THE KING’S BUSINESS
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high mountain apart, and was trans figured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Eord,_ it is good for us to be here; if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles (three booths) ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I ani well pleased; hear ye Him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sort afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.” The Incarnation was the veiling of Deity in human flesh. I confess I do not like to see a picture of our Lord Jesus with' a halo around His Jhead. He did not wear it. Mary took* Him for the gardener, just a common sort of man. 1 am told that the only one who could choose His mother willed to be born into the middle stratum of society, not among the extremely rich or the extremely poor. He was Son of man, near to the upper classes, near to the lowest. I think we need to re member, that in our Church polity and our methods of work, that we may adapt our preaching and all our meth ods to people rather than as classes. The appeal is to the man, to the wo man, and that is deeper than any ex ternal wealth or poverty. The Incar nation'was the veiling of Deity in a sort of universal humanity. Now and then the glory of Deity flashed out through the veil, and on the Mount of Transfiguration there was such a shining forth. The word “ glory” is used two or three times. Peter says, “ We were eye-witnesses of His majesty.” John, a few years
afterward wrote, “We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Transfiguration was an unveiling of the glory of our Lord, a three-fold unveiling, if you please. It was first an unveiling to the eye—they saw. It was an unveiling to the ear—they heard. It was an unveiling; - to I the imagination—they really beheld more than they heard or saw, and carried it with them into the greater glory be-, yond. In this unveiling of the glory we see, first of all, the glory of His mission. They were talking “ of His decease which He should accomplish at Jeru salem.” Of course, we know that the word “ decease” ought to be trans lated “ exodus.” Moses and Christ talking about the exodus! Moses knew what it meant. He .was God’s chosen leader of the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, through the Red Sea, into the wilderness, and he led. them into, conflict. There is in that word “ exodus” therefore, more than the death of Christ, though that is the centre. The mission of our Lord Jesus Christ to this earth was to die and rise from the dead. John the Baptist gives the heart of the Gospel in the first word o f his first sermon, “ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” Do not slander John any more, please, by calling him a reformer! He did tell some publicans what to do, and some soldiers how to behave, but that was a very incidental matter. The great burning message of John the Baptist was, “ Behold the Lamb of God!” Until you have beheld the Lamb of God, as publicans or as sol diers, you are not ready for the duties of life. All through the Scriptures runs the scarlet thread of the blood, and all the types point forward to the Cross. The mission of Jesus, I repeat, as prophesied and realized, was to die for the sins of the world. ,
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