Peter, James, and John journey with our Lord up a high mountain. Now, the setting itself ought to cause the readers of the Word of God to prepare for something big to happen. Throughout the Scriptures, mountains are the location of God’s presence. They are featured places where He comes down to meet with His chosen people, to direct them, guide them, and give them hope. Sometimes through might and splendor like dark clouds and lightning, and sometimes through a small whisper of a voice. So, following Jesus up a high mountain was bound to be something unforgettable, and unforgettable it was. The events which transpire there are so profound that we have one Sunday every year set aside to retell this story and examine its continued importance for us here today. God does important things on mountaintops and this text is no exception. What happens there continues to echo throughout the Church even today.

We call this day Transfiguration Sunday because our reading says Jesus was “transfigured.” That is, His appearance changed before the eyes of His trusted disciples. In Mark’s telling of this story, he focuses on how incredibly white Jesus’ clothes got, whiter than anyone could bleach them, as if light itself was emanating through them. Then suddenly, there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, the great prophets of God who were talking to Him. I recently heard someone suggest that this moment is sort of a time warp. What they meant was, in the Scriptures, we read about both Moses and Elijah going up on a mountain and talking with God. So, perhaps this is a vision of those moments compressed together and the one they are talking to is the Word made flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I do not think this is the case, but it does speak to the reality of the moment. Of course Moses and Elijah would be there, and of course they were the ones talking on the mountain with our Lord. This whole scene is a revelation of His true identity. It highlights the significance and purpose of the Lord’s coming.

We may wonder about Peter’s response to this incredible scene, but it makes complete sense. He says, “It is good to be here.” Of course, it is. To be in the presence of the glory of God shining out of a transfigured Jesus while Moses and Elijah join their company, who would not want to simply remain there forever. “Let us make three tents,” he says. Three places where you may dwell here, stay here, remain here on this mountaintop. Do you not think this is what every modern-day Christian would want to do? To grab ahold of the experience, to preserve it, to make a destination out of it? But such wish dreams quickly end, for a cloud overshadows them. The presence of God settles there on that mountaintop and out of the cloud they hear His voice, the voice of the eternal Father. And what does He say? “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.” And then, boom! Just like that the cloud, Moses and Elijah, and the transfigured glory shining out of our Lord all stop. At the voice of God, we are told “they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.”

Being left then with Jesus only, what do they do? They head back down the mountain. Now, that may seem like a line we can simply pass over, a bit of travel information, but it is important. All that happens on the mountaintop, in fact, all that had ever happened on mountaintops where God’s Word was proclaimed, where His gifts were given, where identity and security poured out for His people, all of it now goes down the mountain in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this saves us. He saves us from a life of endlessly trying to climb back up the mountain. But we do not have to. Our faith is not about our climbing up, striving for the glory above. No, it is about His coming down.

Down the mountain, down in the regular routine of our lives, we do not get Moses and Elijah. We do not get the glorious, transfigured Jesus and the splendor of God speaking out of a cloud. No, we get Jesus, Jesus only. As a result, the temptation is to always add something to Jesus, to spruce Him up a bit, to try and capture a bit of His glory and splendor. This is why some worship services look more like concerts and many sermons sound a lot like motivational speeches. In our tireless attempt to make our Lord more presentable to the masses, in hopes of capturing some of that Mount of Transfiguration glory, we go in search of something more than His Word, more than His commands, His promises, and His gifts. “Jesus only” does not make for a clever Instagram post. “Jesus only” does not sound good as a clever church mission statement.

But our life is not lived on the mountaintop. We live and move and have our being down the mountain, down in lives marked by hardship, suffering, and turmoil. Down here, there is doubt and fear and hesitation. Down here, there is depression, anxiety, and shame. But down here, we have Jesus, Jesus only, and that is more than enough. We get that glimpse of the mountaintop, of the Transfiguration, so we might live and endure down here. We get that glimpse so we might hear the Father declare, “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.” Quit the searching and climbing up for glory and listen to Him. Listen to what Jesus has to say, down here, down the mountain.

And what do we hear Him say? We hear Him call us to love and to love in a radical way. He says things like, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.” He especially turns us, as his brothers and sisters, toward one another to love and have compassion. He calls for you to serve one another, to take the low seat at the table. He speaks about not begrudging the generosity of God but to rejoice in every sinner who repents and comes to believe the Good News. And of course, we hear Him call us to suffer alongside Him, to take up your cross and follow. Life down the mountain is not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. There will be opposition and hardship, temptation and sorrow. A life following Christ, a life which listens to the Son of God, is a life marked by a cross.

So, perhaps we love even when it hurts. We love even when all that is within us is screaming to do something different. And we can do this, or at least attempt this, because we are not alone down here. We have our Lord. We have His Word, and when we listen to Him, when we listen to His call for love, His call for bearing a cross, we also hear His word of forgiveness. For you will fail. You will stumble and fall short of the goal, but this is not the end of you. For Jesus has come, not to condemn, but to give life. He has come down the mountain, down into your life to give you hope and salvation. He brings the glory from on high right down into your life and declares that you are forgiven, you are loved, and you are heirs of eternal life.

Our life is centered in Jesus, Jesus only. He alone is your hope and assurance, for He is your savior. In the end, we are not bound together by denominational identity or by cultural habits. We stand together because we have one thing at our core. We have Jesus, Jesus only. And together, we strive to listen to Him. And down here, down the mountain, His Word is more than enough.