Listen:  103 Question 5

Let’s start by reading the words of the Lord in Matthew 16:27-28, “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.”  These remarks of the Lord are also found in Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27.  How do we understand the Lord’s words when we realize that all those who heard His words have died and the Lord has not yet come to establish His kingdom on the earth?

Let’s continue reading in Matthew.  Matthew 17:1-9, “And after six days 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, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”  Also, in Mark and Luke, when the Lord spoke of His coming kingdom, His transfiguration followed.

Peter, James, and John saw the Lord Jesus transfigured.  The Lord gave them a preview of His coming glory.  This is the meaning of His words.  He had said that some of them would see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom, and these three disciples were the ones of which He was speaking.

Notice how the Lord told His disciples not to tell anyone what they saw until He had risen from the dead.  We read in Mark 9:10, “And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”  Although still confused about the necessity of the death and resurrection of the Lord, these three disciples obeyed the Lord and ‘kept that saying with themselves’, although they did talk to each other about what they had seen.

Later, after the Lord’s resurrection, Peter wrote of witnessing the Lord’s transfiguration.  Let’s read 2 Peter 1:16-18, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”  Peter had understood the words of the Lord concerning Christ coming in His kingdom.  He states here of how he had made known the Lord’s ‘power and coming’, because he was an eyewitness of the Lord’s majesty.

For more information on the importance and significance of the Lord’s transfiguration, please go to our website: www.answersfromthebook.net and type ‘explain more about the transfiguration’ into the search box.  (103.5)