Today’s Podcast
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. 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.