By Guest Writer
Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-62, Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Peter 1:16-18
When I returned home from my first ever youth group retreat at the age of fourteen, my mom noticed something different about me—my face was glowing! I encountered God on that retreat and chose to believe and follow Jesus. She said she knew the moment she saw me that I would never be the same again.
For many of us, it can take months or years of exploring the person of Jesus before we really understand or see Jesus for who He is and believe in Him. For others of us, it may take one conversation, one song or one scripture passage to understand Jesus is the Son of God. For the Israelites, they took one look at Moses’s face after speaking with God and were afraid because of the power that came with meeting with God (Exodus 34:30–33). Yet the disciples had been ministering alongside Jesus for months, and they still did not understand who He was. They often misinterpreted what He was trying to teach them about the coming kingdom of God.
Sure, it was easy to trust Jesus when He brought them a multitude of fish to fill their bellies and their spending accounts (Luke 5:1–10). They could say they didn’t doubt Jesus’s power, knowing Jesus calmed the storm and saved their lives (Luke 8:22–25). But Jesus had started talking about His death and the cost of following Him. They must have wondered, “Who is this man? Is He worth following?”
In Luke 9, Jesus invited three of His disciples up on a mountain to pray, and there He transformed before them. “The appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white” (Luke 9:29). It was a glimpse of Jesus’s glory—His true state. The disciples saw Elijah and Moses with Him and offered to make a tent for them as a way to honor the presence of the three men. But God corrected them by saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!” (v.35). This is no ordinary teacher! Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is not an equal to Moses and Elijah. He is to be revered above all people.
This transfiguration of Jesus for those men was a life-changing encounter with God. They saw His glory. They heard the voice of God. And many years later, Peter was still recounting this story in his second letter, affirming that Jesus is not some myth but is the Son of God (2Peter 1:16–17). When one sees the glory of God, it is difficult to not be changed.
We all have days where it feels easier to trust Jesus. Maybe He answered our prayer quickly, He filled our table with good friends and conversation, or you felt His nearness during a worship set. When things get hard, we need to remind ourselves of these glorious moments that point us to the truth of who Jesus is as God’s Son. We will be tested and asked to weigh the cost of our faith, but we can direct our gaze at the glory of Jesus and know without a doubt that believing in Him is worth everything. “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Written by Bailey Hurley
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