Luke 9:28–43
28About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
37The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
41“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples,
Coming Down
What are your favourite moments with God? For some of us, we think about powerful times of worship, being challenged by a sermon, or being still with God out in the woods. We often call these moments mountaintop experiences. These moments with God are precious, and we all long for them to last forever. But they always end, and often we feel discouraged when they do. In Luke 9:28–34, we see Jesus’ disciples have just this kind of experience.
Just think for a moment about what this experience would have been like. You are with Jesus and a couple of friends, and suddenly, the glory of God is shining through him to such an extent that even his clothes are changed. Not only that, but Moses and Elijah show up. The real Moses and Elijah from all the stories you’ve heard—they are just there chatting with Jesus. But it gets even better. A cloud—like the one that led the people of God through the wilderness—appears. The very presence of God the Father envelops them. And they hear the voice of God Almighty say, “This is My Son, Whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”
This is a staggering experience for the disciples. They have been traveling with Jesus for some time, and they know him. But now they get to see a glimpse of the radiance of his glory. He is not just a good man, or a wise teacher, or even an anointed leader. He is God, of one essence with the Father. This is overwhelming, and this is terrifying, and this is terrific. So much so that Peter says, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (he did not know what he was saying).
In essence, Peter is saying, “Lord, this is great. Can we just stay? Can we make this permanent? Let’s set up a home for you and Moses and Elijah—and make this moment permanent. People can come and see; they will be convinced of the truth of who you are, and everything will be changed.”
What have been your greatest moments with God? Your mountaintop experiences? Maybe it was at a retreat or conference, your baptism, or a devotional time, maybe out in the bush alone with God. When we have these great moments with God, isn’t this how you feel? “Lord, this is amazing and overwhelming. Let’s make this permanent.” We never want to leave or let go of that glimpse of his presence, because there is nothing so good as the presence of God.
But the passage doesn’t end there. We read that, “When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.” Mark’s account of this event says, “Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus” (Mark 9:8). Suddenly, it’s all over. They look around, and everything is as it was before. It is just them and regular-looking Jesus. So often, this is how we feel. We have these great spaces with Jesus where everything is amazing—and then suddenly it is over, and everything looks similar to what it was. And we find that we still need to go through everyday life. Sometimes we are so very frustrated. “Jesus, why can't I just feel the way that I felt in that conference, or why can’t I keep that same clarity that I have with you when I pray while I am at work?” Our hearts cry out, “Jesus, why can't we just stay?”
The story of the transfiguration is immediately followed by a story of Jesus casting a demon out of a young boy. They go from the mountaintop of glory to a father who is desperate for his son to find freedom from the evil spirits that are tormenting him. You see, as amazing and as important as the glory of the mountain is, Jesus still needed to come down from the mountain. He had to come down because there were many who were caught in the power of evil. He had to come down to finish his work, to move towards suffering and death so that we could all find life. He had to come down in order to accomplish the perfect will of the Father, and move into even greater glory than on top of that mountain. The mountaintop is a place to be encouraged and inspired, to be reminded of the truth and to catch a glimpse of the glory of God. But Jesus and the disciples still had to come down.
This is also the pattern that we walk through. God gives us these wonderful glimpses of his goodness, times when we get to see and know him more, when he works in power. But then he leads us out—he leads us back into the world of our jobs, families, schools, city, and the world. He leads us back because, like Jesus, we have a job to do. We have a mission to accomplish: to reveal the glory of God to others, to guide them to see the truth of who he is. The hard truth is that we don’t get to stay on the mountain, yet. One day we will behold him in glory, and it will be greater than we have ever known. One day we will rest forever in the presence of God. But until that day, we have a mission to embrace.
We get to take what we see and experience on the mountain with us. These experiences of Jesus are meant to strengthen us, to clarify for us what is most essential and what is most real. They give us new confidence, strength, and capacity. And God gives them to us to strengthen and empower us for all that will come our way. Our experiences of intimacy with Jesus are meant to fuel us on mission with him. We are called to take the truths that we experience on the mountain and hold them in our hearts and minds, to guide us in all that we are called to walk through.
This is important to remember for a few reasons. First, because some of us are walking around with a weight of guilt and shame because we feel that we are supposed to be able to live constantly on the mountain. You don’t need to feel that weight. It is not your fault that you couldn’t stay in that place; it is by design, because Jesus has something else—a unique part of his mission that he is calling you to embrace with him. Secondly, some of us are carrying resentment and maybe a critical attitude towards others because we blame them or the church for the fact that we can’t stay on the mountain. It's time to let that go. It's not someone else’s fault that you are not experiencing God that way. Jesus has moved you out of that comfortable space because he has a task for you to complete. Finally, some of us are missing Jesus’ calling to join him in sacrificial service because all that we want is the goodness of the mountaintop. We may be running around seeking more and more experiences of God and miss his calling to serve others because all that we can see is our own longing. Jesus may want to meet us as we serve our family, our church, or our community. he may be calling us out of our comfortable places to see the sick healed, the demonized delivered, the poor fed, and those in grief comforted.
There is nothing greater than a rich experience of the presence of God. One day we will live forever in his presence. Until that day, let us hold and savour the richness of what we know of Jesus. Let us take these experiences with us as Jesus leads us out into a hurting and broken world that is desperately in need of him. As we do, we will find that the presence of Jesus will meet us there in unique ways.
Questions to Consider:
1. Reflect on Your Mountaintop Experiences: What specific moments have brought you closest to God? How did those experiences shape your faith?
2. Navigating Discontent: Do you struggle with guilt about not being able to stay in those transformative moments? Have you ever felt resentful of others or the church because you can’t stay there? How does that impact your spiritual journey?
3. Recognizing Service Opportunities: In what ways might you be missing Jesus' call to serve others due to a desire for more personal spiritual experiences? How can you balance both?
4. Connecting Experience to Mission: How can the insights gained from your spiritual experiences fuel your passion to live out your faith in everyday settings—such as at home, work, school, or in your community?
5. Sharing Your Journey: How might sharing your mountaintop experiences with others encourage them in their faith? What stories can you share?
Author Bio
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission.