Mark 9:1-13 - Homilies By J.j. Given

Parallel passages: Matthew 18:1-13 ; Luke 9:28-36

A glimpse of glory.

I. THE TRANSFIGURATION .

1 . Allusions to the Transfiguration. The scene described in the above parallel passages is as singular as solemn. There are, however, two allusions to it in other books of the New Testament One is in St John's Gospel ( John 1:14 ), And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory , the glory as of the only begotten of the Father ,) full of grace and truth." The other 2 Peter 1:16-18 , "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. " There is, moreover, an intimation of the same in the three preceding verses, where the apostle, speaking of his "decease," uses the same word ( ἔξοδος ) which is found in this passage and nowhere else in the same sense in the New Testament, and where he speaks once and again of his "tabernacle," saying, "As long as I am in this tabernacle," and "Shortly I must put off this tabernacle." As undesigned coincidents are acknowledged to be strongly corroborative of the truth of a narrative, so such allusive references as those just quoted are in the highest degree confirmatory of the reality of the awful event referred to.

2 . Persons present. The persons permitted to witness this event were truly privileged individuals—of the chosen the more select, and of the loved the more beloved. This inner circle of the disciples consisted of Peter and James and John. They alone were present with the Savior the death-chamber of the daughter of Jairus, they alone were eye-witnesses of the Transfiguration, and they alone accompanied him in his agony.

3 . Place of the occurrence. The place where the Transfiguration occurred was long believed to be Tabor, that solitary hill rising abruptly from the great plain of Esdraelon, the ancient Jezreel. This tradition, prevalent since the sixth century, has been set aside in more recent times. The locality last named as visited by our Lord was Caesarea Philippi, too far distant from Tabor and necessitating too great a change of place. It is certain that the summit of Tabor was occupied at the time in question by a Roman fortress, and did not afford the solitude which the event referred to presupposes. Besides, that town of Caesarea Philippi lay under the range of Hermon, so that one of the heights of that snow-capped mount was the most likely place. Hermon is the most conspicuous mountain in Palestine; hence its present name of Jebel esh Sheikh , the chief mountain. There is, moreover, an expression of comparison in one of the narratives, which points in this same direction, for the graphic touch of St. Mark, "white as snow," might well be suggested by the snowy cone of Hermon. It must, however, be admitted that the words of comparison ( ὡς χιὼν ) are omitted in א B, C, L, δ , in several versions, and by most of the critical editors, though found א A, D, E, F, G, and eight other uncials; in the Syriac, Coptic, Gothic, and most of the Latin versions.

4 . The time of the event. The time is specified by each of the three evangelists. Two of them, reckoning exclusively, specify a period of six days, and one of them, adopting the inclusive method, speaks of it as "about an eight days." This note of time, thus given in all the three narratives, has in it something surely special and significant. Nor is it to be passed over slightly, for the element of time in this instance is helpful, not only in tracing the sequence of events in the life of our Lord, but also in indicating in some measure the significance of the particular event here recorded. Peter had made his famous confession of the Christ, and had been commended for the words of truth he spoke. Our Lord had followed this up by foretelling his own death and passion. But now, instead of words of praise, he had to use the language of sharp rebuke, when Peter deprecated our Lord's sufferings, and, tempter-like, sought to divert his thoughts to an earthly kingdom, like those very kingdoms of the world and their glory which Satan had proffered in one of his great assaults. Afar these and other conversations about Messiah's work and the nature of his kingdom, a week or thereabouts had elapsed when the Transfiguration scene took place—a scene having an important bearing on the disciples at that crisis, on the Master in the near prospect of his passion, and on the Church at all periods and in all places.

II. Concomitants of The TRANSFIGURATION .

1 . Mountain scenery. In the scenery of Scripture, as in the natural landscape, mountains form a conspicuous object. They are the spots so often selected for Divine manifestations, and so frequently signalized by solemn service or severe sacrifice. Why they have been chosen for such purposes we may be unable to explain. Whether it is that their sublime grandeur tends to elevate the thoughts from earth to heaven; or that their separation from the plains and valleys around promotes meditative seclusion, helping to shut out the world and leave the soul alone with God; or whether the fresh free air that surrounds their summits has a bracing effect upon the human spirit;—whatever be the cause, the fact of their selection remains the same. When Abraham, the father of the faithful, was summoned to surrender his son, his only son Isaac, whom he loved, the sacrifice was to take place on Mount Moriah. When God was pleased to appear to Moses in the bush that burned with fire and yet was not consumed, it was on Mount Horeb. When he came down in awful majesty at the giving of the Law, it was on the top of Sinai he descended. It was on bleak and barren Ebal the curses were pronounced; it was on fair and fertile Gerizim that the blessings were uttered; while at each curse and blessing the living voice of the mighty multitude rolled up the hillsides, pronouncing the long "Amen." On Carmel Elijah denounced the prophets of Baal, and destroyed the worship of that idol. It was on Mount Zion that the ark and tabernacle found a resting-place in David's day, and there in consequence was the center of Jewish religious service; though it was on Mount Moriah that the temple was subsequently built. From Pisgah Moses looked across the flood and gazed on the land of promise. On Nebo God took his servant home to heaven. So also our blessed Lord himself chose mountains as the scenes of his discourses, doings, and devotions. On the Mountain of the Beatitudes he delivered those blessed utterances contained in that wondrous sermon on the mount. On a mountain in Galilee he manifested himself after his passion; and from Olivet he ascended. And now he leads his disciples to that mountain apart; and so retirement, it would seem, was one ground of the selection of a mountain on this occasion.

2 . The preparation. But more important than the place of transfiguration was the Savior's preparation for it. That preparation, we learn, was prayer. In every crisis of his history, and at every great event of his life, we find the Savior engaged in prayer. One main feature of his life on earth was prayer. When he was inaugurated by baptism, and when he formally entered on his own ministry, he prayed; for it is written, "It came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven opened." Before he set apart his twelve apostles to found his Church and propagate his doctrine, he spent a whole night in prayer. When he wrought his greatest miracle, "he lifted up his eyes in prayer and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always." During his agony in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed once and again, and a third time, with still-increasing earnestness. When he hung upon the cross he prayed, and prayed even for his murderers. As he ascended to heaven his hands were uplifted in holy prayer and heavenly benediction. And now that he is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high he prays on behalf of his people; for he is our Advocate with the Father, and ever lives to intercede. In like manner, the purpose for which he ascended the Mount of Transfiguration was prayer: "He took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into a mountain to pray."

3 . Peculiarity of the Savior ' s prayer. We must mark the peculiarity and purport of his prayer. It had this peculiarity , that one element of prayer was wanting—indeed, it must have been wanting. There were thanksgiving and petition, we know, but there could be no confession. He had no sin to confess, no contrition to feel for personal sin, no sorrow on that head to express, and so repentance in his case was impossible. Yet in his humanity, sinless though it was, he needed prayer. The purport of such prayer we are at no loss to discover. It included petition for himself and intercession for his people; while this spirit of prayer served as a pattern for all his followers, Not only was he an Expiation, but an Example; for he left us an example, that we should follow in his steps. The character of his intercession may be learned from his prayer for Peter, and his great intercession ( John 17:1-26 .) for all his followers in all times and in all lands. His petition for the cup to pass away from him had its answer in the power that sustained him in his agony, in the submission of his human will to the Divine, and in the angel strengthening him.

III. CHARACTERS CONCERNED .

1 . Representative characters. In addition to the three favourite apostles, who were merely spectators but not actors, properly speaking, in this scene, we have Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, all of them in a representative character. Here were the Law-giver, the Law-restorer, and the Law-fulfiller. The Law was given by Moses; it was restored, after a time of sad defection, by Elijah; it was fulfilled in all its requirements by Jesus, who came expressly not to destroy the Law or abrogate the prophets, but to fulfill them both. They represented still more. Moses represented the Law and Elijah the prophets; both doing homage to Jesus, who represented the gospel, or rather Law and prophets merged in the gospel dispensation. Here, again, is one that never tasted death, but was transferred in a fiery chariot from earth to heaven. No doubt that very translation effected some change analogous to death. At all events, he may fitly represent those that are alive and remain till the coming of the Lord, who shall not sleep as others sleep, but who shall be changed; "for," saith the apostle, "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." Here, too, is one that died as mortals die, but how or where his body was laid to rest no one knoweth till this day; the only record is that "God buried him." Here, also, is One that died a violent death and by wicked hands; he died and was buried, his grave being made with the rich in his death. Thus we get a hint that it matters little how we die—whether by the decay of nature, or fell disease, or dread catastrophe, or the hand of violence; neither does it matter where or how we are buffed—whether in the country churchyard, or city cemetery, or the desert sands, or the depths of ocean; whether in the grave of the poor or mausoleum of the rich, whether in obscure privacy or with funereal pomp; in any case, if servants of God, we shall be compeers of Moses and Elijah, and shall appear with Christ in glory.

2 . A foreshadow of heavenly fellowship. Once more, though the apostles were mainly present as witnesses, still they were representative men. They were publishers and preachers of the new economy, and thus representatives of the Christian dispensation. Here, last of all and greatest of all, was Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant and the Representative of all times. So in that heavenly state, of which the Transfiguration was merely a foreshadow, saints of all times and of all dispensations shall be found. Believers during the legal age, believers in the times of the prophets, believers in the days of the apostles, believers from then till now, and onward till the consummation of all things, shall be there; "They shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God." Even a philosophic heathen could exult in the prospect of meeting the shades of departed worthies in a future state. "What bounds," he exclaims, "can you set to the value of conversing with Orpheus and Musaeus and Homer and Hesiod? What delight must it be to meet with Palamedes and Ajax, and others like to them! Then we should experience the wisdom of that great king who led his troops to Troy, and the prudence of Ulysses and Sisyphus." Oh, how infinitely greater and holier is the joy with which the Christian can anticipate that grand gathering of all the faithful in Christ Jesus—patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, all who purely lived and nobly died; not only the one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed ones of all the tribes of the children of Israel, but "a great multitude, that no man can number," in that day when we shall "come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven!"

3 . Recognition. Here it must be observed, in passing, that the apostles at once recognize Moses and Elijah, in what manner or by what means we cannot tell; whether from their discourse, or by information from Christ, or by some spiritual intuition, we do not know. At all events, we may fairly infer from this fact that in heaven there shall be distinct recognition; otherwise the crowded ranks of the celestial inhabitants would only present one vast collection of unknown and so less interesting faces. Other Scriptures confirm this. Thus Abraham seems acquainted with all the circumstances of Lazarus' life, and Dives knows the state of his brothers on earth. Paul gives us to understand that our mental faculties shall be enlarged and expanded. Can we imagine, then, that memory alone shall be impaired and diminished? Oh, what zest such recognition wilt give to the joys of heaven! Who is not alive to the pleasures of social intercourse on earth? With what satisfaction does a happy family surround the domestic hearth, or meet round the festive boardlWith what delight of family and friends is the wanderer, after long years of absence, welcomed to his native land! And oh, how great shall be the joy in heaven when the faithful minister meets those to whom he had preached the gospel, telling of heaven and leading the way! Or when the man of prayer meets those for whom he had offered supplication in seasons of danger, or difficulty, or distress, or disease, or at the hour of death! Or when the spiritual teacher, whether in sabbath school, or Bible class, or cottage meeting, meets those who had been once his pupils, but are now his companions in glory!

IV. CHANGE DESCRIBED .

1 . The glory of his person Here we are to notice, in the first place, the glory of his person. From eternity he had been in the form ( μορφῇ ) of God. This had been his original form, but in the fullness of time he took upon him the form of a servant. Now for a while he resumes the form which he had laid aside. The form of a servant is changed back ( μετεμορφώθη ) into that of Deity. He "was transfigured before them" is the statement of St. Matthew and St. Mark. The veil of mortal flesh became transparent. The glory of the Godhead broke through the concealment. Like a sudden sunburst from behind the murky clouds on a dark and wintry day, there was a glorious outburst of Divine effulgence. It irradiated his body, it diffused itself over his whole person, it surrounded him with an atmosphere of brightness and beauty. Beams of heavenly light flashed from head to foot. The whole man presented an unearthly splendor. His appearance was a reflection of that glory which he had had with the Father before all worlds, and in which he appears among the inhabitants of heaven.

2 . The change of his countenance. "The fashion of his countenance was altered" is the statement of St. Luke, who, writing for Gentiles, avoids the word transformed, or metamorphosed , on account of its association with heathenism; while St. Matthew explains the nature of that alteration by saying, "His face did shine as the sun." After Moses' interview with God on Mount Sinai, the skin of his face shone so that he was obliged to cover it with a veil as soon as his public official duty had been discharged. Similarly, when Stephen, the proto-martyr, was brought before the council, "all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." But in the case of Stephen and of Moses it was a borrowed brightness, whereas the Savior's face shone with native irradiation. It was no reflected lustre, like that of the moon in the heavens, deriving all her light from the sun. The light and loveliness were all his own. The face soon to be marred more than any man, and his countenance more than the sons of men, possessed a brilliancy that was dazzling and that outrivalled the radiance of the sun at noon. That face, soon to be smitten and spit upon, and from which men hid in scorn and sorrow, now displayed a glory indescribable. The veil of humanity became too thin to hide the outshining of the divinity within. Like a magnificent temple grandly lighted up on every side and throughout its entire extent, from nave to porch and from dome to pavement, the Savior's face and entire person—the whole temple of his body—was brightened up and beautified with celestial glory.

3 . The glistening of his garments. Even his garments shared this heavenly transformation. They brightened, they glistened, they dazzled. The sacred penmen seem at a loss for similitudes to give us a correct notion of a change so marvellous and glorious. "White as the light," says St. Matthew; "shining, exceeding white as snow," says St. Mark; "white and glistering "—white and flashing forth as lightning ( ἐξαστράπτων )—says St. Luke. They lay both nature and art under contribution for the purpose of describing it. They became "white as snow," says one—white as the snowy peak of the neighboring hill with the sunbeams resting on it; "exceeding white," he says again, "so as no fuller on earth can white them." When St. John saw him in apocalyptic vision, his head and hair were white as wool. Ages before, when Daniel saw him in prophetic vision as the Ancient of days, his garments were white as snow. On the Mount of Transfiguration his human nature was closely assimilated to his Divine nature, in which he clothes himself with light as with a garment. Such was Christ on Hermon; what must he be in heaven? Such was he in his transfigured humanity; what must be his divinity revealed? What shall he be when, with face unveiled, we shall see him as he is? But, better and more blessed still, in that day we shall be like him. If, under a former portion of this subject, we caught a glimpse of our companionship in heaven, here we get a glance at our condition in the heavenly state.

V. Consequences.

1 . One consequence common . Some of the consequences of the Transfiguration scene are general, and some special. There is one common to the saints of all times and of all climes. That transfigured body of Christ is the model and pattern of all the glorified. He is the Head, they are the members. "As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." Here and now our bodies, though fearfully and wonderfully made, are bodies of humiliation. They are subject to many infirmities, liable to painful and even loathsome diseases, doomed to dissolution in a few years at most, while, worst of all, they contain the seed of sin, and their members too often are instruments of unrighteousness; "for I know," says the apostle, "that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." But these bodies of humiliation shall be fashioned like- unto Christ's glorious body; these bodies, now "of the earth, earthy," shall be e evated to the condition of the heavenly; these bodies, now so frail, shall be endued with immortal health and vigor. Here and now the beauty of the fairest face soon fades; then the plainest face shall become beautiful, and that beauty shall be truly amaranthine. The features now saddened by sorrow, or marred by disease, or disfigured by age, shall become "bright as the sun when he goeth forth in his strength," bright as the Savior's on the Mount of Transfiguration, bright as the face of our Lord was seen by Peter and James and John at that time, bright as it always appears to the saints in glory. Every blemish shall be blotted out, every wrinkle shall be smoothed, every disease expelled, and all decrepitude for ever removed. Then, too, on the sightless eyeballs of the blind shall flash the light of an eternal day, the ear of the deaf shall be unstopped, the tongue of the dumb sing, and the lame man for ever lay aside his lameness. Moreover, the richest raiment of earth will be but rags when compared with those robes of brightness which the ransomed in heaven wear. In view of all this may we not exclaim?—

"Oh for the robes of whiteness!

Oh for the tearless eyes!

Oh for the glorious brightness

Of the unclouded skies!

Oh for the no more weeping

Within the land of love,

The endless joy of keeping

The bridal feast above!"

2. An immediate consequence. Another and immediate consequence was to reconcile the disciples to the sufferings of their Master, and sustain them amid their own. Then, as now, the Jews overlooked the first appearance of Messiah in weakness, through haste for his glorious second advent. Then, as now, their pride rebelled against the idea of a suffering Savior, in their anticipation of his glory. Then, as afterwards, they looked for a great temporal potentate, to whom all thrones would be subject and whom all sovereigns would obey. They antedated the glory of his reign. But this experience of heaven upon earth, of glory so surpassing was surely enough to make amends for those disappointed hopes. It was meant also to prepare them for the approaching crisis, to comfort them when it came, and to confirm their faith in his Divine majesty, even when, as a malefactor, he was nailed to the cross.

3 . An additional consequence. Again, it not only helped to reconcile the disciples to the death of their Master, but doubtless went far to comfort Immanuel himself in the near prospect of his agony and bloody sweat, and of his cross and passion. Elsewhere we are informed that, "for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame." This short space of heavenly enjoyment, coming in as a parenthesis amid the wearisome struggles and strivings of earthly life, would cheer him onward towards the end. The foretaste thus afforded of the coming glory that would crown everlastingly the brief sorrows of the present would sustain him in the approaching sufferings. The cloud of witnesses that surrounds the Christian in his pilgrimage serves as a motive to urge him on, so that, laying aside every weight, he runs with patience the race set before him; so these witnesses, representative of ten thousand times ten thousand, intensely interested in the Redeemer's work and intently looking on, would encourage the human spirit of the Savior, so that, braced with new alacrity, he would hold on the course appointed and pass through the baptism of blood. As his baptism was the commencement of his ministry, his transfiguration was his consecration to suffering.

VI. THE CONVERSATION HELD .

1 . The persons engaged in converse. Here were two prophetic men, of whom one died and was buried by mystic hands, no one knew how or where.

"By Nebo's lonely mountain,

On this side Jordan's wave,

In a vale in the land of Moab,

There lies a lonely grave.

And no man knows that sepulcher,

And no man saw it e'er;

For the angels of God upturned the sod,

And laid the dead man there.

"And had he not high honor?—

The hillside for a pall;

To lie in state while angels wait,

With stars for tapers tall;

And the dark rock.pines, like tossing plumes,

Over his bier to wave;

And God's own hand, in that lonely land,

To lay him in the grave!"

The other never died, was never buried; but went straight from earth to heaven—

"All undrest

From his mortal vest,

He stept on the car of heavenly fire;

To prove how bright

Are the realms of light,

Bursting at once upon the sight."

And now these two visitants from the heavenly world have taken their place together on that lone mountain apart. Here also were three apostolic men—the foremost of the apostolic band: John, with his heart of love; James, with his high standard of law—both of them sons of thunder with outspoken courage; and Peter, honored with the keys that opened the door of faith to Jew and Gentile. "And why these?" asks the devout Bishop Hall, in his ' Contemplations on the Holy Scriptures.' "We may be too curious: Peter because the eldest; John because the dearest; James because, next Peter, the zealousest: Peter because he loved Christ most; John because Christ most loved him; James because, next to both, he loved and was loved most. I had rather," he adds, "to have no reason, but because it so pleased him. Why may we not as well ask why he chose these twelve from others, as why he chose three out of the twelve?" But with prophets and apostles, the foundation of the future Church, was Jesus Christ the God-man and the Church's chief Corner-stone. The converse, however, was confined to Moses and Elias and Jesus; the apostles were only listeners. One is naturally curious to know the subject that engaged the attention of that small but wonderfully select company. The subject must have been worthy of such an august assembly.

2 . The subject of conversation. What, then, was the subject that occupied them? Was it political, embracing the gate of kingdoms, or the fall of dynasties, or fast-coming times of calamity and change? Was it the extent and power and future breaking up of the great Roman empire? Was it the subjection of Palestine to Roman rule, or the relation of the Tetrarch of Galilee to the Procurator of Judea? Nothing of all this. But if the subject was not political, was it one of Jewish casuistry, such as divided the schools of Hillel and Shammai, about binding or loosing? Was it in reference to the primary or derivative prohibitions of sabbath work—the avoth or the toldoth ? Was it about the Halakoth or Hagadoth—the rules of jurisprudence or the legends illustrative of them, and both afterwards embodied in the Gemara? None of these, or such as these, was of sufficient importance to command their attention. We might, however, reasonably enough expect that it would be the beauties of heaven, with its gates of pearl, and streets of gold, and jasper wall, and foundations of precious stones; or the grandeur of its minstrelsy and melody of its songs; or the blessedness of the heavenly state and the ecstasies of its joys, or all the untold glories of the beatific vision; or the unspeakable magnificence of the heavenly hierarchy, with its thrones and dominions and principalities and powers. And yet it was none of these. It might have been the atmosphere of heaven brought down by Christ to earth, the perfection of his life when here below, the power of his miracles, the purity of his precepts, the preciousness of his promises, his words and works of benevolence. And yet it was none of these. It was perhaps a less inviting, but certainly not leas important, theme. Over and above what is common to all the evangelists, each contributes a part peculiar to himself. As St. Mark omits mention of the change that passed over the countenance of the Savior, and fixes attention on the garments so white and glistening; so St. Luke alone records the subject about which they discoursed. Our curiosity is thus gratified at least in part. True it is that, while we are made acquainted with the topic of conversation, the evangelist gives no hint of the conversation itself. And yet perhaps we have an echo of that conversation in the writings of those favourite apostles who were privileged to form the audience on that remarkable occasion.

3 . A peculiar term. That most interesting subject was the decease he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. The expression is so remarkable, it is no way strange that attention has often been directed to it. Elsewhere in Scripture death is literally spoken of, or it is represented from its physical effect as "giving up the ghost," or it is euphemistically expressed as "sleep." This latter expression, however, is never applied to the death of Christ, for that death was no babe-like slumber—no gentle falling asleep. It was death in all its hideousness, in all its bitterness, with cruelly aggravated horrors and fearfully augmented terrors. In consequence of these sufferings the believer's death is now changed into sleep, and so we read that "them who sleep by ( διὰ ) Jesus will God bring with him." The death of the Savior is here set forth as an ἔξοδος , exodus or departure, so that the term would cover all that was peculiar in the exit of Moses, or Elijah, or Christ himself; while it is the result of his own voluntary act, and an event, too, in which he was more active than passive; and so the ordinary verb ἔθανεν is not used in his case. Likewise in the narrative of his death the evangelists use a similar expression, namely, ἐξέπνευσε , "he breathed forth," St. Luke and St. Mark; "he delivered up the ghost" ( παρέδωκε ), St. John; or "dismissed," sent away his spirit ( ἀφῆκε ), St. Matthew. The decease he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem was thus lifted up out of the rank of ordinary deaths, and raised by a whole heaven above them. It was a voluntary surrender: "No man taketh my life;" "I have power to lay it down," he said, "and power to take it again." It was vicarious as well as voluntary; for he suffered, "the just for the unjust, to bring us to God." It was valid for every expectant soul; because "to them that look for him he will appear a second time without sin unto salvation." It realized the types of the old economy, for it was the great antitype that finished all. It crowned the sacrifices under the Law; for "by one sacrifice he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." It fulfilled the promises of the past and guaranteed the bestowal of them all; for "he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" It put new meaning into many otherwise dark and obscure statements of Old Testament Scripture. It was the death of deaths. It was the gateway to eternal life; it "opened the door of heaven to all believers." It was an offering; for he gave himself an offering and a sacrifice of sweet-smelling savor. It was a propitiation; for "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins." It was a ransom; for "he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for many." Confessors took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, but that spoiling was the test of their own sincerity. Martyrs shed their blood unmurmuringly and even triumphantly, but the martyr's death was the preparation for the martyr's crown. Yet martyrs and confessors stood each in his own lot, suffering for themselves and by themselves. Not so Jesus; for others, not for himself, he drained the bitter cup; for others, not himself, he underwent the bloody baptism; for sins, but not his own, he endured the cross, despising all the pain and shame.

4 . Character of their conversation. The subject, then, as we have just seen, was that death—a death which patriarchs, and priests, and prophets, and pious persons under the old dispensation looked and longed for; a death which not only fulfilled the predictions, but realised the typical institutions of the old economy; that death which was the complement of the legal economy and the consummation of the Jewish Church, and which, at the same time, formed the commencement of a new epoch and of a higher order of events. What a glorious subject! More glorious far than the fate of kingdoms or the fall of kings; more glorious than all the discoveries of science, or applications of art, or improvements of society. In their conversation on this high theme they spake, no doubt, of the nature of the decease to be accomplished: of its necessity, to realize types and fulfill prophecies; to "magnify the Law and make it honorable;" to save miserable man and glorify Almighty God, restoring peace between heaven and earth, and "by one sacrifice perfecting for ever the sanctified;" to overthrow the kingdom of Satan, and diffuse light and life and love through all the world; to extract the sting of death, "destroying him that had the power of it, that is, the devil," and throwing the radiance of heavenly glory over the darkness of the tomb. They conversed, no doubt, of the travail of the Redeemer's soul, and of his mediatorial reward in the eternal approbation of the Father, the salvation of the lost, and the praises of the redeemed for ever. Of all subjects this was the most important to men, the most interesting to Christ, and the most glorifying to God. This subject is still the great theme of the Church militant on earth, and the glorious song of the Church triumphant in heaven.

5 . Apparently out of place. But glorious as the subject of conversation was, and edifying as the manner of that conversation was, it might in one sense seem inopportune. Hence says an old divine already cited (Hall, in his ' Contemplations'), "A strange opportunity! in his highest exaltation to speak of his sufferings; to talk of Calvary on Tabor; when his head shone with glory, to tell him how it must bleed with thorns; when his face shone like the sun, to tell him it must be blubbered and spit upon; when his garments glistered with that celestial brightness, to tell him they must be stripped off and divided; when he was adored by the saints of heaven, to tell him how he must be scorned by the basest of men; when he was seen between two saints, to tell him how he must be seen between two malefactors: in a word, in the midst of his Divine majesty, to tell him of his shame; and, while he was transfigured on the mount, to tell him how he must be disfigured upon the cross." So thought good Bishop Hall. But this subject is never out of place, it is never out of time. It is the theme of our praises both here and hereafter, and should the subject of our prayerful meditations till we feel its transforming power, and are "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord."

VII. CONCLUSION ,

1 . St. Peter ' s proposal. "Let us make three tabernacles," said Peter, "one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." Chrysostom thinks that Peter's object was to remain away from the holy city, and thus, by remaining on the mount and remote from Jerusalem, prevent the Savior's sufferings. God had tabernacled in Shechinah glory, why should not the Savior embody the same? But the expression of Peter was rather the expression of an ecstasy of delight—a plenitude of joy which words could not express. So great was his rapture that he wist not what he said. A little of the joy of heaven would be too much for flesh and blood—it would overwhelm us. Besides, Peter was overlooking the fact that the wilderness work and warfare must needs be resumed. The journey of life was not ended. Some droppings of heavenly blessedness had transported him into rapture, but the full wealth of its downpour was not yet at hand. He antedated the bliss of heaven, forgetting for the moment that he was still on earth. More sacrifice, more suffering, more sorrow, more self-denial, more days of toil and nights of trouble, must intervene before he crossed the Jordan and entered the promised land.

2 . The effect of emotion. Peter's exclamation partook more of the emotional than of the rational. It was rather the offspring of ardent desire than of deliberate judgment. It proceeded more from the heart than from the head. But head as well as heart must be influenced by religion. If it were confined to the head, it would tend to formality; if to the heart, it might issue in fanaticism. On one hand, Peter's exclamation was quite excusable. "It is good for us to be here," a fine thing, a pleasant thing; not good in a moral sense, which is differently expressed ( ἀγαθὸν ), but good physically ( καλὸν ), which is the expression here. If there were a place on earth of which this might be said, it was that Mount of Transfiguration. It was, perhaps, the spot on earth nearest and likest heaven. There was a hill, an emblem of heaven, which is the hill of God's holiness. There were two saints, an epitome of heaven, representing as they did the quick and the dead—those alive on earth, and the dead raised up at the day of judgment. There was the Savior himself, in uncreated light and unveiled glory, at once the Source and Centre of heavenly blessedness. There was conversation such as may be presumed to be held among the redeemed in heaven, for the burden of their song is, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." There, moreover, was temporary seclusion from the toil and turmoil of earth, from the business and bustle of the world, from the sorrows and sufferings of this mortal life and strife. There, too, was enjoyment of the unclouded sunshine and untroubled rest of heaven. There was a ravishing foretaste of the joys of heaven. No wonder, then, that Peter proposed to perpetuate the happiness, continue the enjoyment, and carry on the fellowship, erecting tabernacles and dwelling on the mount. But, on the other hand, there was something selfish, if not exclusive, in the proposal, for he was leaving behind his friends and fellow-worshippers on the plain below; he was speaking in forgetfulness of the bodies of the saints that slept; he was acting unreasonably in requiring Moses to forsake the Divine presence, after the uninterrupted enjoyment thereof during fifteen centuries, for a tent-like dwelling, and Elijah to forget the car of fire in which he had gone up, and now abide below; he was strangely overlooking the recent subject of discourse with which Moses and Elijah had been so occupied—the decease that was to be accomplished, the death to be endured, the redemption to be effected, the sacrifice to be offered, and the salvation to be procured. In entire obliviousness of, or indifference to, all this, his proposal was to forestall the future and have a present heaven upon earth. In momentary rapture he forgot he was still in a scene of pilgrimage and in a state of sojourn; he forgot he was a stranger in a strange land, which was neither his rest nor his home, and where no abiding city is to be found. He forgot that the Christian's life is a journey; and what traveler can reach his destination without the toil of travelling? He forgot life is a race; and where is the racer who is rewarded without a struggle, and who, without running, yet obtains the prize? He forgot that life is a warfare, in which a fight, a hard fight, is to be fought before the combat is ended and the conqueror crowned. It is only when we shall have fought the good fight, and finished our course, and kept the faith, that we may say with Paul, "Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory, which God, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day." But Peter wist not what ( λαλήσῃ ) he should speak: he wist not even what he ( λέγει ) actually does say so enraptured was he with delight, so carried out of himself by the extraordinary occurrence, and so bewildered with terror at the same time.

3 . Due in part to sleep. Further, and finally, they had been "heavy with sleep," but either kept awake throughout it, or awoke after an interval, or rather started all at once into perfect wakefulness, now wide awake and fully alive to all that was seen or said. They had been asleep, wrapped perhaps in their abbas, according to Oriental fashion, on the ground, when the celestial light, bursting upon them, roused them thoroughly so as to witness all that transpired.

4 . Miscellaneous remarks.