glorious

Who is Jesus to us? Do we see him for who he truly is? These are the questions which surround the event known to us as the Transfiguration. High on a remote mountainside, three of Jesus’ disciples – Peter, James and John – caught a glimpse of Jesus in all his glory. Their missteps and lessons learned in the process are our own.

 

On one of their many journeys, Jesus asked the Twelve, “Who do people think I am?” After a barrage of varied responses, he redirected: “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15). Jesus was drawing their attention to the frequent disparity between opinions and truth. What matters most to him is neither approval ratings nor public sentiment, but identity. Church, who do we say he is?

 

Is he merely a nice guy; a good, but optional, example of how to live? There is no shortage of people in our world who will agree that Jesus is among the greatest men who ever lived. They will heartily affirm that he was an enlightened person, even a prophet. But they stop short of recognizing him as God. These same well-meaning individuals say that we, too, can become enlightened; that we can become our own saviors. Yet suggesting that we can somehow mend the brokenness inside of us is like attempting to perform open heart surgery on oneself. It doesn’t matter how skilled a doctor you may be; it is a bad idea that is not going to end well.

 

If Jesus is not God – if he is just another decent man who taught us how to live a moral life – then we have no hope. We might as well all go home and padlock the church doors because religion cannot save. Every mainstream alternative to Christianity– Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism – requires us to be good enough; we must work our way to God. But if by definition God is perfect, how can we as flawed individuals ever measure up to that standard?

 

On the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw in inexpressible glory the affirmation of what they believed to be true: Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, ESV). He alone has the power to save us.

 

Still, another question remains: After seeing Jesus for who he is, how do we respond? The disciples exhibit three typical – and very different – reactions. The first is to ignore him. “Peter and the others were very drowsy and had fallen asleep” (Luke 9:32, NLT). Jesus took these men up the mountain to pray, but instead they fell asleep. Today this might be expressed as, “I get it, Jesus. You are God. But I have better things to do with my life than follow you.” If this is our attitude, we are going to miss it – that one moment when Jesus shows up in all his glory, the moment that will change our lives and the way we see God and this world. We will miss it because we are spiritually asleep.

 

Next we can be religious: “‘Teacher, this is wonderful!’ Peter exclaimed. ‘We will make three shrines – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’” (Mark 9:5, NLT). After waking to the sight of Jesus conversing with the long-dead prophets, Peter suspected his best recourse was to memorialize the moment. So he offered to build three shrines. Again, he missed the point. The purpose of the vision was not only Jesus’ transformation, but his own. Our glory and our worth is irrevocably bound up in that of Jesus, for we are his image-bearers (Genesis 1:27; 1 John 3:2). Yet Peter thought he had to do in order to merit the glory he witnessed. Sadly, this is not an anomaly among Christians. Many who follow Jesus still believe they must somehow earn God’s love; they treat grace as a debt they must pay off. But Jesus does not need or want our religious constructs. The good we do must be an act of gratitude for the love he has already given – not an attempt to earn it.

 

Lastly, we can worship:

 

A bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground (Matthew 17:5-6)

First they slept, and then they became religious. In vacillating between extremes, the disciples failed to see the point of what was happening. So the voice of God interjected: “Pay attention! Stop what you are doing and focus!” The big idea here is Jesus – that’s it. When the disciples get that, what do they do? They immediately fall on their faces in worship; they’re shaken to their core. When we see Jesus for who he is, when we see his glory and perfection and recognize what he has done for us, the only fitting response is deep, overwhelming gratitude.

 

Have you ever truly seen Jesus for who he is? How are you responding to him?