Luke 9:27 Commentary and Bible Study

It is a great shame, but you occasionally hear this referred to as an exceedingly mysterious event. In a sense it was, because it was so unusual, but really there is nothing mysterious in terms of what it teaches, when you put yourself in the place of the three disciples who witnessed it. Think of the obvious impact all this would have made upon their souls. Clearly, those who witnessed this amazing transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ would have had impressed upon them his divine nature. They would have had sensed deeply his supernatural power, his divine nature, his godly majesty and glory. If they had been tempted to think for a moment that he was just a man – albeit a very remarkable man, a man with incomparable power, a man who could somehow command the power of God and do great things – this would have dispelled all those notions. The shock to the system of seeing something like this! The nearest that words can come to describing this is that his whole countenance was transformed and changed. He was still recognizable, and yet he had the countenance of one who was God. At the same time, such was his glory that light seemed to shine through his very clothes. Even his ordinary simple gown, became so illuminated that you could scarcely look on it. But it wasn't simply that there was a great light within; as he was transfigured, he became glorious in their presence. They were asleep, but when they woke up, they saw him in this transformed state. Who saw this amazing spectacle? Not priests, not chief priests, not scribes or doctors of the law, but three ordinary disciples, three fishermen. There is even a lesson there. Everything the Lord Jesus Christ does is full of meaning. Why select three ordinary fishermen to see this great experience? When he reveals himself in his power and majesty in a remarkable way, he deliberately selects three fishermen, not those belonging to the religious hierarchy. He does this to demonstrate plainly that the Lord Jesus Christ is dealing directly with men and women. Any religious system that claims to take you to God via human priests, via some complex ceremonial, via some contrived intermediate means, is a contradiction of even this. Never let it be said that the Lord Jesus Christ only reveals himself to priests or to elite members of the religious hierarchy. To remove any misunderstanding on this matter, he takes three fishermen; it is as plain and simple as that. The only true religion is one which gives men and women direct access to the King of kings and Lord of lords. A direct experience is taught, and it's one that can be entered into by men and women from all walks of life, with no specific religious training or background at all, like these three fishermen. But what exactly happened?