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glory, but they had written of His sufferings as well as His glory; hence they spoke of His a p p r o a c h i n g death which would fulfill their pre dictions (cf. Lk. 9:30, 31). Perhaps these two Old Testament characters were amazed to behold His glory be fore His sufferings were accomplished. II. T he S upremacy of J esus '(M k . 9:5-8) The appearance of Moses and Eli jah “in glory” might have given rise to the error of Peter in suggesting that these two, with the Lord Jesus, should be honored equally with tab ernacles erected for them. The taber nacle was used to indicate the pres ence of God. Hence, following this reasoning, why not honor them all alike? But the supremacy of Jesus was im mediately announced by God’s declar ing: “This is my beloved Son, hear him” (Lk. 9:35;, cf. 2 Pet. 1:17). What ever the prophets and the law had said, they were now relegated to the background, and the voice of the Son of God alone was to be heard, be cause He is the fulfillment of both. Beholding the m a j e s t y of Jesus Christ and hearing the voice of God, those present could see no man “save Jesus only with themselves” (cf. Matt. 17:8; Mk. 9:8). Jesus is the full ex hibition of “man” as God intended man to be, with a character superior to nature, and a purity that cannot be^ improved. III. T he G lory of J esus (2 Pet. 1:16-18) Peter refers to his experience on the mount when he emphasizes the certainty of what he wrote. When he made known the truth of “the power and coming” of Christ, he was not following fables cunningly devised, but was giving the testimony of an eye witness. r, ■ The transfiguration, to which Peter refers, was the exhibition of w h a t Jesus was as a man, and the honor and glory of that man was to know that He was God’s own beloved Son, the Son in whom the eternal,God was well pleased. God had waited through the centuries for the day when a man should appear of whom He could say, “ I am well pleased.” In the perfec tion of the Man Christ Jesus, God was well pleased. Peter declares that God’s own testi mony to Jesus was heard by himself and his companions when they were on the Mount of Transfiguration. It, was no mythical teaching or vision ary exhibition that was theirs. These three, Peter, James, and John, were instructed concerning the maj esty, supremacy, and glory of the hu manity of the Lord. It is for us, with out this visual demonstration, to rec ognize the same perfection of human-
ity in Jesus Christ, even prior to'the time that we see Him face to face. At the same time, we worship Him gladly as being very God of very God, possessing essential deity as well as perfect humanity. Points and Problems Why was our Lord transfigured? Many answers to this question have been suggested, such as, (1) to pre pare the disciples for the forthcoming crucifixion, (2) to give them a picture of Christ’s glory, (3) to present a graphic setting for the expression of the Father’s will with respect to His Son; and (4) to foreshadow the fu ture kingdom. In view of the context, the last answer seems to be the true answer. Christ said, in verse one, that there would be some standing in His presence who would, see the kingdom of God come with power before death overtook them. “And after six days . . . he was transfigured before them” (Mk. 9:2). Christ had not yet come to establish His kingdom when the last one of His disciples had died. Nor yet has the -kingdom come after these 1900 years. But in the.transfig uration we have the fulfillment of Christ’s words. It was the kingdom in miniature. In this remarkable experi ence the outstanding elements of the future kingdom are prefigured. The fashion of that kingdom is beautifully portrayed. Typical factors in the trans figuration i n c l u d e t h e following things: 1. The time element. " A f t e r six days" (Mk. 9:2). Six is the number of man. He was created on the sixth day, and appointed unto six days of labor. The number of the man of sin is 666. After man’s day, God will hS.ve His day, and His kingdom will be established. 2. The Jewish element. "Jesus tak- eth with him Peter, and James, and John . . . up into a high mountain apart by themselves" (v. 2). These three disciples may well foreshadow the faithful remnant of Israel who in the day of Christ’s coming shall recognize Him as their Messiah, shall be associated with Him in His glori ous reign. 3. The element of glory. "He was transfigured" (v. 2). Literally He was “metamorphosed.” He was changed from within Himself. This was glory that belonged to Him. The disciples had seen Him in His humiliation. Now they were looking u p o n His glory. They had seen Him in His first coming; now they were seeing Him as He will be when He comes again. How important it is- to have both views! It is an altogether incomplete view of Christ which excludes either one. The Spirit of God in many parts of the Scripture has “testified before-
hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that shoüld follow” (1 Pet. 1 : 11 ). 4. The element of rapture. "There appeared . . . Elias" (v. 4). Thé last we saw of Elijah on earth was when he was transported to heaven “ by a whirlwind” without dying (2 Ki. 2:11). But here he is in this kingdom picture. He becomes a type of those who shall enter into the glories of the coming kingdom without dying (1 Cor. 15:51, 52). 5. The resurrection element. "With Moses" (v. 4). The last we saw of Moses on earth was on Mount Nebo, where God saw fit to grant His Serv ant the restfulness of d e a t h. But here he is in this kingdom picture, and thus portrays all those who will enter the k i n g d o m having gone through the experience of death (1 Thess. 4:16). 6. The Calvary element. “And they wer% talking with Jesus" (v. 4).: The parallel passage in Luke tells us that they were discussing “his decease” (Lk. 9:31). The cross will not be for*. * Phone VAndike 9483 ERICK PETERSON FIRST CLASS SHOE REPAIRING 730 W. Sixth St. Los Angeles, Calif. — READ THE BEST=n IN CH R ISTIAN LITERATURE Send for our catalog of publications, and receive free booklet..also. WESTERN BOOK & TRACT CO., Inc. Dr. H. A. Ironside. President 1719 F r a n k lin St._____ O a k la n d , C a lif. W e hove the supplies you need for every day in nie Sunday School yean visual aids o f all sorts, hand* work material, attendance aids, gifts ond awards, Bibles, Testaments, Bible arf materials, child evangel* ism supplies, including the latest in flannelgraph figures and accessories...everything to meet the new pedagogical trends in Church and Sunday School. ^ Send fo r Your Copy Today Our complete line Is presented in a big 100-page ■>L' FREE book . . . an encyclopedia o f Ideas, original / \ material and quality supplies. Pastors, Superintend- i_ ents, Sunday School Workers— Write for it Today I Address Dept. KC THE SCRIPTURE PRESS, INC 800 Clark Strèet 1 Chicago, III. k k F R E E . Tom Olson's Popular Tracts Write at once (or an assorted package o( them (or prayerful distribution. LeTourneab Evangelistic Center 1270 6 th Ave., Suite 607B, New York, N. Y.
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