Coming down from the mountain-top

I find it very encouraging that the Gospels are so honest about the disciples. They are just like us; falling asleep when they should be praying and misunderstanding what God is doing and why he is doing it. Don’t you often find yourself doing those sorts of things? I do. But Jesus still loved and persevered with his disciples despite their shortcomings and he does the same with us. We are not expected to be perfect followers of Jesus just to keep trying and learning.

As they looked back on their experiences with Jesus the disciples were able to see that the sight of Jesus transfigured had been an important assurance for them that Jesus was God’s Son and that the path he followed, even though it led to his death, was the path that God had mapped out for him. Earlier in Luke 9 there had been much discussion about who Jesus was and what Jesus was here to do. In verse 7 we read about Herod’s confusion as he thinks Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life. In verse 18 Jesus asks the disciples to tell him who the crowds think he is. The disciples say that some think he is John the Baptist and others Elijah. Jesus asks Peter to say who he thinks him to be and Peter answers, “You are God’s Messiah.” Then Jesus tells them about his plan to go to Jerusalem where he will be arrested and killed and we know from the other Gospels that the disciples were greatly disturbed about this plan.

In the midst of this confusion and disturbance they have this experience which, in hindsight, they can see answers both questions. Jesus is seen in glory speaking with the great patriarch and the great prophet of the Israelites, Moses and Elijah, and then God speaks to confirm Jesus as his Son. Everything about this experience speaks of Jesus as God. Moses and Elijah speak to Jesus about his plan to fulfil God’s purpose by dying in Jerusalem and God confirms to them that everything Jesus says comes directly from God himself. This experience should, then, be a confirmation of everything that Jesus is and was about to do. But for the disciples, at the time, it seems to be too much for them to comprehend. They are afraid, confused and keep the experience to themselves. It is only later, looking back, that they can see the confirmation that this experience provided.

I wonder if we have had experiences of events and plans coming together in ways that confirmed to us that we were on the right path. It may be that we are needing that kind of confirmation at this point in our lives and should be asking God for his confirmation about our direction in life. What God wants to do for us, as he did for the disciples, is to give us a greater vision of Jesus as he really is. That will not answer all of our questions but can strengthen our ability to trust and follow him through our questions and uncertainties.

More than anything else though, the Transfiguration was preparing Jesus to walk the path that led to the cross. God had confirmed that Jesus was his Son at Jesus’ baptism which led to his temptation and then into his public ministry. Here at the point that Jesus resolves to walk the path of suffering which leads to redemption, God again confirms his Sonship to Jesus in the same way as at his baptism. Jesus came down from this mountain knowing that he was God’s Son walking in God’s way and that sustained through all the trials that endured.

We too will have mountain-top experiences in our lives. Times of great blessing and revelation when all seems well with the world and when we know without any uncertainty that we are God’s children. Our mountain-top experience might be a great worship service, an experience of healing, answered prayer or the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it might be a sense of overwhelming joy or of union with every other living thing in the whole created order. Whatever it is and however wonderful it is, we will inevitably, as Jesus, did come down from the mountain-top to experience suffering or in our case failure. We cannot live on the mountain-tops but those experience sustain us when we are in the valleys. Such experiences are one of the means God uses to go with us through the valleys, even the valley of the shadow of death.

Mountain-top experiences are often not looked for but are gifts to us to appreciate and enjoy. The disciples only recognised the full significance of their mountain-top experience as they looked back. At the time, they felt afraid and confused. Are you able to look back on events that may not have been clear at the time but which have been significant, sustaining experiences for you in your life? Have there been times of joy, wonder or blessing which you have now lost sight of in your life and need to rekindle and relive?

The disciples relived their experiences by telling them to others and by having them written down so that their stories could be passed on to others including us. It may be that you need to relive your experiences of refreshment, blessing and revelation by telling others about them or by writing them down to share with others.

Jesus was changed as he went up the mountain; his faced changed its appearance and his clothes became dazzling white. But it was not just Jesus that was changed by this experience as the disciples too were changed – not instantly but over time as they looked back and thought about the significance of what they had seen and heard. Their responses at the time were confused but time and reflection brought the understanding and assurance that enabled them to stand for Jesus in their lives and follow him on the path where he had led.

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U2 - I Will Follow.