Week 1: Saturday

Devotional

Imagine yourself as a fifth member of the party, going up the mountain with Jesus leading the way, Peter beside him, and James and John following too. The last days and weeks have been utterly bewildering. Nothing like this has happened to you before, or to any of the others. Within a short time, you've got to the point where you really do believe that Jesus is God's Messiah, his anointed one, the one who will make God's kingdom a reality on earth as in heaven. But how is this going to happen? What will it mean?

It's all so new . . . and one of the things some of your friends are saying, back home, is that Jesus can't really be the one God is sending to rescue Israel and transform the world. He seems so different from what they'd imagined. You know that in yourself. You'd had a vague idea of a warrior king on a white horse, or of a new, strict teacher of the ancient law, insisting on sterner obedience to God's commandments. And Jesus — well, Jesus did indeed make it clear that God's commands mattered deeply, but that was in the context of him healing people, celebrating God's kingdom with all kinds of unlikely people, so that somehow, when he was around, holiness seemed different: exciting, liberating, rather than constricting and gloomy. So it seems to you, along with Peter and the others, that though this isn't what you thought the Messiah would look like he can't really be anybody else.

It's long way up the mountain. Walking, walking, not much being said. Then suddenly a sense of something happening. Your eyes are deceiving you. It's a trick of the light. No, it's a new sort of light — and it's coming from Jesus himself! Jesus is shining, brighter and brighter! And then something else is happening. He's talking to two men, two timeless, ageless figures. You hear enough of what they're saying to know that these are Moses, the great lawgiver, and Elijah, the great prophet. This is overwhelming. Moses, in the old stories, went up the mountain to meet God. So did Elijah. Now we have come up with Jesus and we're meeting Moses and Elijah. All the stories are rushing together. But they're making something quite new, and we're part of it.

Then Peter is speaking. 'This is it! This is wonderful! Let's stay here for ever! We can make booths right here, for you, Jesus, for Moses and for Elijah!' Great idea, you think. This is heaven on earth — heaven and earth coming together at last. This is what we've always longed for. Jesus really is the Messiah. He isn't overthrowing the law and the prophets; he's fulfilling them.

And then it happens. The Voice. People said they heard a voice when Jesus was baptized by John, and now it comes again. 'This is my Son, my Beloved; I am delighted in him. You must listen to him.' Did you imagine it? No, you all heard it, and you all found your legs giving way underneath you with sheer terror. And then it was over. Just Jesus by himself. Don't tell anyone, he says, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.

This was all as bewildering and confusing in the first century as it is for us, reading it today. But what it meant at the time, and what it means now, is clear. Jesus was and is God's Messiah, his chosen one, fulfilling the ancient scriptures, bringing the age-old hope into reality. He was and is the ultimate place where heaven and earth meet. And if you stick with Jesus, it'll happen again. Not necessarily people shining like lights — though that has sometimes happened. But people, and places, full of a sense of God's presence and purpose. Usually, when this happens, it's the result of people taking Jesus very seriously. And usually, when it happens, it is in the middle of a time of great testing and trouble. So it was with Moses and Elijah. So it would be with Jesus. So it may well be with us.

TODAY
Lord Jesus, Son of the living God, show us your glory, and give us ears to listen to what you have to say to us.

Matthew 17

1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things, 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23 and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

24 When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” 26 When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. 27 However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”