Tag Archives: Elijah

No one said it would be easy, July 1, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

As I read the scriptures from yesterday’s lectionary readings, there are some disturbing verses. Words that you probably wouldn’t search out to win someone to the Christian community. But I think we sometimes fail to give the whole picture of what it means to follow God and in so doing lose a lot of people who would follow him if they understood that he doesn’t necessarily remove us from the difficulties of life, but rather he walks through them with us.

Let me give you a sample of what was in the readings yesterday.

From 1 Kings 19 as Elijah commissions his replacement, Elisha he utters these words in verse 20. ‘He [Elisha] left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”’

Then in Luke 9 we find these words:

As they [Jesus and his disciples] were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

These are tough verses to hear if you are a new Christian. The disciples had been following Jesus for three years and heard him talking about his upcoming destiny in Jerusalem. I’m not sure they believed he would be crucified. I think they still hoped he would be the physical, political, and religious leader they wanted him to be. But they had heard his message and heard him proclaim that he would be hung on a tree just as Moses hung the snake on a pole in the wilderness, when the Israelites wandered in the desert those centuries earlier.

Jesus puts a damper on a lot of folks who made the claim they would follow him anywhere. He didn’t say they couldn’t follow him, but he questioned their ability and their commitment to do so. In effect, he told them, it isn’t just words. To follow him, it’s a life changing event. Everything else in life must become secondary to him. He will be first or he will not be at all. He will not be second place in life. Period. He won’t even be tied for first. Nothing can come close to his sovereignty in your life. Why? Because he is God, that’s why.

God deserves that position in our lives because he made us. We don’t like to think in terms of slavery and someone owning another person. It rubs against us because of some of the horrid conditions and the abuse that some owners imposed on slaves. And it’s true. Our history shows that some owners were unkind to slaves, treated them poorly, didn’t see them as human. But not all slave owners felt that way throughout history. In fact, as you read documents from ancient times, you find accounts where people indentured themselves as slaves. Did this happen often? I don’t know. But it did ensure survival for many that would not have survived otherwise.

Slavery has been a part of the world throughout its history and is still happening today. Is it wrong? I don’t think one person should own another, but I know that many of those owners saw their slaves as assets like they we would see many of our assets in business. They took care of them if for no other reason for the economic value the assets brought to their business and their home. Greece would not have become the intellectual and philosophical giant it became without the slave labor it had. Rome would not have created the network of trade and commerce had slavery not been used to make it happen. The United States would not have fed itself in its infancy had slaves not been around to work in the fields.

The face of our world would be very different had slavery never happened. Am I a proponent of slavery? Absolutely not. I only make this point about history to note that I don’t think we in our particular point in history we fully understand the ramifications of what slavery has done or not done to the history of mankind for good or bad. People of every race have been enslaved at some point in history. And I point out the magnitude of slavery throughout man’s history because of its use as an example the New Testament writers choose for our relationship with God. We are slaves either to him or to Satan. Those are our two choices. But we are slaves nonetheless.

The penalties for runaways have always been harsh. There has never been real freedom for slaves. But as we think about the two masters, God and Satan, which would you choose to serve? Satan says you are free and in control of your life, but as we mentioned last week, you are not. We can control so little. We have an illusion of freedom, but we are not free. The chains of sin that bring guilt and pain and separation from God bind us in ways we try to push aside with self-help, drugs, short-term pleasure, and all kinds of gratification that never works.

When we are slaves to God, though, we are freed from the guilt that comes from our disobedience, our sin. We are forgiven and made a part of his family. We are treated as sons and daughters of the King of kings. We begin to experience the right to live abundantly. Not necessarily with material things, but with the assurance that we will see God face to face one day and that he will never leave us while we journey through this life. As his slaves, we know he cares for us. We know he has our best in mind in all that happens around us. We may suffer, but it is not because of him. It is because of the sin scarred world that continues to plunge toward its ultimate destruction and rebirth as the new heaven and new earth Jesus describes.

Life was as hard for Elisha as it was for Elijah. He lived much of his life in the wilderness on the run from those who tried to destroy him because of his messages from God against the wickedness that prevailed among the leaders of the nations. Elisha never enjoyed a fancy place to live, fashionable clothes, or popularity with the in-crowd. But Elisha listened to and followed God’s commands.

When we follow Jesus, life will not necessarily be easy. In fact, Jesus promised his disciples, and that includes us, that the world would hate us because of him. Satan lured Adam and Eve to disobey God and he has been doing the same to every person ever born ever since that day. He does not want us to follow God. He does not want us to give ourselves to God’s sovereignty. Satan abandoned God and wants us to do the same. But the price is eternal separation from the only one who really cares about us. The one who made us is the one we need to listen to and follow.

No one, even God, never promised life would be fair or easy or fun or pain free or full of only happy times. In fact, the closer we get to the end of time, the worse the conditions will be for those who give their allegiance to him. The world seems to be getting pretty close to the time of delivery as Jesus describes these birth pangs of earthquakes, famine, floods, wars, and things that seem to tear us apart. Just look around and note the intensity and velocity of things happening around us compared to just a few years ago. I don’t think it’s climate change. I think God is counting down the days until this old earth gives birth to a new one. Read Matthew 24 and 25 and then compare today’s news to Jesus’ description of the end times.

It won’t be long. Get ready.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

We can trust him, June 24, 2019

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

If you didn’t grow up in the church, you might not know much about the prophet Elijah. There are some pretty interesting stories about him and his exploits in the Old Testament. He did some things that would make Harry Houdini, David Blaine, and David Copperfield look like kindergarten magician wannabes. But one of his most famous exploits is found in 1 Kings 19. It tells of his confrontation with Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. He faced off against 450 of them and set the conditions for the contest. Both teams would set up a sacrifice and the god who answered by fire would be the God the Israelites served.

The Baal prophets and priests danced and prayed and cried and screamed and cut themselves, but no fire fell. Then at the time of the evening sacrifice it was Elijah’s turn. He built the altar, killed the bull, placed the wood and the sacrifice on the altar, then did what everyone thought was really stupid. He poured twelve barrels of water over the whole thing until everything was drenched and even the trench around the altar was full of water.

Elijah then prayed a simple prayer. God, show these people who you are, consume this sacrifice with fire. Fire fell from heaven and suddenly the sacrifice was burned to a crisp, the wood was gone, the stones of the altar were burned up, and the water in the trench was boiled away. There was nothing left of the sacrifice but a smoking pile of dirt where everything had been.

“So who will you serve? Who is God? Don’t let any of those false prophets escape!” Were the next words from Elijah.

So God did this miraculous thing for Elijah. He showed him time and again how powerful he was and how he would protect him. But right after this a strange thing happens. Elijah hears that Jezebel is unhappy that Elijah bested her priests and prophets and put a price on his head. And what does Elijah do? He shakes in his boots and runs away to hide.

God just showed his incredible power. God just demonstrated how he would answer Elijah’s prayer in time of need. God just got Elijah out of a spot that would surely have meant his death if his opponents had been successful. But now the queen says she’s out to get him and he is afraid she might. Elijah doesn’t trust God to take care of him. He doesn’t think God is bigger than this wicked queen. A pretty amazing story isn’t it.

We can look at Elijah and laugh at him. What an idiot! Why can’t you see that God is bigger than your problem? Why can’t you see that God is going to take care of you? Why can’t you see the connection between what he has done for you in the past and what he will likely do for you in the future? Well…

Maybe we should look in the mirror before we start throwing rocks at the poor fugitive.

I have to admit, God has done some really cool things in my life. He has taken me through some pretty rough times and gotten me out to the other end better than I could ever imagine. I would like to think I would use all that experience and tell you I never worry about anything. I’d like to tell you I always act like God has everything under control and I’m absolutely confident the outcome will be exactly right. I’d like to tell you to watch me and you’ll see a perfect example of perfect faith in the God who specializes in miracles. But I can’t.

I’m broken and flawed and sometimes forget all those things God has done in the past. I sometimes forget he is in the miracle working business. I know it in my head, but my actions show that my faith isn’t perfect. I still want to trust me more than God sometimes. Every now and then, just like Elijah, I find myself fearing the future I think is around the corner instead of keeping my eyes lifted up and focused on him. I end up running into the wilderness thirsty, hungry, exhausted, looking for an escape from something that really isn’t there, but I’m afraid it might be.

Have you ever experienced that? It’s the place too many of us find ourselves and don’t know how to get out of it. We, like Elijah, let ourselves get into the mullygrubs over stuff that God has already fixed if we would just stop and listen to him. Take a look at the rest of the story.

Elijah fell asleep under a broom tree, exhausted. An angel woke him up and told him to eat some food and drink some water from the little brook by him. Then he slept some more. The angel woke him a second time and told him to eat and drink. Then Elijah got smart and went to the mountainside to find God. There Elijah learned a powerful lesson about finding God. He wasn’t in the thunder and lightning. He wasn’t in the tornado like wind. He came as a whisper in the gentle breeze and assured Elijah he had his back. He let Elijah know he wasn’t alone in the world or even in his little piece of the world. Elijah thought he was fighting all the battles by himself against this wicked royal couple. Has wrong. Hundreds were hidden away ready to help Elijah in the cause of ousting this corrupt monarchy. God had plans for Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah would be a part of that plan, but God would be a bigger part. He would exact his vengeance so that all would remember it was God who took care of the wicked team.

So what do we learn from Elijah? We can trust God when the going gets tough. He didn’t take Elijah out of the situation. Jezebel still had a bounty out for his head. Jezebel still wanted the prophet dead. Elijah still lived in the wilderness instead of a palace, but God took care of his needs. I’m sure he would have enjoyed a more comfortable bed or a warmer place to sleep every once in a while, but God took care of his needs. And that’s the point.

The second thing we learn from Elijah’s encounter is that too often we look for the grandiose, the loud and boisterous, the spectacular, to figure out where God might be. But more often than not, he is waiting for us to quiet ourselves so we can hear his gentle voice. It’s a technique my father taught me a long time ago and I’ve used it often as a leader in the military, as a pastor, and as a father myself. If you really want someone to pay attention to what you have to say, you don’t scream at them. That only elicits a fight or flight response built into the primal survival instinct in our brain. No, if you want someone to pay attention to you, you get quiet. Make them strain their ears just a little to understand you. It forces the brain to put the sounds together and comprehend what the words mean.

God does that for us. He doesn’t scream at us. He speaks to us in a gentle whisper. He wants our attention, not our fear. He wants us to tremble in awe when he speaks, not because of the noise, but because we recognize he is God and choose to speak to sinners in such a calm and gentle manner.

It’s beyond belief. It’s past just mercy. It’s grace. It’s God extending his love to us in such an extraordinary way that it’s hard to even imagine that he would stoop so low as to give us attention in the first place, let alone speak to us and care about us. But that is who he is. He wants so desperately to have an intimate relationship with us that he wrapped himself in human flesh and lived with us for more than thirty years on this filthy, sinful planet. He showed us love. Even when we killed him, he loved us and proved his loved for us through that execution and the forgiveness he offers even through his death and resurrection.

So why do we have such a hard time believing God will take care of us? Why do we have trouble thinking we know better than he does about what we need and how best to figure out the next steps to take in our lives? Why are we so sure we have the answers to life’s questions? Sometimes I think God made us too smart. Sometimes I think we might be better off if we couldn’t think and just went about life the way the dumb animals do, operating on pure survival instinct. But then we would no longer be considered God’s highest creation, would we? Instead, we need to stop and use the grey matter God put between our ears and get our head and heart to work together to understand who God is and who we are in relation to him. He is the creator. It isn’t hard to understand that everything had to come from something in the beginning. There must have been a starting point. But if you go back far enough, it starts with nothing, just as Genesis says. Some will tell you it started with a big bang. Okay, where did the Big Bang come from? If there was nothing there, how did the bang happen? The answer is God. He spoke and bang, the beginning. There was light and dark, the first day.

And from that very first word from his consciousness, his design was to create us to have an intimate relationship with him. He wanted a higher created being to worship him. His God. We are not. We get that confused because we listened to the voice of that deceiver, Satan in the Garden of Eden the first time. And ever since Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be lured by the lies, we have also fallen prey to Satan’s schemes. We believe we can be as wise as God. We believe we can rule the universe.

We can’t. We can’t rule the universe or our tiny little planet or even ourselves most of the time. We have so little control over most everything around us, but we believe the lie that we are in control. The truth is I have almost no control over anything. I can control me sometimes, but that’s it. And most of me, I can’t control. I can only hold my breath a few seconds before my brain says breath and I can’t help but suck in air. I can’t stop my heart by just wishing it. I can’t make my eyes stop blinking. So much of me, I don’t even control. And try to control someone else? Forget it. Control the world around me? Try to grab a tornado by the tail or stop a volcano from blowing its top. Right!

But God can do any or all of those things with a word. He is God. He knows us. He made us. He loves us. Because God is who he is, Elijah learned to trust him. Did he slip up at times? Sure. The story we heard today shows us he did. We can learn to trust him, too. Will we slip us at times? Sure. But we can trust him because he is God. Give yourself to him and watch what he can do.

We can join the party (Luke 4:23-27) September 22, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 25

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 4:23-27
Jesus: You’re about to quote the old proverb to Me, “Doctor, heal yourself!” Then you’re going to ask Me to prove Myself to you by doing the same miracles I did in Capernaum. But face the truth: hometowns always reject their homegrown prophets.
Think back to the prophet Elijah. There were many needy Jewish widows in his homeland, Israel, when a terrible famine persisted there for three and a half years. Yet the only widow God sent Elijah to help was an outsider from Zarephath in Sidon.
It was the same with the prophet Elisha. There were many Jewish lepers in his homeland, but the only one he healed—Naaman—was an outsider from Syria.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you ever tried to convince your brothers and sisters about some new information you’ve learned that would really benefit them? I remember my younger sister trying to tell me a few things along the path of life, but she certainly couldn’t know any more than me, right? She’s four years younger, so how could she have learned any life lessons ahead of me? I’m her older brother and should be teacher her.

It’s the same with parents and aunts and uncles and often with cousins and even with neighbors who watch you grow up. It’s really hard to convince those who know you best that you know something that will help them when they know all your faults. They watched you make all those mistakes when you were a teenager, so what could you add to the discussion?

That’s the story we’re faced with as Jesus reads the scripture from Isaiah that day in the synagogue. Those who knew Him best couldn’t believe He could be the long awaited Messiah. He was just a carpenter’s son. They knew Mary and Joseph and they knew the rumors about His birth. He came too soon after the marriage. There were some things that just weren’t right about this guy, so how could Jesus be the Messiah.

It’s kind of sad that we have such a hard time telling those we love the most about important things like how to find eternal life. If those closest to us can see Christ in us and see the difference He makes in our lives, maybe, just maybe, they will want that something different, too. But they will want to see the long term results, because they also know about the fads and false starts you’ve made in the past to try to straighten out your life on your own. Those didn’t go so well, so family and friends usually have a “let’s wait and see” attitude about a radical change in your spiritual life.

But the other things Jesus talked about really excite me. He pulled out two really important stories from the Old Testament to prove His point, but they tell us something about God that should make you want to sing and dance around the room for a while. The stories Jesus mentioned about Elijah and Elisha helping two widows during famines are significant. Those two prophets were two of the nation’s greatest prophets in their history. You’ll remember that in Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, Peter, James, and John saw Elijah with Jesus and Moses in the garden that night. Elijah and Elisha were special men.

So what’s so great about these two stories? They went to help outsiders. Jews just didn’t do that. Devot Jews had nothing to do with outsiders. If they talked with or touched a non-Jew, they had to go through some ritual cleansing before they could participate in any of the worship activiites that surrounded their daily lives. So when Elijah and Elisha went outside their countrymen and helped these two widows from foreign nations, this was a really big deal.

And what it tells me is that God cares about the outsiders. The Jews are His chosen people. They are set aside for His special purposes, but He hasn’t forgotten the rest of us. He still loves us and cares for us. In fact, He cares for us so much, that during those two incredibly savage famines that swept through the countries surrounding Israel, Elijah and Elisha ministered to people outside their own culture and faith. God directed them to two women in foreign countries that were considered unclean by the Jews. These two men listened to God and determined even the outcasts needed God and His sovereign power in their daily lives.

And that means He cares for us. We are outcasts, outsiders, enemies, yet God still pours out His love and makes it known through His Son, Jesus, that He cares for us immensely. In fact, He cares so much, that He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. All we have to do is believe in Him as the Son of God. Believe in Him for the forgiveness of your sins. Believe in Him for the guidance He will give you each day as you allow Him to live in your life and teach you His ways.

We don’t have to be outsiders anymore. Jesus made a way for us to join the party.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

It’s all in there (Matthew 17:11-12) April 18, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 15-16

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 17:11-12
Jesus: Scripture tells us clearly that indeed Elijah will come to restore all things. But see this: Elijah has come already. No one recognized him for who he was, so he was arrested and killed. That is part of the preparation of which our Scripture speaks: for the Son of Man, too, will be arrested and killed at the hands of people who do not see Him for who He is.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There’s a problem that all prophets have when God gives them a glimpse into the future. How do you describe what you see? In the 1800’s for instance when people talked about a ‘horseless carriage’, they had some precedent to describe it. There were plenty of carriages and steam engines began to come around so a horseless carriage could be described. But what if you lived in 500 AD? How would you describe a modern automobile? Or better yet, if you lived in 50 AD, how would you describe a Boeing 757?

What if God gave you a glimpse into today from that vantage point and you saw a battle taking place? The battles you had seen were pretty gory and you thought they were loud. Roman soldiers establish their phalanx and marched toward their enemy. The sound of spears and swords smashing against shields were the noises you heard. Then above that din, you would hear the screams of the wounded and the dying.

Now transport that prophet from 50 AD to 2000 AD with its tanks, jets, smart bombs, landmines, and so forth. The noise on the battlefield is loud enough to actually cause eardrums to burst and bleed. How would a prophet describe that war? Would he call the jets metal birds? Dragons? Flying beasts that spit thunder and fire from their belly? What would you say about them? How would you describe a tank? Or the rifles? Or even the gear the soldiers wear? If you saw a fully outfitted soldier would you even recognize he is a human?

So the Bible’s prophets tell us the best they can about what will come. They talk about Elijah will come again to announce the Messiah. How best would you describe John except by comparing him to Elijah, a voice calling in the wilderness to prepare the way for the one who comes. It’s exactly what John did. It’s where he lived. It’s how he dress. The prophet described John well comparing him to Elijah.

And so did the prophets who described Jesus. The suffering servant. The perfect sacrifice. The Lion of Judah. The Messiah. Jesus point out the sad truth, though. Scripture described John but no one recognized him for who he was. The scriptures described Jesus, too, but no one recognized Him for who He was. Soon they would parade Him through the streets of Jerusalem as King of kings. They would sing Hosanna to Him and praise Him honoring Him as king in the lineage of David. But by the end of the week, the religious leaders would stir the crowd to cry crucify Him.

We all have the same scriptures available to us. Some of us see God’s word as just a collection of stories to entertain us. Some of us read them and know they are God’s word, but assume there is plenty of room to interpret them any way we want. We think since God is love, He will surely overlook anything we have done and just let us into heaven because He loves us. We don’t need to change. His love will cover us in the end because He wants all of us to live with Him. Besides, He hasn’t come yet. We have plenty of time to get right with Him before He comes.

Some read God’s word and recognize His word is truth. What God says, He means. Yes, God is love. Yes, He wants all of us to live with Him. But in making us in His image, He gives us the choice for our eternal destiny. He has left the choice of our destiny up to us. We can live with Him or we can choose not to. We read His word and recognize we are fallen, broken, in need of His grace and mercy. We learn the only way we can find our way to Him is to see He has already reached out to us and we must accept the gift of grace He holds out to us. We must believe in His Son, Jesus for salvation.

We can also see Jesus words and John’s revelation and in those descriptions, it’s not too difficult to see the signs they talked about when the end would be very near. Earthquakes, famine, signs in the sun, moon and sky. We are closer than many want to believe. The earth is going through pains like a woman in childbirth. Last year over 25,000 earthquakes above 3.0 on the richter scale shook our planet. They are coming faster and stronger this year than last, just like a woman in labor as described in scripture.

Is it time for us to read the Bibles on our tables and bookshelves and see the signs, read the descriptions, and understand that time is running out? Check it out for yourself.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Get up, don’t be afraid (Matthew 17:7-9) April 17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Mark 11-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 17:7-9

Jesus: Get up. Don’t be afraid.
And when the disciples got up, they saw they were alone with their Lord.
The four men hiked back down the mountain, and Jesus told His disciples to stay silent.
Jesus: Don’t tell anyone what happened here, not until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What would you do if you had been Peter, James, and John? These were Jesus’ closest friends. He stuck to them closer than to any of His other disciples. He shared with these three more than He shared with the other nine. He seemed to sense that these three would carry the weight of the development of the early church on their shoulders. The new converts would look to these three for guidance, interpretation of Jesus’ teaching, a strong but loving hand in the face of the adversary in the midst of the growing church.

Jesus had a special assignment for His three friends this day. He took them to the mountain top with Him to pray. While Jesus was praying, the three of them saw Him in His glorified form. Bright and shining like the sun, Jesus stood with two other figures that the three identified as Moses and Elijah, the great prophets that foretold their Savior’s coming. What would you do if you had been there? How would you react to such an appearance?

I expect I would do the same thing they did. I’d fall flat on my face and try to crawl into a hole that wasn’t there. Complete and total fear would describe the reaction. Oh, we’d like to say we’d be all brave and sit around and enjoy the event, talk to Jesus and Moses and Elijah. We’d like to brag about how we’d just revel in the thought of being in their presence. I don’t really think so.

Jesus in His glorified form as the Son of God, light of the world, brighter than the morning sun would scare me to death. He has everyone who has seen Him. Paul fell on His face as though dead. Daniel fell on His face as though dead. John fell on his face as though dead. These three together fell on their face as though dead. That’s the reaction when you see Jesus as He really is. He is God. We are not. Standing before God is a fearful, yet wonderful thing. But I expect our first reaction will always be to fall on our face. Either in fear or in worship or both.

I like what usually happens when Jesus breaks in on the scene, though. The first words He usually says to those who believe in Him and are trying to follow God’s path are, “Don’t be afraid.” He calms our fears. He lets us know He’s on our side. He wants us to know He is for us, not against us. When we’re flat on our face, He says, Get up, don’t be afraid. What wonderful words.

Peter, James, and John were ready to run down the mountain and tell everyone they saw what happened. They wanted to give this irrefutable proof that Jesus was the Son of the living God. They heard God speak. They saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus on the mountain. They saw Jesus shining like the sun. They saw Jesus standing between heaven and earth, in His human form, but wearing His heavenly glory. They were astonished, afraid. They didn’t know what to make of it, but they knew without a doubt that Jesus was the person He said had been saying He was. Jesus was the Son of God.

But Jesus told them to hold on to that information until after His resurrection. Keep the encounter a secret until He was raised from the dead. Now that is a mysterious statement at this particular time. Jesus hinted at His death and resurrection, but hadn’t come out and told them in plain language about it. They still saw Jesus as a political savior as well as a spiritual leader. They still wanted Jesus to break the political bonds that held their nation.

Jesus wanted it kept quiet. He still had a mission to complete. He knew His task meant the sacrifice of His life for the sins of humankind. He marched that direction, but hadn’t arrived yet. And at this point, He was to close to His goal to have a circus of people distract Him from that goal. If the three disciples started telling others about this encounter then, Jesus would have faced incredible crowds that would want to see the sight for themselves. The arguments about who He was and the factions that wanted Him to prove His deity would stop His progression toward the cross.

Jesus’ transfiguration would lend credence to the disciples’ claims later as they told the story of their travels with Him. But to tell of the event now, would disrupt Jesus’ plans and the Father’s plans. We see God’s resurrection power at work as Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus on the mountainside. We will see it in full force in just a few months after Jesus’ crucifixion. He will rise from the dead and appear in all His glory. The disciples will fall on the face in fear again. And Jesus will say, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.”

When He is on our side, we have nothing to fear.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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