28"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
1Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."
10And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
11Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus said some of those present will see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom before they die. This would be a little disconcerting because Jesus said this right after He said that the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. When I first read this, I thought it meant the end of the world would be soon, while some of these men still lived, they would see Jesus come to gather those who would be rewarded in heaven.
But that is not what Jesus was saying. He just said they would see Him coming in His kingdom before they die. What did Jesus mean by this? There has been so much talk of the kingdom of heaven in the book of Matthew before this that I just did a quick search to see what kinds of things had been said. There was much preaching on what the kingdom of heaven was like, but they always said that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
If the kingdom of heaven is "at hand", is it already upon them? Usually when I think of something as being at hand, I think of it as being imminent, about to occur, impending. There is the excitement of it being so close, that they must be ready. I think Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven is so close at hand, that He will come into the kingdom of heaven while they still live. In fact, some of those present will see Jesus come into the kingdom of heaven.
Is Jesus referring to His transfiguration or is He referring to His resurrection? The footnotes in my Bible say He is referring to His transfiguration. But I think it could be either. Either way, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. His disciples may have been losing sight of that as they have been enjoying their work of spreading the gospel, but now are concerned with Jesus' statement that He would soon suffer and die. The kingdom of heaven is not some far off thing that they might get tired of preparing for. There are those who would see Jesus come into the kingdom in their lifetime!
Imagine Peter, James, and John witnessing Jesus' transfiguration. Imagine them seeing Jesus talking to Elijah and Moses. This is their friend who they worked beside, who they worried about, in whom they are now seeing a gloriful reminder of just how important He is.
Peter suggested building them tabernacles. I had always thought of this text meaning that Peter suggested they build them some sort of structure, either a kind of a shrine, or a place for them to stay. So I decided to look up the meaning of the word tabernacle in my dictionary in case my understanding of it wasn't quite correct. My dictionary defines tabernacle as the portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the ark of the covenant through the desert, or a receptacle on a church altar containing the consecrated elements of the Eucharist. Was Peter possibly suggesting building a portable sanctuary to carry Jesus, Elijah, and Moses? We will never know exactly what they meant as any thoughts they had were interrupted by the voice of God.
The words God used, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, seemed familiar. So I checked. Sure enough, those are the exact same words God used at Jesus' baptism. In fact there are several similarities between these two stories. John the Baptist didn't want to baptize Jesus saying Jesus should baptize him. Peter didn't want to see Jesus to have to suffer and die. Both were having trouble with God's plan. Both heard the voice of God which helped them in their understanding. The last time God spoke these words were as Jesus was going to start His mission to preach the Gospel, but first He would be tested by Satan. Jesus is getting ready to take the next step, His coming into the kingdom of heaven, but first He would suffer many things by the chief priests and scribes.
Jesus said to tell no one what they saw till after He is risen from the dead. Jesus just showed them something very special, something He wanted them to know and understand, something they needed in order to give Jesus the support He needed in what was to come. But it was for their use only for now. They could tell others after he rose from the dead. All the things Jesus had warned them to tell no one could be spoken of after He rose from the dead.
Why did Jesus bring these disciples on the mountain to see this? Was it simply so someone would be able to tell of it after His death and resurrection? A part of me also makes me wonder if Jesus didn't also do it for his own human side, for Jesus was human too. These were Jesus' closest friends. Jesus is about to go through some very difficult times. Maybe his friends would be better able to give Jesus some of the moral support He would need for what laid ahead if they saw some of the glory that is to come to Jesus. Jesus knew Peter was struggling with what Jesus said He must go through. Maybe Jesus needed friends who would be able to support Him rather than question what God had planned for Him. And God told them directly "Hear Him." Having friends is important for our human side. Being a good friend is also important. I think Jesus had the same human need for support from His friends.
All this is reminding His disciples that it is to happen soon. Jesus is coming into the kingdom of heaven. But His disciples knew enough of the teachings of the scribes to know that it said Elijah would come first. Malachi 4:5-6 says:
| 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." |
How could the kingdom of heaven come if not all the prophesy had been fulfilled yet? But Jesus said the prophesy had been fulfilled, and they understood that Elijah had been there in the person of John the Baptist.