The prophet Isaiah had been overwhelmed when he saw the glory of God and heard the angels calling to one one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). The sound of their voices had caused the doorposts and the thresholds of the temple to shake and be filled with smoke. Isaiah responded by saying, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Having experienced the holiness of God, he searched carefully and tried to understand what the Spirit of Christ had revealed to him concerning the messianic sufferings. It was Isaiah who had prophesied that the messiah would be “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3).
The angels had been present when the Christ created all things that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they were thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. They knew that all things had been created by Him and for Him. They knew what it was to worship Him! These same angels passionately desired to stoop down and gaze at their Lord who had come to earth to give sinful mankind the right to become the children of God. They desired to look down at the One they adored giving Himself as a ransom for mankind, so that He could rescue them from the dominion of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of light.
Jesus had assured His disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God come in power. Jesus led Peter, James and John up on a high mountain by themselves to be alone. It was on this mountain that Jesus was transformed in front of them. Their eyes were dazzled by the brilliance of His appearance, and their minds were dazed by the presence of Moses and Elijah. Had the kingdom come at last? Peter, as always, was ready to do his part by setting up three tabernacles. With his physical eyes he had seen Jesus transfigured before him, but his spiritual eyes were still blinded. “A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is my beloved Son; listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7). Now they had not only seen Jesus transformed, but had also heard the voice of God! But could they understand what was said?
As they made their way back down the mountain, still awestruck by what they had seen and heard, Jesus said something that brought even more confusion to their baffled minds. He told them that they were to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They seized upon this statement and kept discussing what rising from the dead meant. Isaiah had searched intently and with the greatest care to understand about the sufferings of the Messiah, but unlike Isaiah, the disciples were going to see prophecy fulfilled before their very eyes! But would they be able to understand what they saw and heard?
Throughout Jesus’ ministry He made blind eyes see and deaf ears hear. These miracles brightened the lives of all He touched. But there is a greater miracle than receiving physical sight and physical hearing. It is the miracle of receiving spiritual sight and spiritual hearing. After Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, He sent His Spirit. Here is the gospel into which the prophets searched and the angels longed to gaze: the Lamb of God has come to take away the sins of the world! By His stripes we have been healed! Can you see? Can you hear? If not ask Jesus to give spiritual sight and the ability to hear spiritual truths. He will, He will!
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