Jesus, God with us

 

Jesus, God with us

Goshen, brother David, 23/3/12

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Matthew 17:1-8

In a recent meditation, the passage of the transfiguration spoke deeply to brother David and he shared with us several powerful insights that he gained.

Firstly, the transfiguration clearly shows us the deity of Christ. Too often, people think of Jesus as just a man who lived a long time ago and gave good teachings and died. However, Jesus,although fully man was also fully God. Even in our relationship with Jesus, we may focus too much on the Lord who understands us because He was man like us, that we forget He is also our divine God and Creator. The transfiguration shows Jesus as He really is, with the veil hiding His glory removed. In the Old Testament, after Moses spent time with God, he had to wear a veil when he came down as his face shone too brightly from God's radiance. Peter, James and John now personally experienced the beholding of this marvelous radiance of God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. The more we know Him, the more we will understand how incredibly pure and holy the Lord is, and how precious His sacrifice is for us – the perfect, holy Lamb of God dying for wretched sinners like us. Compared to Jesus, our righteous acts are truly like filthy rags.

Secondly, the transfiguration reminds us of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In a corresponding passage in Luke 9, we read in vs.17 that Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses concerning His departure which he was to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Some translations define departure as “exodus”. Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses about His coming death and resurrection at Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, the Exodus was signified by God coming to save His people through Moses and the Passover in particular was the event whereby a lamb was sacrificed and the people were set free to leave Egypt. This was a shadow of the coming Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus who sacrificed Himself, so that we might be set free from our bondage to sin.

Thirdly, the appearance of the cloud in the transfiguration reminds us that God is with us. Another major event at the transfiguration was the bright cloud covering them and the voice from God from heaven saying “This is my Son whom I love. Listen to him.” The phenomenon of God's cloud was seen often in the Old Testament in Israel's travels where God followed them in the desert in a pillar of cloud. The cloud with God's people reminds us of God's presence with us. Emmanuel means “God with us”, and reminds us of God's desire to be with His people. In Exodus 40:35, we read how when the cloud of God settled on the tent of meeting, Moses could not enter it because the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Later in 1 Kings 8:11, when Solomon first consecrated the temple, God's cloud filled the temple, and the priests could no longer perform their service because of the glory of the Lord. In Luke 21:27, Jesus tells us that He will come again in a cloud of glory. How wonderful that whenever we look at the clouds, we can be reminded of God coming to be with us.

This Easter, as we meditate on the Lord's sacrifice, let us truly appreciate His divinity as being full God, marvel with thankfulness for His great sacrifice for our deliverance from sin, and remember that God is with us even on earth!