PRESENTER: Rev. Dr. JoAnne P. King
SCRIPTURES: Matthew 16:27-28; Matthew 17:1–9
Good morning Saints and welcome to Exousia Ministries. As we gather today, we are continuing a journey that has taken us out of the flatlands of comfortable, everyday life and up into the high places of God’s presence. Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, mountains are not just beautiful backdrops. They are holy ground—places where heaven meets earth, where divine authority is revealed, and where Jesus pulls back the veil of who He truly is.
Before we step onto today’s summit, I want us to see the entire mountain range we have been climbing together. We have already traveled up the first four together, and we are standing on the precipice of the fifth today:
The Mountain of Temptation (Matthew 4:1–11) – This mountain sets the stage for Jesus' entire ministry. Here, in the desolate wilderness, Jesus confronts Satan's temptations. His victory over temptation, fueled by his unwavering reliance on God's Word, establishes the foundation for his subsequent ministry. This initial encounter highlights the importance of spiritual fortitude and the constant battle against sin that all believers face. The very act of Jesus choosing to engage with temptation on a mountain underscores the elevated spiritual battle that was taking place. The imagery of the mountain heightening the stakes and importance of the conflict.
The scene on the Mount of Temptation is not just a historical account; it's a timeless parable for every believer. It reminds us that the path to following Christ is not always easy, and that resisting temptation requires constant vigilance and reliance on God's strength.
The Mountain of Proclamation or Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–12) – This is perhaps the most famous of the "Jesus Mountains." On this mountain, Jesus delivers his transformative sermon, outlining the principles of His kingdom. The setting itself emphasizes the elevated nature of His teachings, a call to a higher standard of living that transcends worldly values.
The Sermon on the Mount is not just a collection of ethical guidelines; it's a blueprint for living a life transformed by faith. It challenges us to examine our values, actions, and motivations, urging us to strive for righteousness and compassion, mirroring the elevated principles outlined in the sermon itself.
The Mountain of Devotion or The Miracle Mount (Matthew 14:22-36) – The Place of Prayer, where Jesus withdrew to the quiet heights to align His heart with the Father. Various miracles are recorded in Matthew as taking place near or on mountains. These events, such as the feeding of the five and four thousand, highlight Jesus' compassion, miraculous power, and ability to provide for the needs of others. The mountainous setting enhances the sense of awe and wonder surrounding these extraordinary events.
The Mountain of Compassion (Matthew 15:29–31) – The Place of Provision, where the sick, the lame, and the broken met the miraculous healing hand of Christ. The numerous miracles associated with these mountains serve as powerful reminders of God's love, power, and ability to intervene in our lives. They offer hope and reassurance, demonstrating the tangible impact of faith and the transformative power of divine intervention.
The Mountain of Revelation or The Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 16:27-28, 17:1–13) – Our focus today. The Place of Glory, where Jesus is transfigured and His eternal deity is unveiled.
After remembering the Mountains we have traveled thus far, we also recall having watched Jesus face the enemy in the wilderness. We have heard Him teach with authority. We have seen Him slip away to pray, and we have watched Him feed and heal the hurting crowds on the mountainside.
But today, on this fifth mountain, the atmosphere changes.
We read in Matthew 16:27-28 Amp. & Matthew 17:1-13 Amp. the following which says:
"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and THEN HE WILL REPAY EACH ONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT HE HAS DONE. [Ps. 62:12]
"I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
"Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. [Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36]
"And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.
"And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.
"Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here, if you wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here--one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'
"While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud over-shadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!' [Ps 2:7; Is 42:1]
"When the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were terrified.
"But Jesus came and touched them and said, 'Get up, and do not be afraid.'
"And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
"And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, 'Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.'"
For some time now, Jesus had been preparing His disciples for a harsh reality: His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. Yet, the disciples were spiritually blind to it. Why? First, the idea of a suffering Messiah radically contradicted their cultural expectations of a conquering military king. Second, up to this point, much of this revelation had been veiled in symbols.
But on this road, Jesus shifts His approach. He speaks plainly and directly. He reveals a profound truth: God’s plan to save the world would not be achieved through political conquest, but through sacrifice, death, and self-denial.
The disciples had already made the confession that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now, they had to learn the cost of that confession. They had to understand that the path to glory is paved with sacrifice—a path required not only of the Messiah, but of everyone who chooses to follow Him.
He taught them in simple and direct words revealing God's plan for the world--God's Son was to die and be raised again for the sins of the world. God's plan for saving the world was to take place through a suffering Messiah, not a conquering Messiah. God's Messiah was going to die, and through death He was going to usher in the Kingdom of God and make it possible for His followers to live eternally in the very presence of God Himself.
Notice the sharp contrast:
A suffering Messiah versus a conquering Messiah.
A suffering believer versus a conquering believer.
The disciples never completely understood the suffering aspect until after the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. The lesson of Jesus is clear: God's plan to save the world is through the death of His Son, His sacrifice and self-denial.
The message of the mountaintop is critical for us today because the Mount of Transfiguration was not just a super-natural light show; it was a divine equipping station. Jesus needed to be strengthened to bear the weight of Gethsemane and the cross. Likewise, His disciples needed unusual, supernatural strength to face a future that demanded they take up their own crosses. That message was not just for the 12 but for all of His disciples that would come after them!
Furthermore, this encounter gives us a breathtaking assurance: believers who have passed on before us are vibrantly alive. They exist in an eternal dimension, free from sin, suffering, and death. What a glorious hope!
Just six days prior, Jesus made a mysterious promise to the twelve: “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Today, we are going to unpack exactly what He meant by answering four pivotal questions.
What did Jesus mean by "some shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom"?
This was not a reference to the Second Coming, as those disciples passed away long ago. Instead, Jesus was giving them a preview of His kingdom's power. Peter, James, and John saw the literal glory of that kingdom on the mountain when His countenance transformed.
Before their very eyes, His form was radiantly transformed. His face blazed with the brilliant splendor of the sun, and His robes shone with a pure, blinding light.
The rest of the promise was fulfilled through His victory over death on the cross, His resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Kingdom came with explosive power, shifting from an earthly expectation to a spiritual reality ruling within the hearts of believers. His death, resurrection and Pentecost were the power of the Kingdom that Jesus refers and to the many, many converts to His Kingdom that resulted. After Pentecost the power of His Kingdom came--power beyond anything the disciples could have ever dreamed. This statement refers to the Lord's victory over death and hell which took place upon the cross and in the resurrection. It refers to the rule and reign of God's Kingdom that takes place within the heart of the believer, to the rule and reign of the Holy Spirit when He the Holy Spirit comes to take residence within the believer. For the child of God, the ultimate promise stands: you will not taste eternal death; instead, you will step seamlessly into living in God’s Kingdom for all eternity.
This mountaintop experience gives us a vivid preview of our own Day of Redemption. One day, we too will:
Experience the full manifestation of the Shekinah glory upon Jesus.
Hear the Father's voice expressing perfect approval of Christ's redemptive work.
Fall on our faces in total awe, adoration, and worship.
Feel the intercessory hand of Jesus reach down to touch us, lift us up, and stand us upright in His righteousness forever.
Why did Jesus only take Peter, James, and John?
Jesus maintained an inner circle because He was intentionally preparing these three for unique, heavyweight leadership roles in the early Church:
Peter was chosen to be the leader of the early church, holding the keys to open the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles at Pentecost. Peter was the oldest disciple.
James was set apart to head the first great church in Jerusalem and would become the very first disciple to be martyred.
John was uniquely preserved to care for Jesus’ mother, survive execution attempts, and receive the final Revelation to close out the Holy Scriptures. John was the only disciple that was not martyred and lived to be a ripe old age.
By selecting three, Jesus also established valid, legal testimony, fulfilling the biblical standard that a matter is established by two or three witnesses.
Why were Moses and Elijah there with Jesus?
Moses represented the Law, and Elijah represented the Prophets. Their presence on the mountain served two major functions:
To Fellowship in His Suffering: They came to discuss Jesus' upcoming departure and strengthen Him for the weight and pressure of the cross.
To Transfer Authority: By appearing and then fading away, they symbolized that the Old Covenant was being fulfilled and superseded by the New Covenant. They were pointing to Jesus as the ultimate authority by symbolically transferring the old prophetic and priestly offices to Him.
What was the purpose of the Transfiguration?
The Greek word used here is metamorphoo—an outward transformation that reveals an inner reality. The veil of Jesus' humanity was pulled back so that the glory He shared with the Father before the world began could shine through.
The purpose was to provide an anchor of hope. It proved His divine identity, demonstrated God the Father's absolute approval, and provided a foretaste of the resurrection. It was the fuel they would need to survive the horror of Calvary.
Metamorphoo is the very word we get our English word metamorphosis from—like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.
But when a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis, it becomes something it has never been before. When Jesus is transfigured, the opposite is happening. He is not becoming something new; He is pulling back the veil of His humanity to reveal who He has always been from before the foundation of the world.
For thirty-three years, Jesus walked this earth with His glory cloaked in human flesh. He grew tired. He grew hungry. He walked on dusty-roads. But on this mountain, for just a fleeting moment, the cloak is pulled back. The divine light that fuels the cosmos spills out from His very pores.
His face doesn't merely reflect light, like Moses' face did when he came down from Mount Sinai. Jesus radiates light. He is the source of the light. He is the Light of the World.
Another example of metamorphosis is: Think about art restoration. For centuries, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel looked dark, moody, and subdued. Art historians wrote papers on Michelangelo’s 'dark and somber' color palette. But in the 1980s, restorers began a painstaking, decade-long cleaning process.
Using gentle solvents, they washed away centuries of candle soot, dirt, and layers of cheap glue applied by previous generations. What they found shocked the world. Underneath the dark grime were brilliant, vibrant, almost neon blues, pinks, and yellows. The bright colors hadn't been added by the restorers; they had been there the entire time, hidden under the soot of centuries.
When Jesus was transfigured, He didn't suddenly receive a new coat of paint. He didn't temporarily become God. No, the 'soot' of His ordinary, human, carpenter-from-Nazareth appearance was peeled back. The disciples were finally seeing the vibrant, blinding glory that had been there since before the world began.
A lesson we should learn is sometimes our problems loom so large because our view of Jesus has become too small. We see Him only as the humble carpenter, the quiet teacher, or the gentle healer. But when the storms of life hit, you don't just need a buddy; you need the Sovereign God. The Mountain of Revelation reminds us that the one who holds our hand in the dark is the same one who radiates the light of eternity.
The Law and the Prophets align as Divine Witnesses because verse 3 tells us:
“Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”
Think about the sheer weight of this moment!
Moses represents The Law. He was the one who received God's Commandments on a mountain, and he died on a mountain looking into the Promised Land.
Elijah represents The Prophets. He was the great defender of God's word, who stood against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and was swept up to heaven in a chariot of fire.
For centuries, Jewish history had been built on these two pillars: The Law and the Prophets. And here they are, standing on a mountain peak, talking with Jesus.
What were they talking about? Luke’s Gospel tells us they were talking about His "departure" (literally His exodus) which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Moses led a physical exodus out of slavery in Egypt. Jesus was preparing to lead a spiritual exodus out of slavery to sin and death!
By standing with Jesus, Moses and Elijah are passing the torch. They are saying, every law Moses ever wrote, every prophecy Elijah ever spoke—it was all pointing to Him. Jesus is the climax of the story.
Well, if anybody was going to make a mistake or misstep of the three disciples, it was going to be Peter. Now, look at Peter. Oh, Peter. We love Peter because we are Peter. Whenever we don't know what to do, we open our mouths and start talking anyway. What was his mistake or misstep? It was trying to box in the Divine!
“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’” (Verse 4)
Peter wants to build three shelters (tabernacles). Why?
First, he wants to capture the moment. He wants to freeze-frame the glory.
Second, by building three equal shelters, Peter was accidentally putting Jesus on the exact same level as Moses and Elijah. He was treating Jesus as one of the "greats" rather than the Greatest.
But God the Father will not allow Jesus to be placed in a lineup.
The Father’s Voice—Listen to Him
While Peter is still speaking, look at what happens in verse 5:
“A bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’”
The Father literally cuts Peter off mid-sentence. The cloud of the Shekinah glory of God descends, and the Father speaks.
Notice what He says. It is a three-part declaration:
"This is my Son..." (This establishes His identity. He is not Moses' equal. He is not Elijah's successor. He is the Son.)
"...with him I am well pleased." (This establishes His sacrifice. The Father is well pleased because Jesus is willingly walking toward the cross.)
"Listen to him!" (This establishes His authority. When Moses speaks, listen. When Elijah speaks, listen. But when Jesus speaks, He has the final Word.)
Saints, the Transfiguration struck the disciples with awesome fear. They fell prostrate on their faces, paralyzed by the Shekinah glory—the cloud that symbolized God's presence. It was the cloud that guided Israel out of Egypt and that rested upon the tabernacle and above the Mercy Seat in the Most Holy Place. "God only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto." (1Tim. 6:16) The "bright cloud" overshadowing Jesus is in contrast to the dark and threatening cloud that overshadowed the giving of the Old Covenant to Moses, that is, the Law. The Law (Old Covenant) was dark and threatening, the New Covenant (the Love of Christ) is bright and reflecting the love and grace of the New Covenant.
So, when the disciples heard "Listen to Him," they did the only logical thing: they fell face down to the ground, terrified.
And then comes perhaps the most beautiful verse in the entire narrative:
“But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” (Verses 7-8)
This is an example of our not recognizing divine value in a world full of noise and mundane distractions:
The Tragedy of the "Subway Stradivarius"
"In 2007, the Washington Post conducted a famous social experiment. They took Joshua Bell, one of the greatest classical violinists in the world, and had him play in a busy D.C. subway station during the morning rush hour. He stood against a wall in a t-shirt and baseball cap, playing some of the most complex, beautiful music ever written on a violin worth $3.5 million.
Over forty-five minutes, nearly 1,100 people walked past him. Almost none of them stopped. Only a handful of people threw change, and only one person recognized who he was. People walked past a multi-million-dollar masterpiece because the setting was too ordinary. They missed the glory because they were in a rush.
The disciples had been walking with Jesus in the 'subways' of everyday life—watching Him get dusty feet, watching Him sleep, seeing Him in a plain robe. They were in danger of treating Him like just another good teacher. But on that Mountain, the Father essentially stops the rush hour of their lives, points to Jesus, and says: 'Stop walking past the masterpiece. Listen to Him!'"
Church, we cannot stay on the mountain!
Every year, hundreds of climbers try to summit Mount Everest. They train for years to stand on that peak, to look out over the world from the highest point on earth. But ask any high-altitude mountaineer, and they will tell you a sobering truth: You cannot live on the summit.
In fact, anything above 26,000 feet is called the 'Death Zone.' The oxygen levels are so low that the human body literally begins to die, cell by cell. Climbers are allowed only a few minutes at the top to take a picture, look at the view, and then they must begin their descent. The summit is beautiful, but if you try to build a tent and stay there, it will kill you.
Peter stood on the Mountain of Revelation and said, 'Lord, let’s build three shelters. Let’s live here!' But Jesus knew that the summit of glory is meant to inspire us, not to harbor us. If they stayed on that mountain, the ministry would die, the boy in the valley would remain possessed, and the cross would never happen. We need the mountain-top moments to give us a vision of His glory, but we must walk back down into the thin air of the valley—because the valley is where the ministry is.
Peter wanted to build shelters and live there. We want that too, don't we? We want the "mountain-top experiences"—the emotional highs, the church camp moments, the spiritual retreats where everything feels peaceful and perfect.
But as the story continues, Jesus leads them back down the mountain. Why? Because there was a demon-possessed boy waiting at the bottom who needed deliverance. Because there was a suffering world in the valley. And ultimately, because there was another hill waiting—a hill called Calvary.
Jesus did not show them His glory so they could escape the valley. He showed them His glory so they could survive the valley.
When you go through the valleys of grief, of financial strain, of broken relationships, or of failing health, you can look back to the Mountain of Revelation and remember:
The one walking with you in the valley is the King of Glory.
The dark times do not diminish His light.
The story does not end in the valley of death; it ends in the Mountain of Resurrection.
As we close today, my question for you is simple: Are you listening to Him?
When the world screams fear, does His voice of peace rise above? When the culture speaks division, does His word of love take root? When we look up from our fear today, let us see no one except Jesus.
Father, we thank You for the Mountain of Revelation. We thank You that You did not leave us in the dark, but You sent the Light of the World to guide our feet. Help us to take the glory we have seen on this peak and carry it down into the valleys of our daily lives this week. When we are tempted to fear, whisper to our hearts: "Get up. Do not be afraid." In Jesus' mighty name we pray, Amen.
Give the Lord a Praise Offering for His teaching today on "Seven Mountains in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ Provide a Framework for Christian Living!" [Pt. 5}