“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” -Matthew 17:5-7
The next few chapters contain a considerable amount of wisdom that Jesus communicates to his disciples. Some of the most crucial foundation of Christianity is told in these chapters and I suggest reading it carefully multiple times to apprehend these life-altering lessons.
To truly understand the beginning of this monumental passage we have to go back to the end of Mathew 16 to set the stage for the purpose of the Transfiguration. The previous few chapters encompass the theme of Jesus reassuring the apostles’ unsteady faith. This can be seen just six days before when Jesus speaks to the disciples about his death and Peter says “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” In Peter’s mind an all-powerful God would never have to die, especially at the hands of mere men. The disciples’ questionable faith of not fully trusting that Jesus is the true Messiah leads to the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the high mountains where Jesus transfigured before them. “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." (Matthew 17:2-3) I think the significance of showing Moses and Elijah is to demonstrate to the disciples that Jesus now takes precedence to the law (what Moses represented) and the prophets (Elijah). This was a crucial event in the disciples’ walk with Jesus because for the first time they truly got to see that this man was not just any prophet but the true Messiah. All the prophets that came before him were paving the way for Jesus, the Son of Man. God said to them “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” The entire objective for the Transfiguration was meant to strengthen the apostles’ faith for the challenges they would later endure. This event is significant in our lives because it conveys to us that Jesus is in fact the bridge between God and men, and the purpose of his life was to become the Son of Man to die for our sins, so we could spend eternity with our Father in Heaven.
Application:
The remaining parts of the readings are radical teachings that Jesus wanted us to live by. When the disciples asked Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God?", He replied, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." He later reiterates the idea that “many who are first will be last, and the last first.” We need to put aside the idea that we are in competition with each other to see who is the greatest Christian. Instead, focus on humbling ourselves before our Savior & others who God puts in our lives. As easy as it is to type this, it is a daily struggle to apply this ideology to real life. That is the beauty of the Gospel; we are not meant to do this by our own power, but rather with God’s help. We have to continually ask God for the strength to obey his teachings & not be afraid to take up the cross. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
- Arly John
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