March 12, 2026
(Nameun Cho)
Matthew 17:1-13 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
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Whenever a mountain is mentioned in Matthew’s gospel, it is a key geographic indicator that he wants us to pay attention to what is about to happen next (cf. the Temptation narrative, Sermon on the Mount, Olivet Discourse). This account is no different as we see Jesus radiating but a glimpse of the full glory of God. Jesus’ divine nature is confirmed as his body and clothes radiate in blinding light, and we hear the familiar affirmation of God the Father as we did earlier in Matthew’s gospel immediately after Jesus’ baptism (3:17): “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased (v. 5).”
Up until this point, Jesus’ full glory as the co-eternal Son of God has been veiled in his human form. But why hide it at all? Would it not have been more effective for the prophesied Messiah to come in “guns blazing” from the get-go? Or why reveal his glory at this point in the journey? Was there significance to doing so in a semi-private manner upon a mountaintop? Fresh off of the prophecy in the previous chapter that he would have to suffer and die, Jesus is associating his full glory with the Cross. The fullness of his purpose and goodness will not be revealed until he accomplishes what he is meant to on the Mount of Calvary. His disciples and the rest of the world will know the essence of his majesty comes from his victory over sin by dying on our behalf. Only after his death can the covenant people be restored to be in the presence of God’s Shekinah glory again.
And notice Peter’s response. In typical, bumbling Petrine fashion, he suggests building tents to help preserve the moment. As two of the most prominent Old Testament figures, Moses appears to represent the Law and Elijah to represent the Prophets. Peter stands in awe of the stardom before him, so he displays a very human impulse to encapsulate his wonder. We may be familiar with this kind of impulse. Have you ever wanted to hit “the pause button” on a moment in life? Many of us can think of an episode or big life event where we wish we could re-live on demand. Even more of us may be living our lives trying to chase those moments we want to pause on. We can empathize why Peter might have wanted to camp out for awhile.
What Jesus’ revelation in his Transfiguration tells us is that we don’t have to go chasing for these moments. The reality of the kind of satisfaction we’re looking for already exists in the glory of Christ. We are offered every day to pause in his Word, to bask in the goodness of all we ever need. We are promised that one day we will be suspended in eternity, in the fullness of God’s presence, and wholly glorified in the ways our bodies and souls deeply desire. For now, we have an assuring preview of that as we sit at the foot of the Cross and an empty tomb knowing that Jesus provides all we’re looking for.
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An audio version of each devotion will be posted on our church podcast “Life Together at CRPC,” which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.