After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Why did God want Jesus to be transfigured at this time? Jesus already knew what it was like to have a heavenly body. I’m sure that visiting with Moses and Elijah was encouraging for him, for sure. However, this passage has always perplexed me, and its placement in Matthew’s gospel story and the motivation behind it.

I believe God has given me a clearer understanding of the purpose, here, for the transfiguration. It was mainly for Peter, James, and John. And it served as a reminder to them of God‘s plans for them in heaven, they’re heavenly rewards, and the good people that they would be able to hang out with for eternity.

When I think about the story of Moses, who is hanging out with Jesus at the transfiguration, it is a story of a lot of ups and downs. He was born into slavery, he was rescued by the spirit of God and adopted by an Egyptian princess. He then grew up in privilege, but left under a cloud of controversy after killing an Egyptian who was attacking a Jew. Neither his Jewish brothers nor the Egyptians wanted him around.

After quite a few years herding livestock, Moses was visited by God in the burning bush. He was called to the ministry. A ministry of breaking chains and freeing his people and while he didn’t do this perfectly, he did do it faithfully. It could’ve been that God was letting people know that Moses and Elijah would be at Jesus‘s right and left hand in heaven, who knows?

Moses was faithful, and he was rewarded. We see him having a friendly conversation with Jesus. And this is the type of conversation we can have with Jesus on earth and also in heaven, as we are faithful to follow him.

I think this model, not only of the life of Moses (and also Elijah), but also the interaction with Jesus was very important for Peter, James, and John to see. It acted as a sort of faith marker for them. He would mark a place in their memory where they knew they experienced the greatness of God.

This would be important in the future, because they would be persecuted, trials would come, and there would be times when they felt abandoned. But they could look back and say, “I was there at the transfiguration, and I saw Jesus in all of his splendor in Majesty and I saw his faithful servants there along with him”.

If you are going through a challenging time today or have in the past, know that God cares and he is with you. He will show you faith markers along the way that will strengthen your faith. He has done this for me in pretty dramatic ways.

Lord, thank you for this great picture of life in heaven in the transfiguration. Thank you for showing up to give me encouragement and hope in struggling times. Thank you for the times where I could not deny your presence, and the confidence that gave me in future challenges. You are amazing and you are always looking for ways to build me up and encourage me in my faith.