Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

of the first Council at Antioch; and the beloved disciple John, as the final witness in Patmos of the great revelations made to the Prophets; but after all we must rest satisfied, as it regards the choice on this occasion, with the simple declaration uttered on another occasion, "He hath done all things well."

66

Now that they are on the mount, let us notice some ineidents pointed out by the Evangelists. Luke alone informs us, that while Jesus prayed, while the fashion of his countenance was changed, and while Moses and Elijah first made their appearance, Peter, and they that were with him, were heavy with sleep; and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.” No charge is brought against them on account of this heaviness. They may have been fatigued, the time of going to rest may have been long past; and being in the immediate presence of such "an eternal weight of glory," it may have arisen from a supernatural cause. One thing, however, is evident: let the sleep arise from any cause imaginable, it prevented them from beholding the beginning of the glorious scene. Thus, every sleeper is deprived of some blessing or another, when overcome in the house and presence of God. Now, under the ministration of the Spirit, it sometimes happens, that the most soul-stirring discourse proves to some but a mere funeral sermon, an oration over the dead. Eutychus fell from the third loft under Paul's preaching; but the danger to his successors is now done away, as they find themselves perfectly secured in the comfortably constructed pew. The spirit of the Apostles was willing, the flesh weak; but the spirit of many being unwilling to submit to God, carnal sloth overcomes the senses; and hence they sleep, while they ought to hear and pray.

Another incident claims our attention, it being noticed by all the Evangelists. As Moses and Elias were in the act of departing, Peter said to Jesus, 66 Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias; not knowing what he said." Thus, like Moses on a former occasion, he "spake unadvisedly with his lips." This was no unusual error of Peter. He was a man of rash judgment, strong prejudices, ardent devotion, great presumption, and ready utterance, who felt more humbled at having nothing to say, than in talking folly while none inclined to speak. He does not here take the circumstances into consideration. He loves his Master, is familiar with him; and when he finds Moses and Elias departing, of whom he has heard so much, he would detain the heavenly guests, without considering whether they ought to remain, whether Jesus would abide on the mount; and while he would provide tabernacles for him and them, he forgets himself and fellows, and talks merely at random. Here we cannot help observing the infinite condescension, tenderness, and long-suffering of that God with whom we have to do. In ten thousand instances to this day, he bears with the infirmities of his best servants, forgives their mistaken judgments, rash assertions, and over-doing zeal. When they are up with him in the mount, when he pours out of his Spirit, and when they become unusually elevated, how many plans are proposed, and

how many declarations made, which evidently show the intermingling of humanity with Divinity, folly with wisdom! and yet he overlooks them all, and, by such frail instruments, carries on his great work of saving sinners by their instrumentality. The bright cloud, however, immediately overshadows Peter and his companions, and the voice comes, "This is my beloved Son; hear him." This for a moment causes great fear; but when Jesus appears and speaks, confidence is restored, and the disciples become themselves again. And so it will be till the end of time. Human systems and inventions may carry the thoughts and feelings of the true disciples away for a short period; but when the divine word asserts its paramount authority, enforced by the influence of the Spirit of power and love, the sincere followers of Jesus at once submit, and become willing to take the plain or the valley, and follow Jesus whithersoever he may lead. When Peter finds Jesus descending, he is among the first to follow after, and, on due consideration, no doubt chides himself for his rashness and folly in proposing to stay. Let us now consider,

3. The place where Jesus was transfigured. It was "on a high mountain apart." Divine events of the most magnificent and memorable character have been transacted on mountains. Their magnitude, elevation, solitude, and silence, not only awaken associations of grandeur, immutability, and perpetuity, but awfully impress the heart with religious adoration, especially when the God who formed them by his power is the great object of worship. Man may erect pillars as monuments of human events; but the great Proprietor of earth and heaven chooses the lofty mountain, as a memorial of his sublime manifestations. Thus, Abraham offered Isaac at the command of God, on Mount Moriah. The Angel Jehovah appeared to Moses in the burning bush, at Horeb, and presented a striking similitude there of his future transfiguration; for the bush first, and the body afterwards, burned with the same glory, and neither was consumed. Mount Sinai still rears its summit as a memorial of the giving of the law amidst fire, smoke, clouds, thick darkness, and the sounding of the trump of God. Aaron and Hur stayed up the hands of Moses on Mount Rephidim, until Israel conquered the Amalekites. Mount Carmel was distinguished as the place of Elisha's sacrifice, Mount Gerizim, as the place of blessing, and Mount Ebal, as that of cursing. Mount Zion became the subject of song, not only as the foundation of the temple, but as a type of heaven. Christ was tempted on one

mountain, crucified on another, ascended from a third; and here, according to the general, though not universal, consent of man in all ages, Mount Tabor's lofty sides exhibit to this day a memorial of his mysterious transfiguration. It still bears testimony to the existence of Jesus of Nazareth; that he ascended its side, that man went up towards God, and God came down to man ; and affords a more substantial proof of the junction of heaven and earth, than even that of Jacob's ladder. If Mount Sinai still speaks of the glory of the law, this tells of the greater glory of the Gospel. Fire, clouds, thick darkness, characterize the one: a splendour brighter than the sun, and

a cloud of glory without shade, give reputation to the other. The former is noted for the ministration of condemnation and death, accompanied with the voice of thunder; the latter for the ministration of pardon, peace, life, and immortality brought to light, accompanied by the reconciling voice of Jehovah, saying, "This is my beloved Son; hear him." Well might Peter denominate it "the holy mount;" for it will stand until the end of time as the platform of the most peculiar, holy, and marvellous display of divine holiness and glory, that ever was exhibited on any spot of earth. Its holiness, however, is by association, not participation. Hence, a tabernacle on its summit without salvation by faith in Him who was transfigured there, would possess no more intrinsic virtue or holiness than the temple of Solomon when it was forsaken by the presence and glory of God. How vain and foolish, then, is an external religion, mere ceremonies, and a gaudy temple! It has neither divine grace, nor heavenly associations, to recommend it. It is one of Peter's erections on the mount, when the Father of glory, Christ, Moses, and Elias, have all departed. It is mere emptiness without reality, and superstition without divinity. It is destitute of life, power, glory, and immortality; and, however conspicuous it may appear on the mount, Christ is not there, but in the plain below, amidst the crowd of sincere seckers, having shunned it as "a dangerous deceit," and "a vain thing fondly invented." Wherever Jesus is, there should our faith, affection, and elevation be found. Peter, before he was endued with the Spirit from on high, was naturally rash, presumptive, bold, and inventive: hence, he would have three tabernacles, one for Christ, one for Moses, and one for Elias; and thus his exclusive successors have united Gospel, Law, and Prophets, with a mixture of Heathenism, and cast-off heresies, into one system, which stands as an improvement of his foolish proposal on the mount. In this tabernacle of human device, they have their mysteries also, substituting bread for His body, and their own inventions for His word and will. Let us now examine,

II. The NATURE of this transfiguration. Having now ascended this "holy mount," let us gaze with reverence on the divine glory. In the incarnation, “God was manifest in the flesh;" but in the transfiguration, the flesh was manifest in the Godhead. Jesus ascends the mount. He is truly "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." He is a root springing out of a dry ground, and without form or comeliness, that we should desire him. His face is more marred than any man's, and his form than the sons of men but while he prays he is transfigured before his disciples; a change in his condition takes place; and his external appearance becomes so altered, that even the pen of inspiration can afford us but a faint and inadequate conception of his glory. The substance of the whole advanced by the Evangelists amounts to this: "His face did shine as the sun; the fashion of his countenance was altered; his raiment was white as light; it became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them:" or, as Luke states, "It was white and glistering;" dazzling white, purer than the sunbeams, and glistering like

66

the lightning of heaven. Such is the simple but sublime description of this glorious Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the world, the Brightness of the Father's glory, and the visible Image of the invisible God. How applicable here is the beautiful and abrupt address of Isaiah: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee!" (lx. 1.) The language of Habakkuk is equally in point: "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand and there was the hiding of his power." (iii. 3, 4.) Such was the glory of the "Holy One," when he came from "Mount Paran;" but the same glory beams with still greater lustre and beauty on Mount Tabor. The infinitude of his power seemed absorbed in the brilliancy and immensity of his glory. Horns of light beamed from his hand, or "side," according to the margin; and thus prepared them to send forth the streaming blood divine. Truly, in that hour "the branch of the Lord was beautiful and glorious ;" and we may well adopt the language of Zechariah : “Behold the man whose name is The Branch;" for he now grows out of his place," or "branches from himself," in all the power and glory of his divinity. (Zech. vi. 12.) Now is fulfilled the prophecy of David: "There will I make the horn of David to bud; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish." (Psalm cxxxii. 17, 18.) Here his divinity shines through the lamp of his humanity, and becomes the crown of the anointed Prophet and Priest. His glory all comes from within: it was hidden there when the Word was made flesh. The face of Moses shone, when descending from the mount; but its glory is done away by reason of this glory that excels. That was the borrowed lustre of the moon; this, the inherent splendour of the sun. Jesus appears in his transfiguration as a sun and shield, full of grace and glory. The moon may now be confounded, and the sun ashamed, in the presence of him who thus stood before "his ancients gloriously." Thus, "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness," not only beams into the hearts of the disciples, but also upon their very eyes, "to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." On this mount "they beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The same glory which they then saw was the glory which he had with the Father before the world was; it is the same that is now gazed upon by the innumerable multitude before the throne; and it is that which will constitute the light and glory of the new Jerusalem, world without end.

So much now in general terms respecting the nature and manner of the transfiguration. We must come, however, to particulars; for, by gazing in this divine mirror, we behold at one view the person, perfections, and glory of his nature. He thus exhibits a beautiful portraiture of what he is, what he was, and what he shall be for evermore,- Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." The real design of this mirror of glory is one

[ocr errors]

thing, and the exhibition of it with the various objects displayed in it, is another. With the latter we have now to do in this part of our subject. In it we behold,

How accurately was "In him dwelt the "God is light, and Here is an overflowing

1. A demonstration of His divinity. The Apostles had previously been convinced of it by the wisdom of his discourses, the simple and sublime manner of his teaching, and the power displayed in his miracles: now they behold it in his person. It bursts on their view with overwhelming evidence. The simple fact of such glory, penetrating and beaming out from his person, proclaims the indwelling Deity. Well might they exclaim, with David, "O Lord, my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty; who coverest thyself with light as with a garment." (Psalm civ. 1, 2.) A Heathen once said, that "if God came to dwell on earth, he would take light for his body and truth for his soul." this realized in the transfiguration of Jesus! fulness of the Godhead bodily," saith St. Paul. in him is no darkness at all," saith St. John. of this fulness and splendour, carrying its own evidence of supreme divinity. Peter confessed him to be "the Son of the living God ;” and now about eight days afterwards, he saw him as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God." In Phil. ii. 6, we read, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." The form of God, with all its brilliancy and glory, was laid aside for the form of a servant; but in his transfiguration, the form of a servant was changed into the form of God, and his personality reverted back to its ancient and natural condition. The former was a change from the brilliant to the obscure, the glorious to the humble, and the splendid to the mean condition of subsistence: the latter was the glorious Sun of Righteousness, bursting with a transient display from behind the cloud of his concealment, and investing his humanity for the first time with that resplendent glory, of which for redeeming purposes he had emptied himself. Moses, on Mount Sinai, besought Jehovah to show him his glory. Being screened in a cleft of the rock, he saw his "back parts," but was denied a sight of his face; while the God of Israel proclaimed his name, as "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." The sight denied to him on Mount Sinai, the seat of law, is abundantly granted to him on Mount Tabor, the place of Gospel glory. He now recognises the same Jehovah in the man Christ Jesus; and, from the flame of his glory, carries back a brighter countenance to heaven than that which shone on his descent. In a word, the name, nature, and perfections of Jehovah are magnificently displayed in the transfiguration of the Son of God. To his divinity the Father bears testimony from the bright cloud of his presence. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This declaration asserts identity of nature, equality of person, and mutual participation of every possible perfection. Again, in this glorious mirror we behold,

« AnteriorContinuar »