Matthew was not an eye witness of the transfiguration, nor was Mark, nor Luke; while John who was present, does not say anything about it, because it did not fit in with the purpose of his Gospel. Peter, James and John also witnessed the raising of Jairus' daughter, and were nearer to the Lord in Gethsemane than the others, and they with Andrew are the ones prominent in the Lord's Olivet discourse (Mark 13). They formed the first quaternion of the twelve, who are always divided into three quartets. Moses and Elias are the two most representative men in the whole O.T. of the law and the prophets. They were not in their resurrection bodies. The Lord Jesus brought life and incorruptibility to light.
We have here the picture of the Kingdom. Moses and Elijah are in the heavenly department of the kingdom, and so represent the risen and glorified saints, but the Lord Jesus was “the first begotten of the dead.” It shows how enlarged our capabilities will be; we shall need no introductions there, we shall know even as we are known. However numerous the throng there will be an individual secret between each saint and the Lord. People are very diligent in seeking out parallel portions of scripture, but how few seek out the contrasts and the reason of them!
Ver. 7: It is more than “well pleased.” Rather is it “In whom I have found my delight.” Matthew is the only one who gives these words. They correspond with Prov. 8. “I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, and my delights were with the sons of men.” Not in Adam, for he was not a son of man, so it was not in man as man before the fall; nor could it be in his posterity who shared in the fall, but in those in whom repentance is wrought, the excellent of the earth. And the scriptures would teach us that as to the expression “only begotten,” we must not have human thoughts about it. In Gen. 22 Isaac is called thine “only son,” though Ishmael was born before Isaac. It is a term of special endearment and position.
Evidently we get in this chapter what we are going on to, the reigning day of the Lord Jesus. We have had His rejection, and the disciples sharing in that rejection; here we have the reigning day. It is after “six days” in this Gospel and in Mark, and represents the complete circle of service. Then there is the day of rest after the service. Luke puts it “After eight days,” that is, he counts the day in which the discourse was given, and also that in which the transfiguration occurred. Compare the different accounts of it by the three Synoptists.
Matthew says “And his face did shine as the sun.” The sun is the emblem of supreme authority, and that will belong to Him who is disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. What we have here is the official glory of the Lord. If it is a question of any office of the Lord, He gets no glory from the office, but the office gets glory from Him. All before Him typifying Him got glory from their office, as Aaron did; but not so He. All the glory that is so wonderfully displayed here is not reflected glory, it radiates from Himself. When He came down here He laid aside His glory. You get a little ray shining out in Gethsemane, overpowering the armed crowd; they fell back. There was a glory which could not be hid—His moral glory—this must come out. It is impossible for any mind or any number of minds to imagine such a character as the Son of God. Take any book, any imagination, you cannot compare them with the Gospels; you can only contrast them, the difference is so vast.
When the Shechinah or the glory-cloud, filled the temple, the priests could not enter in, or work. No wonder the disciples feared as they entered into the cloud. The Spirit draws special attention in ver. 3, by the word, “Behold.” It reveals that in heavenly glory there will be heavenly intercourse with Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us, the greatest wonder of all eternity! the center of two eternities, as the hymn puts it. The thought being got from the two cherubim, one looking one way and one another, but both gazing on the blood sprinkled on the mercy-seat. So one eternity looked on to, and the other looks back on, the work now accomplished on Calvary. There is nothing like it!
The angels are learning in every dispensation. Now in the present time, they are learning by the church the various wisdom of God. When the reigning day comes, the devil will be bound for a thousand years, the whole creation that now groans will be delivered, the Lord Jesus will reign in unbroken peace. The curse removed, there will be wondrous increase, for instead of what we witness now, one species preying on another, “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” says the prophet. Yet when the devil is let loose again, man who will have known the contrast between the Lord's reign, and everything that has gone before, will as readily fall, as at the beginning. Shall not the angels learn that man must be born again?
God's earthly center in that day will be Jerusalem, and the nations nearest to her will be most affected by the glory which will be on it (compare Isa. 4.), so those farthest away will be the most ready to fall. Assyria on the north, and Egypt on the south, will have special blessing, as it is written, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of mine hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” These are the nations adjacent to the holy land. When the nations were divided, as we get from what God was pleased to reveal in Gen. 10, we find seventy nations there, so it almost looks as if that will be the number of the nations in the millennium.
The great point in each Gospel is, “Hear ye Him.” God has spoken to us by His Son, and we may put alongside that the end of 1 Cor. 14. “If any man is spiritual,” Hear ye Him. In ver. 4 some old manuscripts read “I will make.” Peter was willing to do it if there was consent from the Lord. There is nothing so jealously guarded in the whole of scripture as the person of the Lord Jesus. Some Christians make everything of service, others everything of the church. But let us make everything of Christ, and then everything will fall into its proper place.
It is from what Peter describes as “the excellent (or majestic) glory” that this voice is heard. He stirred up the pure minds of his hearers by way of remembrance. No doubt he had told them orally, but it is given in perm anent form as scripture for them and for us. If you do not pass on to others what you have, you suffer loss. “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth"; so it is wise to pass on what God gives us. Take one verse of scripture, and it is beyond the power of man to exhaust it, if even he should live to the age of Methuselah. There is a lesson for them and for us in it, “there was a cloud that overshadowed them.” If you show me a Christian who is very happy, it is one who makes much of Christ. When we get to the glory, not even it can “lasting joy impart.” It must be Christ Himself. I suppose “they fall on their face” would imply they paid homage. They recognized they were in the presence of the glory that required homage, and they feared greatly.
It is very blessed to think of His touch! It is always a touch of power. John in Rev. 1, is overwhelmed. “He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not” etc. —everything is at my disposal! What strength to a soul to have a communication like that. 1 John had leaned on His bosom, but the way in which he hides himself in “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” shows how he appreciated that love. It is true of every saint that he is loved, but John appreciated it in a special way. And Peter recognized that John understood the Lord. So one can quite understand the affection that existed between these two.
I believe there has been a misuse of those words “Jesus only.” We must not forget the Father and the Spirit. But when it is a question of putting others on equality with Him, honored servants as they were, the Father soon puts it right. As the man Christ Jesus, He has the preeminence, and when we are conformed to His image, as we shall be, it is that He might be the “firstborn among many brethren.” Here the meaning is They saw Jesus, not in company, but “alone,” as Moses and Elijah were no longer to be seen.
We may here remark the order that we have in these events. In chap. 16 the person of Christ is confessed by Peter, and then the Lord discloses to them for the first time His sufferings, and the suffering path of those who would follow Him, then the coming kingdom which is the time of reward. You could not think of rule over five or ten cities in the Father's house! The kingdom is on a lower level. We are children of God by new birth, sons by position; and being sons we are supposed to have the Father's character. You do not expect character in an infant, but in those who are grown up. John never uses the word “son,” in his Gospel or Epistles, of any but the Lord Jesus. Where so rendered, it should be “children.” We are “sons” by adoption, “children” by birth. Rewards are in the kingdom. I suppose the highest and greatest blessings are common to all the saints, and all of pure grace. In John 17 the Lord speaks of the glory which He has “given them,” and that it will be manifested to the world, “that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” But the Father's love to Him is the measure of His love to the saints! “Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory” etc., is infinitely higher; the world will not see that.
“Tell no man the vision” (ver. 9). Visions are often regarded by people as witnessed in dreams, or a trance, but it was far from that here. He had chosen three to witness it. Adequate testimony! We shall know all the saints above, but every one will be “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:2929For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)).
“Elias truly shall first come” etc. (ver. 11). The Lord shows that this scripture in Malachi, is partially fulfilled, not completely. But He puts the responsibility on them. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elias, and they had done unto him whatsoever they listed, and it had been permitted. It had stumbled John to be still kept in prison, but they were permitted to do this, and even to take the Lord's life. Yet He gave His back to the smiters; they could not have touched Him had He not permitted it. But when the time came for Him to yield Himself up, He did so. They were manifested, and what God is was manifested too. The Lord is seen in John's Gospel as the Master of the situation—as One Who is divine.
The truth told out in verses 14 and following, is, that the devil cannot be cast out by anything but the personal presence of the Son of God. No amount of preaching will put the devil in the bottomless pit, and you cannot have a millennium without that. Satan's judgment is sealed by the cross of Christ, and he knows it already; “And when he shall be cast down to the earth he will know that he has but a short time.”
The word “lunatic” is used here in ver. 15. But there was an evidence of satanic power, and it was a very peculiar case. All demons are not alike. There are principalities, and powers, among the wicked spirits in Eph. 6, and there are the same differences among the elect angels in Eph. 3 We must not pit them all down as exactly the same. Then there are demons at large, and there are demons who are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day” (Jude 66And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)). But what numerical power Satan has! A Roman legion was from 3,000 to 6,300, and there was enough power in one man to destroy 2,000 swine! It is a solemn consideration that in that which bears the name of Christ, doctrines of demons would be tolerated. Satan has four names. He is the “old serpent,” the subtle one; the devil, the false, accuser, slanderer; Satan, the adversary; the dragon, the persecutor. These are all brought together in Rev. 20:22And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (Revelation 20:2).
Ver. 16: Very often the apostles were called disciples, those immediately connected with the Lord. Of course, “the seventy” whom the Lord sent forth in Luke 10 had power to cast out demons. There are some very important lessons for us here. I would not limit verse 7 to the apostles. The Lord says “this kind"; there were demons more tenacious in holding on than others. According to Mark they thought the child was dead, the demon was so very reluctant to give up his hold. These disciples had cast out demons, and it would almost appear that this was an exception. It puzzled them that His name did not avail. Fasting implies denial of self. If self is denied, God can work. He requires a clear platform. In Mark 9 John confesses “we saw one casting out demons in thy name, and we forbad him because he followeth not us,” and the Lord showed him that no one could do miracles in His Name and lightly speak evil of Him.
Ver. 20: That is very solemn— “because of your unbelief.” We are unbelieving believers in many ways. What the Lord does is always worthy of Himself. This was a perfect cure. It is very blessed to put together what God puts together “With God all things are possible” and “All things are possible to him that believeth.” I do not like to hear a saint of God speaking much of “my faith,” and God answering it; leave out “my” faith. “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” I do not hear the Lord once commending the disciples about their great faith, but He often tells them of their little faith. He never says anything to make us pleased with ourselves. It is rather striking that in the introductions to both the Epistles to Timothy the apostle speaks of faith “unfeigned"; so there is a feigned faith. A grain of mustard seed is very small, but an old writer says, “You bite it, and you will find some heat there!” So this grain of faith is true faith though it be but small. I suppose a mountain is a figure of that which looks immoveable, something with a wide firm base. Whatever it is, God can remove it. “Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.” when God is going to bring back His people.
Speaking of Heb. 12, there are only two places in the N.T. where the word translated “godly fear” is used; in chap. 5 “He was heard for his piety,” and “Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear” (chap. 12.).
What a word, “Nothing shall be impossible unto you!” but in Eph. 3:19, 2019And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (Ephesians 3:19‑20), we have something still more wonderful, “Filled into all the fullness of God,” now. There is no limit there. It is not said that He is able to do above all that we can ask or think—for we are indwelt of the Spirit, and we must not impose a limit—but, “above all that we do ask or think.” That is a wonderful word and humbling to us, showing what mighty privileges and encouragements we have, that we may lean our weakness on His might, that the power of Christ may tabernacle over or upon me.
Ver. 22 I think in chap. 16:21 the Lord speaks of His earthly people, the Jews— “Jesus began to show unto his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem,” etc. Here, however, it is evidently the Gentiles that are in view— “He shall be delivered into the hands of men.” In chap. 20:18, 19, He combines the two. So you see we have the Jews, then the Gentiles, and then the two combined. “They were exceeding sorry.” After the Lord was risen and “He opened their understanding” —that was a wonderful advance! But after the Holy Ghost was given it was more wonderful still. It may seem a wonder to us that when the Lord spoke so simply, they did not understand! He says, “In that day,” when the Holy Ghost is given, “ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” They could not know that before; while in John 20 we read, “As yet they knew not the scriptures,” which is more striking still.
Ver. 24: Peter thought “My Master is a good Jew,” and every good Jew paid the temple tax; but we must be careful how we speak for the Lord. I think the Lord has given us His word in such a way as to keep us in dependence. If we have a case of discipline, and act on His word, and then when another case similar comes we copy what went before we may go wrong. God has not given us a book of rules as men do when they form a society. The whole book is our rule, but it is not a book of rules; we are ever in a place of dependence. The word “prevented” in ver. 25, is not a wrong translation, but the word has changed its meaning, and now means “anticipated.” The Lord knew what Peter had done; twice He went to the temple, and called it His Father's house; twice He exercised His authority there—once at the beginning of His ministry, and again at the close. He was the One into whose hands all designed for the temple upkeep should have been put. It is very blessed to see that it is the same redemption for each individual (compare Ex. 30:12-1512When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. 14Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord. 15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. (Exodus 30:12‑15)). With God nothing counts but Christ. Christ is needed for the vilest and for the best. In the sight of God all are alike, i.e., there is none good—they have all gone out of the way. Yet comparatively there are bad and good. In the presence of that which is absolute, none good.” The one title for all, is the “precious Blood"; the dying thief had the same title as the apostle Paul. We ought to learn in a practical way that however crooked a brother may be we are to remember he has the full value of the blood that has cleansed him from guilt. We have the same standing and that is unassailable, but our communion and enjoyment are affected by our walk. If our walk as children of God be careless, we become the subjects of the Father's discipline and the Son's, that we should not be condemned with the world. There needs the constant washing of water by the word, but never a re-application of the blood which cleanses the sinner once for all and starts him on the Christian walk—no longer a sinner, but now, and ever after, a child of God, and responsible to walk as such (1 Peter 1:13-2313Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:13‑23)).