From the desk of Pastor Ben
Christ’s Transformation

“He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.”         (Matthew 17:2)

During this brief display of divine glory, Jesus “was transfigured.” That is the translation of the Greek word metamorphoo, from which we get metamorphosis. It basically means “change into another form.” From within Himself, Jesus’ divine glory was manifested before Peter, James, and John.

Here Jesus revealed Himself as He truly is, the Son of God. As the divine glory radiated from His face, it illuminated even His garments, which became “white as light” in supernatural testimony to His spiritual splendor.

The “light” portrayed Jesus’ glory and majesty, as Peter testified years later in his second epistle: “For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’” (2 Peter 1:17). John later testified that “we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

In His human form Jesus Christ was hidden, but when He comes again, He will come in His full divine majesty and glory, a glimpse of which Peter, James, and John witnessed on the mountain. From now on there could be no doubt He was God incarnate, and there should have been no doubt He would come some day in the fullness of His glory.

Ask Yourself:
How encouraging of Christ to use this event to provide a context for the hard realities He had just told to His followers, as well as to confirm the glorious realities still to come. How has Jesus encouraged your heart in recent days, and how have you responded?