Coming Down the Mountain

Exodus 24:12-18; Matthew 17:1-9

          According to the web page Word@Work, the English phrase “mountain top experience” originated with the Bible.  Careful readers of the Bible know to pay close attention anytime the action of a text is on a mountain.    Noah’s ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat after the flood, and on that mountain God made a covenant with Noah to never again destroy the earth with a flood.  Solomon built a Temple, a place of God’s abode, on Mt. Moriah. Moses went up Mt. Sinai and came down with the Ten Commandments. Remember Mt. Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. The fire of God consumed those prophets. Some of us will visit Mt. Carmel in September.  King David built his city, Jerusalem, the city of God, on Mt. Zion.  And let us not forget some of Jesus’ greatest teachings—the Sermon on the Mount.  Yes, the careful reader of the Bible knows to pay close attention anytime someone goes up a mountain.  That is where people meet the divine.

          We now use this phrase to describe our high spiritual moments, those times when it seems we are transported from the mundane, routine affairs of life into realms of spiritual depth and joy.  It may have been a Walk to Emmaus or a mission trip or a Bible study group, the birth of a child, or some other experience that moved you to the mountaintop.  For Peter, James, and John, those three disciples who appear to be the inner circle of the Twelve, it was the experience in Matthew 17 that we now call the Transfiguration of Jesus.  It occurred on a mountain.  The text doesn’t say which mountain, though tradition says it was Mt. Tabor. 

          I must confess that I have struggled through the years to understand the application of this text for us.  It’s easy to see how this could have been a deeply moving experience for Peter, James, and John.  But we weren’t there. We didn’t see and hear what they saw and heard, so what does this story mean for us?  That was my struggle, until I saw the connection between this story and what happened six days earlier.

          According to Matthew, six days before the mountaintop transfiguration Jesus and his disciples were in Caesarea Philippi.  The disciples told Jesus that the local people in Philippi had mixed opinions about who he was.  Some were saying that he was John the Baptist come back to life.  Others thought he might be Elijah or one of the other prophets of Israel.  In a masterful way so common with Jesus, Jesus turned the question to them, making it personal, as faith always is, “But who do you say that I am?” 

          It was Peter who took the lead. In response to this question of Jesus, Peter made his greatest confession and one of his greatest blunders.  Peter rightly said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus praised Peter for that answer and began to tell him and the others how he must suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and finally be killed.  Upon hearing these words about suffering and death, Peter stepped forward again, this time rebuking Jesus, “God forbid it, Lord!  This must never happen to you.” 

          I do not doubt that Peter meant well, but Jesus responded to Peter with these harsh words, “Get behind me, Satan!” 

Then Matthew says that six days later Peter, James, and John had the mountaintop experience to top all mountain top experiences.  Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain.  There, the text says, Jesus was transformed before them.  The Greek word is metamorphoomai, from which we get the word metamorphosis.  It is in the passive voice meaning that the transformation was done to Jesus, not by him.  Apparently, God the Father changed God the Son, so that Jesus’ face shined like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white.  Suddenly two Old Testament figures, Moses and the prophet Elijah, were standing and talking with Jesus.  Peter took the lead again.  He said in essence, “It’s a good thing we’re here, Lord.  Do you want us to make three dwelling places: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah?”

I just love Peter.  I love him for his commitment.  He was a 100 percent disciple of Jesus Christ.  He was willing to back up his words with his actions.  He held nothing back.

This time, however, he did not get to build a dwelling for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  While he was still making his offer to Jesus, the text says that a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him, I am well pleased.”  And then these last three words: “listen to him!” 

Are those words familiar to you?  With the exception of the last phrase—“listen to him!”—they are identical to the words spoken in Matthew 3 at Jesus’ baptism.

When Peter, James, and John heard the voice from the cloud, they fell to the ground in fear.  The next thing they knew was the touch of Jesus and the invitation to stand up and not be afraid.  When they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone.  Matthew says that they saw no one except “Jesus himself alone.”

What a mountaintop experience! But what did it mean?  And most importantly, what does it mean for us?  I see three things.

This transfiguration experience for Peter, James, and John was a validation of who Jesus was and the means by which he would accomplish his mission.  Peter had it only partly right six days earlier.  Yes, Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Messiah, the One for whom they had waited and longed.  However, Peter failed to understand his way.  Jesus’ way would not be political intrigue and power.  It would be the way of the cross, of losing one’s life in order to gain it.  “This is my son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased,” the voice said.  That’s the same validation they heard at his baptism.  The only difference this time is these words: “listen to him.”  In other words, “Hear, O Israel!”

The second thing I see here has to do with Moses and Elijah.  They were two of the most important figures of Israel’s past.  Moses, of course, was the prophet who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.  He went up a mountain too, remember.  God spoke from a cloud, giving the Torah, the Law.  And the prophet Elijah, you may remember, never died.   According to 2 Kings he was taken to heaven “by a whirlwind” (2:11).  Moses and Elijah were the Law and the prophets, the sources of authority for the people of Israel.  But when Peter, James, and John looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone.  They were left with “Jesus himself alone.”  Moses and Elijah may have been their past, but Jesus was their present and their future.  He was their new source of authority.

And then the last thing I see here.  This is where it applies to us.  Peter, James, and John had to come down the mountain.  As tempting as it may have been to stay and bask in the glory of that mountaintop experience, the challenge of faith was at the foot of the mountain, in the valley, in the mundane, routine affairs of life.  Moses didn’t stay on Mt. Sinai.  He had work to do in the valley. And neither would Peter, James, and John stay on the mountain of transfiguration.  There was work for them to do too.

This text has a powerful message for us.  It is a word to the Church saying, “Listen!”  And not just to anyone.  “Listen to him,” Jesus. The one who must stand at the center of our present and future is “Jesus himself alone.”  We do not have authority to make of our church what we want.  We don’t determine the way.  If we dare try, the message of Jesus is harsh, “Get behind me, Satan.”  Jesus has determined the way.  We listen to him and then follow the way he has determined.

That means that we too must come down the mountain.  Neither Moses nor Jesus retired on the mountaintop.  The reality is that we don’t live out our faith on the mountaintop in the realms of spiritual depth and joy.  We live the faith in the valley, in the mundane, routine affairs of life: going to work or school every day, caring for children, working with internationals, building homes for people, providing care to children with developmental disabilities. Just look at the way of Jesus.  If we listen to him, we will imitate his way.

The Chiefs seem to get this.  They’re back home in Kansas City after their Super Bowl victory last Sunday.  Talk about a mountain top experience!  There was a ticker tape parade.  Hundreds of thousands of exuberant fans lined the streets.  Some even camped out overnight in order to be assured of a good place for viewing the team.  Coach Reid was carrying the famous Lombardi trophy.  Patrick Mahomes, the Chief’s quarterback, was carrying his Most Valuable Player trophy. 

Several of the players spoke to the crowd.  I thought what some said was telling.  While they enjoyed the moment, they were already looking to next season.  Mahomes said, “I just want to let you all know that this is just the beginning.  We ain’t done yet….” 

He knew.  There was work to do.  There was training.  There were plays to memorize.  They had to come down the mountain.

That’s the word for us.  Mountaintop experiences are good.  But that’s not where we live.  We live in the valley below.  With cantankerous neighbors.  With pictures of hungry children.  With homeless people under the bridge.  With an unjust war in Ukraine.  With friends who are sick or going through a divorce or looking squarely at their mortality.  We do not retire on the mountain.  We come down to do the work of helping to heal a hurting world.  Here's the thing.  Like the quarterback said, we ain’t done yet!

Closing Prayer

 O Lord, give us ears to hear, hearts to care, and wills to follow. In the name of Christ, we pray.  Amen.