The Mountain: Part 3

Matthew 17:3-4
"And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.'"

The second confirmation of Christ's deity came in the form of probably the two most famous of the Old Testament saints.

Moses- The founder of the law. He was chosen to led his people out of bondage, an apparent paralell to what Christ did for us on calvary. He served as prophet, priest, and king. Christ also fills all of these rolls now for us.

Elijah- The great defender of the law. He stood up to those who worshiped other Gods. Christ won the victory once and for all on calvary.

These two men are recorded in Luke 9:31 discussing Jesus' departure with him at this occassion. They knew what was coming, and they were there to encourage Jesus. They were also there to provide extra testimony to who Christ was. After seeing these men with Jesus there should have been no doubt of who Jesus was to all those present.

Then came Peter. Peter completely failed to comprehend the signifigance of this event. He did not realize what Christ's glory meant or Moses and Elijah's testimony. He was obviously bewildered and basically, after seeing Christ in all his glory, he put Christ on the same level as Moses and Elijah. This was his first mistake. Christ can never be on the same level as anyone else. He is God. Never allow acceptance of the words "Oh he was just a great prophet." He is either liar or Lord. The Lord claimed 31 times in the book of John alone to be the Son of God. He can never be on the same level.

The second mistake was that Peter wanted to stay on the mountaintop. As Christians we can never stay on the mountaintop. We are given mountaintop experiences in order to have the strength to go down and minister to those in the valley. We must never make the mountaintop our home.

Third, Peter tried to box Christ in a tabernacle. Christ does not dwell in houses made by men, but in the very hearts of his followers. Let us never forget this. Sunday should be your everyday...

Peter acted just like the rest of us would have acted in the same situation, and we can learn many things from Peter's actions.

First: We must always be ready to proclaim Jesus as Lord, there can be no one or no thing on his level. He is it. He is God.

Second: The mountaintop is not our home, Earth is. Do not get caught up in the subculture of Christianity wnd neglect vital ministry. The mountaintops are important, but they are useful in encouraging you as you descend into the valleys. Without the valleys we would not even know what the mountaintop even feels like or is.

Third: Christ does not dwell in just our churches, but we must make him a vital and integral part of our everyday. Never forget this.

Remember the truths Peter learned the hard way on the Mt. of Transfiguration...Godspeed!