All is Right with the World

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 9:18-36 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

 

Do you remember what it was like when you were young and in love? Everybody could tell! Your face glowed; you walked with a bounce in your step; little things didn’t bug you.  All was right with the world.

 

Jesus once asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am”? Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Jesus commended Peter for being technically correct. However, the disciples understood the word “Messiah” to be in the context of a political savior, not a spiritual one.

 

About a week later, in the middle of traveling throughout Galilee and beyond to minister to the people, Jesus took Peter, James and John - his inner circle of disciples - to the top of a mountain to pray. While there, something miraculous happened.

 

As Jesus prayed, “the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white”. Then Moses and Elijah appeared in “glorious splendor” and began talking with Jesus “about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem”.

 

Meanwhile, his disciples had fallen asleep. Waking up, Peter started talking. But as soon as he did, a cloud came over them and from the cloud came a voice saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the voice stopped, Jesus was alone again with Peter, James and John.

 

Why do you think that Jesus had Peter, James and John witness his transfiguration? For one thing, his radiant transformation was a physical manifestation of his divine glory. This helped them to understand that he wasn’t just a teacher or a prophet, but truly divine.

 

Secondly, the presence of Moses and Elijah underscored how Jesus fulfilled God's plan. That is, Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, which Moses represented, and the prophecy, which Elijah represented.

 

Finally, God’s voice provided unmistakable confirmation that Jesus was the Son of God. It also showed the disciples that Jesus was not only the Messiah, but also provided the divine connection between heaven and earth.

 

When Jesus encountered his Heavenly Father on the mountain, he experienced an outward physical transformation. However, he offers us an inward transformation that is no less miraculous. Paul put it like this.

¹⁷ When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!   TLB   2 Corinthians 5                   

Like a young person in love, when Jesus is in your life, people can tell. There’s something different about you. It’s because you’ve experienced an inner transformation. Indeed, all is right with the world because the Son of the living God lives in you.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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The Mountaintop

A Series on the Milestones in Jesus’ Life

Luke 9:28-36

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%209%3A28-36&version=NIV;NLT

  

When I was in college, our church would hold a retreat for all the students.

We would be gone for forty-eight hours, and during that time we had a speaker, singing, games and fellowship. Usually, I would come home excited about my Christian faith. It was a mountaintop experience; but nothing like the one Jesus had.

 

² …Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰ Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. ³¹ They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.   NLT

 

Although Peter, James and John were there, they had fallen asleep. When they woke up, Peter started talking without thinking, and suggested building a memorial for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous.

 

³⁴ While he (Peter) was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”       NIV

 

Consider this interpretation of the story.

Jesus knew that he was about to go to Jerusalem; he knew what would happen to him there; he knew that he was about to experience the most painful part of his life. He also knew, that this was why he had been chosen.

But before going, he asked his closest disciples, and friends, to pray with him on a mountain. He wanted them to be with him; and he needed to be with his Heavenly Father. While there, he was transformed physically, emotionally and spiritually. It was a mountaintop experience; a milestone in his life.

Now he was ready to face whatever waited for him.

 

I’ve never come away from a retreat where my face has been transformed or my cloths became dazzling white. But I have come away knowing that I have been in the presence of God; feeling stronger in my faith; sensing greater purpose and mission in my life; and being ready for whatever was in my future.

 

You don’t have to go on a retreat to be in the presence of God.

 

 

But it’s important for us to make time to go to the Mountaintop; to spend extended time in His presence; to listen to His still, small voice; and to be transformed.