1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tellyou, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to himeverything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.REFLECTIONSWritten by Glenn “Wilmo” WilmingtonIn Matthew 16:16, Peter boldly declared that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” He was absolutely right – but Jesus immediately corrected Peter about what that means: that he would suffer and die before rising again. In Matthew 17, Jesus lets Peter (and James and John) get the first real glimpse of his glory as the Messiah, the Son of the living God.Jesus was “transfigured” (changed in appearance) so that they could see who he truly is. To confirm just how glorious Jesus is, the most famous Old Testament prophets show up as well: Moses and Elijah (v3).Peter offers to put up some tents, but a voice interrupts him and says something amazing, in verse 5: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” God never said that about any of the great ones in the Old Testament, but this is the second time he has said it about Jesus (see Matthew 3:17).Just like that, the experience was over, and it was just Jesus and his disciples again. They are confused because Elijah is gone, so they ask Jesus about it (v10) – the Pharisees taught that another great prophet like Elijah would come before the Messiah. The Pharisees were right about that – but tragically, they didn’t recognise either the new Elijah (John the Baptist) or the Messiah. They would mistreat and kill both of them, in fulfilment of the Old Testament.In this passage we have had an opportunity to glimpse the glory of Jesus, the Messiah. He is the loved Son of the living God. Will you treat him however you wish, or will you “listen to him”?ABOUT THE AUTHORWilmo is a member of our of our Fairfield Morning and Evening congregations.