah and Jesus all hear (keep that number, the number 6 in your mind for a minute) and the Father says, “He is love. Through Him, I am pleased. Hear Him.” Harken to Him, listen to Him, seek to find out, seek to learn Him…and then, Peter builds the tabernacles.

• James, John and Peter bow themselves…and the tabernacles of the Holy Spirit are prepared! Man that is such a powerful and yet subtle scene and truth…That God does not ask of you great works of your hands but what He is wanting is a great work of your heart…and the greatest work, the very work of God, is for each of us to believe on His Son…to turn to Him face down and allow Him to be our all in all…and then, their eyes only see Jesus! Just like yours and mine will!

Matthew Chapter 16 Verses 9 – 13

• So this is interesting because the very end of the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5-6 says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” The end. HA! I’m so glad it didn’t end there!
• But Jesus already taught to the multitudes, and we find this in Matthew 11:14, that John the Baptist was a fulfillment of Malachi 4 when He said, “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” So did the disciples just miss that statement? No, there’s just more to it…John the Baptist came before the great day of the Lord…when Jesus first came to us to die for our sins, but Jesus reveals here that Elijah will come again before the dreadful day of the Lord…when He comes to judge the sin that remains…and this is another proof point as to why many believe that one of the two prophets of the Great Tribulation is indeed Elijah…

Matthew Chapter 17 Verses 14 – 17

• Now this is a difficult scene to fully grasp because I wasn’t there and all I have is a tunnel vision type sentence telling me what Jesus said…why is He seemingly frustrated? I, we, folks don’t really know…could be towards His disciples, could be towards this father…maybe there was some sort of deceit in his heart…(Jesus saw Nathanael’s heart in John 1:47), but if we draw from context, Jesus is coming down off of the mount of Transfiguration.
• A holy and glorious scene with the saints and with the Father and He is immediately met with the curse upon creation…it could be that He is simply vexed because He is quickly having to close that scene in His own heart…and here’s the application, and I love this…many are religious and pious in their own times with God and their own understanding of Him, their prayer and their studies…but the power must also transfer to spiritual conflict and actual works for the Lord…James says, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17
• Barclay makes the point like this, and I like this, “It is easy to feel Christian in the moment of prayer and meditation; it is easy to feel close to God when the world is shut out. But that is not religion – that is escapism. Real religion is to rise from our knees before God to meet men and the problems of the human situation.” But this is certainly difficult, sometimes frustrating…seemingly even for Jesus…