Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

In the beginning of these verses we find our Lord revealing to his disciples a great and startling truth. That truth was his approaching death upon the cross. For the first time he places before their minds the astounding announcement that "?He must go to Jerusalem and suffer? and? be killed?". He had not come on earth to take a kingdom, but to die. He had not come to reign and be ministered to; but to shed his blood as a sacrifice, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

It is almost impossible for us to conceive how strange and incomprehensible these tidings must have seemed to his disciples. Like most of the Jews, they could form no idea of a suffering Messiah. They did not understand that? Isaiah 53 must be fulfilled literally; they did not see that the sacrifices of the law were all meant to point them to the death of the true Lamb of God. They thought of nothing but the second glorious coming of Messiah, which is yet to take place at the end of the world. They thought so much of Messiah's crown, that they lost sight of his cross. We shall do well to remember this: a right understanding of this matter throws strong light on the lessons which this passage contains.

We learn in the first place, from these verses that there may be much spiritual ignorance even in a true disciple of Christ.

We cannot have a clearer proof of this than the conduct of the apostle Peter in this passage. He tries to dissuade our Lord from suffering on the cross. "?Be it far from thee!?" he says. "?This shall not be unto thee!?" He did not see the full purpose of our Lord's coming into the world. His eyes were blinded to the necessity of our Lord's death. He actually did what he could to prevent that death taking place at all! And yet we know that Peter was a converted man; he really believed that Jesus was the Messiah. His heart was right in the sight of God.

These things are meant to teach us that we must neither regard good men as infallible because they are good men, nor yet suppose they have no grace because their grace is weak and small. One brother may possess singular gifts, and be a bright and shining light in the church of Christ; but let us not forget that he is a man, and as a man liable to commit great mistakes. Another brother's knowledge may be scanty: he may fail to judge rightly on many points of doctrine; he may err both in word and deed. But has he faith and love towards Christ? Does he hold the head? If so, let us deal patiently with him. What sees not now, he may see hereafter. Like Peter, he may now be in the dark, and yet, like Peter, enjoy one day the full light of the Gospel.

Let us learn in the second place, from these verses that there is no doctrine of Scripture so deeply important as the doctrine of Christ's atoning death.

We cannot have clearer proof of this than the language used by our Lord in rebuking Peter. He addresses him by the awful name of "?Satan,?" as if he was an adversary, and doing the devil's work in trying to prevent his death. He says to him, whom he had so lately called "?blessed,?" "?Get thee behind me! Thou aert an offence unto me?." He tells the man whose noble confession he had just commended so highly, "?Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.?" Stronger words than these never fell from our Lord's lips. The error that drew from such a loving Saviour such a stern rebuke to such a true disciple, must have been a mighty error indeed.

The truth is that our Lord would have us regard the crucifixion as the central truth of Christianity. Right views of his vicarious death, and the benefits resulting from it, lie at the very foundation of Bible religion. Never let us forget this. On matters of church government, and the form of worship, men may differ from us and yet reach heaven in safety. On the matter of Christ's atoning death as the way of peace, truth is only one. If we are wrong here, we are ruined forever. Error on many points is only a skin disease; error about Christ's death is a disease of the heart. Here let us take our stand: let nothing move us from this ground. The sum of all our hopes must be that Christ " has?died for us?" (? 1 Thessalonians 5:10). Give up that doctrine, and we have no solid hope at all.

In order to see the connection of these verses we must remember the mistaken impressions of our Lord's disciples as to the purpose of his coming into the world. Like Peter they could not bear the idea of the crucifixion. They thought that Jesus had come to set up an earthly kingdom; they did not see that he must needs suffer and die. They dreamed of worldly honors and temporal rewards in their Master's service; they did not understand that true Christians, like Christ, must be made "?perfect through suffering.?" Our Lord corrects these misapprehensions in words of peculiar solemnity, which we shall do well to lay up in our hearts.

Let us learn in the first place from these verses that men must make up their minds to trouble and self-denial if they follow Christ.

Our Lord dispels the fond dreams of his disciples by telling them that his followers must take up the cross. The glorious kingdom they were expecting was not about to be set up immediately. They must make up their minds to persecutions and afflictions if they intended to be his servants: they must be content to lose their lives if they would have their souls saved.

It is good for us all to see this point clearly. We must not conceal from ourselves that true Christianity brings with it a daily cross in this life, while it offers us a crown of glory in the life to come. The flesh must be daily crucified; the devil must be daily resisted; the world must be daily overcome. There is a war to be waged, and a battle to be fought. All this is the inseparable accompaniment of true religion: heaven is not to be won without it. Never was there a truer word than the old saying, "?No cross, no crown??" If we have never found this out by experience, our souls are in a poor condition.

Let us learn in the second place from these verses that there is nothing so precious as a man's soul.

Our Lord teaches this lesson by asking one of the most solemn questions that the New Testament contains. It is a question so well known, and so often repeated, that people often lose sight of its searching character; but it is a question that ought to sound in our ears like a trumpet whenever we are tempted to neglect our eternal interests: "?What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul." There can only be one answer to this question. There is nothing on earth, or under the earth, that can make amends to us for the loss of our souls. There is nothing that money can buy, or man can give, to be named in comparison with our souls. The world and all that it contains is temporal: it is all fading, perishing and passing away. The soul is eternal: that one single word is the key to the whole question. Let it sink down deeply into our hearts. Are we wavering in our religion? Do we fear the cross? Does the way seem too narrow? Let our Master's words ring in our ears: "?What shall it profit a man??" and let us doubt no more.

Let us learn in the last place that the second coming of Christ is the time when his people shall receive their rewards. "?The Son of Man shall come in the glory of His father, and then he will reward every man according to his works."

There is deep wisdom in this saying of our Lord's when viewed in connection with the preceding verses. He knows the heart of a man: he knows how soon we are ready to be cast down and, like Israel of old, to be discouraged because of the way.?" (? Numbers 21:4). He therefore holds out to us a gracious promise. He reminds us that he has yet to come a second time, as surely as he came the first time. He tells us that this is the time when his disciples shall receive their good things. There will be glory, honor and reward in abundance one day for all who have served and loved Jesus; but it is to be in the dispensation of the second advent, and not of the first. The bitter must come before the sweet, the cross before the crown. The first advent is the dispensation of the crucifixion; the second advent is the dispensation of the kingdom. We must submit to take part with our Lord in his humiliation if we desire to share in his glory.

And now let us not leave these verses without serious self-inquiry as to the matters which they contain. We have heard of the necessity of taking up the cross and denying ourselves: have we taken it up, and are we carrying it daily? We have heard of the value of the soul: do we live as if we believed it? We have heard of Christ's second advent: do we look forward to it with hope and joy? Happy is that man who can give a satisfactory answer to these questions!

These verses contain one of the most remarkable events in our Lord's earthly ministry, the event commonly called the transfiguration. The order in which it is recorded is beautiful and instructive. The latter part of the last chapter showed us the cross; here we are graciously allowed to see something of the coming reward. The hearts which have just been saddened by a plain statement of Christ's sufferings are at once gladdened by a vision of Christ's glory. Let us mark this. We often lose much by not tracing the connection between chapter and chapter in the Word of God.

There are some mysterious things, no doubt, in the vision here described. It must needs be so. We are yet in the body. Our senses are conversant with gross and material things; our ideas and perceptions about glorified bodies and dead saints must necessarily be vague and imperfect. Let us content ourselves with endeavoring to mark out the practical lessons which the transfiguration is meant to teach us.

In the first place we have in these verses a striking pattern of the glory in which Christ and his people will appear when he comes the second time.

There can be little question that this was one main object of this wonderful vision. It was meant to encourage the disciples by giving them a glimpse of good things yet to come. That face "?shining as the sun?" and that raiment "?white as the light?" were intended to give the disciples some idea of the majesty in which Jesus will appear to the world when he comes the second time, and all his saints with him. The corner of the veil was lifted up to show them their Master's true dignity. They were taught that if he did not yet appear to the world in the guise of a King, it was only because the time for putting on his royal apparel was not yet come. It is impossible to draw any other conclusion from St. Peter's language when writing on the subject. He says, with distict reference to the transfiguration, "?we were eyewitnesses of his majesty?." (2 Peter 1:16)

It is good for us to have the coming glory of Christ and his people deeply impressed on our minds. We are sadly apt to forget it. There are few visible indications of it in the world: "?We see not yet all things put under our Lord's feet.?" (? Hebrews 2:8). Sin, unbelief and superstition abound. Thousands are practically saying, "?We will not have this man to reign over us.?" It doth not yet appear what his people shall be; their crosses, their tribulations, their weaknesses, their conflicts, are all manifest enough, but there are few signs of their future reward. Let us beware of giving way to doubts in this matter: let us silence such doubts by reading over the history of the transfiguration. There is laid up for Jesus, and all that believe in him, such glory as the heart of man never conceived. It is not only promised, but part of it has actually been seen by three competent witnesses. One of them says, "?We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,?" (? John 1:14). Surely that which has been seen may well be believed.

In the second place we have in these verses an unanswerable proof of the resurrection of the body, and the life after death. We are told that Moses and Elijah appeared visibly in glory with Christ: they were seen in a bodily form. They were heard talking with our Lord. Fourteen hundred and eighty years had rolled round since Moses died and was buried; more than 900 years had passed away since Elijah "went?up by a whirlwind? into heaven:" yet here they are seen alive by Peter, James and John!

Let us lay firm hold on this part of the vision. It deserves close attention. We must all feel, if we ever think at all, that the state of the dead is a wonderful and mysterious subject. One after another we bury them out of our sight; we lay them in their narrow beds and see them no more, and their bodies become dust. But will they really live again? Shall we really see them any more? Will the grave really give back the dead at the last day? These are the questions that will occasionally come across the minds of some, in spite of all the plainest statements in the Word of God.

Now we have in the transfiguration the clearest evidence that the dead will rise again. We find two men appearing on earth, in their bodies, who had long been separate from the land of the living, and in them we have a pledge of the resurrection of all. All that have ever lived upon earth will again be called to life, and render up their account: not one will be found missing. There is no such thing as annihilation. All that have ever fallen asleep in Christ will be found in safekeeping: patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, down to the humblest servant of God in our own day. "?Though unseen to us they all live to God.?" "?He is not a God of the dead, but of the living?" (? Luke). Their spirits live as surely as we live ourselves, and will appear hereafter in glorified bodies, as surely as Moses and Elijah in the mount. These are indeed solemn thoughts! There is a resurrection, and men like Felix may well tremble. There is a resurrection, and men like Paul may well rejoice.

In the last place we have in these verses a remarkable testimony to Christ's infinite superiority over all that are born of woman.

This is a point which is brought out strongly by the voice from heaven which the disciples heard. Peter, bewildered by the heavenly vision and not knowing what to say, proposed to build three tabernacles, one for Christ, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He seemed, in fact, to place the law-giver and the prophet side by side with his divine Master, as if all three were equal. At once, we are told, the proposal was rebuked in a marked manner. A cloud covered Moses and Elijah, and they were no more seen. A voice at the same time came forth from the cloud, repeating the solemn words made use of at our Lord's baptism, "?This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him!?" That voice was meant to teach Peter that there was One there far greater than Moses or Elijah. Moses was a faithful servant of God; Elijah was a bold witness for the truth: but Christ was far above either one or the other. He was the Saviour to whom law and prophets were continually pointing; he was the true prophet to whom all were commanded to hear (? Deuteronomy). Moses and Elijah were great men in their day, but Peter and his companions were to remember that in nature, dignity and office they were far below Christ. He was the true sun: they were the stars depending daily on his light. He was the root: they were the branches. He was the Master: they were the servants. Their goodness was all derived: his was original and his own. Let them honor Moses and the prophets as holy men, but if they would be saved they must take Christ alone for their Master, and glory only in him. "Hear ye him.?"

Let us see in these words a striking lesson to the whole church of Christ. There is a constant tendency in human nature to "?hear man.?" Bishops, priests, deacons, popes, cardinals, councils, presbyterian preachers and independent ministers are continually exalted to a place which God never intended them to fill, and made practically to usurp the honor of Christ. Against this tendency let us all watch, and be on our guard. Let these solemn words of the vision ever ring in our ears: "?Hear ye Christ.?"

The best of men are only men at their very best. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, martyrs, fathers, reformers, puritans—all, all are sinners, who need a Saviour: holy, useful, honorable in their place, but sinners after all. They must never be allowed to stand between us and Christ. He alone is the Son, with whom the Father is well pleased; he alone is sealed and appointed to give the bread of life; he alone has the keys in his hands: "?God over all, blessed forever!?" (? Romans 9:5). Let us take heed that we hear his voice and follow him; let us value all religious teaching just in proportion as it leads us to Christ. The sum and substance of saving religion is to "?hear Christ.?"