The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 180

Cresarea Philippi. That conver~ation must have filled the hearts of the apostles with. strange, awful thoughts. He with whom they had lived so long in the intercourso of familiar friendship was indC'ed the Christ, the Son of the living God. They had marked the dignity of his Person, the anthority of his words, the power of his miracles; end t-hey had felt tbR.t there was somethina in their Master that was more than human very holy and majestic. Now he had acce"pted the homage of Peter and had asserted the truth of that great confe,;sion-he was the Sou of God. Very soicmn it must have- been to be with him those six days, looking into his face, hearing his words, and to know, as the disciples were beginning to know, who he really was. It must have been like tbe first moments of a true conversion, when the soul first realizes in its depth and blessedness the presence and the love of God. But other nlso and very different thoughts must bave agitated the apostles' minds during those six do.ye. Doubtless- they all shared the feelings of Peter; their soul recoiled in unspeakable horror from- the prospect which the Lord had set before them; they could not associate the thought of failure and shame and death with the Messiahship; they could scarcely believe that the Christ., the Son of the living God, could suffer such things at the hand of mortal men; they could not bear to think that the Master whom they loved so very dearly was destined to drink the bitter cup of suffering. He had told them so very r,Jainly ; but they could not take into their hearts the full meaning of his words. They only half believed them; probably they did not wholly believe till the event proved their truth. But yet those solemn words, even if only half believed, must- have caused them exceeding great distress, and mnst have filled them with restless~· torturing anxiety. The Lord, in his thoughtful love, would comfort them, would con- firm their faith, would prepare them to face the tremendous shock which awaited them. 2. The retirement. The six days were over. We long to know the secrets of those days; they must have been days of deep thought, of intense prayer, of close com- munion with the Lord. Now they were over; and the Lord took with him Peter, James, and John, the chosen three, who alone had seen the raising of the daughter of Jairns, who alone were to witness the mysterious agony. He carried them up-it is 11 remarkable word, the same word which is used (Luke :xxiv. 51) in describing the Ascension-into a high mountain apart. The locality, the height, the snow alluded to, in Mark ix. 3, the simple title used by St. Luke, "the mountain," all seem to suggest Hermon, the most conspicuous mountain in Palestine, the snow-clad mountain which, with its towering heights, closed the prospect to the north of Cresarea Philippi. Thither the Lord carried up the highly favoured three; he took them apart. 'l'he holiest manifestations of God's grace and presence are made in secret to those chosen ones who live nearest to God; they are very sweet and precious, but very, very sacred- too sacred to be talked about save in Christian communion with like-minded servants of the Lord. Christian men do well to retire from time to time to the high mountain apart from the world, there to hold close communion with the Lord in companionship with a few proved and humble-hearted disciples. 3. The glorious change. The·Lord was praying, St. Luke tells 1lS ; it was for prayer that he had sought retirement; •and "as he prayed" he was transfigured. The effulgent splendour of the Godhead poured itself throuah the earthly tabernacle in which it dwelt, as in ancient times the glory of the Lord bad filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand there to minister (1 Kings viiL 11). The sacred body of the Lord Jesus Obrist was the truest temple; "for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. iL 9). That splendour had hitherto been concealed; he had la.id his glory by in the tender condescension of his ineffable love; but now, for the more confirmation of the faith of the apostles and, through them, of the Christian Church, be allowed it to appear for a,. brief space in such measure as the human eye could bear. "None can see my face and live," God had said to Moses when he prayed, "I beseech thee, show me thy· glory;" but, hidden in a cleft of the rock, he saw the goodness of the Lord as hie glory passed by (Exod. xxxiii. lS-23). Such a glorious vision was now vouchsafed to tl,e three chosen witnesses. Their Master's face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, gli>itering, exceeding white as snow. He is the Light of the world he is the Sun of Righteousness; night is not night to the Christian when that Sun shineth upon him. The darkness of that night was dispelled by the radiant glory that issued from the Person of the Saviour. The -vivid recollection of that glory,·, CIJ. xvu. 1-27.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. ma never passed away; the two apostles who remained (St. James went early to hi., reward) mention it in their writings (John i. 14; 2 Pet. i. 18). It was" as he pre.yc<l" t-hat this glorious change took place. The bumble, faithful Christian is made by tl,e grace of Christ like unto his Lord. "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed ['transfigured;' the Greek verb is the same as that used here] into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. iii. 18). • And surely it is as they pray thf<t that blessed change comes upon the servants of the Lord. Faithful prayer lifts tht'm into his presence, to the holy mount, as it were; they behold by faith his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father; and that glory of holiness exerts a trans- forming energy over those who in the power of prayer by faith behold the Lord. It i.~ when Christian people present their bodies" a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto :lod," that, as St. Paul (Rom. xii. 2) says, using again the same word, they are . 'transformed by the renewing of their mind." The transfiguration of the Lord was an ,nticipation of the glory ,0f his ascension; it was to the apostles a foretaste of the beatific vision; it is to us a parable of the great change which must pass over the soul of every one of God's .elect. We too must shine, if by his grace we attain to any melisure of real holiness, as lights in the world by his reflected glory; we too mn~t wash our robes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Lord, thy Spirit's power transforming Through our inmost being pour, Heart and thought and wish conforming To thine image more and more." 4. Moses and Elijah. They were the central figures of the Old Testament, the repre- sentatives of the Law and the prophets. They had both been admitted into a very close communion with God, and had both, in the ecstasy of Divine contemplation, been sustained through the miraculous fast of forty days. Now they appeared in glory. Peter recognized them by some power of spiritual intuition. Then surely we may believe that there will he some means of mutual recognition among departed saints. They came from the realms of the blessed to hold intercourse with the Son of God. The angels. desire to look into the mysteries of redemption ; and if the angels, how much more those glorified spirits who were once compassed with infirmities, and knew by their own experience the power of temptation, and the deep need of atonement and sanctifi- cation I They came to commune with him in whom all the ritual of the Law found its fulfilment, of whom all the prophets spake; and they talked with him (St. Luke tells us) " of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." The precious death of Christ, the death prefigured by the serpent which Moses long ago had lifted up in the wilderness, was the theme of their high discourse. What they said, what they heard from Christ, we cannot tell. The apostles seem in some way to have beard or apprehended in their spirits the sacred words. Thus much we learn, that there can be no higher, holier subject of thought; no higher, holier subjact of solemn conversa- tion among Christian men than the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses and Elijah longed to know the awful, blessed meaning of the cross. The Lord unfolded to them the mysteries of his love. May we be filled with the same holy desire ; may the same heavenly Teacher teach us the deep things of his salvation 1 5. Peter. He is eager and impulsive as usual. He and his companions had been heavy with sleep. The dazzling glory of the transfigured Lord aroused them. They kept awake, St. Luke says; they saw in full waking consciousness the celestial sight. They heard, it seems, something of the wondrous conversation; they found that his decease, the mention of which had given them such extreme anguish, was a theme of deep interest and hallowed thought in the mysterious world of spirits. 'l'he marvellous interview was drawing to an end, the glorious visitors were departing, when Peter, in his intense excitement, not knowing what he said, adckessed the Lord, "Lord," he said, "it is good for us to be here "-beautiful a.nd elev11.ting. It was beautiful indeed to contemplate the glorious form of Christ; it was beautiful to see how those whom the Jews most highly honoured came from their homes of bliss to commune with him. Peter would gladly have shared in that holy intercourse; he longed to hear more, to see more; they were departing too soon, he thought. "It is good for us to be here," he said: " let us make [or, perhaps, according to the reading of three very aucieut manuscript!!) 'I will  184 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [on. xvu. 1-27.