A “new thought” this year – regarding the Transfiguration of Our Lord…
I am so horrible at math, admittedly so.
But if memory serves me correctly 3 out of 12 disciples shared a special experience together.
That means that 9 disciples were excluded.
Oh, here we go, this is where it gets shaky- isn’t 3/12’s the same as ¼?
(pause)
And if that is the case – then 9/12’s would seem to indicate that ¾’s of the disciples were not present.
(pause)
If, I got that right, and I think I did, thank a teacher. In my case, it was probably Mrs. Hoover…who taught us fractions. So, who taught you fractions?
Guys, you can never tell when Math will come in handy in your life…so pay attention in class! That goes for the rest of your studies as well…
So, I never thought of this before, but 9 people missed out and who knows if this would have been “a crucial or pivotal experience” for say, Judas…
He wasn’t there.
He wasn’t privy to what a few of the others were privy to…
Perhaps if he had been present, then maybe he would not have handed Jesus over. He would not have betrayed Jesus. He would not be forever known as being a “Judas.”
But we will never know…because…he was not there.
But then, on the other hand, we know in the case of Peter, it didn’t matter his being there anyhow…
And come to think of it, for James or John either, since they all deserted him. They all fled. They all ran away.
But Peter, sadly was the one who even denied knowing him and not once, not twice, but three times…on three separate occasions. Three times for emphasis sake. Three times so we do not forget!
And of course the big thing that we are talking about here is the Transfiguration of Our Lord.
Jesus was changed.
Jesus was transformed.
He was seen in his glory.
All of a sudden, he was dazzling bright.
And of course, the evangelist Mark is relying on Peter himself for all the details. Peter is the one, actually telling the story of “what happened” using Mark as his ghost-writer.
These three: Peter, James and John always in that order, were the inner circle of three disciples that were always with Jesus for the most important things in his ministry.
They were present when Jesus raised to life Jairus’ daughter. The little girl who had died…and Jesus brought her back to life.
They were the same disciples present with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane…when they were all supposed to keep watch with him. And instead, they all fell asleep, three different times.
Again, three times for emphasis sake, so we do not forget.
And now they witness Jesus in all of his heavenly glory. Robes glistening… Whiter than white… Glowing… Dazzling…
And the voice from above and the cloud and they were his witnesses. They were present. Three of them, nine were not.
An experience very much similar to the Baptism of Our Lord, but now occurring in the middle of his ministry…
There is no place else to go, except down the mountain and to Jerusalem.
Jesus has just told the disciples about the difficult road that will lie ahead. It will not be easy. It will be hard. It will be dangerous. But it is necessary.
They must see this thing to the end.
The vision of “Christ in Glory” is a word of encouragement to all of the first century believers – and subsequent readers, to hang in there in the face of trial and difficulty.
There are times when we have to “man-up” and “woman-up” and plunge ahead…
This is one of those moments.
Each and every step will bring Jesus closer to Jerusalem and you know what happened there.
The Transfiguration was huge. It was big. It was important. But apparently the disciples did not know what to do with the information they had received…
And for the record, only a quarter of them were there.
3 out of 12. Amen