Matthew 17:1-8

¹ Then after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and brought them into a high mountain by themselves.

² He was transformed as they watched, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes glowed white as light.

³ And see, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, discussing something with him.

⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still saying this, see, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This one is my beloved Son, with him I am well pleased; listen to him.”

⁶ After the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus himself, alone.

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This one

The point of the vision was to get the disciples refocused on Jesus himself. All of the old traditions and relationships – even the great ones like Moses and Elijah – are now to be subsumed and redefined by one’s relationship with Christ. That is why the Father’s voice reached down from the sky and told those disciples “This one is my beloved Son, with him I am well pleased; listen to him.”

It also was a kind of sneak preview of the coming of Christ in glory. Moses and Elijah symbolize the Law and the Prophets, which predicted the coming of the Messiah. Peter’s offer to set up tents for each person was wrong-headed. The coming kingdom will have only one king. He is Jesus. This one is the one we should be listening to. He has explained to us what the Law and the Prophets were all about.

LORD, help us to keep our focus securely on Christ. Give us the wisdom to remain Christocentric. May we value the Old Testament because it is a testament of him. May we value the church because it is his church. But may we never lose sight of his words because they are the foundation for his coming kingdom.