Jump Start # 78

Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him.” 

  The occasion of this passage is the transfiguration of Jesus. The first three Gospels record this. There is nothing like this in all the Bible. Jesus was changed. His face and clothing became brilliantly bright, like the sun. With him were Moses and Elijah, whose very presence represents the Law and the prophets. They were talking to Jesus about His coming departure, or “exit” as the Greek word means. Moses had an unusual exit. God allowed him to see the promise land from the mountain and then God took his life. The book of Jude tells us that Michael, the archangel, and Satan disputed over the body of Moses. Elijah also had a most unusual exit, God took him up in a fiery chariot. So, the law (Moses), the prophets (Elijah) are talking to Jesus about His exit.

  God allowed three of the disciples to witness this. John would say, “we beheld his glory as the only begotten from the Father” (1:14). Through the transfiguration Jesus showed them what God looks like—it is as if he pulled the curtain back and said, “this is who I really am.” Peter was not speechless, no, he was talking a mile a minute. He was preparing to build memorials to Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Then God speaks. He interrupts Peter. It is as if God had enough so He doesn’t let Peter finish.

  This is the second time God has spoken directly to Jesus. The first was at His baptism. The message from God is not so much for Jesus as it is for the disciples. Jesus is not equal to Moses and Elijah and His words are not on par with the Law and the

Prophets, He is above them, and His words are above all things.

  God’s one sentence tells us three things. First, Jesus is God’s son, His only begotten as it is told in John 3:16. Jesus is deity. Secondly, God is pleased with what Jesus is doing. Jesus is right. He is doing exactly what the Father wanted. He is on course. To please God is the greatest ambition of all. Thirdly, listen to Him. Jesus is the voice. Jesus is the answer. God wanted the disciples to listen to Jesus. His voice is above Moses and the Prophets. Jesus has something to say and we do well to hear Him.

  This one sentence from God set things in order. The disciples needed to get that. We need to get that. Jesus speaks, we need to listen. What Jesus says comes before all things. It is much more than “just the Bible” it is Jesus speaking. We need to hush with our opinions, our polls, our feelings, our “want to’s” and listen to Jesus. Hebrews begins with this same idea, in the last days God speaks to us through Jesus. We need to listen.

  How do we hear Jesus? We hear Him through the pages of the New Testament. We must read the Bible. As we read, we pause, we think, we reflect, we connect, we explore, we understand, we believe, and we obey. The more time spent in the Bible, the more we hear Jesus. God is not going to speak to you in whispers, dreams or feelings, but through Jesus. The message is clear. The message is understandable. The message is loud, if you listen. Hear My Beloved Son, is what God wants all of us to do. Have you heard Him in a while?

 Roger