“With Moses and Elijah nigh the incarnate Lord holds converse high;
“O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair!” which is number 413 in the Lutheran Service Book.
And from the cloud the Holy One bears record to the only Son.
With shining face and bright array Christ deigns to manifest today
What glory shall be theirs above who joy in God with perfect love.”
“Seeing is believing,” or so the saying goes. The people of Jesus’ day likely thought the same, especially with regard to the promised Messiah. The prophet Isaiah wrote of the mighty deeds that would be done by the Lord’s Anointed One. The blind would see, the deaf would hear, and the lame would leap like deer (see Isaiah 35:5-6). So, when Jesus arrived on the scene, His miracles prompted controversy and questions: “When the Christ appears, will He do more signs than this man has done?” (John 7:31b ESV).
Jesus did so many miracles, or signs, that the apostle John said the whole world could not contain the books that could be written about them. As Isaiah foretold, Jesus’ miracles testified to His identity as the Christ. God the Father bore witness to His Son “with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him” (Acts 2:22b ESV). Jesus Himself told the crowds, “The works that the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about Me that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36b ESV).
The great sign of Jesus’ transfiguration was not a public testimony. Only Peter, James, and John witnessed the event, and Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until He had risen from the dead. But now that sign is known to us in the Word, the great sign testifying to Jesus’ divine majesty. With “shining face and bright array,” Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about His “departure,” a word also translated as “exodus” (see Luke 9:31). At the time of Exodus from Egypt, lambs’ blood saved the Israelites from death. Through Jesus’ exodus—His death and resurrection—the blood of the Lamb of God saved us from sin and death.
Another sign of Jesus’ majesty was even greater than the sign of His transfiguration. In the great miracle of His resurrection, Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God” (Romans 1:4a ESV). When Jesus rose in victory over death, His identity as Messiah and Lord was confirmed beyond doubt. It is a sign we did not see, but we have the blessing of our risen Savior: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b ESV). Jesus’ transfiguration is a glimpse of the glory that will one day be ours. His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. We have His promise, “Because I live, you also will live” (John14:19b ESV).
We Pray: Risen Lord, I have seen Your glory in the Word, and long to see You face to face. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
It is based on the hymn, “O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair!” which is number 413 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on February , 2024
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. What does it usually take to convince you that something is true, or at least believable?
2. What are some of your favorite Jesus-people interactions from the Bible? Why?
3. Is it harder, do you think, to believe that Jesus healed a blind man—or that He rose from the dead? Why?