The Transfiguration of Jesus: Suffering First, Then Glory

If you have traveled to the western United States, and certainly if you have lived there, it’s very likely that you have seen the pine tree forests that are common in that part of the country. The lodgepole pine tree, native to North America and especially well adapted, is often used, as the name implies, for construction.

One unique and interesting characteristic of the lodgepole pine is that its pinecones remain sealed with a thick resin, often for many years, until the heat from a wildfire melts the resin, allowing the seeds to be released, typically into nutrient-rich soil after a fire. The seeds can quickly reforest a burned area. For the lodgepole pine tree, rebirth only occurs after a fire.

Perhaps there are exceptions, but this seems to be the way of the world. In athletics, success can rarely be achieved without hard, often painful physical training and practice. In academics, there may be some who can ace the test without studying, but to maximize one’s potential, studying will be the price to pay. We can say that almost always, at least for things worthwhile in our world, we must endure suffering first, then the glory comes.

In the ninth chapter of Gospel of Luke, the writer recounts the events of the Transfiguration of our Lord, which at first does not seem to teach us about suffering. In fact, the imagery provided by Luke paints a heavenly picture of the glory of God in Christ Jesus in the brief moments when Jesus’ face shown and his clothes were dazzling white. However, a close reading of the text reveals that, while we catch a glimpse of the glory that will again be His after His resurrection, the Transfiguration’s message is this: The order of the kingdom is suffering first, then glory.

This account in the life of Christ is quite remarkable.

Luke 9:29 says: “And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.” In Matthew’s account, he says Jesus’ face “shone like the sun.” Even the clothes touching Jesus became dazzling white. What Christ touches is transformed! We remember that Christ always had this glory. This was his glory as the Eternal Son with the Father from all eternity, but here, for just a moment, He gives three disciples (and us) a glimpse of that glory, the glory of the King in His Kingdom.

And verse 30: “And behold, two men were taking with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” These are the two great prophets, Moses and Elijah, who also were appearing in glorified bodies. They were talking about his departure—more literally—his exodus, which he was about to accomplish. We can’t miss this clear connection to the rescue of Israel from Egypt, which was only a shadow of the ultimate redemption of all people in Jesus sacrificial suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Only a few verses before this account, when Peter confesses Jesus as “The Christ of God,” Jesus strongly warned them not to tell anyone, saying that “It is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

This, dear Christians, IS the exodus Jesus was discussing with Moses and Elijah up on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Old Testament “Exodus” was God’s plan for redeeming his chosen people. God pulls his people out of slavery, out of bondage in Egypt. This saving work wrought by God served as a foreshadowing of the perfect and complete salvation to be brought about by this “Exodus” of Jesus at Jerusalem.

The “Exodus” of Jesus, will include his suffering, death, and burial no doubt, and HIS exodus is also the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation as Jesus returns from where he came: the right hand of the Father. As Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land, so Jesus will lead us to eternal glory. The Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of what the future holds for the Christian while it also serves as a vision of the glory of Jesus at his second coming.

And so the pinecone is sealed, rebirth cannot occur, until first the fire of Christ’s passion. And when the fires of suffering come—the trials of this world which will inevitably come upon us—we know that rebirth is coming. Suffering first, then glory. The pinecone opens, and the blessings of salvation pour forth.

May God grant us perseverance, strengthened by his Word, while we wait for the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Vicar Darrell Becker