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Jesus Transfigured
This chapter is based on Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke
9:28-36.
Evening was approaching when Jesus called Peter, James, and
John to join Him and led them far up a lonely mountainside. They
had spent the day traveling and teaching, and the climb added to their
weariness. Soon the sun disappeared, and the travelers were wrapped
in darkness. The gloom of their surroundings seemed in harmony
with their sorrowful lives, around which clouds were gathering.
The disciples did not dare to ask Christ where He was going or
for what purpose. He had often spent entire nights in the mountains
in prayer. He was at home with nature and enjoyed its quiet. Yet the
disciples wondered why their Master would lead them up this steep
climb when they were tired and when He, too, needed rest.
Soon Christ told them that they should not go farther. Stepping
aside a little distance from them, the Man of Sorrows poured out
His prayer with tears. He prayed for strength to endure the test in
behalf of humanity. He must gain a fresh hold on Omnipotence, for
only then could He contemplate the future. And He poured out His
heart-longings for His disciples, that their faith would not fail. The
dew was heavy on His bowed form, but He paid no attention to it.
So the hours passed slowly by.
At first the disciples united their prayers with His, but after a
time they fell asleep. Jesus had told them about His sufferings and
had longed to lighten their grief by assuring them that their faith
had not been misplaced. Not all, even of the Twelve, could receive
the revelation He wanted to give. He had chosen only the three
disciples who would witness His anguish in Gethsemane to be with
Him on the mountain. Now He prayed that they might witness a
scene that would comfort them at the time of His supreme agony
with the knowledge that He was truly the Son of God and that His
shameful death was part of the plan of redemption.
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