Latest / truthunedited / Why Jesus Met Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Two men who had been dead for over a thousand
- 0:02Speaker 1: years appeared next to Jesus. Moses, who parted the Red Sea. Elijah,
- 0:08Speaker 1: who never died. And they were discussing something so urgent
- 0:13Speaker 1: that heaven itself broke through time to make it happen. Peter,
- 0:17Speaker 1: James and John witnessed it. They fell to the ground
- 0:20Speaker 1: in terror. But here's what nobody asks. Why these two men?
- 0:25Speaker 1: Why not Abraham, the father of faith? Why not David,
- 0:29Speaker 1: the greatest king? Why not Isaiah, who prophesied about Jesus
- 0:33Speaker 1: more than anyone? And why did this meeting happen exactly
- 0:37Speaker 1: six days before Jesus told his disciples he was going
- 0:41Speaker 1: to die? The answer isn't just about the transfiguration. It
- 0:46Speaker 1: reveals why the entire Old Testament exists, why Jesus came,
- 0:50Speaker 1: and what he accomplished on the cross. By the end
- 0:53Speaker 1: of this video, you'll understand the Bible in a way
- 0:56Speaker 1: most Christians never do, Drop your theory in the comments.
- 1:00Speaker 1: And if you're new here, subscribe because we're about to
- 1:04Speaker 1: unlock something that changes everything. Let's start with Moses. Moses
- 1:09Speaker 1: is one of the most important figures in all of
- 1:11Speaker 1: human history. Born as a Hebrew slave in Egypt, hidden
- 1:16Speaker 1: in a basket, raised in Pharaoh's palace, his story reads
- 1:20Speaker 1: like an epic film. But Moses' greatest moment came when
- 1:24Speaker 1: God called him at the burning bush and said, I'm
- 1:27Speaker 1: sending you to Pharaoh. Bring my people out of Egypt.
- 1:31Speaker 1: And Moses did. Through ten devastating plagues, through the parting
- 1:36Speaker 1: of the Red Sea, through the destruction of Pharaoh's army,
- 1:40Speaker 1: Moses led the greatest exodus in history. Two million Hebrew
- 1:44Speaker 1: slaves walked out of bondage and into freedom. God chose
- 1:48Speaker 1: Moses to be the deliverer of his people. But that
- 1:52Speaker 1: wasn't all. Fifty days after leaving Egypt, Moses climbed a mountain,
- 1:57Speaker 1: Mount Sinai. And on that mountain, something happened that would
- 2:02Speaker 1: change the world forever. God descended in fire, smoke, and thunder.
- 2:07Speaker 1: The mountain shook, and God spoke the Ten Commandments aloud
- 2:11Speaker 1: to all of Israel. Then God called Moses up into
- 2:14Speaker 1: the cloud. For 40 days and 40 nights, Moses stayed
- 2:19Speaker 1: on that mountain with God. And when he came down,
- 2:22Speaker 1: he carried something in his hands. two stone tablets. The
- 2:27Speaker 1: law of God, the covenant, the constitution of Israel. Moses
- 2:32Speaker 1: became the mediator between God and man. He stood in
- 2:36Speaker 1: the gap. He received the law from heaven and gave
- 2:39Speaker 1: it to the people. Every command, every statute, every sacrifice
- 2:44Speaker 1: in the tabernacle, it all came through Moses. That's why
- 2:49Speaker 1: scripture calls it the law of Moses. For 40 years,
- 2:54Speaker 1: Moses led Israel through the wilderness. He interceded for them
- 2:58Speaker 1: when they rebelled. He spoke with God face to face.
- 3:02Speaker 1: He saw God's glory in the tabernacle. Moses was the
- 3:06Speaker 1: greatest prophet Israel ever had until Jesus. But here's where
- 3:11Speaker 1: the story gets tragic. After 40 years of wandering, Israel
- 3:15Speaker 1: finally arrived at the edge of the promised land. They
- 3:19Speaker 1: could see it from the mountains of Moab, Canaan, the
- 3:23Speaker 1: land flowing with milk and honey, the land God promised
- 3:28Speaker 1: to Abraham. The land Moses had been leading them toward
- 3:33Speaker 1: for four decades. And God said to Moses, You're not
- 3:38Speaker 1: going in. Numbers chapter 20 records the reason. At the
- 3:42Speaker 1: waters of Meribah, when the people complained about thirst, God
- 3:46Speaker 1: told Moses to speak to the rock and water would
- 3:49Speaker 1: come out. But Moses was angry, frustrated, He struck the
- 3:54Speaker 1: rock twice with his staff instead of speaking to it.
- 3:57Speaker 1: And in that moment of anger, Moses misrepresented God's character
- 4:02Speaker 1: before the people. God's judgment was swift. Because you did
- 4:07Speaker 1: not trust in me to uphold me as holy in
- 4:09Speaker 1: the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall
- 4:12Speaker 1: not bring this assembly into the land that I have
- 4:15Speaker 1: given them. Can you imagine? Forty years leading a nation
- 4:22Speaker 1: through the desert. dealing with their constant rebellion, their complaining,
- 4:27Speaker 1: their idolatry. And now, standing on the edge of the
- 4:30Speaker 1: finish line, God says, you can look, but you cannot enter.
- 4:35Speaker 1: Deuteronomy chapter 34 paints the scene. God brought Moses up
- 4:40Speaker 1: to the top of Mount Nebo. From there, Moses could
- 4:43Speaker 1: see the entire promised land spread out before him. The fields,
- 4:48Speaker 1: the cities, the rivers, everything God had promised. and Moses
- 4:54Speaker 1: looked at it knowing he would never set foot in it.
- 4:57Speaker 1: Then Moses died, right there on the mountain. The Bible
- 5:01Speaker 1: says God himself buried Moses in the valley of Moab,
- 5:05Speaker 1: and to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses,
- 5:10Speaker 1: the greatest leader Israel ever had, died outside the promised land.
- 5:15Speaker 1: The Israelites mourned for 30 days. Then Joshua took over
- 5:20Speaker 1: and led the people across the Jordan River, They conquered Canaan.
- 5:24Speaker 1: They entered the inheritance. But Moses? Moses never made it.
- 5:29Speaker 1: Or did he? Hold that thought, because there's another man
- 5:34Speaker 1: on the mountain at the transfiguration, and his story is
- 5:38Speaker 1: just as strange but in the opposite way. If Moses
- 5:41Speaker 1: represents the ultimate example of faithfulness and tragedy, Elijah represents
- 5:47Speaker 1: raw prophetic power and mystery. Elijah appears suddenly in Scripture,
- 5:53Speaker 1: no backstory, no introduction. He just shows up in 1
- 5:58Speaker 1: Kings chapter 17 and declares to the wicked king Ahab,
- 6:03Speaker 1: As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand,
- 6:07Speaker 1: there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except
- 6:11Speaker 1: by my word. And it happened. For three and a
- 6:15Speaker 1: half years, no rain fell in Israel. Famine spread across
- 6:20Speaker 1: the land And Elijah, God hid him by a brook,
- 6:24Speaker 1: where ravens brought him food. Later, God sent him to
- 6:29Speaker 1: a widow in Zarephath, where he multiplied her flour and oil,
- 6:33Speaker 1: and even raised her son from the dead. But Elijah's
- 6:36Speaker 1: defining moment came on Mount Carmel. King Ahab and Queen
- 6:40Speaker 1: Jezebel had led Israel into Baal worship. The nation was divided.
- 6:46Speaker 1: So Elijah called for a showdown. How long will you
- 6:49Speaker 1: waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him.
- 6:53Speaker 1: But if Baal is God, follow him. He challenged 450
- 6:58Speaker 1: prophets of Baal to a contest. They would build an altar,
- 7:02Speaker 1: prepare a sacrifice, and call on their God to send fire.
- 7:07Speaker 1: Whoever answered by fire, that was the true God. The
- 7:11Speaker 1: prophets of Baal went first. They prayed all morning. Nothing.
- 7:16Speaker 1: They shouted louder. Nothing. They danced around the altar. Nothing.
- 7:22Speaker 1: Elijah mocked them. Maybe your God is sleeping, or busy,
- 7:26Speaker 1: or on a journey. Shout louder. By evening, they were
- 7:30Speaker 1: cutting themselves with knives, desperate for Baal to answer. Still nothing.
- 7:35Speaker 1: Then it was Elijah's turn. He rebuilt the altar of
- 7:38Speaker 1: the Lord with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel.
- 7:42Speaker 1: He dug a trench around it. He placed the sacrifice
- 7:45Speaker 1: on the wood. And then, just to make it harder,
- 7:48Speaker 1: he poured twelve jars of water over everything, the altar,
- 7:52Speaker 1: the wood, the sacrifice, water filled the trench. Then Elijah prayed,
- 7:57Speaker 1: not a long prayer, not a dramatic performance, just a
- 8:01Speaker 1: simple prayer. Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let
- 8:06Speaker 1: it be known this day that you are God in Israel,
- 8:09Speaker 1: and that I am your servant, and that I have
- 8:12Speaker 1: done all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord,
- 8:15Speaker 1: hear me, that this people may know that you are
- 8:18Speaker 1: the Lord God. And fire fell from heaven, not just
- 8:22Speaker 1: a little spark, fire. It consumed the sacrifice, the wood,
- 8:28Speaker 1: the stones, the dust, and even the water in the trench.
- 8:32Speaker 1: The people fell on their faces and cried out, The Lord,
- 8:35Speaker 1: he is God, the Lord, he is God. Elijah commanded
- 8:41Speaker 1: them to seize the prophets of Baal, and all 450
- 8:45Speaker 1: were executed that day. Then Elijah prayed, and the rain returned.
- 8:51Speaker 1: Israel's greatest prophet had called the nation back to God.
- 8:55Speaker 1: But here's where Elijah's story takes a strange turn. After
- 8:59Speaker 1: years of ministry, after confronting kings and calling down fire,
- 9:04Speaker 1: Elijah's time on earth came to an end. but he
- 9:08Speaker 1: didn't die. 2 Kings chapter 2 describes it. Elijah and
- 9:12Speaker 1: his protege Elisha were walking together. Suddenly, a chariot of
- 9:17Speaker 1: fire and horses of fire appeared between them. A whirlwind
- 9:22Speaker 1: lifted Elijah off the ground, and he was taken up
- 9:25Speaker 1: into heaven. Alive. No death. No grave. Just gone. Elijah
- 9:33Speaker 1: never died. That makes him one of only two people
- 9:35Speaker 1: in the Old Testament who never experienced death, the other
- 9:39Speaker 1: being Enoch. And centuries later, the prophet Malachi made a
- 9:43Speaker 1: stunning prediction. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
- 9:48Speaker 1: before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
- 9:51Speaker 1: Elijah would return. But when and why? Now we're ready
- 9:57Speaker 1: for the mountain. Let's return to the transfiguration Jesus takes
- 10:02Speaker 1: Peter James and John up a high mountain most likely
- 10:06Speaker 1: Mount Hermon in northern Israel and there Jesus is transfigured
- 10:11Speaker 1: before his face shines like the Sun his clothes become
- 10:16Speaker 1: dazzling white suddenly two men appear Moses and Elijah think
- 10:23Speaker 1: about this Moses dead for 14 centuries Elijah taken up
- 10:28Speaker 1: alive nine centuries earlier now standing with Jesus on a
- 10:33Speaker 1: mountain in glorified form visible to human eyes but why
- 10:39Speaker 1: what was so important about this meeting Luke chapter 9
- 10:42Speaker 1: verse 31 gives us the answer they spoke of his
- 10:47Speaker 1: departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The
- 10:50Speaker 1: Greek word for departure is Exodus. They were discussing Jesus' exodus. Moses,
- 10:58Speaker 1: who led the exodus from Egypt, is now discussing Jesus'
- 11:02Speaker 1: exodus from this world. But this isn't about leaving Egypt.
- 11:07Speaker 1: This is about leaving earth through death, resurrection, and ascension.
- 11:13Speaker 1: Moses' exodus freed Israel from physical slavery. Jesus' exodus would
- 11:19Speaker 1: free humanity from spiritual slavery, slavery to sin, death, and Satan.
- 11:25Speaker 1: The original exodus involved the Passover lamb, blood on the doorposts,
- 11:31Speaker 1: death passing over those covered by the blood. Jesus would
- 11:34Speaker 1: become the ultimate Passover lamb. Christ our Passover has been
- 11:38Speaker 1: sacrificed for us, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians. Moses led
- 11:43Speaker 1: the people through the Red Sea. A Baptism Paul calls
- 11:48Speaker 1: it from death to life, from slavery to freedom. Jesus
- 11:52Speaker 1: would pass through death itself and rise on the third day,
- 11:56Speaker 1: leading us from death to eternal life. Moses brought the
- 12:00Speaker 1: people to Mount Sinai, where God gave the law. Jesus
- 12:04Speaker 1: would fulfill every command of that law perfectly, then bear
- 12:08Speaker 1: its curse on the cross. And Moses was trying to
- 12:11Speaker 1: get Israel into the promised land, but he himself never entered.
- 12:15Speaker 1: Yet here he stands... in glory, on a mountain with Jesus.
- 12:20Speaker 1: You see, Moses is finally entering the true promised land.
- 12:26Speaker 1: Not Canaan, not a piece of real estate, but the
- 12:29Speaker 1: kingdom of God, the new creation, the eternal rest that
- 12:33Speaker 1: Canaan was always meant to symbolize. Elijah is there for
- 12:37Speaker 1: a reason too. He represents the prophets, all the prophets
- 12:41Speaker 1: who spoke of the coming Messiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
- 12:47Speaker 1: They all pointed forward to Jesus. And now Elijah, standing
- 12:51Speaker 1: for all of them, testifies. This is the one we
- 12:54Speaker 1: were talking about. Moses and Elijah, the law and the
- 12:58Speaker 1: prophets are bearing witness. They're saying, everything we wrote, everything
- 13:03Speaker 1: we spoke, everything we pointed toward it was all about him,
- 13:08Speaker 1: about this moment, about his exodus in Jerusalem. But something
- 13:12Speaker 1: happens next that changes everything. Peter, watching all of this unfold,
- 13:18Speaker 1: doesn't know what to say. So he does what Peter
- 13:21Speaker 1: always does. He blurts something out. Lord, it's good that
- 13:24Speaker 1: we're here. Let me make three tents, one for you,
- 13:28Speaker 1: one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Now, Peter means well.
- 13:33Speaker 1: He's excited. He's overwhelmed. But notice what he's doing. He's
- 13:37Speaker 1: putting Moses, Elijah, and Jesus on equal footing. Three tents,
- 13:43Speaker 1: three great men of God, three authorities. And that's exactly
- 13:48Speaker 1: when God interrupts. A bright cloud overshadows them the Shekinah glory,
- 13:53Speaker 1: the same cloud that led Israel through the wilderness, the
- 13:56Speaker 1: same glory that filled the tabernacle and the temple. And
- 13:59Speaker 1: from the cloud a voice speaks, This is my beloved son,
- 14:04Speaker 1: with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Not Moses.
- 14:09Speaker 1: Not Elijah. Him. The disciples fall on their faces, terrified.
- 14:14Speaker 1: And when they look up, Moses and Elijah are gone.
- 14:18Speaker 1: Only Jesus remains. Do you see what just happened? God
- 14:23Speaker 1: the Father just made the most important theological statement in
- 14:27Speaker 1: the New Testament. He's saying, the age of the law
- 14:31Speaker 1: and the prophets has reached its fulfillment. My son is here.
- 14:35Speaker 1: He is the final word. Listen to him. This is
- 14:39Speaker 1: why Moses and Elijah had to be there. They represent
- 14:42Speaker 1: the entire Old Testament. In Jewish thought, the scriptures were
- 14:46Speaker 1: divided into three parts, the law, the prophets, and the writings.
- 14:52Speaker 1: But often, they were simply called the law and the prophets.
- 14:57Speaker 1: Jesus himself used this phrase constantly. In Matthew chapter 5,
- 15:02Speaker 1: Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to
- 15:05Speaker 1: abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come
- 15:08Speaker 1: to abolish them, but to fulfill them. In Matthew 7,
- 15:12Speaker 1: Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do
- 15:15Speaker 1: also to them, for this is the law and the prophets.
- 15:20Speaker 1: In Matthew 22, when asked, Which is the greatest commandment?
- 15:24Speaker 1: Jesus says to love God and love your neighbor, then adds,
- 15:29Speaker 1: On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
- 15:34Speaker 1: In Luke 24, after his resurrection, Jesus appears to the
- 15:38Speaker 1: disciples and says, Everything written about me in the law
- 15:42Speaker 1: of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, must be fulfilled.
- 15:46Speaker 1: The law and the prophets were always pointing to Jesus.
- 15:50Speaker 1: Every sacrifice in Leviticus, every prophecy in Isaiah, every psalm
- 15:55Speaker 1: of David, every story in the Torah, all of it
- 15:59Speaker 1: pointed forward to the Messiah. And now, on the mountain,
- 16:03Speaker 1: the law and the prophets appear in person, Moses and
- 16:07Speaker 1: Elijah to testify. He's the one. This is who we
- 16:12Speaker 1: were talking about. Moses brought the law from Mount Sinai.
- 16:17Speaker 1: But Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. He kept
- 16:20Speaker 1: it perfectly. He is the righteousness the law demanded. Elijah
- 16:25Speaker 1: represented the prophets, those who called Israel back to God,
- 16:29Speaker 1: who warned of judgment, who promised a coming Savior. And
- 16:33Speaker 1: Jesus is that Savior. He is the prophet Moses predicted
- 16:38Speaker 1: in Deuteronomy 18. The Lord your God will raise up
- 16:42Speaker 1: for you a prophet like me from among you. You
- 16:45Speaker 1: must listen to him. That's why God says at the transfiguration,
- 16:49Speaker 1: listen to him, not to Moses anymore, not to Elijah anymore,
- 16:55Speaker 1: to Jesus. He is the final prophet, the ultimate priest,
- 17:00Speaker 1: the eternal king. The book of Hebrews chapter 1 puts
- 17:03Speaker 1: it this way. Long ago, at many times and in
- 17:07Speaker 1: many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
- 17:11Speaker 1: But in these last days, he has spoken to us
- 17:14Speaker 1: by his son. Moses gave the law. But Jesus gives
- 17:19Speaker 1: grace and truth. Elijah called down fire from heaven. But
- 17:23Speaker 1: Jesus is the light of the world. Moses led Israel
- 17:27Speaker 1: through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud and fire.
- 17:30Speaker 1: But Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and
- 17:34Speaker 1: the life. The law and the prophets were the roadmap.
- 17:38Speaker 1: Jesus is the destination. They were the signpost. Jesus is
- 17:43Speaker 1: the city. They pointed to the Savior. Jesus is the Savior.
- 17:48Speaker 1: And at the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah step aside. They vanish.
- 17:54Speaker 1: Only Jesus remains. Because he is enough. So why does
- 17:59Speaker 1: this matter for you and me? 2,000 years later. Because
- 18:03Speaker 1: there are still people today who try to live under
- 18:06Speaker 1: the law. They believe they have to earn God's favor
- 18:09Speaker 1: through rule keeping, through religious performance, through being good enough.
- 18:14Speaker 1: But the transfiguration shows us the law was never meant
- 18:18Speaker 1: to save you. It was meant to point you to
- 18:20Speaker 1: the one who could. There are still people waiting for signs, wonders,
- 18:25Speaker 1: and prophetic experiences to validate their faith. They chase after
- 18:30Speaker 1: every new voice, every new revelation, every spiritual high. But
- 18:35Speaker 1: the transfiguration shows us the prophets were arrows pointing to Jesus.
- 18:41Speaker 1: Now that Jesus has come, died, and risen, we don't
- 18:44Speaker 1: need new prophets. We need to listen to him. God
- 18:47Speaker 1: said it clearly. This is my beloved son. Listen to him.
- 18:52Speaker 1: Not to the latest preacher with a big platform. not
- 18:55Speaker 1: to your feelings, not to the culture. Listen to Jesus.
- 18:59Speaker 1: His words in Scripture are enough. Moses and Elijah bowed
- 19:04Speaker 1: to Jesus on that mountain. The law and the prophets
- 19:08Speaker 1: testified to him, and if they bowed, so should we.
- 19:12Speaker 1: Before we go any further, if this is helping you
- 19:15Speaker 1: see Scripture in a new light, do me a favor,
- 19:18Speaker 1: hit that subscribe button right now. We're uncovering biblical mysteries
- 19:22Speaker 1: like this every week, and I don't want you to
- 19:25Speaker 1: miss a single revelation. And if this video blessed you,
- 19:29Speaker 1: share it with someone who needs to hear this truth.
- 19:32Speaker 1: Let's spread the gospel together. Now, here's what this all means.
- 19:37Speaker 1: The transfiguration wasn't just a preview of Jesus' glory, though
- 19:41Speaker 1: it was that. It wasn't just a confirmation of his identity,
- 19:46Speaker 1: though it was that too. It was the moment heaven declared,
- 19:50Speaker 1: the old covenant is fulfilled the new covenant has come
- 19:54Speaker 1: and his name is Jesus Moses finally entered the promised
- 19:59Speaker 1: land not the earthly one but the heavenly one through
- 20:02Speaker 1: faith in Christ Elijah's return signaled that the kingdom of
- 20:07Speaker 1: God was breaking into history And Jesus shining in glory
- 20:11Speaker 1: revealed that he is the goal of all scripture, the
- 20:15Speaker 1: fulfillment of all prophecy, and the only way to the Father.
- 20:19Speaker 1: So here's my question for you. Are you still trying
- 20:22Speaker 1: to earn your way to God through rule keeping? Or
- 20:25Speaker 1: have you listened to Jesus who said, it is finished?
- 20:29Speaker 1: Are you chasing after signs and wonders? Or have you
- 20:33Speaker 1: fixed your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
- 20:37Speaker 1: our faith? The law and the prophets point to him.
- 20:40Speaker 1: Heaven testifies to him. And the Father says, Listen to him.
- 20:46Speaker 1: What will you do with Jesus?