One of the most awe-inspiring moments of Jesus’ ministry — second only to His death and resurrection — has to be His transfiguration on the mountain in Matthew 17.
Jesus took his closest disciples — Peter, James and John — up the mountain, and the three men watched as Moses and Elijah came to life and carried on a conversation with Jesus.
Peter doesn’t know what to do with all this, so like many of us in the absence of a plan, he comes up with his own plan to glorify Jesus: He decides to build tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
Here’s the part I love most: “While he (Peter) was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said:
‘This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him.
Listen to Him!’”
Lovell
Let this sink in: Peter’s construction project was interrupted by the voice of GOD! “Stop talking, Peter. Listen to Jesus.”
What happens next is predictable: “When the disciples heard it, they fell facedown and were terrified.” That’s a reaction I would expect to have in that situation, too.
I’m touched most deeply, though, by Jesus’ reaction. “Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, ‘Get up; don’t be afraid.’ ” Matthew 17:5-7
The man who has just been glorified as the Son of God in your presence, the One you’ve been told by Almighty God to listen to, stoops down, touches you, and says, “Don’t be afraid.”
I don’t know how the voice of God may have interrupted your plans to glorify Him. I don’t know how many times you may have heard, like I have, “Stop talking. Listen to Him.”
But a God who will stoop down to comfort me when I am overwhelmed and afraid in His presence? That’s a Savior worth following. B&R — Ann Lovell has written about Baptist work for more than 20 years. She is a member of the Church at Station Hill in Spring Hill. She lives in Columbia, Tennessee.
