Glory Descends


Luke 9:21–36
21And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” 28Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.



Upon the confession of Peter that we discussed yesterday, Jesus immediately charges the Disciples with silence for the time being. It is not yet time for Him to suffer and so they must remain silent as to His true identity. Jesus maintains tight control of all of the timing surrounding the His ministry and Passion. With these words He prophesies His own terrible death and triumphant resurrection. I confess that had I been standing there with the disciples hearing these words I would have been utterly confused. Jesus has done nothing at this point (or really ever) to warrant a Roman crucifixion. But that is what He is telling the disciples will happen to Him. He then enjoins them to take up their own cross and follow Him. Again, I would have looked at Him in confusion.



To take up the cross daily is to submit oneself in humility to the kingdom that now comes in the preaching and the miracles of the new era of salvation. To follow Jesus means to open oneself to the contempt of the world. In the ancient world death by crucifixion was “the utterly vile death”, the most shameful, humiliating, and repulsive fate imaginable. The early church is full of vivid examples of Christians who bore the world’s contempt and hatred because of the scandal of the cross. Those who are bearing their cross to the place of death have already been sentenced and found guilty. Such is the condition of those who have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. This cruciform life places one at odds with the world so that he must lose “the world” and his life in it so as to receive his place in the kingdom, which is now/not yet. But this will also allow the disciple to see the kingdom of God when it comes as Jesus takes up his cross. These hard words set in motion the theme of the disciples’ misunderstanding about the nature of the kingdom into which they are now being called and drawn. As Jesus progresses toward Jerusalem, the incomprehension of the disciples about the kingdom will increase to the point of denial when the kingdom comes with Jesus’ death.

Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (pp. 396–397). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.


Following closely on the heels of this prophecy we find the story of the Transfiguration. Peter, James, and John are privileged to witness this meeting between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, with a few Words interjected by the Father. This would have been a mind blower too. What is amazing is that Peter, James, and John actually know that they are looking at Moses and Elijah!! Peter makes a ridiculous suggestion about building some shelters for the three honorary beings. His suggestion isn’t even acknowledged. For just a brief moment, Jesus is surrounded by a fraction of the glory that truly belongs to Him but which He has set aside to wander around in human skin for a time. Imagine the impact these memories would have on Peter, James, and John later – after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Suddenly this meeting would have taken on even greater meaning for them and you have to believe that they shared this story frequently! I would have!

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