There is much to glean from this detailed account, this teaching moment, but a central truth of this passage can easily be overlooked due to being taken as nothing more than a descriptive detail. Jesus came to the terrified men lying there on the ground, touched them and said, “Get up, don’t be afraid.” The account continues, “When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus.”
The terrified three look up seeing only Jesus. Clearly this details the fact the Moses and Elijah are no longer there with Jesus. Since the name Jesus was used here, we also can surmise the brilliant divine radiance was once again hidden. There was no one else there with them, only Jesus. But why make such a point of this? Why was it necessary to emphasize this fact? Could there be more here than the cursory glance reveals?
We cannot know for certain why it was Moses and Elijah that appeared
with Jesus that day, but there is no doubting what these two men represented
to Peter, James and John (indeed, to the Hebrew people). They represented
the Law and the Prophets. They represented what it meant to be a Hebrew
and how they were to live. They appeared with Jesus, but He outshined them.
They are there, but eclipsed by His countenance, His radiance, His glory.
And the voice from heaven
sealed the grand reality, “This is My Son… listen to Him!” It is not
the law. It is not the prophets. It is not your history. It is Jesus! They
would soon learn that the law and the prophets were now “in flesh making
their (His) abode among them.” His words are The Word and they need to
listen to Him! He is The Word and they need to look to Him alone. It was
more than the fact that Moses and Elijah had left the scene. It was a living
parable that Jesus is, and is to be, the One! He alone is the “Way, the
Truth, and the Life.”
We too need such epiphanies in our lives. No, not seeing Jesus transfigured before us; epiphanies of divine intervention that re-focus our eyes to see Jesus only. It is so easy for us to get distracted, so easy for our faith to shift from Jesus to our beliefs, our religion, our heritage, our leaders, our worship, or a myriad of other things. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the mountain top experiences that we seek them, rather than realizing that we are granted this divine moments for a specific and important purpose – focusing on Jesus.
The law and the prophets were not discarded. They were not nullified. They did not disappear. They were embodied and fulfilled in Jesus and it is in Him Alone we find salvation and life. Most of the things that distract us will not disappear. Some of them are necessary for our Christian walk, such as the law and the prophets. Nevertheless, it is on Christ alone our faith must rest and our eyes be fixed. We must passionately strive to resist distraction, keep our focus and properly place our faith availing ourselves of all the means of grace to be sure that in Him alone we move, live and have our being!
Keep Close to Jesus
Pastor Gerry