B9 - E3 The Turning of the Tide
On many occasions, Jesus would be moved by compassion for the crowds who came to listen to him and say to his companions, as he gazed around at the people that they were like sheep without a shepherd and that he longed to be their shepherd, to bring them comfort and healing, to tell them to come to him and he would give them rest and help them to carry their burdens, bringing light into the darkness of their lives.
He wanted to show them that God’s kingdom was not an earthly kingdom of might and majesty but one where everyone was equally valued and loved. Even a Roman centurion who came to ask for healing for a much-loved servant was rewarded by his request being granted. He felt unworthy to invite Jesus to his house, trusting implicitly that the healer he had heard so much about had only to say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus was to say that he hadn’t found such faith amongst his own people!
Sadly, his cousin, John, was still languishing in prison but was able to send some of his own, still faithful followers to ask Jesus if he really was the Messiah. Jesus sent the messengers back to tell him that there were blind people who could now see, deaf people who could hear and lame people who could now walk, to reassure him, knowing that John would recognise these as signs that the cousin he had baptised in the Jordan truly was the Messiah.
Shortly afterwards, the news came that John had been put to death and Jesus was deeply saddened. He took consolation in the knowledge that John would have been able to face his death knowing that his life’s work had not been in vain. Jesus was to ask his apostles a similar question. “Who do people say I am?” “Some people say you are Elijah the prophet or John the Baptist, come back to life,” they told him, but when Jesus persisted and asked, “But who do you say I am?” Peter jumped in with this avowal. “You are the Messiah, the Son of God!”
But despite all the miracles that his closest followers had witnessed, such as the calming of a terrifying storm on the Sea of Galilee one night when they were on a boat and frightened that they were about to sink, or when he brought back to life the twelve-year-old daughter of a man named Jairus and, on another occasion, an unknown young man, the only son of his widowed mother, they were not able to grasp or to understand who Jesus really was, nor what his fate was to be.
He began to teach his disciples quite openly that he was going to suffer and die and even spoke of “rising again” but they were either unable or unwilling to take these words in, not wanting to face the prospect. Peter took him aside and protested that this just couldn’t be true but Jesus reacted very strongly to his lack of faith and trust. He explained to them that they would also be persecuted and would have to bear all the trials that would come from following in his footsteps.
Realising that the time was approaching when he would have to face this hatred, and knowing he needed to prepare himself, he travelled with his followers to Caesaria in the north of Galilee. One morning, taking Peter, James and John with him, he walked the ten miles or so to Mount Hermon. These three members of the apostles had already been singled out by Jesus as the inner core of the apostles who would eventually lead and guide its direction after his death.
After a steep climb, his friends were worn out and fell asleep at the place where Jesus decided to stop and pray. They woke up to behold an amazing sight. Jesus stood before them, his face shining like the sun and his appearance completely changed. His clothes had become dazzling white, whiter than any bleach in this world could produce.
He was in deep conversation with two figures whom they recognised, from the images of their religion, as Moses, the great leader of the Jewish people who had given them the Law and Commandments of God, and Elijah, the first and greatest of all the prophets of Israel. They were talking about the coming suffering and death that Jesus would experience in Jerusalem, strengthening him to see this as the path through which he would become the Saviour of the world.
As they watched, a cloud surrounded the vision and they heard a voice from heaven say, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him;” echoing the words that Jesus had heard by the river Jordan when he was baptised by John. The cloud gradually disappeared and Jesus was standing there alone. His three companions were overwhelmed and fearful but Jesus reassured them and told them not to be afraid.
Peter’s immediate reaction was to offer to build three shrines, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, there on the mountain but a mountainside was no place to remain. It was the right place to come to be alone with God but they had to descend to face all that was to come, to be with the people, to lead them and to be followed, wherever that might take them. Jesus told them to say nothing about this experience until he had ‘risen from the dead’ so they kept it to themselves but discussed with each other what 'rising from the dead' could mean.
Jesus himself was now prepared for all that was to come. He knew that the voice of his Father coming from heaven and the presence of God’s Spirit in Moses and Elijah who represented the the Law and Prophets of Israel would sustain him throughout his trials. In years to come, the vision of their Master in all his glory would remain with his closest friends and remind them of the power and ultimate victory of God.
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