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Introduction

Pope Callixtus III has a lot to answer for. Most of us won’t have ever heard of him before but he was the person responsible for linking the Feast of the Transfiguration to a date in the year when many of us are on holiday. Of course he had his reasons. In 1456 the Muslim Ottoman ruler, having already captured Constantinople a few years earlier, had decided to expand into Christian Europe. In July his forces came to Belgrade, after which most of central Europe would be at his mercy. However the siege of Belgrade was a turning point. Remarkably the defenders were not only able to resist but ultimately mount a successful counterattack. In recognition of this amazing deliverance, the Pope wanted to make a suitable public statement to express thanks to God. I am sure that there were all sorts of options open to him but in his wisdom he decided to commemorate 6 August as the Feast of the Transfiguration. And so, whilst every Christian knows which date to focus on the birth of Christ or His death and resurrection, most years we will skip past one of the key moments relating to the identity of Christ in the church year … because we’re on holiday.

It’s the same with the ascension of Christ, always on a Thursday ten days before Pentecost, another neglected area in our Christian thinking. But at the very least the Ascension is linked firmly with the Resurrection of Christ. Having been raised from the dead, Jesus then ascends to the Father in order that His Spirit will be poured out, before His eventual return. So at least the ascension features within our biblical framework even if it also languishes slightly on the sidelines.

But the Transfiguration of Christ appears to have no particular tie to any other part of the Church year other than the date allocated by Pope Callixtus III. Of course it can be read and studied at any point in any season. It’s also true that preachers can select from any of the synoptic gospels or even from 2 Peter 1:16-18 in order to feast on its message whenever they desire. Yet, because there is no fixed date other than in the middle of the annual school summer holidays, these passages tend to have no home and the Transfiguration floats around in our consciousness adrift from everything else. As a consequence it can become neglected with the result that we miss out on the wonders of one of the most precious incidents in the gospels.

So, given that the Feast of the Transfiguration is likely to remain linked to 6 August for the foreseeable future I have a suggestion. Why not make a virtue out of this date falling right in the middle of the school holiday season? Why not focus our holiday devotional times with the Lord on the Transfiguration? If we are fortunate enough to have two weeks set aside out of our normal routines, how about spending time feeding from this portion of God’s word in order to be nourished more and more in our appreciation of the Lord Jesus Christ? What about considering the idea of slowing down in our devotional life in order to savour more of the identity of our Lord Jesus Christ so that, rather than rushing from one passage to the next, we linger with one main passage and explore all the hidden depths that we can?

The fourteen brief explorations which follow are designed to bring this neglected area back into focus. Based primarily on Matthew’s version but considering the special insights provided by both Mark and Luke, the aim is to encounter Christ … the same Christ revealed at the Transfiguration! What a blessing it would be for us to return from our holidays not only physically recharged but also spiritually refreshed, having spent time looking at this Jesus. So even if Pope Callixtus III has unwittingly relegated the Transfiguration into a backwater of church life, let us use the opportunity provided by summer holidays and changes in routine to see the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17 answered so that each of us might ‘know Christ better’.

DAY 1 : MATTHEW 16:21-28

Getting our bearings

Introduction

I use satnav but I prefer maps. Of course satnav is a wonderful tool to enable you to get to your holiday destination, provided you spell correctly in order to ensure that you are not directed to a similar sounding place a few hundred miles away. But there is a problem: though satnav can get you there, it doesn’t really show you where you are. A good Ordnance Survey map, at least in the hands of someone who knows which way up it should be held, provides the context. It helps to show how the single point of your destination relates to the whole of the surrounding countryside.

It’s the same with the Bible. It’s great to look at a particular verse or passage. But it will make much more sense when you are able to understand the surroundings. In other words the context will always help to make sense of the text. So, as we prepare to make Matthew 17:1-8 our holiday destination for the next few weeks we are deliberately going to get the map out first and look at the surrounding countryside so that we can see exactly where we are. We’ll need to focus on more than a verse or two as we’ll want to try to get a good view of the whole area. However, the aim of this first study is not to notice every single detail but to help us get our bearings for Matthew 17:1-8.

Read Matthew 16:21-28

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

‘From that time on …’ (16:21) introduces a new section within Matthew’s Gospel. The phrase was previously used at 4:17 to introduce Jesus’ public ministry. In getting an overview of Matthew, it is apparent that his first main section 4:17-16:20 focuses on the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It culminates in Peter’s recognition that Jesus is ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (16:16). The second main section runs from 16:21 onwards and introduces the momentous theme that Jesus will ‘go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection will take us to the end of the Gospel.

A very similar division is also apparent within Mark’s Gospel. It starts with the headline at Mark 1:1 ‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’. Part one of Mark comes to a climax with Peter’s recognition that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29). Part two comes to a climax with Jesus on the cross and the centurion’s recognition ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’ (Mark 15:39). So, Matthew and Mark follow the same broad approach of revealing the identity of Christ before moving on to consider His suffering, death and resurrection.

Indeed each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, include the Transfiguration at exactly the same point in their narratives.

	Matthew	Mark	Luke
Peter's confession of Christ	16:13-20	8:27-30	9:18-20
Jesus' prediction of the cross	16:21-23	8:31-33	9:21-22
The call to the disciples	16:24-26	8:34-37	9:23-25
Jesus' prediction of return	16:27	8:38	9:26
Introducing the Transfiguration	16:28	9:1	9:27
The Transfiguration	17:1-8	9:2-8	9:28-36

So, what is happening in this new section of the Gospel?

First, we hear the paradoxical truth that Jesus, who has just been acknowledged as God’s anointed ruler (the Christ), is going to suffer and die in Jerusalem. It’s paradoxical because it simply doesn’t appear to make sense for the long hoped-for leader to die. That’s certainly how Peter assessed the situation (16:22). Yet Jesus’ robust reply (16:23) makes it crystal clear that Peter’s human perspective was completely wrong – he needed to see things from God’s perspective. In the coming days Jesus would reveal how His death would be a necessity (he must go – 16:21) so that the forgiveness of our sins would be made possible (26:28).

Second, Jesus speaks not just of His suffering and death but also of His resurrection (16:21) and future return in glory (16:27). Death would not be the end. Instead Jesus opens their eyes to the future and tells them of His glorious return as Judge. Not only is He revealing Himself as Saviour through His sacrificial death but He is also declaring Himself to be the Lord. The cross will be followed by the crown.

Third, within this section, Jesus instructs His disciples (16:24-26). Their pattern of life is to be shaped by the journey of Christ Himself. Just as Christ would take up His cross before entering glory, so that pattern must be embraced by His disciples. So, following Jesus will involve taking up the cross (16:24). Although such self denial is costly and is described by Jesus as ‘losing your life’ (16:25) the rewards are glorious. Refusing to embrace the pattern of the cross now is a recipe for disaster (16:26). Holding on to the crown now will only lead to suffering later. The cross followed by the crown is the journey which Jesus marks out both for Himself and His followers.

But, if we were to put ourselves into the sandals of Peter and the other disciples, how do we know for sure that suffering will be followed by glory? If they are being encouraged to follow the pattern of what will happen to the Lord Jesus, how do they know that this Jesus whom they have been following will end up in glory? And if they are unsure about what will happen to Jesus, how can they have confidence that their journey following Jesus will also end up in glory? These are the questions which will introduce our next study and prepare the way for the significance of the Transfiguration.

Reflection and prayer on Matthew 16:21-28

What are the most striking things we learn about Jesus’ purpose and identity in this passage?
What is the normal Christian life supposed to look like according to 16:24-26?
In what ways have you found the pattern of Christian discipleship to be profoundly counter-cultural?

Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Collect for The Third Sunday of Lent)