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T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
November 1924
known to men of the Bible, and some spot on its sides or the plateau on the summit would furnish the most suitable of all places for the great scene of the transfiguration. V. 29. Matthew says, “ His face did shine as the sun.” Compare the shining of Moses’ face as he came from speak ing with God (Ex. 34:29-35). Compare also Stephen’s face at his trial, “ as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Matthew expresses the change in the word “ transfigured,” using a Greek verb which,relates to an inward change and not merely an outward one, the inner reality of Christ’s deity shining through the veil of the flesh. Where was the worn face? Where the wasted hands, the troubled figure? Like the dust of travel, escaped in a bath of fire.-—Ward. What marvelous experiences come to those who pray! When one communes with God earnestly, sincerely, trust fully, submissively, great illumination, transformation and comfort are experienced. One in this exercise can see a long way in privilege and duty, and in the spiritual realm. Luke alone records the fact of His praying on this occasion.— Arnold Prac. Com. V. 31. The Greek word “ exodus” is here' translated “ decease;” it probably includes the entire series of events, His death, resurrecyon. and ascension— the way He left the world. Doubtless by this conversation Christ was assured that it was not the Father's will that His departure should be secret and mysterious as that of Moses, or glo rious as that of Elijah, but public and humiliating, as was needful for the fulfillment of His vocation as the vicarious sacrifice of a sinful and guilty mankind.- 1 Garvie. V. 33. Moses and Elijah seemed about to go, and Peter caught at any suggestion that would keep them and pro long the glorious vision.— Pcloubet. It may be that the apostle was still hounded by Christ’s saying regarding the cross. It was so much better to be on that transfiguration mount than to be traveling in the valley towards Calvary; so much better than to descend to the plain and wrestle with sin, unbelief, and disease; so much better than to go back into the world and resume the wearying conflict; so much better than to be betrayed into the hands of sinners; so much better to be here on Mount Hermon than on Cal vary,—-Evans. Not realizing its implications, and the essen tial folly of it. It was a sad blunder, and yet a revelation. “ Be it far from Thee, Lord,” he had said in sight of the cross (Matt. 16:22). “ It is good to be here,” he said in the light of the glory. The cross? No. The glory? Yes. It was as though he had said: Suffering and passion, and blood and death I cannot look upon. This glory is what I crave for Thee, my Lord and Master. It was still the speech of love, blind and blundering, but yet love.—Morgan. V. 35. It was the same voice that spoke at Christ’s bap tism, and the same words. It was the same voice that came to Him after the visit of the Greeks (John 12:28, 29). Frightened the disciples might be, beclouded they certainly were, but the voice of the Father came out of the cloud, and it was worth while to face the dark for the sake of the message!—Lees. V. 36. There was no reason for dejection. Jesus only was all they had seen, and vastly more, and they have Him. The picture passes, buf the substance tarries. Christ is theirs forever. With Him they can afford to go back to duty, to work, to trial, back to the sick, weary world, to suffer ing, to persecution and martyrdom. All life is transfigured through Him.—Vance. When Leonardo da Vinci had fin ished his famous picture of the Last Supper, he invited a friend to see it. “ Exquisite!” exclaimed the visitor. “ That wine-cup seems to stand out from the table like solid, glit tering silver.” The great artist quietly took up a brush and blotted out the cup. “ I meant,” he said, “ the figure of Christ should be the foremost object to the observer.” So when the accessories of the event had vanished—-when the bright cloud whose shadow, even, was luminous, had lifted, and Moses and Elijah were invisible, the vision of the glori fied Christ filled the disciples’ eyes— “they saw no man save Jesus only.”—-Fisher. -7 / r.1..,. ( v n v-O I oNc: {-*• ftp The two suggested topics for this great lesson on the Transfiguration are: “ The Glory of Jesus Christ” and "The Transfiguration a Preparation for the Cross.” Both may be
used as a basis of very profitable devotional meditation. In this connection,?Dr. A. B. Simpson’s DEVOTIONAL comment is very pertinent: “ The trans- COMMENT figuration of Christ marked a turning John A. Hubbard point in His life and ministry. Up to that moment His path had ascended in successive revelations of His grace and glory until at last in that manifestation of His glory and majesty on Hermon’s Height, the veil of His humiliation for a moment was wholly cast aside and His disciples beheld Him in His primeval glory and in the glory of His second coming by and bye. But from this moment the pathway descended down through the lonely valley of humiliation, suffering and rejection until at last it led to the agony and mystery of the Garden, the Cross and the Grave.” The glory was a confirmation of Peter’s confession a few days before: “ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” On the mount the.voice of the Father came, saying “ This is my Son, my chosen” (v. 35, R. V.). Immediately following Peter's confession, Jesus revealed to His disciples the fact of His coming suffering and death, it was “‘a hard saying” for them. They could not take it in. Peter went so far as to rebuke Jesus for speaking as He did. But now on the Mount His prediction was confirmed. No doubt there are those in our day who say: “Why drag into such a scene as the Transfiguration this gruesome sub ject of the cross?” There is reason enough, for it was the main topic of conversation between the glorified Christ and the glorified visitors, Moses and Elijah. “And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory and spake o f his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:30, 31). Weymouth translates verse 31 thus: “ They came in glory, and kept speaking about His death, which He was so soon to undergo at Jerusalem.” “ This, then, was the high purpose of the event; it was to interpret to the mind of Christ more perfectly the mean ing of his death, and to encourage him to endure its anguish by this glimpse of the glory that should follow” (Erdman). And to again quote Dr. Simpson: “ Looking down the imme diate pathway, the heavy shadows of that awful tragedy that ended at last on Calvary opened before Him, and the hour was one which needed, as never before, the encourage ment of that heavenly vision which came to Him on the Mount of Transfiguration. Henceforth, He looked not at the valley of the shadow of death just before Him, but at the sunlit heights immediately beyond, and. ‘for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame.’ ” ... Memory Verse.—-“ They saw his glory.” Luke 9:32. Approach.— You boys and girls have often noticed as you walked or drove through parks, statues of marble, granite or bronze. One time in the city of Washington we saw a large object in the park, but we could not tell what it was, for it was all covered up with a brown ELEMENTARY canvas, and it was not very pretty to Mabel L. Merrill look at. A few days later a great crowd gathered, and they had speaking and music,’ and then something happened; the big brown can vas was lifted off, and a beautiful bronze statue of a man appeared, and as the sun was shining, we could see just whaf it was and how beautiful it was as it glistened in the sunlight. Prayer. Jesus Shows His Glory Luke 9:28-36.
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