Focal Passage: Matthew 17:1-13
Have you ever seen one of those movies that doesn’t make sense until the final scene? Maybe you think it’s going in one direction and the final scene pulls everything together differently than you thought.
Maybe what felt disconnected all comes together in one moment and the bigger picture finally becomes clear. Matthew 17 is one of those moments. On a mountain, God pulls back the curtain and shows the disciples (and us) that everything written before finds its fulfillment in Jesus. Every promise and every prophecy is found in Him.
The scene unfolds in three movements. The first movement we come to is in vv. 1-3 where the Promise is represented. Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John and Scripture says that “His face shone like the sun” (v. 2). Then Moses and Elijah appear and this is not random. Together they stand for the entire Old Testament work. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets.
Josh Sinquefield
All throughout the Old Testament, both the Law and the Prophets, had been pointing forward to a coming redemption and Deliverer. Now, on this mountain, those promises are standing face to face with their fulfillment. It’s kind of like signs along a road pointing toward a destination. The signs are helpful, but they are not the destination. Moses and Elijah are the signs. Jesus is the arrival of the Promise.
The second movement in the text is found in vv. 4-8 and it shows us the Person revealed. Peter wanted to set up a tent for them to stay there. He wanted to have a shelter for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus side by side. But when God interrupts in v. 5, the message is clear: Jesus is not equal to the Law and Prophets. He is superior to them. They testify about Him. He fulfills them. Then, in v. 8, Jesus is there alone. The signs have faded and only Jesus stands showing us that something, or Someone, greater has come.
The final movement in this text clarifies the plan. As they come back down from the mountain there is a conversation. Jesus speaks of suffering and of Elijah having already come which was fulfilled in John the Baptist. The plan is outlined by Jesus explaining His impending death and resurrection. The glory they just experienced doesn’t cancel out that the cross is coming. It’s a reminder to us that hope is not found in dazzling moments alone. It is fulfilled through redemptive suffering which was coming. The same Jesus who just shone in glory will soon walk toward Calvary carrying the sins of the world. Now that’s glory!
Matthew 17 reminds us that the Bible is not a disjointed collection of religious writings thousands of years apart. It is one unfolding story of hope … all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It reminds us that our hope is not in rules, traditions, or moral effort. Our hope is in Jesus who is the fulfillment of every promise and the glory of God fully revealed. The Law anticipated Him. The Prophets announced Him. The Father affirmed Him. When all is said and done, there is “no one except Jesus alone.” His glory is all that matters. B&R
