Transfigured
Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 01/28/2024
Foundation Scriptures:
Matthew 17:1-9
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Matthew 17:2 KJV
And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. Mark 9:3 KJV
1. Transfigured.
a. Transfigured (Greek metamorphoō) –– to change form; to change the figure, form, or outward appearance of; to change into another form, to transform (literally or figuratively); to transfigure; to change completely the nature or appearance of a person or thing; to transform outwardly and usually for the better.
b. Transfigure has a Latin root, transfigurare, “change the shape of.”
c. While its meaning is similar to transform, there’s usually an additional sense of “make better.”
d. To be transformed for the better; upgraded; improved; made greater; made more beautiful.
e. To transform, usually in a very positive—and often very spiritual—way.
f. To give a new and typically exalted or spiritual appearance to a person or thing; implies a change that exalts or glorifies; to become or cause to become more exalted.
g. To elevate or idealize, in allusion to Christ’s transfiguration.
2. Witnesses.
a. Jesus took Peter, James, and John aside from the rest, as He had done on other occasions (Mt. 26:37; Mk. 5:37).
b. Jesus was transfigured, and revealed His glory, in the presence of Peter, James, and John.
c. They were witnesses of His glory—His ministry, His miracles, His transfiguration, His crucifixion, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His glorification.
d. They bore witness so that they could tell us about it once they were released to do so—after Jesus was raised from the dead and His redeeming work was accomplished.
e. In the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word is established (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor.13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28).
3. The Glory of Jesus Christ.
a. Jesus always carried the presence and glory of God, but He did not reveal it, except on certain occasions and to certain individuals.
b. John 1:14 KJV –– 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.
c. John was a witness to His glory and transfiguration.
d. When Jesus was upon the earth, He was as much divine as before He left the courts of Heaven, and voluntarily “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
e. John 17:5 KJV –– And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
f. The glory of God was on Jesus before the foundation of the earth.
g. John 17:24 KJV –– Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
h. In eternity, Jesus carries and is covered in the glory of God.
i. All those who belong to Him will see Him in His triumph and glory.
4. The Excellent Glory.
a. Peter witnessed Jesus’ glory and transfiguration and described what happened.
b. 2 Peter 1:17 KJV –– For he received from God the Father honour 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.
c. The Father appeared to them in a bright, shining cloud—a cloud composed of light.
d. Peter referred to it as “the excellent glory.”
e. The bright cloud was visible evidence of God’s presence (Ex. 13:21-22; 14:19-24; 16:10; 19:9,16; 24:15-18; 34:5).
f. The Father repeated what He said at Jesus’ water baptism, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased,” and He added, “hear ye Him.”
g. He commanded that we hear, listen to, and obey His beloved Son, Jesus.
5. Moses and Elijah.
a. Moses and Elijah were on the mount of transfiguration, with Jesus.
b. Moses had been dead and buried for over 1,700 years and his body was in corruption.
c. Evidently, he was brought up from paradise (Abraham’s bosom) below the earth (Luke 16:22-26).
d. He could not have been resurrected, because Jesus had not yet been crucified and raised from the dead.
e. Jesus was the “Firstborn from the dead” and the first fruits of all those who died.
f. Elijah, who was not yet dead, had then been living in heaven in his earthly body for nearly 1000 years.
g. The presence of both Moses and Elijah confirmed the following:
h. The end and abolition of the Law.
i. The fulfillment of prophecies of the sufferings of the Messiah.
j. Christ as the Messiah and the only Mediator between God and man.
k. The immortality of the soul, and the reality and consciousness of departed spirits.
l. The reality of physical resurrection.
m. The Second Coming, and eternal rewards and punishments.
n. The reality of the future eternal Kingdom.
6. Transformed and Changed.
a. Romans 12:2 KJV –– And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
b. The Greek word, “transfigured,” is translated “transformed” here.
c. We are transfigured—made better; improved; upgraded—by the renewing of our minds.
d. 2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV –– But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
e. Here, the Greek word, “transfigured,” is translated as “changed.”
f. The mirror represents the Word of God.
g. We are being changed—”we are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another” (AMPC).
h. We are transfigured, from the inside out, by the activity of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.