Day 19: Luke 9:28-36

I love Peter. Peter has no filter. I feel like he just constantly says the first thing that pops into his head, and that’s something that I can identify with. There’s times when his mouth utters amazing things, like, “If it’s really you, tell me to come to you walking on the water,” and, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” And there’s times when it gets him into a lot of trouble, like when he admonished Jesus for saying that he was going to be betrayed and killed, or when he denied that he even knew who Jesus was. This instance is almost comical though.

Peter, James, and John get to see a small glimpse of the glory of Jesus with Moses and Elijah and they are obviously overwhelmed by it. As Moses and Elijah are leaving, Peter blurts out, “Let’s build three shelters here to commemorate this event!” He was wanting to preserve this mountaintop experience. He wanted to stay there and bask in the glory of that moment.

God cut him off though. I love how it says, “But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them…” God doesn’t even let him finish his thought. He was showing Peter that he was looking at this completely wrong. It wasn’t about staying on the mountaintop, it was about doing what needed to be done. God the Father speaks, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” There was work to be done. There were things that Jesus was going to tell them that they needed to get to doing instead of sitting up there and trying to relive this amazing experience.

God often allows us to have these great mountaintop experiences. Things that get us fired up, motivated, moved by the Holy Spirit. There are these great outpourings that happen in our lives, and they are needed. But we are never meant to stay there. There is a mission that still needs to be accomplished. 

When Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts 1 he tells the disciples to go to Jerusalem where they will receive power from the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News throughout the whole world. Verses 10-11 illustrate our response to mountaintop experiences really well: “As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’” There’s almost a threat there from the angels, “Do you want Jesus to catch you still standing here staring up into the sky when he returns? Get to work! Do what he told you to do!” Don’t try to chase the highs of spiritual outpourings. Don’t try to just camp out where you were never meant to stay. When you have these mountaintop experiences, enjoy them, learn from them, but keep your eyes on the true purpose. Listen to Jesus and do what he tells you to do.