Exodus 24:12-18

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. 14 To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

There are moments in the Christian life when the veil feels thin—when the ordinary world seems to tremble with the weight of another world breaking in. Most days feel rather plain: alarm clocks, coffee, emails, traffic, and bills. But then there are those other days: the hospital room when the doctor says, “It’s a miracle”; the quiet drive when a hymn strikes your soul like lightning; the funeral where, through tears, the gospel’s hope is almost palpable. In those moments, it is as if the Lord pulls back the curtain for just a second, and we see more clearly who He is, and who we are, before Him.

Matthew 17 is one of those thin places in Scripture. For Peter, James, and John, the veil is drawn aside, not in a dream, not in a vision, but in history, on a real mountain, with real dust beneath their sandals.

I. Up the Mountain: A Familiar Pattern

Matthew writes:

“Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.” (Matt. 17:1)

That phrase “up a high mountain” should ring a bell in the ears of anyone shaped by Scripture. It sounds like Exodus.

In Exodus 24:12–18, the Lord says to Moses:

“Come up to me on the mountain and wait there.”

Do you remember the echoes between Exodus 24 and Matthew 17? Six days. A high mountain. A cloud. The glory of God.

On Sinai, Moses goes up to receive the Law—the stone tablets, a covenant document for God’s people. Now, on another mountain, the greater Moses, our Lord Jesus Christ, goes up, not simply to receive the Law, but to be revealed as the very fulfillment of the Law.

II. The Glory Revealed: “He Was Transfigured Before Them”

Matthew writes:

“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matt. 17:2)

In Exodus 24, God’s glory appears like “a devouring fire” on the mountain top (Ex. 24:17). Later, when Moses comes down after speaking with the LORD, his own face shines (Ex. 34:29). I imagine it like a bad sunburn… But note the distinct differences between the two stories:

• Moses reflects glory, like the moon reflecting the sun, or a sunburn reflects your day at the beach.

• Jesus radiates glory, as the Sun itself. The light of  Righteousness.

This is no borrowed light… This is the eternal Son, “very God of very God,” as the Nicene Creed confesses, letting the glory that was His from all eternity blaze forth through His humanity. The veil is thin, and we get to witness it in scripture!

A Gospel truth is that in Christ we have the true and full revelation of God. As Hebrews 1:3 says, He is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” On this mountain, the disciples glimpse that reality. The veil is thin. The glory that some think, unwisely, will be veiled in His humiliation, for a brief moment of clarity, now shines through.

A historical illustration: John Calvin’s last days

John Calvin, the great Reformed theologian, was—by all accounts—not a physically impressive man. Often sick, worn out by labor, he looked plain, ordinary, even fragile. Yet Theodore Beza, his close friend and successor in Geneva, wrote that when Calvin preached, there were moments when “something supernatural seemed to shine from his face,” and people were deeply moved and convicted.

Beza did not mean Calvin literally glowed like Christ on the mountain. But he was describing this: through a very ordinary, suffering man, the glory of Christ’s truth and grace shone powerfully. The preacher was not the light; Christ, whom he preached, was.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, we see not just a reflection of glory in a servant, but the Lord of glory Himself. Calvin’s face may have sometimes seemed radiant with zeal; Moses’ face literally shone from being with God. But Christ’s face is the light because He is God.  AMEN?

III. Moses and Elijah: The Law, the Prophets, and the Son

As Jesus was transfigured, Matthew tells us:

“Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.” (Matt. 17:3)

Why Moses and Elijah?  I love this story because it ties everything back to the Old Testament. 

• Moses, the lawgiver, represents the Law.

• Elijah, the prophet of fire, represents the Prophets.

Together they symbolize the entire Old Testament witness. And where do they stand? Not above Jesus, not beside Him as equals, but speaking with Him, bearing witness to Him.

As Augustine and later Reformers emphasized, the Old Testament is the “shadow,” Christ is the “substance.” Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, all point toward and find their fulfillment in Christ. AMEN?!!

The Library and the Author

Picture a vast library, the greatest gathering of materials, stories, and specific knowledge in the world. Shelves are groaning under the weight of old volumes. Generations have come here, reading, searching, trying to understand the Author’s intent. The books are good; they hold truth; they are precious. But then, one day, the Author Himself walks into the library.

The librarians gather around him with their questions: “What did you mean in chapter 3? How does this story connect to that one?” The Author begins to speak, and suddenly all the scattered plotlines, symbols, and foreshadowing find their unity in Him.

On the mountain, Moses and Elijah are like those great books of the library—vital, inspired, but always pointing beyond themselves. Christ is the Author, the Word made flesh.

This is a Gospel truth: We confess the unity of Scripture and the Christ-centeredness of all God’s revelation. The Law and the Prophets are not in competition with Jesus; they are His witnesses.

III. So What Now? A Reflective Call to Action

What, then, does this mountain mean for us as we go back down into the ordinary world of work, family, sin, and sorrow?

Let me offer some reflective invitations.

1. Lift your eyes to “Jesus only.”

Ask yourself: What competes with Christ for my ultimate attention and trust? Is it success, comfort, reputation, or even good things like family or ministry?

The Father’s command is simple: “Listen to Him.” Not “listen to Him also,” but “listen to Him above all.”

• Return again and again to Scripture, not merely as a religious duty, but as the living voice of the Beloved Son.

• When culture speaks loudly, when your own heart whispers false promises, ask: “What does my Lord say?”

Make it a conscious habit this week: before any major decisions, before reacting in anger, before despairing in trial, pause and ask, “What has my Lord already said in His Word?” Then resolve, by grace, to submit to that voice.

2. Embrace the cross on the way to glory.

Some of you are in a valley right now—illness, grief, strained relationships, exhausting sin struggles. You may feel far from any mountaintop.

The transfiguration is God’s pledge that the path of obedience, though marked by suffering, ends in glory. The same Jesus who shines on the mountain will be disfigured on the cross, and then glorified in the resurrection. Those united to Him by faith will share that pattern.

So, do not despise the hard road if it is the road of obedience.

• In your suffering, say, “My Savior walked this way first.”

• In your trials, cling to the promise that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to u,.” (Rom. 8:18) as Paul says.

Let the glimpse of Christ’s glory strengthen your soul for faithful endurance.

Walking Down the Mountain

Benediction

May the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, strengthen, confirm, and establish you, until the day when faith gives way to sight and we behold, not for a moment but forever, the King in His beauty. Amen.