Ever get lost in the details? Every become so immersed in the routines or the demands of the moment that you could not see more than fifteen feet away. Does it ever seem like you spend the bulk of your time paddling against the current of life’s massive whirlpool that wants to suck you down?
The pressures of the now can become depressing when all we see are the demands, expectations, brokenness, and challenge of the moment. And when tough times come, it’s more difficult to maintain our spiritual equilibrium if we don’t have a bigger perspective.
Jesus knew that his disciples were about to face some of the toughest challenges of their lives. The river of life was quickly taking them toward a dark and ominous whirlpool. He knew he would soon face betrayal, a merciless beating, mockery and death. And his followers had to realize that this would not be the end, but a beginning.
He could not allow the horror of some of the moments to come to obliterate their understanding of his nature and his work. So Jesus decided to do something about it. He would give three of his key leaders a look at the big picture that was the backdrop to his sacrifice. In Matthew 17:1-5, the gospel writer describes how Jesus took Peter, James, and John on an unusual excursion. They accompanied Jesus on a climb of a high mountain. I’m sure they were very curious as they followed him. Was there something he had discovered? Something he wanted to show them? Someone he wanted them to meet? Was there something he wanted to teach them far away from the crowds that increasingly flocked to him to benefit from his healing power?
The answer to all these questions was, “Yes,” but in a way they did not anticipate. Somewhere near the summit of this unnamed mountain they stopped. And then Jesus’ appearance changed. He cast aside the cloak of his humanity and they saw a radiance they could only compare to the sun. It enveloped his face, and then his clothing. He became other-worldly right before them. It was like a butterfly emerging from an ugly brown cocoon, but 1,000 times more radiant than they had ever seen. He was more than alive. He was more than human. He was like them but at the same time inexpressibly different from them.
And then two other figures appeared. They discovered that one was Moses and the other Elijah. We are not told how they identified them—certainly not from their picture on the 10 shekel bill or a painting from a history textbook. They were conversing with Jesus, so it is likely that their identities were probably discerned through what was said.
We don’t know how long they talked. But it must have captivated Peter, James and John. Before them stood two of the key figures in the work of God over nearly two millennia among the Jews. Moses was the lawgiver, the leader whom God used to deliver the nation from bondage. Elijah was a prophet who performed miracles and summoned the people to follow Jehovah exclusively. Together they represented two great epochs in the work of God on earth through the Jewish people. And on the eve of the great redemption and great deliverance that God would enact through Christ’s death and resurrection they interacted with the carpenter from Galilee. The central event in the great story of God was about to take place. But it was not an isolated event. It fit into the plan and purpose of God throughout all of history. Jesus gave these men a glimpse of the big picture so that they would have a foundation on which to stand in the dark and turbulent days ahead.
When life becomes messy with the mud of difficulty and the black grease of injustice, we need a bigger perspective. When the brokenness of others costs money, warps relationships, or endangers dreams, we need to see more than what looms largest in the moment. For the Christ-follower, that vision of who Jesus really is, and what he came to do out of love for us is the greatest antidote to the despair that circumstances can unleash into our minds. A growing picture of the reality of Jesus lifts our eyes above the gray clouds of hardship to a place where there is light and radiance and purpose and joy. And he invites us to hold tightly to his nail-scarred hand, because he knows one day we will see it shine with a radiance brighter than the sun.
It is this bigger picture that would keep James, Peter and John strong in the days to come. It is there for us to touch, feel, and re-live for ourselves. We are only a sentence in the multi-volume epoch that God is writing. When we look at the big picture we gain strength and perspective to keep moving forward by faith and to walk the path of obedience when the road is dim. Perhaps this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (See Romans 8:18.) It is this grand view that keeps our hearts together, our faith vibrant, and our hope strong. It does so because it reminds us that Christ, not us, is the hero and center of the story of life. What’s in the center of your frame?
