1/17 Almost Famous

This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is January 17, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called Almost Famous. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.

Our readings for today are Genesis 18, Matthew 17, and Nehemiah 7.Please open your Bibles to Matthew 17.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone really famous, like an actor or professional athlete or something. I think the closest I’ve come is that there is this lawyer in our area who is on billboards all over the state. If you get run over by a tractor trailer, call him and he will make a lot of money for you. He calls himself “The Hammer.” Not long ago, I was coming home from a trip and as I got on my plane, there was the Hammer. It was the closest I’ve ever come to someone famous. I didn’t say anything to him. Partly because I’ve never been hit by a truck and partly because people never seem to know what to say to famous people. In our Scripture for Students today, Peter, James, and John have already been spending time with the most famous person on the planet, Jesus. But when some more famous people show up, they don’t know what to do either. 

Follow along with me as I read Matthew 17:1–9,

1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 

2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 

3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 

4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 

5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 

7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 

8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 

May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.

This is an incredible story. Let’s think about what is going on here. Of all the people on the planet, Jesus chooses twelve guys to travel with him for a few years. Of those twelve guys, three of them—Peter, James, and John—are kind of an inner ring. And in this story, Jesus brings them along for a special occasion. 

They go up a high mountain and it says in verse 2 that Jesus was transfigured before them. He was transfigured before them. What does that mean? Well, we don’t know exactly. This is where we get our English word metamorphosis. So there is some kind of bodily transformation that takes place. And it says that his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. The best explanation here is that the disciples got to witness Jesus in his heavenly glory. They saw something, but maybe not even all, of the radiance of his perfection. 

And they also saw Moses and Elijah with Jesus. Again, there are a lot of ideas about why Moses and Elijah. One good explanation is that together they represent the authority of God’s word: their names stand in for the Law and the Prophets, and taken together, they sometimes represent all of our Old Testament. In this view, because they are talking together, it means that Jesus and his words, and thus the rest of the New Testament, are to be held in the same reverence and authority as the Old Testament.

Another way to think about this is that together, these are successively greater prophets. Moses was a prophet, meaning he spoke God’s Words to God’s people. And in Deuteronomy 18, he said that a prophet like him, but greater, was coming. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses says, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—” God did raise up a greater prophet: Elijah. Elijah performed incredible miracles including the climatic showdown with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. But there is an even greater prophet: Jesus. I think this is a good way of thinking about what is going on in these verses.

And like anyone who gets close to someone famous, the disciples don’t know what to do. Peter speaks up—the guy never seems to be at a loss for words—and offers to build three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. 

And in verse 5—while he is still speaking!—God interrupts. I would give almost anything to get to witness this moment. What did his voice sound like, do you think? It must have been stunning, because Peter, James, and John are so overcome, they fall on their faces. That seems to be a very common response whenever someone encounters holiness. Have a look at Isaiah 6 if you need some more proof. 

God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” We read the story of Jesus’ baptism not long ago, so this should sound familiar to you. God the Father loves his son and he instructs the disciples to listen to him. That’s another good reason to think that this scene tells us something about Jesus as a prophet. We’ll come back to this in a minute. 

In all the shining faces and thundering voices, I don’t want us to miss verse 7. This is quite a moment. It says, “But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” The description of the compassion of Jesus tells us so much about Jesus. He laid his hand on them to reassure them that he is real and he is near. Jesus will do this again for John in Revelation 1:17 when John again sees a vision of the risen Christ. And he tells them, “Have no fear.” Did you know that “do not fear” is the most common command in the Bible? Jesus knows that we live in a fearsome world and he has not stopped caring for those who are fearful. If you are afraid, cry out to Jesus. He will kneel down, put his hand on you, and reassure your fears as well.

I said a moment ago that I would come to the Father’s command to Peter, James, and John: “This is my believed Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Throughout the Bible, listening and obeying are very closely related. When it comes to God’s words, those who truly hear God’s words obey God’s words. If you don’t obey God’s words then you haven’t really listened. God tells Peter, James, and John to listen to Jesus—and thus to obey his words. And through this passage, God is calling us to obey him as well. What is one way that God wants you to obey Jesus’ words today and this week? If you aren’t sure, ask your parents for help deciding what would be the best way to do that.

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.

This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!