Glory • Matthew 17:1-13
By Joe McKeever
The story of the transfiguration of our Lord, found here and in Mark 9 and Luke 9, is a great place for us to talk about mystery, about glory, and about life in the valley.
First, let’s talk about Mystery.
The Christian faith is loaded with mysteries, things we do not fully understand and must take by faith. There is the creation itself, followed by the events in the Garden of Eden, and, of course, the entire Old Testament. In the New Testament, we have the mystery of the Incarnation itself along with a truckload of events in our Lord’s earthly ministry.
In the Transfiguration, we have the mystery of the meeting of our Lord with Moses and Elijah. Why did the Father think the Son needed encouragement? Luke 9:31 says they discussed the Lord’s coming death, so what exactly did they say to Jesus? What was the change that came over our Lord, causing His face to shine like the sun and His clothes to be radiant? And there is the Father’s voice — wow. What was that like? Was He a basso profundo? Or a tenor?
Leave room in your faith for mystery, my friend.
The Father’s task in explaining salvation’s details to mortals must be like explaining calculus to the ants in my backyard. It’s truth, but so much of it is far beyond us. But we keep trying.
And there is the Glory.
Glory is a fascinating word with a hundred applications. People go into war seeking glory, they enter the Olympics for the glory, they end their prayers with “thine is the glory.” The Hebrew word chabod means weighty, heavy.
Daniel chapter 5 tells of the fateful dinner when Belshazzar the Chaldean king entertained a vast gathering of his country’s officers and leaders. Suddenly, everyone sees a disembodied hand writing on the wall. After some panicky reactions, Daniel interpreted the message. The God of Israel had said to the king, “You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.” That night, Belshazzar went out into eternity.
That king was a power in the world, but on God’s scales he was a lightweight. There was no glory in the king’s life.
Bible students know that “glory” is a huge subject throughout Scripture. Here are a few references you will enjoy looking up:
• In Exodus 33:18 Moses asked God to “Show me your glory.” (Check out the Lord’s response to this and His self-revelation in Exodus 34:6-7.)
• During Israel’s wilderness wanderings the Lord led the way before them, in a cloud by day and a fiery pillar by night. When they erected the tabernacle, God’s presence was symbolized by the Glory cloud, called the shekinah glory, which settled over the tabernacle.
• In Ezekiel, you can trace the movement of the “glory of the God of Israel” as He departs from the temple (chapters 8-11) and then, in the millennial temple the glory of God returns to dwell (chapter 43).
Matthew 17 does not contain the word “glory” but it’s on display, to be sure. Jesus was transfigured (the Greek word gives us our word metamorphosis, meaning a complete change) so that his clothing became radiant and his face beamed like the sun. The three disciples — Peter, James and John — who saw the Lord in His glory were forever changed as a result. Two of the apostles wrote about it later: Peter in Second Peter 1:16, and John in First John 1:1-3 .
Obviously, those disciples were never the same after seeing Jesus in His glory.
And then, the Valley.
When the Lord and the three apostles walked down off the mountain, they were met by a huge crowd, among them a grieving father and some embarrassed apostles. The distraught father told the Lord the apostles were unable to heal his son. They had tried, but to no success. Our Lord used the occasion to teach His disciples about prayer.
So! There is the mountain top and there is the valley. Side by side. One follows the other. We gladly remind ourselves that the Lord of the mountain is also Lord of the valley. (Check out the story on that. First Kings 20:28)
We sometimes think we would like to live on the mountaintop where God’s glory is always on display and we are far removed from the troubles of this life. But life does not work that way. God will give us just enough mountaintop experiences to remind us who is in charge and the blessed future that awaits us. Then, it’s back off the mountain and into the fields where the work is done.
On the mountain or in the valley, let us be faithful at all times.
McKeever is a member of First Baptist Church, Jackson.
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