Luke 9:28-31

Luke 9:28-31

And it became after these sayings – about eight days later – after taking Peter and James and John, He went up into the mountain to pray.  And in His praying, the appearance of His face became another; and His clothing became white while glistening.  And behold!  Two men were talking with Him; they were Moses and Elijah. These ones who were being seen in glory were talking about His departure, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we see Jesus taking His three closest disciples away from the rest of the people.  We aren’t really told why Jesus does this, but we can make a good speculation.  Jesus knows that He is going up the mountain to speak with Moses and Elijah.  That’s going to take a certain amount of faith to see.  Jesus knows that they are going to talk about the coming trial and His death.  That’s going to take a certain amount of faith to hear.  Jesus takes the disciples that are closest to Him because He knows that they are going to be willing to see and hear these things.  Jesus also knows that He’ll be able to explain the meaning to them far better as a small group than as a big group.

Have you ever been in a situation when you knew that a small group would be better than a big group?  Have you ever had to explain something to a group of people and you were happy it was to a small group and not a big group?

Second Thought:

We should not be surprised to hear that this happened while Jesus was praying.  It should make sense to us that when we look to commune with the Father we will be most likely to hear from Him.  It isn’t that He is more willing to talk to us when we pray; it is that we are most likely to hear Him speaking when we pray.  Jesus knows this too, although He certainly isn’t ever in a position to not hear the Father.  He is modeling good posture between human beings and the Father.

Do you ever struggle hearing from God?  In those moments, how is your prayer life?  Why is it important to have a routine about your prayer life?

Third Thought:

Jesus speaks to Moses and Elijah about His departure.  In telling us this, Luke is telling us a great deal about the character of Jesus.  Jesus knows that He is going to die.  He talks to Moses and Elijah about His death.  When he comes down off of the mountain and finishes His ministry and then heads to Jerusalem, He knows what He is doing.  He knows what is coming.  Yet He does it anyways.  Jesus came to atone for our sins.  He knows it, He knows what it will cost, and He surges ahead with submissive obedience to the Father.

Are you ever impressed with the consistent obedience by Jesus?  How do these passages inspire you?  How do these passages help you imitate a godly life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:32-33