Sunday 06 August 2017

Psalm: Psalm 47

Background

Jesus regularly retreated from the hustle and bustle to spendtime with God. He was having one of these quiet moments with Peter,James and John accompanying him (verse 28), when somethingmiraculous happened. As Peter, James and John watched, Moses andElijah appeared and started having a conversation with Jesus (verse30).

There's a lot I don't understand about the Transfiguration.Surely Jesus didn't need Moses and Elijah to give him advice whenhe had the ear of the Father himself? Was their presence there morefor the Jewish people's benefit than for Jesus'? Either way, thethree disciples got to see the glorious transformation take place,and Jesus holding court with Elijah and Moses. They may have onlybeen half awake, but they knew they were witnessing somethingspecial - so much so, Peter even suggested building a memorialthere - "three dwellings: one for you, one for Moses and one forElijah" (v. 33).

If the appearance of Moses and Elijah wasn't earth-shatteringenough, God then upped the ante by chipping in himself - engulfingthem in a cloud and declaring loudly, "This is my Son, my Chosen;listen to him!" It's no wonder the disciples were silent (verse36); how would you even begin to explain all that to someone whowasn't there to see it?

To Ponder

• Try to imagine the conversation Jesus was having with Moses andElijah. What sort of things do you think they said to eachother?

• The word "glory" (vv. 31, 32) appears a few times in today'spassage. What comes to mind when you think of God'sglory?