We can continue reading in this chapter through the consideration of power.
In a matter of less than twenty verses, Jesus:
1. is declared to be the Messiah, King sent by God (and says don’t tell anyone);
2. Tells everyone: become powerless by giving up your lives;
3. Takes but three disciples up on mountain for quite the display of power.
Let’s tease this out for a moment.
First, Peter’s confession. You are the Messiah of God. It’s the right answer, but the disciples still don’t understand what it means. They’re imagining a Messiah like David: strong, conquering, triumphant. Jesus will be all of those things, but not like David. No horses, chariots, or counting of men. Then Jesus immediately forbids them to tell anyone. Why? Maybe it’s because the moment they proclaim it, people will misunderstand it (just like the disciples!). They’ll think of crowns and armies, not crosses and self-giving love. Power must be redefined before it can be revealed.
Then comes the call to lose one’s life. This is the great inversion. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily. In the Kingdom, power is not grasped but given away. It’s not a possession of demand or rights, but a posture of dependence, surrender, and love poured out. Don’t mistake it for weakness; it’s the strength of God remaking the world from the bottom up.
And then, as if to keep the story from sinking entirely into talk of suffering and loss, Jesus takes three of them up the mountain. And it was only three - this was not to show off. There, divine glory shines through his humanity: dazzling light, Moses and Elijah, the divine voice from the cloud. This is power unveiled, yet it’s still not the power the world expects. It’s not destructive or coercive. It’s the power of presence, light, truth, communion. It’s a glimpse of what creation itself longs to be when fully alive in God.
Peter is all of us. We want to capture it, to build structures and encamp within it, to institutionalize the moment. But that’s never the point. The transfiguration isn’t a show to be preserved; it’s a revelation to be embodied. The same Jesus who shines with glory will soon walk back down the mountain toward suffering and service.
I mean, just look at how so many Christians are trying to handle this current moment in the United States (and have been for a long time - decades, maybe even centuries). “That side” is winning. For God to be truly honored and glorified, we must get the other side in power.
But in the midst of it, there stands Jesus, shining in divine power, indeed, but headed back down to the valley where the people are suffering.
Notice: Power, surrender, revelation. The Messiah will be crucified. The disciples must lose their lives. And the glory of God will be revealed not on a mountaintop, but on a cross and out of an empty tomb.
Again, I ask: what kind of power do we seek?
Luke 9:18-36
Once when Jesus was praying by himself, the disciples joined him, and he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They answered, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.”
He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.”
Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Human One must suffer many things and be rejected—by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts—and be killed and be raised on the third day.”
Jesus said to everyone, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will save them. What advantage do people have if they gain the whole world for themselves yet perish or lose their lives? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see God’s kingdom.”
About eight days after Jesus said these things, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes flashed white like lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. They were clothed with heavenly splendor and spoke about Jesus’ departure, which he would achieve in Jerusalem. Peter and those with him were almost overcome by sleep, but they managed to stay awake and saw his glory as well as the two men with him.
As the two men were about to leave Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it’s good that we’re here. We should construct three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—but he didn’t know what he was saying. Peter was still speaking when a cloud overshadowed them. As they entered the cloud, they were overcome with awe.
Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!” Even as the voice spoke, Jesus was found alone. They were speechless and at the time told no one what they had seen.
Psalm 24:3-6
Who can ascend the Lord’s mountain? Who can stand in his holy sanctuary? Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart; the one who hasn’t made false promises, the one who hasn’t sworn dishonestly. That kind of person receives blessings from the Lord and righteousness from the God who saves. And that’s how things are with the generation that seeks him—that seeks the face of Jacob’s God.
Prayer
God,
Help me to understand your power. That’s it. That’s my prayer today.
Well, and help all Christians of good faith to do so as well. To properly know your power. There’s so much jostling for position today. So “help” all those “Christians” of not-so-good faith to either find themselves (like, in you), or to be set aside.
Wow…I can’t believe I typed that out, Lord. But it’s my honest prayer. And if I’m way off, set me right.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.