Luke 9:28-36 "Mountaintops"
Today we’re going to have a mountaintop experience. What do you think of when you hear that phrase? “Mountaintop Experience.”
The first thing I think of is times when I was literally on top of a mountain. I mean, If you can call the really big hills out in west Texas “mountains.” I’ve been out to Big Bend National Park a few times and climbed to the top of a bunch of those things. It’s a really cool feeling.
I’ve also stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon a couple of times—kind of the opposite of a mountain but a similar feeling.
But mountaintop experiences don’t have to have anything to do with actual mountains, of course. They’re just moments when you feel like you’re on top of the world. The day she said “yes”—the day she said “I do.” The day she tells you about the results of a pregnancy test and then the day she tells you it’s time to get her to the hospital and you hold that baby for the first time. Mountaintops.
Graduations. New jobs. Promotions. Vacations. Grandkids.
There’s also spiritual mountaintops. The day you realize what Jesus has done for you and you have real hope for the first time. A worship song that resonates. A sermon that turns the lights on a little brighter. A retreat that inspires you to deeper faith and faithfulness.
All of those things kind of feel like standing on top of a mountain, seeing further than you could see before, feeling a joy that you didn’t feel until that moment.
Mountaintop experiences are the best, most sacred moments of our lives. Today Jesus is going to take a few of His disciples up on a mountain and they’re going to experience something they will never forget.
Prayer: Father in heaven, help us to hear Your Word today. Help us to see what You want us to see. Open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts, so we can understand what you are saying to us. AMEN
Luke chapter 9, verse 28:
Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
Luke says it was “about” eight days after Jesus had asked the disciples who they think He is, and then confirmed that He was indeed “The Christ of God,” The Messiah. But it wasn’t going to go the way they thought it should. He was going to be murdered by the Jews and the Romans on a cross. If they were to continue being His disciples and follow Him, they were also heading for a cross of some kind. They were going to have to take up their cross daily, die to themselves, their fear, their sin, their selfishness—going to have to deny all of that. It was going to be a hard road if they were going to follow Jesus. He also told them that He was going to rise from the dead, but they didn’t seem to hear that part.
Why about eight days? Matthew and Mark say it was only six days—thus, the “about.” So, why eight? Probably a reference to the day Jesus was going to be raised from the dead—the eighth day. The day of new creation. The day Christians would honor the sabbath. When we get together on Sunday, we are meeting for worship on the last day of the previous week and the first day of the upcoming week. It’s a picture of how we exist in the middle between the first and second coming of Jesus.
So He took Peter, the first among equals, the defacto leader of the disciples who was responsible for the Gospel of Mark and wrote 1st and 2nd Peter. James and his brother John—the guy who would write a Gospel, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, as well as the book of Revelation. These three were pulled aside to be witnesses of a few important events that the other disciples weren’t invited to. Sometimes we call them the “inner circle.”
He took them up a mountain to pray. Since this is the Bible, we know something big is probably about to happen. Moses met God on Mt Sinai when he got the Ten Commandments. Elijah met God on the same mountain a long time later. A lot of things in the Bible happen on mountains.
Verse 29:
And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
They’re on the mountain, Jesus had been praying for a while. All of a sudden His face started glowing, His clothes and everything became as bright as the sun. Peter’s going to talk about this in his second epistle, John’s going to describe a vision he has of Jesus in this same glorified state of power in Revelation chapter one:
“Then I turned to see … one like a son of man… his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” Revelation 1:12-16
And then in chapter 21, speaking of the great heavenly city of the New Jerusalem, where Jesus sits on the throne to rule and reign forever he tells us,
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” Revelation 21:23
So the light coming from Jesus was intense. What the three disciples saw on the mountain was a glimpse of Jesus Christ in full glory—they saw for a moment the body and human nature of Jesus glorified. The holiness of God when He enters His creation.
And there were two others. They were shiny, too but nowhere near as bright. They appeared in glory but they are not described as dazzling white, blinding as the sun in full strength.
Moses and Elijah. It doesn’t tell us how they knew who they were—clearly they wouldn’t have known what they look like. It must have been part of the experience to just know. Or maybe Jesus said their names in the conversation.
Why Moses and Elijah?
First, clearly to represent the Law and the Prophets. Jesus said many times that the Law and the Prophets testify to Him, point to Him—that He fulfills them. Well, here are two of their most prominent representatives to bear witness to the long-awaited Messiah.
But it also says they were talking about his departure. The Greek word used here for “departure” is “exodus.” They were discussing Jesus’ exodus.
Now, the exodus refers to the great event of salvation in the Old Testament. When God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt and started leading them to the Promised Land. Jesus is getting ready to do the great act of salvation to establish the New Testament and save His people once and for all time—lead them to the new promised land, the new heavens and new earth.
But maybe another reason it’s Moses and Elijah is because of the way these two men made their departure.
I can imagine Jesus saying to Moses, “So, I’m going to be crucified. What’s it like to die? To go to the place of the dead?” Because Moses had already done that a long time ago.
I can also imagine Him saying to Elijah, “And then I’m going to be raised from the dead and ascend straight to the throne room of the Father—you’re just about the only person who knows what that’s like!” Elijah never died, he was taken directly to heaven in a chariot of fire.
You might be thinking but He’s Jesus, doesn’t He know everything? Why would He need to ask them?
As a man, Jesus grew from baby to toddler, to teen, to man—He grew. He learned. He had laid aside His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Sometimes He tapped into His divinity to do miracles or to know things miraculously—but these are the same kind of miracles He allows His people to do by the power of the Holy Spirit on occasions. I think Moses and Elijah ministered to Jesus and comforted Him in His humanity. Sometimes it’s good to talk to someone who has been through what you’re going through.
I’m sure it was quite the mountaintop experience for Moses and Elijah, too. They got to come down from heaven and hang out with Jesus for a little while.
Verse 32:
Now 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.
They had fallen asleep while praying. Prayer is hard, people. I’ll bet they kicked themselves later for not staying awake. Suddenly they wake up—fully awake, this is not a dream. It’s not a vision—and Jesus is shining as bright as the sun talking to Moses and Elijah. They hear some of the conversation.
Verse 33:
And 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.
Moses and Elijah were getting ready to leave and Peter decides it’s a good idea to interrupt the conversation. “Hey guys! Master! Man, it’s really good that we were here to see this. Wow! Moses and Elijah! Don’t go! I have so many questions. You just got here! Let me make your stay more comfortable—I’ll make you each a tent to stay in! Come on, Jesus! Can’t they stay a little longer? Please?”
Luke says what we’re all thinking, “Yeah, Peter didn’t know what he was saying. The boy just talks first and thinks later. Well, sometimes he thinks later.”
It’s probably not a good idea to interrupt Jesus when He’s talking to Moses and Elijah.
There’s also the sense that he’s a little too impressed with Eli and Moe. Putting them on the same level as Jesus—same level as the divine Son of God. “I’ll make three tabernacles!” “I’ll set up three thrones for you to sit on!”
We would have probably been the same way. Thankfully, for Peter, God the Father Himself interrupts our fanboy who has chronic foot-in-mouth syndrome. Verse 34:
As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
Just like at the baptism of Jesus. The Father speaks, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He’s the Chosen One. The Messiah. The Christ. You should listen to Him. You should keep on listening to Him.”
This is the glory cloud—like in the days of Moses when the Tabernacle was surrounded by the presence of God—a cloud by day and fire by night. This is the voice of God speaking from the cloud like Elijah heard on the mountain with thunder and earthquakes in a still small voice.
About eight days ago Jesus asked who the disciples thought He was. They got the answer right but now it’s being verified by Moses, Elijah, the Law and the Prophets—and God the Father Himself.
Imagine that you’re a new convert to Christianity in the time of the early church and the Roman empire. You like what the Christians have to say about love and hope. They’re nice to you. But maybe you still have some questions about who Jesus actually is. Or was. I mean, they’re all pretty convinced He came back from the dead. But what's the deal? Was He just a great teacher? A prophet? An angel? Then you read Luke’s Gospel. You hear this story about a mountain and God the Father saying who Jesus was. Who Jesus is. How do you think they reacted to such a story?
You just heard the same story. How are you reacting?
Remember when Jesus calmed the wind and the waves? All of a sudden the disciples realized they were in a little boat with God Almighty. Same thing happens again here.
They were afraid. Shaken up. Adrenaline at an all-time high. Not going back to sleep now.
Verse 36:
And 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. Luke 9:28-36
The cloud’s gone. The Old Testament guests are gone. Jesus is back to normal. For once, Peter is speechless.
Jesus didn’t want them to tell the others about this until after the resurrection. There’s probably a thousand reasons. They would have been jealous, they were still hoping for the Messiah to crush Rome and re-establish the nation of Israel and this would probably just confuse them more—whatever the reasons, it wasn’t the right time. For once it seems the disciples actually did what Jesus told them to do and waited until after the resurrection to talk about this experience.
That had to be tough. I would have wanted to tell everyone.
Peter does end up telling us about the Mount of Transfiguration in his second book. 2 Peter 1:16-17 says
“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”
Mountaintops are amazing. They show us a little glimpse of what joy can actually be like. Happiness. Glory, even. But we don’t get to live there.
Peter and the boys wanted to build some tents and make the moment last a little longer. Nope. Not the way it works.
The youth go to the National Youth gathering—20,000 excited young people, full of life, excited about Jesus—why can’t it always be like this? Then they come back to church in an elementary school. We don’t live on the mountaintops. We remember them. They inspire us and give us hope to keep going when things aren’t as shiny.
She said “yes”—she said “I do.” Then you end up arguing over where to go eat tacos.
You hold that baby for the first time. Then you change 700 diapers and don’t sleep for two years.
Graduation feels like an accomplishment but then you have to find a job.
Get a job but then you have to go to work.
Get a promotion but then you have to work longer hours under more pressure.
Go on vacation but then you have to come home.
It’s always a hard climb to the mountaintops. Pain before glory.
It’s a hard climb back down, too. We have to remember the brightness of the mountaintops to give us hope through all those valleys and dark places.
Jesus was going to come down from this incredible prayer retreat to find His other disciples had forgotten how to cast out demons, and then they started arguing over which one of them was the greatest. Kinda like when Moses came down to the golden calf. Kinda like Elijah after defeating the prophets of Baal. We call this re-entry. Coming back to reality after a mountaintop experience is always a slap in the face.
Jesus was just starting His long journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. It was going to be a hard climb. Death, the grave, the empty tomb, ascending to the throne room and the right hand of the Father.
It’s a climb that none of us would be able to make. And if Jesus hadn’t succeeded in doing this for us, we would have no reason to hope at all. There’s a mountain in front of all of us that we’d never be able to climb. We’d never reach the top. We would all die trying.
The day you realize that Jesus has done it for you—that’s a mountaintop experience for sure, the day you realize your sins and failures aren’t going to drag you down because Jesus took the weight of all those things and carried them for you. Maybe today is that day. You’re forgiven because of Jesus. But that’s only a glimpse of the actual glory you’re going to know when Jesus wakes you from your final slumber, you see His glorious shining face looking right at you. It doesn’t even hurt your eyes because you’re kind of shiny, too. This time it’s not Moses and Elijah He’s talking to—it’s you. And He’s discussing your exodus, your departure. He says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, my friend. Come on in. I have so many joyful things to share with you. So many people for you to meet. I’m so happy you’re here.”
You’ll probably say something stupid like Peter. Probably why he got stuck with Pearly Gates duty. But none of that’s going to matter. You’re on the ultimate mountaintop. Looking at the view. Seeing further than you ever saw before. Feeling joy that you didn’t even know could exist. And this time, you get to stay. AMEN