IV.

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS.

[Preached at the Pitman Grove Camp-meeting.]

"And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead."- MATTHEW Xvii. 9.

THERE are no facts more potent than the facts of history, and perhaps no single fact or event in the life of Jesus is more fruitful in doctrinal thought and brilliant suggestion than the sublime scene upon this mountain of wonders.

I used to ponder much what all of this signified. No words of the man of Galilee ever touched my youthful heart like the incident of the transfiguration. In my imagination I would follow this illustrious group to their solitary retreat. I would stand a little apart from them, and gaze entranced upon the amazing occurrence, while God wrapped the mountain in a garment of light, and bathed the heavens in celestial brightness, and from within the sacred precincts of the excellent glory bade the ends of the earth hear and obey his Son.

The injunction of secrecy which the master placed upon this transaction has been dissolved by the court of heaven, and the fact with all that relates to it is given to the world.

The traditions of the church gather about Tabor as the place of this miraculous transaction; but the facts point to Hermon, or to some timbered seclusion among the Judean hills, as the more probable selection. Tabor was, at that time, and had been for years, a military post, and was then occupied by a portion of the Roman army.

It was after the miraculous feeding of the multitude in the wilderness that this event occurred, and in the early morning, after a whole night spent in prayer.

Jesus never did anything for the simple purpose of displaying his power. He multiplied the bread to supply the wants of the famishing thousands that waited upon his ministry. He healed the sick and raised the dead because that was a legitimate part of his mission. But the transfiguration was a unique manifestation, and was given for a specific end. was for the purpose of establishing the disciples in the fact of his messiahship, and to officially transfer the sceptre from Judah's hand to the person of "David's royal Son," the sovereign head of the new dispensation.

It

One primary fact must be observed; only three of the disciples were with him on this occasion; and the same three were with him in Gethsemane. There is apparent here the presence of that principle that is universal in the divine government, that exalted privilege implies increased responsibility, and that glorious manifestations cannot prevent the coming of sorrow to those who are still subject to the environment of law.

These three men are typical men: they are the rep

resentatives of classes. They hold the fundamental truths of the gospel in common; but they are distinct and divergent in manner and style. Like three great mountain peaks in the same range, they overlap and interlace each other in the adjustment of their rocky roots, but separate as they rise, and become isolated and sublime in their solitude as they approach the summit.

Peter was hasty; he was the embodiment of impetuosity; he was cyclonic; by nature he was surcharged with spiritual dynamite. He occasionally made a mistake or perpetrated an unfortunate indiscretion; but he was always true to his convictions.

When he cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus healed it at once, showing how he can correct the blunders of the willing workers, while there is no antidote in the divine magazine for stupidity and indifference.

James was entirely different. He was a careful, practical man. He gathered up the fragments "that there be nothing lost." But James was an orator and a logician. He was the most expert in forensic skill of any one of the original band. He was an organizer also, and a wise administrator. He was the John Wesley of the apostolic college. He touched material and spiritual elements, and they crystallized into permanent form to remain forever.

John was not like James nor Peter. John was preeminently a man of love. He was the bravest, most heroic, and chivalrous of the group. John was a theologian and philosopher, the teacher in the fundamental doctrines of the new religion.

John speaks of the Logos, the Logic of God, "the Giver of life," "the Word," at whose command the universe arose. But John spoke also of the life, not the Bios, the manner of the life revealing the delicate processes of life, but the oe, the life itself, that infinite fountain from whence issues all good. John's courage and fidelity never failed him. He leaned on the bosom of Jesus at the last supper, and went with him to the judgment hall. He awaited patiently the issue of the trial, and lingered within the shadow of the cross to catch the last pulsation of infinite love that gave eternal life to a lost race.

Each one of these three men had a special line of work, a special mission to humanity. Vistas of divergent possibility opened to them; highways of unlimited achievement invited their adventurous feet.

These three men represent the three large classes of active workers who are now doing most for the advancement of the kingdom of God. These men have their followers among those who are the leaders in the great religious movements of the world. Jesus gave these men this vision; but its doctrines and practical lessons are the heritage of the church through all the ages.

It was important that the disciples should be well established in all the fundamental facts of Christ's kingdom. It is essential that those who lead in any great movement must first know, in themselves, the nature and significance of the truths they are to promulgate.

The events that group themselves about the closing days of the old dispensation, and become tributary to the setting up of that "kingdom that shall never be

destroyed," could not be ambiguous. It was important that no uncertainty should obscure their relation to the things that were passing away, nor to the new institutions that should be established when the typical and transient should pass away forever.

To this end John summoned the multitude to the Jordan to witness the transfer of the prophetic office and the Aaronic priesthood to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the Holy Ghost descended upon him there, no high priest has stood in Aaron's place, and the prophetic office is closed forever.

So now on the heights of this sacred mountain God calls the chosen few; and with the pomp and splendor of a divine sovereign, beneath the overwhelming glories of the opened heavens, and in the presence of all the interested parties, God the Father turned over the sceptre of authority to David's royal Son.

There are two facts distinctly stated in this Scrip

ture:

1. "Jesus was transfigured before them."

To transfigure signifies "to change the form of." It is a term used only in a spiritual sense, and is applied strictly to the scenes of the mountain, and it signifies to "become elevated and glorious."

This change in Jesus was the outshining of his innate glory. It was the unveiling of his divinity. It was a normal object-lesson, showing how the two natures lived together in one person.

This manifestation on the mountain was not, as some expositors assume, an optical illusion serving a momentary purpose. It was not a mountain mirage woven from the misty shroud of the morning. It was a great