The design of Jesus’ coming is to set up the kingdom of God with his power, pleasure, and glory. This kingdom does not mean a fearful, dictatorial state, but a kingdom whose citizens live in the peace of love, and the joy of heaven. This kingdom is spiritual. It is full of light, truth, and good deeds.
Jesus realized this divine plan on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon his expectant disciples, and they were changed from cowards into courageous men, and from skeptics into believers. They became the light of the world, bearing the name of Jesus Christ to everyone.
But before this great dwelling, and when Jesus had revealed his imminent death, and called his disciples to self-denial, he took three of them to show them the beautiful glory of the kingdom of God in public. Some commentators believe that this event took place on Mount Hermon near Caesarea Philippi (8:27) where he transfigured before them on the top of this lonely, high mountain.
There it appeared that he was Jesus Christ, the King of kings, Lord of lords, holy in himself, sinless, more shining than the sun, and in him is no darkness at all. His clothes became completely white, as an indication of absolute purification, which is experienced by everyone who believes in him. Without this purification, we are not worthy to appear before God at all.
The kingdom of Christ does not only include the present generation of the holy believers in our world, but also the dead in the Lord who did not die, but live and serve God with innocence, and everlasting holiness. In this transfiguration on the mount, Moses appeared to the disciples as representative of the Law, with Elijah who represented the prophets, bearing witness to Jesus as the true Christ, in spite of his choosing the way of shame and self-denial even to the cross.
By their appearance to the frightened disciples, the two witnesses also proved that Jesus was in harmony with the Law and the Prophets, and that his going to the accursed cross was the only way to save the world.
In the presence of the heavenly light, Peter showed the longing of every man’s heart to live near to God. Shortly before this event, Jesus called Peter “Satan”. But this most forward man among the apostles wished to take hold of those enlightening people that he might also be enlightened. In fact, Christ granted him on the Day of Pentecost, to become with all the prayers a temple of the Holy Spirit full of life, power, and love.
The natural man is unable to see the glory of God. He becomes astonished, confused, frightened deep into his heart, and falls down as a dead particularly in such a dazzling condition where God revealed himself in the gentle, shining cloud. He did not appear as he had already done on Mount Sinai when he appeared in the midst of lightening and thunder, but he revealed his glory announcing the holy gospel of mercy. The holy God testified personally to the representatives of men that Jesus is his only Son, and that he is greater than Moses and all prophets, for to him was given all authority in heaven and on earth. It is impossible for the living, life-giving Jesus to die. But since he had humbled himself willfully, choosing the way of substitution for us in God’s judgment, he contradicted his disciples’ counsel and went on to the cross.
As it happened upon his first humility before baptism for our sins, so after proclaiming his decisive decision to go to the cross, God the Father expressed his full satisfaction with that, saying: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” He had to die as a substitute for us, as the Lamb of God to redeem the world. In fact, there is no other glory for us but in the cross on which the beloved Son of God died, in whom the love of God became incarnate. There is no salvation to men but in him who was crucified. He who hears this saying and believes in him lives, joins the line of the children of God, and becomes filled with the same love, which is in God.