Mountaintop Witness Matthew 17:1-9

Send us Fan MailThe banners in the church turn to white for this service as we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday. This is from the last Sunday of Epiphany/Ordinary Time before the Lent season begins next week. In Matthew 16 the religious elite ask Jesus for a sign (which he does not provide anymore than he has already), Jesus and the disciples cross a lake and head to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asks the disciples who people say He is. Then, Jesus asks them directly, who do You say I am? And Simon Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. With this, his name is changed to Peter (Petros, meaning the rock) and "on this rock I will build my church" Jesus declares. It is after correctly naming who Jesus is exactly the he takes Peter, James and his brother John up a mountain for a holy encounter they won't soon forget! The beginning and now near the end of Jesus ministry are marked with a voice from Heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I well pleased" and here we have the extra statement imploring us to, "Listen to Him".