seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 17:1 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 covered 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.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
So.... Herod had it right.... there was a reincarnation.... but it was Elijah appearing as John the Baptist.... not John the Baptist appearing as Jesus. So, Peter thought he came along to do the disciple work. He thought Jesus brought him up the side of the mountain to build a tent for guests. You know, like making up the guest room when a guest preacher comes to town. That's what I am reading in verse 4.
When God speaks up in verse 5, it reminded me of when He spoke at the river when John was baptizing Jesus.
I have a theory about this whole meeting. I think Moses and Elijah were there to check in with final instructions. They were there to go over the moves Jesus had to still make before He could call the Mission a success. Jesus still has to enter Jerusalem on a donkey. I figure Moses and Elijah were there to let Jesus know the plan was afoot. And then God showed up and told Moses and Elijah to stop giving the disciples a heart attack and come back. Jesus knew what to do.
The last thought that comes to mind about these verses this morning.... is how hard it must have been for Peter, James, and John to keep their mouths shut about what they had seen. When did they tell Matthew how terrified they were. Was Jesus still glowing a little when they got back to the others? Were they still shaken from the experience of hearing God's actual voice? How did they not share the experience with their fellow disciples?
I bet there's a preacher somewhere who has uttered the words "and that's why God didn't make women disciples". Wait... is it socially acceptable to label all women as gossips?
Anyway.... back to the verses. I wonder.... was this a scheduled meeting?
