Bear the Glorious Image of Christ! (Matthew 17:1–13)

[Stephan Choe]

July 10, 2026

Key Verse 2:   “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light.”

Transfigured Jesus [1],

Today’s Bible passage tells us that Jesus climbs a high mountain with three of his disciples. There, he is transfigured, and his face shines like the sun.

And God speaks to the disciples: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Today, we want to reflect on who Jesus is and what he teaches us through this event. We want to come to know the glorious image of Jesus Christ and grasp a living hope.

1. Jesus takes three disciples along (1)

Verse 1 reads, “After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”

Where is the high mountain that Jesus and his three disciples climbed?

Since early Christian times, Mount Tabor has traditionally been regarded as the Mount of Transfiguration.

Mountain Tabor [2], [3]

However, since a fortress or village already existed on the summit of Mount Tabor at that time, some doubt that Tabor could be the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus prayed in solitude.

For this reason, the historian Eusebius—citing Origen—identifies Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi, as the Mount of Transfiguration. Yet Caesarea Philippi does not align with the biblical account, which states that after descending the mountain, Jesus encountered a crowd—including scribes. Consequently, a third possibility is proposed: Mount Jebel Jarmaq in Upper Galilee. This mountain is located near Capernaum.

The phrase "after six days" refers to the time following Peter’s confession of faith. Jesus is determined to walk the path of the Cross and glory; at the same time, He wishes to teach His disciples the way of discipleship.

Why does Jesus ascend the Mount of Transfiguration? Luke reports that He went up to pray (Luke 9:28). Jesus knows that His impending death will be unbearable. What, then, can He do? He climbs the mountain and prays to God to receive His help. In His distress, He neither forgets God nor fails to pray to Him. The Transfiguration is thus an answer from God to prayer.

When we face problems, we do not turn to God in prayer first; instead, we try everything within our own power. Only when our attempts fail do we begin to pray to God. Yet it would be better if we prayed to God first and asked Him for help.

Why does Jesus take Peter, James, and John with Him? Because He wishes to train these three as His leading disciples—those who will later lead His Church. These three were His first disciples (cf. Matthew 4:18–21; John 1:35; 1:41–42). Upon calling him, Jesus gave Simon the name "Cephas" or "Peter" (John 1:42), and Cephas means "Rock." This underscores Jesus' intention to make Peter—or rather, these three disciples—the foundation of His Church.

For this reason, it was important for these three to come to know Jesus deeply. They were present when He raised Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:37). Speaking on behalf of the twelve disciples, Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ (16:16). Jesus took these three with Him up the Mount of Transfiguration. Later, he took them along again to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane (26:36). Among the disciples, Peter and John were the first to confirm‎ the disappearance of Jesus’ body (John 20:3–8; Luke 24:12)—even before the risen Jesus appeared to the Twelve.

It is therefore not surprising that these three played a leading role in the early Christian community (Acts 2:14; 8:14) and proclaimed the Gospel. James became the first martyr among the apostles.

Thus, right from the start of his ministry, Jesus specifically trained disciples so that they could carry on his work. In this way, the training of disciples proves to be an expression‎ of divine wisdom for the spread of the Gospel.

However, Jesus does not train his disciples to be rulers, but servants. He himself washes his disciples' feet and says: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (John 13:14).

Building a community of Christ requires the equipping of disciples.

2. The Transfiguration of Jesus (2–6)

When Jesus arrives on the mountain, He prays to God. During the prayer, He is transfigured (Luke 9:28–29). His face shines like the sun, and His garments become as white as light.

This points to His divinity. In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no need for the sun or the moon, for the face of Jesus shines like the sun.

God’s Word in Philippians 2:6 states: "He, who was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Up to this point, the disciples have experienced Jesus as a human being. He is humble and poor. If they were to believe only in this poor Jesus, something essential would be missing—namely, the conviction of His divinity.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus reveals His transfigured form to three disciples. This form is His true form as the Son of God, who existed even before creation. He emptied Himself and came into the world as a human. After the resurrection, He will resume His divine form. In this form, He will return to gather all of God’s children and lead them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus grants three disciples a foretaste of His heavenly glory so that they may be witnesses to His person and His glory. In this way, they are to believe in Him not only as Christ but also as the Son of God. You should carry not only the humble image of Christ in your hearts but also His glorious image. Then you can serve powerfully as eyewitnesses of Christ.

Much injustice and sin occur in this world, and we often encounter ugly situations. Consequently, we tend to harbor ugly images of people in our hearts and suffer because of them. Worse still, we may unconsciously let ourselves be guided by these ugly images and commit ugly deeds. We cannot free ourselves from this ugliness on our own.

However, when we carry the glorious image of Christ in our hearts—the image of that Christ who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and reigns as King in heaven—He grants us the strength to cast off all ugly images and bear His glorious image. In this way, we experience redemption and healing. Moreover, we receive heavenly strength that enables us to walk the path of life victoriously.

Clement of Alexandria tells us the following story about the Apostle John:

After returning from his exile on the island of Patmos, the Apostle John visited the congregations of Asia Minor. In a city near Ephesus, he saw a promising young man. He entrusted the youth to the city's bishop and moved on. At first, the young man developed into a good Christian. However, he fell into bad company and eventually became the leader of a band of robbers. Later, the Apostle John returned to the city and inquired of the bishop about the young man.

The bishop sighed deeply and said through tears:

"Alas, he is dead! He has died to God; he has become the leader of a band of robbers!"

John immediately hastened to the robbers' hideout; he was seized by the guards and brought before the bandit chief. When the bandit chief caught sight of the holy old man, he was startled and tried to flee. But John hurried after him, calling out:

"My son! Why do you flee from your father? Do not be afraid. There is still hope for your life. I will intercede for you with Christ. I am even ready to suffer death for you, if need be—just as the Savior died for us. Jesus has sent me to you!"

At these words, the bandit chief paused, overcome with shame; he cast aside his weapons, wept bitterly, embraced the holy old man, and begged for forgiveness.

Verse 4 of this biblical text tells us that Elijah and Moses appeared and spoke with Jesus. What did the two of them discuss with Jesus? Luke 9:31 reports that they speak of the "end." Here, the word "end" signifies both conclusion and fulfillment. Thus, they are speaking of the work Jesus is to accomplish through his physical death and resurrection. The two encourage Jesus to complete the work of redemption through his death and resurrection.

Jesus prayed to God on the Mount of Transfiguration. The appearance of the two prophets was God’s answer to that prayer. The Cross awaited Jesus. Therefore, God sent the two prophets to Him to strengthen Him. In the past, these two prophets had endured great suffering while fulfilling their divine missions. Now, they live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven in glorious form. Through this, God speaks to Jesus—and to us—saying, "Our earthly time of suffering is very short, yet the time of heavenly glory is endless."

Thus, God encourages Jesus—and us—to overcome earthly suffering and to triumph through faith in God and in heavenly glory.

That is why the Apostle Paul says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).

But what does Peter say to Jesus? He says, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will build three shelters here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (4).

Peter expresses the deepest desire of his heart. He does not want Jesus to come down from the mountain and return to the world. Nor does he wish to return to the world himself; instead, he wants to remain there with Jesus in glory forever.

But at that moment, he hears a voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!" (5b).

God tells the three disciples that Jesus is God’s Son and that they should accept His words regarding His suffering, His death, and His resurrection.

3. Descent from the Mountain (7–13)

The disciples have fallen asleep. Then Jesus wakes them up. They see no one but Jesus alone. They are back in the world. They descend from the mountain. On the way, Jesus instructs them not to speak to anyone about the vision until He has risen from the dead.

Carry the glorious image of Christ within you!

We now ask ourselves what kind of image we carry in our hearts. Do we carry an ugly image of someone who was unkind to us? If so, we will continue to suffer because of that ugly image. We must replace that ugly image with the image of Christ.

Yet there are two images of Christ: the image of the poor Christ and the image of the glorified Christ. Do we carry the image of the poor, suffering Jesus within us? We may indeed experience grace, but we lack the power to overcome the world. We must carry the image of the glorified Jesus within us. In this way, we can receive divine power and continue to overcome the world.

Let us examine which image of Christ we carry within us. May God help us to carry the image of the glorified Christ in our hearts. Amen!

---

[1] https://www.etsy.com/de/listing/263544284/die-verklarung-jesu-originalgemalde-auf?lang_mismatch=1 

[2] http://www.bibelwissenschaft.de/fileadmin/buh_bibelmodul/media/wibi/image/map_WILAT_Tabor_1.jpg

[3] http://bibelblog.klosterstudio.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Berg-Tabor.bea_.jpg

---