Luke 9:22-3622Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. 27But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. 28And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. 30And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: 31Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. 32But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. 33And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. 34While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 36And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. (Luke 9:22‑36) very touchingly presents the sufferings of the Son of Man and the glory that follows. At the hands of men He was to “suffer many things,” to be “rejected” and “slain.” Then on the mount of transfiguration we have a vision of the glory and honor with which it is the purpose of God to crown the Son of Man (Psa. 8). The passage also challenges our hearts, for it clearly shows that if His disciples are privileged to share in His glory, they are also first called to partake of His sufferings. Thus there passes before us the path of those who follow a rejected Christ in this present world and the glory to which the path leads in the world to come.
The Path of Suffering
The Lord commences with the words, “If any man will come after Me” (vs. 23). These are touching words that presume He has gone before and marked out a path for His own, and that, drawn by love, they would wish to tread where He has trod. At the entrance to this path we find these words: “Let him deny himself.” These are searching words, for the denial of self is not simply denying ourselves certain things, but the denial of the man that lusts after these. The denial of self is the ignoring of self altogether in order to serve others in love. But how is it possible to deny self and accept reproach? Only as we have an object that is greater than self before us. Thus the Lord adds the words, “Follow Me.” To follow after Christ must mean the letting go of the present life. He who lives only for the present life is living a life that he must inevitably lose, for at best it is but a passing life. To have Christ before us is to live a life that will never pass away. It is a life that can be enjoyed now, but will be known in all its fullness only in our eternal home.
Glories of the World to Come
The path of reproach and loss of present things involves suffering for the flesh. But the suffering is only for a season, and before us is the eternal weight of glory. The Lord would impress our souls with a sense of this glory by unfolding before us both the blessedness and the moral traits of the home of glory that lies at the end of the path of suffering. To enter into these heavenly things we must have our spirits lifted above this present world; therefore we read, “He went up into a mountain.”
Having ascended the mountain, the first great sight that passes before the disciples is a praying Man, for we read, “He prayed.” Prayer is the expression of dependence upon God and of communion with God. The sorrows of earth can be traced back to the disobedience and independence of one man — Adam. The glories of the world to come are introduced by the perfect obedience and dependence of one man — Christ. The world to come will be a world of bliss, for there everyone will be dependent upon God.
In this great scene we learn the change that will come upon the saints when Jesus comes. We see in Christ the image that we shall wear in coming glory, for “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:49). Thus, as He prayed, the disciples saw in the person of Christ the earthy changed into the heavenly. In an instant His garments of humiliation were exchanged for garments of glory, and His face became shining as the sun. In Him was displayed the mighty power that in “the twinkling of an eye” will change our bodies of humiliation into bodies of glory like His own.
Shared Glory
It is brought home to us also that, in the coming glory, we shall not only be like Him, but we shall be with Him, for we read, “Behold, there talked with Him two men.” He will have companions, though truly He will be anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions. He will not be surrounded by a host of angels — His companions will be men. They are men for whom He died, and men that will share with Him in His glory as the Son of Man. Our greatest joy will be that we will be “with Him”!
More than this, we shall be at home in the glory, for we read of these two men that they “talked with Him.” Had it been written merely that He talked with them, we might judge that in the glory we shall be delighted but silent listeners. If, however, they can talk with Him, all distance and reserve will be gone. The disciples had indeed held sweet conversation with Christ on earth, howbeit, at times, with a measure of restraint. In the glory there will be holy, happy conversation without a trace of reserve. Blessed, indeed, that He can come to two disciples on the resurrection day and, in their sorrowful wilderness circumstances, they can say He made “our hearts burn within us, while He talked with us by the way.” But how far more wonderful is this scene in which He brings two saints to talk with Him in glory.
We shall also share His glory, for we read of these two men that they “appeared in glory.” They share in the glory of Christ as the glorified Man. So we read of believers, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)). It is no great hardship to let go the passing glories of this world and accept the path of suffering when we know that we are going to share in the glories of Christ in the world to come.
In this great scene we are carried in spirit beyond the kingdom glory into what speaks of the Father’s house. We read that there “came a cloud, and overshadowed them.” The death which Christ accomplished not only opens the way for believers to share the kingdom glories of Christ, but enables them to enter in company with Christ into the immediate presence of God the Father, of which the cloud speaks. Peter in his epistle speaks of the glory that excels, for he says, “There came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory.” There is the glory of the earthly kingdom, but there is the more excellent glory — the glory of the Father’s presence in the Father’s house. The disciples had seen His kingdom glory, but there is a greater glory — a glory of which the Lord speaks in His prayer when He asks “that they may behold My glory” (John 17:2424Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)). We share in His kingdom glory, but we shall behold His greater glory — a glory above all other. It is a given glory, acquired by His sufferings for us — the just reward for having perfectly glorified the Father. The world will see the glory that we have in common with Christ, but there is a glory that is a secret for those who love Him. It belongs to His person and to our association with Himself. We are taken into the Father’s house, there to have fellowship with the Father in His delight in the Son.
As we journey on to be with Christ in glory, let us ever remember that we have the Lord with us in our wilderness path. Thus we read, “When the voice was past, Jesus was found alone.” The vision passes, Moses and Elias depart, the cloud fades, the voice is silent, but Jesus remains. As we take our journey through this world with all its trials and sorrows, He is with us according to His own promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Loving us unto the end, He will be with us until the end when we are with Him to go no more out and the blessings of the mount will be our eternal portion.
H. Smith, adapted