Brian Haines Index
The Transfiguration
Monday, April 8, 2013
What Did Peter see as the proof event of the majesty of Christ? In 2
Peter 1:16-18 Peter tells us that it was his witness of the
Transfiguration (in Luke 9:28-32). The
transfiguration was meant to teach us that the covenant of Jesus is
superior to all other covenants
We know that two other men joined our Lord at this event. Let us
consider them for a moment. First there was Elijah the Tishbite. There
are 30 references to Elijah in the New Testament; most pertain to a
doctrinal importance as opposed to exemplary. Scripture reveals that
Elijah is the personification of
the Prophets (2 Kings 2:13, 2 Kings 2:15)
The second man to join Jesus was Moses. There are 79 references
to Moses in the New Testament, and like Elijah, most pertain to a
doctrinal importance as opposed to exemplary.
Moses is the personification of
the Law (Matthew 23:2). We might consider now the significance that
Jesus said “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). Here on this
mountain He met “the Law and the Prophets” in a personified manner.
There are a number of things these three have in common. First,
you will not find their graves (Jesus: Acts 2:31,
Elijah: II Kings 2:11,
Moses: Jude 9). Second, each had
a prophetic message of returning (Jesus: Acts 1:11, Elijah: Malachi 4:5,
Moses: Deuteronomy 18:15). Third, they were the only ones to fast 40
days (Jesus in Matthew 4, Elijah on Mt Horeb in I Kings 19:8, Moses on
Mt Sinai in Exodus 34:28)
We ought to consider that there are three very important points that
matter greatly to us that are taught by the transfiguration.
The Superiority of Jesus Christ
The Bible tells us that Jesus established a superior covenant
based on superior promises (Hebrews 8:6). As we saw in a previous study,
a covenant is a law and a promise; therefore, Jesus’ promises are
superior to those of the previous covenants, and Jesus’ law is superior.
One way we see that superiority is by comparing the law of Moses to the
Law of Christ. Jesus told the woman at the well that His law and
covenant would be one that was spiritual, inferring that the previous
laws and promises were carnal or worldly. Let us see this in the
following chart:
The Anointing of the Messiah
We understand that the word “Messiah” (Hebrews; in Greek it is
the word “Christos”, or Christ) means “anointed”. This act was done to
establish three offices in the Old Testament; the High Priest (Exodus
29:7), a Prophet (I Kings 19:16), and a King (I Kings 1:34).
We know that Jesus was identified as a High Priest (Hebrews 8:1),
a Prophet (Acts 3:22-23) and a King (I Timothy 6:15). God spoke to
having anointed His Messiah (Isaiah 61:1) with the Holy Spirit (Acts
10:38), and we see here one of three times God spoke from heaven and the
Holy Spirit came forth; the other times were Jesus’ baptism (Matthew
3:16-17) and when Jesus was about to be glorified (John 12:28)
Speaking About His Death
Finally, Luke’s account makes the point that Moses and Elijah
spoke concerning the coming death of Jesus. This is significant in that
they, being the Law and the Prophet’s personified, have always spoeken
about the necessity of the death of the Son of God. Consider what Jesus
said later in this Gospel: “Then He said to them, "These are the words
which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms……..thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the
Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke
24:44,46)