Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist. At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
Matthew 17:1-20 NLT
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain so they could see who He truly is. He was revealed to them with the glory of the Spirit and the voice of the Father. Moses and Elijah—representing the Law and the Prophets, two men who had unique “deaths,” and two men who saw God's glory—appeared and talked with Jesus. The three disciples experienced the Lord revealed—transfigured in power—and understood the power we have in Him. They were filled with wonder and terror; they were in the presence of God! Jesus invited them to know Him deeper, and they soaked up the life-changing experience to the core of their souls (see John 1:14; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1). Jesus wants to reveal Himself to you.
When Christ and the three disciples came down the mountain they witnessed a ministry fiasco. That is so often what it is like after a mountaintop experience. The other disciples could not cast a demon out of a child. How could that be? Jesus had given them authority to cast out demons (Matthew 10:8), and they already had experience in this area, so what was the problem? They did not have enough faith or dependance on Christ (v.19; cf. Mark 9:29). These future Christian leaders were learning the lesson to depend on Christ more than themselves. We must all learn this lesson, and we often learn it through mistakes. We need to experience Him, see Him, be filled with Him, hear from Him, love Him, and personally know His love and power.
How have you personally experienced the power of Jesus Christ? Are you serving Christ out of your own strength or out of His power? How do you know?
