Men Whose Eyes Have Seen the King # 2

Matthew 17:1-21; 2 Peter 1:16-19

Peter goes on to speak to them about the 'trial of their faith" - the trial of your faith is more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried in the fire" (1 Peter 1:7). These scattered saints were knowing something of the "fire" of tried faith. There is much more in his letters indicating a not too helpful situation for the people of God. The key to his letters is "grace"; they needed to know grace. There was opposition; there was there was persecution; there were false prophets, false teachers. And, in that situation, Peter wrote and introduced this matter of the transfiguration.

This is significant. There is something for the people of God in this great matter in days of difficulty and adversity: indeed, what they and we all need at such times is a new vision of the King. That, among other things, is what the Lord Jesus meant for that little band of men. The three were commanded to say nothing about it for the time being, until He was risen from the dead. Someone has used his imagination in that connection, as to how difficult it was for these three men to hold their tongues, and say nothing about it, even to the others; but then, when He was risen, how gladly and eagerly they told the others and everybody of this wonderful experience. It goes to the heart of everything. If this is true - that is, if the Transfiguration was true - then anything and everything in the Bible can be true. If it was not true, then we can doubt everything. But it was true!

The Significance of the Transfiguration

You are aware that the Transfiguration marked the turning point in the mission of the Lord Jesus on this earth. He had gone to the farthest point of His travels north; from that outermost rim of His ministration, He would immediately turn about, with face to the south - to Jerusalem, and to the Cross. A resolute, purposeful, meaningful decision was reached on the mount; it was a crisis, a turning point. We might say that it represented the very heart of His time here on this earth, if we could see it. But what did it mean so far as He was concerned?

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 3 - "1. Humanity Perfected")