“Transfigured From Within”
Luke 9:27-50
“But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:27
These are the “red-lettered” words of Jesus to His disciples. And then His appearance changed; “His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.” [Lk 9:29]. Matthew and Mark used the word “transfigured” [Mt 17:2; Mk 9:2].
But what exactly happened here? Luke goes on to record that “Moses and Elijah” appeared with Him [ref. Lk 9:30].
The best way to understand this is to delve into the word transfigured in its original language. It is metamorphoō, from where we get our English word metamorphosis. Transfigured is metamorphosis, a change from within.
Therefore, when Jesus was transfigured, He revealed that He was God from within and interacted with others through an outer physical body.
The Bible declares that Jesus veiled His glory [His deity] when He was born of Mary [ref. Jn 1:14; Col 2:9; Php 2:6-8]. But remember [and this is important], He never ceased to be God. He was always the Second Person of the Trune Godhead.
Therefore, in the Transfiguration, we see both parts of His Person. Jesus is fully God [as revealed in the Transfiguration; vv.9:27-36]; and Jesus is fully Man [as He predicted His death; vv.9:43-45]. Notice that Moses and Elijah even “spoke of His decease.” [Lk 9:31].
Further along in our passage describes the spiritual battle in this life. When they came down the mountain the first person they met was a demon possessed boy. But once again Jesus exercised His authority over the god of this world. This account, however, reveals a sobering reality; that while we are no longer of the world, we are still in the world.
For the child of God our authority comes from within, from the transformed born-again life of the Spirit of God.
“4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” [1 John 4:4]
