The Christian life often involves a paradoxical mix of glory and humility. We see this illustrated profoundly in the transfiguration of Jesus. Although veiled in flesh as a man, He revealed His divine glory and majesty to three disciples. Yet His mission was marked by suffering and death on a cross. As followers of Jesus, we too are called to take up our cross of humiliation while also anticipating future glorification with Christ. The glories of the transfiguration foreshadow the glory of Christ’s resurrection and future return. Likewise, the call to suffer foreshadows the crosses that believers must carry. This passage calls us to persevere through the valleys of humiliation, keeping our eyes fixed on the mountaintops of glory.
- Jesus was transfigured and revealed His glory to Peter, James, and John. This showed that although Jesus appeared humble and ordinary, He is actually God in the flesh.
- Jesus told the disciples He must suffer and die, but they struggled to understand this. The Father affirmed that Jesus must suffer by saying “Listen to Him.”
- As followers of Jesus, we too can experience both glory and humility:
- In evangelism, we may be rejected, but we also have the glory of seeing people saved.
- In taking communion, we humbly remember Christ’s death, yet also celebrate His resurrection and future return in glory.
The transfiguration of Jesus shows us the paradoxical mix of glory and humility that characterizes the Christian life. Let us fix our eyes on the glorified Christ, enthroned in heaven, so that we can faithfully carry our crosses here on earth. The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us. Though we face rejection and persecution, we can press on knowing that unbelievers will one day bow the knee and confess Christ’s lordship.Take heart in suffering, for it is only through the cross that glory comes. Our present afflictions are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all. Keep believing in Christ and identifying with Him, willing even to face death as He did. One day the Son of Man will return on the clouds in glory. On that day we will shine like the sun in our Father’s kingdom.