Matthew 17:1-3 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, (2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
This event in scripture is what is known as “The Mount of Transfiguration”. This is not the name of the physical location, but of the event that took place there.
The word “transfigured”, from the Greek word metamorphoo (think of the word “metamorphosis”) means to be changed from one condition or state to another. This Greek word is only used here and three other places. Mark 9:2 – …and He was transfigured before them. Romans 12:2 – …be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…, and 2nd Corinthians 3:18 – …changed into the same image from glory to glory. We notice that in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2, Jesus is transfigured. In Romans 12:2 and 2nd Corinthians 3:18, we are to be transfigured.
Notice, it was Jesus who took them into the high mountain. Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart.
They did not take themselves and we cannot take ourselves into the high mountain of God’s presence. We can begin to climb through personal prayer and study of His word, but it is God alone who brings us higher into that mountain with Him.
Climbing the Mountain of Transfiguration
In order to be ready to climb a mountain, you must be conditioned for it. So it is with going into the high mountain of God’s presence. You must be spiritually conditioned for it. This means more time communing with God in the prayer closet and in the word of God. This form of spiritual training is work for the flesh and spirit.
This is why most people are not conditioned for this kind of spiritual climbing. The disciples in Matthew 17 may have been physically conditioned to climb the mountain, but Jesus was training them to be spiritually conditioned to climb a different kind of mountain; the mountain of being alone in God’s presence.
What They Saw in the Mountain
Matthew 17:2-3 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
While they were in the mountain with Jesus, the disciples saw things they had never seen before. They saw a glimpse of the glory of Christ returned to Him for a short moment. They saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.
At this point in their lives, they had only heard of Moses and Elijah, but now they were seeing them personally. This experience no doubt left an indelible mark upon the disciples’ hearts and solidified their faith in Jesus as the true Messiah!
While God is not obligated to give us this same kind of experience when we go up into the mountain of prayer with Him, one thing is for sure, we have far more of a chance of seeing God’s glory when we go up into that high mountain with God, than we would if we stayed down at the base with everyone else.
Rather than saying, “Okay, gotta go pray and read the Bible”, start saying, “I wonder what God will show me and what He will say to me this time!”. That would be a powerful paradigm from which to live our Christian lives!
They Were Moved to Do a Work for God
Matthew 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
We see here the effect of being in the presence of God; the disciples wanted to do a work for God! I believe people’s lack of desire to be part of what God is doing on the earth is directly related to their lack of time invested in the high mountain of God’s presence.
I believe God would bring them up higher if they would just start to climb. Too many people are content at the base camp of religious familiarity to put on their spiritual hiking boots and start to climb higher!
We should not go into God’s presence expecting or demanding to see a great light from Heaven. Rather, go into God’s presence to give Him praise and worship and then to just be there. As Peter said, “…it is good for us to be here”.
The Vision Is Not for Everyone
Matthew 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
Not everything you hear and see while in the mountain with God will He give you liberty to share with everyone else. Sometimes, it’s just for you! Jesus told these three disciples not to share what they had seen until a certain time.
This shows that God must trust you not only to bring you up into the mountain with Him, but also after you have left the mountain!
Are you willing to make the spiritual climb into the high mountain apart in order to be with the Lord?
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