Before Jesus took three of His disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration, He told them things they did not want to hear. He said that He would be rejected by the nation and killed (Luke 9:22). Then He told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they would need to deny what they wanted and take up a cross. He was calling them to suffer with Him. They did not like what He was saying because they thought the kingdom was coming to Israel very soon. There was no need to suffer. The disciples were able to ignore the things the Lord was saying that did not agree with their view of things.

But Christ also gave them a wonderful promise: He would come in great glory (9:26). If they did what He commanded, they would share in that glory. They would be great in His kingdom. At this point in their lives, the disciples thought this glory would come without suffering for the Lord.

The Lord took these three disciples up the mountain. There, while the disciples slept, Jesus was transformed. We could say that His glory was revealed. The glory of that coming kingdom was clearly seen. Moses and Elijah appeared, and Luke says they did so “in glory” (9:31). The disciples woke up and witnessed the glory of the Lord (9:32).

Moses and Elijah were two faithful OT believers. The author of Hebrews says Moses looked for rewards in Christ’s coming kingdom. He wanted to be great in that kingdom. He was seeking the glory of which Christ spoke. Moses knew those rewards involved suffering (Heb 11:26).

Luke tells us that the presence of God the Father was also seen on that mountain. A cloud appeared, and His voice came from it (9:34-35). In the OT, the glory of the Lord is associated with a cloud.

In this section, Luke touches on the theme of glory––either directly or by allusion––five times (9:26, 29, 30, 32, 34). The disciples thought they were heading to Jerusalem because they were going to receive, within the next few days, the riches connected with that glory. Christ told them that those rewards were coming, but that they must first follow and suffer with Him.

When the glory of God the Father––represented by the cloud––appeared, He told the disciples to listen to Christ. In the immediate context, the Father said this because the disciples were not listening to the Son when Christ told them about glory in His kingdom. They did not believe such rewards would come only after suffering for a Christ who would be put to death by the nation of Israel.

Eventually, these three disciples would listen. Peter would die for the Lord about thirty years later. James would become the first of the original disciples to be martyred (Acts 12:2). John would live a long life of suffering for Christ. The Lord had allowed them to see a lot of glory on that mountain. While they were slow to learn, what they saw eventually motivated them to remain faithful to the Lord during the following years of difficulties (2 Pet 1:16-18).

We were not on that mountain, but we have the inspired account. May we get a glimpse of the glory that is coming. We live in a world that opposes the message of grace and ridicules the idea that the eternal kingdom of Christ is coming upon this earth and then upon a new earth. All believers will be in that kingdom. May we look at the glory on the mountain and desire to be found faithful to Him in the midst of this fallen world so that we might also appear with Him in great glory, being rewarded by Him.