Seeing Jesus Only...

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. (Matthew 17:1-8 ESV) The Light has been coming on a lot for these disciples, as the finally have made the break with the legalism of the Pharisees. They have even gotten to the point of recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, "The Son of the Living God." But things have not fully set in, as they still do not see the total uniqueness of Jesus. He is not merely in the top ten or final 3 or 4; He is the one to look to and listen to above all others. He and He alone is the King, worthy of our worship, devotion, and full faith.

In Context...

Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28 ESV) In the immediately preceding statement, Jesus talked about His coming back with His angels as Judge, when everyone will see His glory. This statement might make it seem like He was saying that some of them would see that event. But in the fuller context He is talking about the fact that most, unlike the twelve, had not recognized Him at all. This statement foreshadows what Matthew will share next - an event when some of them did see His glory, and the understood more fully how His death fit into the big picture. He is the King. He does deserve our allegiance. He is coming again.

The call for self-denial

Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. This profound statement is packed in the middle of a whole group of dramatic statements. Peter has confessed: "You are the Christ!" Jesus has announced that He will carry out the ultimate self-denial by willingly giving His life for His followers. How can we respond to such truths? the only proper response is to "give it up" to Him, to stop thinking and living for what pleases us in this world, and live for what lasts. If He is the Savior, Our Savior, He will also be our judge, and we should willingly submit to Him.

Reverting again...

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Jesus has been working hard to do one main thing: keep the disciples' hearts and minds focused on things eternal. Their tendency and ours is always to revert to things physical. Most recently, when He talked about the leaven of the Pharisees, they fretted because they forgot to bring bread. Here Peter (probably again speaking for the rest...) does it again. He does not want to see Jesus suffer, while at the same time failing to see the ultimate victory. Today, may we revert back to the spiritual, seeing and hearing what Christ has to say and to show us.

Put in trust with the Gospel...

Matthew 16:17-20 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. This was a distinct moment - not only for Peter, but for Jesus and His disciples as a whole. They were beginning to get the big picture, and He is about to show them more. They are being entrusted with the truth and given the responsibility to share it. But it was not yet time to "go public" with this all. That would come soon enough. For those of us who have come into a relationship with Christ, we too have been given this trust. We too can see victory in our lives and in the lives of those who have come to the truth. And we need no longer remain silent.

Governed by public opinion???

Matthew 16:13-16 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” This is one of the most dramatic statements in the Gospel. The twelve disciples had seen more of Jesus than anyone else; they had the best "view" to make such a value judgment. We can take their word for it. But their opinion was not shared by most. We live in an age governed by public opinion polls, where everyone makes decisions based on what the majority think. Many times those decisions are wrong. When it comes to deciding Who Jesus is, and what our response should be to Him, don't rely on the opinion of those who really don't know Him. Get the facts; examine the evidence; know the truth.

Cloudy lenses, muffled hearing, confused hearts

How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:11-12 ESV) The disciples were so accustomed to filtering spiritual life through the legalism of the Pharisees, and so used to filtering life in general through only the lens of the physical, that they were missing the message Christ was conveying. It took a lot of repetition for them to finally understand. In an age of instant everything, we struggle to keep focus - to persist in hearing the lessons of Jesus over and over again, thinking that we understand when we really do not. How dependent we are on the Holy Spirit to guide us and interpret the truths Christ has for us! Today, may our spiritual sight be clear, our ears open, and our hearts attentive to the things He has for us.