Vera. 2—13.— Transfiguration. Observe the crisis of our Lord’s ministry at which this marvellous and memorable incident took place. The period of novelty, of popu- larity, of prosperity, was past and gone; the period of hostility, of persecution, of endurance, was commencing. Already Jesus had forewarned his disciples of the speedy approach of his death at the hands of his enemies. And it seems as though this unique and impressive display of his proper majesty, and of the affection and confidence of his Father, came exactly at the needed conjuncture. It was for his own sake, that a vivid consciousness of Divine favour might go with him to the scenes of ignominy and of suffering which awaited him. It was for the sake of the nearest and dearest among his friends, that they might carry with them, especially in those trials of their faith and attachment which were coming upon them, a conviction concerning their master’s nature and mission which might support them and preserve them, if nof. from weak defection, still from shameful apostasy. The close connection between the. glories of the ‘l’ransfiguration and the shame and woe of Calvary, is evident both from the narrative itself and from the central and critical position it occupies. Regarding. the Mount of Transfiguration as a mount of witness, we observe—
I. THE WITNESS CHRIST HERE BEARS TO HIMSELF. The sun in heaven is his own. witness, shines by his own light, tells of his own nature and power. So with the Lord’ Christ. When, amidst the darkness of the night, upon the slopes of Hermon, his: garments glistened, and his face shone with a dazzling radiance, his proper glory: shone through the disguise of his human weakrss and humiliation. For once he: appeared to be what he really was—the Son of the Father, and the Lord of the world. It was testimony very powerful and very effective, and produced its impression upon, those who were privileged to behold that “ great sight.”
Il, THE WITNESS HERE BORNE TO CHRIST BY THE LAWGIVER AND THR PROPHET.. After Abraham, no personages in their history were more honoured and venerated by. the Jews than Moses and Elijah: Moses the giver of their Law, and Elijah the head and. leader of their prophets. These two had not only in life fulfilled the will of God, they: had at the close of their life-service been taken to himself by their Lord in very remarkable and singular circumstances. From the seats of the blessed, and in their vesture of immortality, these illustrious and glorified saints came to converse with the Son of God regarding the decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. They had foretold him, they had prefigured him, they now gave place to him; and, what more appropriate than that they should thus tender to him their. homage and. their admiration? 1, They manifested interest in his mission,. for this gave the meaning to their own—explained in the old economy much which would otherwise: have been inexplicable, 2. They acknowledged his authority, for they had already. testified to a Greater than themselves who should come, and their appearance on this occasion was an evidence of the reverential honour in which they held the Divine Lawgiver, the Divine Prophet. 3, They anticipated his decease; the event which he had so recently foretold, and for which he was now so deliberately, so sacredly pre~ paring—an event of stuvendous magnitude in the history of our sinful humanity.
ou, x, 1—650.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. ll