A Beautiful Transfiguration - The Gospels

In this Bible Story, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There he reveals a part of his glory. He is transfigured before them, and a blinding light emanates from his very body. Beside him are Moses and Elijah, two of the greatest figures in human history. However, they pale in comparison to Jesus. This story is inspired by Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:9-10, 14-29 & Luke 9:30-32. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Matthew 17:1-2 from the King James Version.

Episode 197: When Jesus and His disciples were alone, He began teaching them about His identity. He began by asking His disciples who the crowd thinks He is. After hearing their response, He asked them who they think that He is. And Peter exclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God. The very next day, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain where they saw the truth of His glory revealed. A glory that was brighter and more important than even The Law of The Prophets.

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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, and after six days, Jesus taketh Peter
James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into
a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them Matthew
seventeen one and two. Like Peter, James and John, I

(00:21):
thank you, Jesus that you are giving me uncommon access
to understanding and experiencing you in new and powerful ways.
I praise you for your continued desire to take me
higher and deeper into the things of the Lord. In
the same way that you were transfigured, Jesus, I thank

(00:44):
you that I am being transformed into the very likeness
and image of You, in the same way our heavenly
Father validated your purpose Jesus with John the Baptist, I
also am recognizing the validor I have from You Lord
to be seen and heard, transform me from the inside out,

(01:09):
and let me bring others who are close to me
in on the journey of a transformed life in Jesus name. Amen,
thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to

(01:30):
you by Bible in a Year dot com.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
A beautiful transfiguration in our last story Jesus healed a
man who was blind from birth. The young man who
was healed was questioned by the Pharisees, for they did
not want to admit that Jesus was truly good and
had the power to heal. The once blind man stood
firm and declaring that no evil man could do what

(02:05):
Jesus did. Now we get a glimpse of Jesus's true glory.
It emerges forth on a mountain, and three of the
disciples come in contact with the true holiness of Christ himself.
Inspired by the Gospels.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of The
Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard
how Jesus healed a beggar who had been blind since birth.
He used the opportunity to teach his disciples an important
lesson about God's compassion and to correct their wrong thinking
about the cause of illness and disease. He also used

(02:44):
it as an opportunity to show the Pharisees their own
lack of compassion and spiritual vision. Today we'll hear how
Peter demonstrates a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. Then
we'll learn how Jesus gives three of his closest disciples
and opportunity to see his true glory and a mountaintop
experience that would lead them both terrified and in wonder

(03:06):
at the same time. Let's listen now to the gospel reading.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
The fire crackled under the evening stars. Jesus and his
disciples lounged around the warm flames. Jesus was praying silently
to the Lord. The disciples were staring into flickering light.
Jesus lifted his eyes to the disciples. What do people
say that I am?

Speaker 3 (03:31):
He asked.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
The disciples shrugged. Some say that you are John the
Baptist that he has said while poking the fire. Others
say you are Elisha. Some would even say you are
one of the prophets of old that has risen from
the dead, James answered. Jesus looked deep into the flames.
But who do you say that I am? He asked.

(03:52):
It was a serious question, a question that required thought.
Peter lifted his gaze to Jesus. He was not known
as a deep thinker. In fact, Peter was often known
for his fast mouth and brash actions. However, Peter was
sure of what he was about to say, he knew
it in his bones. Peter looked deeply through the flames

(04:13):
towards Jesus. You are the Christ, he said, the son
of God. It was early the next morning, and the
sun had not yet peered over the horizon. Darkness still
shrouded the cool morning, and Jesus gently woke Peter, James,
and John, not waking the other disciples, Jesus led them
up a hill it overlooked the first moments of sunrise.

(04:36):
As Peter, James, and John stood over the valley below,
a bright light emerged from Jesus. The brightness was piercing,
and his face shone like the rising sun itself. It
was as if his humanity was unzipped and the essence
of his deity shone through the cracks. It was too
amazing and too terrifying for the three men to describe.

(04:57):
Emerging from the light was Moses and Elijah themselves. The
three men watched as Jesus spoke with them, yet they
were not as equals. The two historic men of faith
bowed to Christ as their lord and spoke to him
as God. It was too great for Peter's heart to handle.
He spoke up and said, Lord, it is good that
we are here. Let us make three tenths up here

(05:20):
for you, Moses and Elijah, then we can. As Peter
was speaking, a bright light consumed Peter and the others completely.
A cloud of holy radiance swirled around them like a tempest.
Peter shrunk on the floor into a fetal position, covering
his eyes from the light. A voice like thunder boomed
from the clouds, saying, this is my beloved son, with

(05:43):
whom I am pleased. Hear him and only him. The
voice sent all the disciples onto their faces. Then the
light disappeared. The disciples opened their eyes to see Jesus
standing alone on the top of the hill. They saw
Jesus only without his radiance, but equally holy. He helped

(06:04):
them to his feet and led them down the hill.
The sun was beginning to rise, and they could see
the other disciples beginning to stir awake. Tell no one
of what you saw this morning. Jesus commanded the three
not until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.
As they were descending down, one of the disciples asked,
isn't it said that Elijah will return before the Son

(06:25):
of Man. Jesus nodded and said it is true, but
Elijah has already come back. You just did not recognize him.
The disciples understood who he was referring to. John the
Baptist was a voice crying from the wilderness. He was
the one who came before Jesus declaring the way of

(06:45):
the Lord.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
We began today's reading with Jesus and his disciples sitting
by a fire. By this point, they've seen their teacher
do amazing things, from healing the crippled lame and even
raising the dead, to feeding thousands in a miraculous display
of God's provision. They've heard him speak to the Pharisees,
challenging their understanding of God's law and the purpose of

(07:11):
God's law. So Jesus begins with a simple question, who
do people say I am? The disciples are quick to reply,
Some say he's Elijah, others that he's John the Baptist.
There seems to be no general consensus or true understanding
among many as to who is Jesus. So then he
asked the harder question, who do you say that I am?

(07:35):
They've been closer to Jesus than anyone. They've seen him
in public, spoken to him in private. If anyone is
to grasp his true nature. It should be them. I
can almost hear the crickets as the question hung in
the air silence, but not for long. If there's one
thing you can say about Simon Peter is that he's
quick to jump up and speak his mind. So he says,

(07:58):
you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus replied
that Peter was correct, but as Jesus continued, he told
him that the insight did not come from Peter's own understanding.
God had revealed this truth the foundation of the church.
God would one day build the truth that Jesus is
the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world,

(08:20):
is the core of the Christian faith. Less than a
week later, Jesus took Peter, John and James with him
to the top of a high mountain. As we've seen before,
these three men had a very special closeness with and
access to Jesus, but nothing they'd seen so far had
prepared them for what was about to happen. There on

(08:41):
top of the mountain, Jesus was transformed right before their eyes. Jesus,
the light of the world, shone brightly around them. His
face was bright as the sun, and his clothes shone
in brilliant white. The disciples were amazed at what they
were seeing, but there was more to come. Then Elijah
and Moses were standing with Jesus talking to him. The

(09:04):
moment was so spectacular that Peter had an idea. Why
don't we just stay here forever? He asked. It's understandable
when we experience something incredible in life, changing our desires
often to capture that moment and never let it end.
But to do so would have been self serving. This
moment was meant to move these disciples to greater things

(09:26):
in the future. Everything that Jesus is on the inside
is now radiating on the outside. It is a metamorphosis,
a transfiguration, and they the disciples, would then be empowered
to take Jesus, the light of the world, to every
person they could. It's a reminder for all of us
to take these high mountaintop experiences when we feel very

(09:48):
close to God and allow them to strengthen us and
encourage us so that we would pursue God and share
his love with others. No sooner had Peter spoken that
a cloud came up over them, just as a cloud
had covered Israel in the days of Moses in the desert.
God's voice thundered out of that cloud, repeating what God
had said when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

(10:12):
This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.
But this time the identification of Jesus as God's son
came with a command. And that command is this, listen
to him. If there had been any question in their
minds that Jesus had come from heaven, that he is
the son of God, now all doubt was wiped away.

(10:33):
This realization filled Peter, James and John with fear because
they were in the presence of God. But then we
see in Matthew seventeen and verse seven, but Jesus came
and touched them, saying, rise and have no fear. They
had nothing to fear because Jesus was with them, And
the same is true today. Because of Christ, we do

(10:53):
not have to fear the presence of God. We can
fear Him properly and respect him and revere him. But
fear real fear. The fear of God is love on
its knees and worship of our God. As they descended
the mouth, and Jesus told them to keep what had
happened to themselves until the Son of Man had risen
from the dead. This command likely perplexed them, as they

(11:17):
still did not fully understand what Jesus was going to do.
One of the disciples asked why some say Elijah must
return before the Son of Man, and Jesus explained that
in a way, this had already happened. John the Baptist
had completed the ministry of Elijah, preparing the way of
the Lord. But just as the people failed to recognize Jesus,

(11:39):
they did not recognize that John the Baptist was the
one declaring the arrival of the Savior. Dear God, we
thank you for your word, which is light and life
to us. Thank you that you are the Savior, the
Son of God, who is the light of the world.
Help us to remember that in mountaintop experiences, when we

(11:59):
see you clearly that it's not enough for us to
remain there, but we are to go and tell others
of your love and your grace. We pray this in
the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you for listening once
again to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack
Graham from Dallas, Texas. Please download thepray dot com app

(12:20):
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