February 3 (Shevat 9) ~ Matthew 17

GLORIOUS LORD

S - Scripture: Matthew 17:1-27

To get the context of Chapter 17 we need to start at the end of Chapter 16.

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom. 16:27-28

Then how does Chapter 17 open? With the transfiguration of Christ, with "the Son of man coming in His Kingdom" ...

And after six days (or in Luke's gospel "about an eight days after these sayings") Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 17:1-2, 5b

Peter is telling Christ that he wants to set up camp right there on the mountain and God comes and basically says "shut up Peter and listen!"

And when the disciples heard [it], they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. v.6

They went from Sukkah (tabernacle) construction plans to their faces on the ground and Jesus comes to them in a very gentle way and touches them and tells them it's okay, to get up, and not to be afraid. Now I do not know about you, but even with Jesus' comforting manner and words I would still be a little apprehensive I think. The next verse says "and when" ... we don't know how long that "when" took for them to finally open their eyes and lift their heads, I just know if it were me it'd probably take a few minutes, possibly a few days even ... they were on holy ground and they knew it ...

And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. v.8


O - Observation:

Peter had heard Jesus say about a week earlier that some who were standing there would not taste death before they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom (Matt. 16:28). Now, on the mountain, Peter saw Christ in all His glory. His instinct may have been to think that this was it, the start of the kingdom. Zechariah makes it clear that in the kingdom the people will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Peter had the right idea, in general, but the wrong time, for Christ had to die first.

It is interesting that Matthew says this took place after six days, and Luke says about the eighth day. It is assumed by scholars that the timing of this took place prophetically on the night of the Sabbath, or in the morning of the first day of the week, the "eighth day", that the Lord appears in His glory. After Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) is the celebration of the "Eighth Great Day".

According to one author, Allen Ross , Th.D., Ph.D., that I read in his exposition of this passage, "In the transfiguration Moses and Elijah appear and talk with the Lord. Moses represents the Law, and Elijah the Prophets; Moses represents those who have died in the Lord, and Elijah those who have not. Moses wrote the Law which anticipated the sacrificial atonement of the Messiah; Elijah was to come to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of the Lord. Moses went up Mount Sinai and because he was with the Lord of Glory there, his face shone when he came back down; Elijah did not die, but was taken up to glory in the whirlwind and the chariot of fire. Here the two of them speak to Christ, and the parallel accounts tell us they spoke of Jesus’ “departure” (Greek exodus). They spoke of His coming death; but by the term the Bible uses we know they spoke of it as the fulfillment of the great deliverance in Egypt. Jesus’ death would be the exodus from the bondage of sin in the world. The vision was then clear: Christ was revealed in His glory, and He was joined by Moses and Elijah to indicate that He was about to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and that death cannot destroy the glory that will follow. Moses and Elijah were and are alive, and are glorified. Jesus may face death in the days to come, but death in God’s service is the way to glory. The word from heaven made three clear points: Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus is loved by the Father and pleasing to the Father; and Jesus must be obeyed. The revelation was given to the disciples to convince and to encourage and to strengthen them in their faith and obedience. At every turn the revelation of God confirms to us that Jesus is our Lord, that our faith is not in vain, that we need not live in fear, but that we should live by faith in Him."


A - Application for me today:

We look forward to the days when it will be forever Tabernacles with our LORD, but for now the time is not here, for now we need to "shut up and listen" ... we need to listen to the Beloved son, our Beloved, our Dodi, open our eyes and see only Him!

P - Prayer in response:

And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. v.7

LORD, in these days of uncertainty, when we long for Your Kingdom to come, let us be so careful to listen to Your words now more than ever. To catch a glimpse with understanding of what must come to pass on this earth before all things are said and done. Most importantly in these days of uncertainty let us feel your gentle touch and hear your comforting voice and words to "not be afraid". Let us keep our eyes on You and see only You! The transfiguration revealed Your true glory to Peter and the other disciples. Help us to really see and be an example to others of Your true glory through the renewing (transfiguring) of our own minds until the day it will be forever Sukkot ... forever glorious ... forever in the presence of Your Glory!

Fall in love with the Glorious One ...

The days of Sukkot follow the Days of Repentance (Elul and Yom Kippur "Day of Atonement") teaching us that "Repentance is on the highest level because it brings a person close to the Divine Presence. Yesterday he was hated by God and alienated and abominable. But today he is beloved, delightful, close, a beloved friend." A friend of God! What a startling idea. What do friends do? One way to express delight and closeness with a beloved friend is to invite him into your home.

One thing have I desired of the Lord ...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life... to see the sweetness of the Lord and to visit in His sanctuary." [Psalms 27:1]

Finally on the last great Sukkot all of our desires will be answered. The LORD, our bridegroom, and we, His people, the bride are called upon to enter the bridegroom's home. The seven days we sit inside the sukkah correspond to the seven days that a marriage is celebrated. Into our sukkah we also invite new faces: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David, our "ushpizin", our guests. It's the wedding feast of the Lamb ... enter with me into the marriage chamber of His glorious sukkah ...



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