The Shining Mountain

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” — Matthew 17:5

One day Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they could be alone.

And there, right in front of them, Jesus was changed. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light. The disciples were seeing Jesus’ glory, the glory He had always had as God’s Son, shining out of Him.

Then suddenly two other people appeared, talking with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah! Moses, who had led God’s people out of Egypt and received God’s law. And Elijah, the great prophet who had seen fire fall from heaven. They had lived hundreds of years before, and now here they were, talking with Jesus.

Peter didn’t know what to say. But he said something anyway. “Lord, it’s good for us to be here!” he said. “If You want, I’ll put up three shelters: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud came down and covered them. And a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down on the ground, terrified.

But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Don’t be afraid.”

And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus told them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Peter wanted to make three shelters, as if Moses and Elijah and Jesus were all equally important. But God the Father made it clear: Jesus is the one. Moses gave God’s law, and Elijah was the greatest of the prophets. But Jesus is God’s own beloved Son. He is the one we must listen to.

Before and after this, Jesus told His disciples something they didn’t want to hear. He was going to Jerusalem. There He would suffer and be killed. And on the third day He would rise again.

The disciples didn’t understand. But on the mountain, they had seen a glimpse of who Jesus really was. They would need to remember it in the dark days ahead.

Read it in your Bible: Matthew 17:1–9

Dear Jesus, thank you for showing your glory to your disciples. You are God’s beloved Son. Help me to listen to you. Amen.