Coming Off the Mountain
Luke 9:
28) Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29) And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30) And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31) who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32) Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33) And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”— not knowing what he said. 34) As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35) And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36) And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
When God manifests Himself to us, there’s nothing better. To have a mystery of God revealed or have a piece of God’s character become real and made alive is a wonderful and powerful thing. When He reveals Himself to us, He draws us closer to Him and we feel closer to Him.
What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration was one of the most dramatic revealing of Jesus’ true glory, power, authority, and relationship to the Father while here on Earth. Can you imagine seeing the Son of Man call upon Moses and Elijah to have a powow with? To see His glory manifest itself like the sun even through His Earthly body? This is a wonderful and dangerous situation. So dangerous that God the Father Himself intervened. You say “Dangerous? How?’ Let me explain.
When God wants to manifest Himself to us or brings illumination of scripture, or an incredible worship experience, it is an awesome thing. The problem is when we don’t want to come off the mountain. We want to pitch our tents when in all reality our destiny lies on a rotting, bloodstained cross.
Moses went up to the top of Mt. Sinai and for 40 days, God gave him the commandments, but he had to go back down the mountain. There he faced one of the greatest challenges of his life, leadership, and relationship to God. He received the greatest revelation of God to be revealed for hundreds of years. He was faced with God Himself offering to wipe out the people of Israel and start fresh, just Him and God. Moses chose to lay his life down, if necessary for those people. He had a choice to stay on the mountain or go to the cross.
The Father knew that Jesus’ destiny was the cross, and He would not allow anything to come between His Son and His destiny. It blows me away that the Father chose in that moment in time to personally intervene in the situation. The only other time in the New Testament that God the Father chose to reveal Himself was when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus Christ and He declared Christ as His Son. Wow!
It is easy to bask in His presence and glory but not so “glorious” to be stripped(humbled), beaten(face correction or persecution), or die (to our desires and self). Our flesh wants to be glorified, but its ultimate destiny is the cross. We must come down from the mountain. We must walk through the valley of the shadow of death if we are to ever know His life! Our destiny lies on the old rugged cross. The power of His resurrection lies there as well! His ultimate plan, His glory is truly manifested when we die to ourselves and the shadows fade away and we are truly one with Christ in all things!
Kevin
