6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Despite what should have given them tremendous hope, the disciples were engulfed with fear at the supernatural vision of Christ, Moses and Elijah. The impact of this overwhelming experience had an enduring effect as seen in Peter’s epistle years later, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16).
Unless one is prepared to call Peter an outright liar, this provides evidence of the highest order of the character and ministry of Jesus. It would be extremely difficult to substantiate that all the disciples perjured themselves in giving false witness about Christ when in fact they were willing to suffer and be killed because of their belief that Jesus “was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” To claim they “mis-remembered” would be ludicrous in light of the consistency and early date of their testimonies. To say they were simply mistaken about such a serious thing would be to minimize the intelligence of these otherwise normal individuals beyond credibility, given the global result of the movement they spawned. Finally, to infer they were deluded means that all who have subsequently believed their message were likewise deluded, hardly sustainable in view of the great minds that have embraced the apostolic teachings through the years.
Jesus tells them to keep this event secret until after the resurrection, after which they did not fear to proclaim it widely. Today, we do not have living eyewitnesses, but we have the next best thing, namely the written, personal testimonies of eyewitnesses. Jesus planned for this when He commissioned the apostles, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Lord, thank You for the faithful witness of the apostles and for all those who through the ages preserved their testimony for us today.
Amen !! Excellent. Thank you.
I am so glad God is using these meditations for His glory. Thanks.