About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
Luke 9:28 (NIV)
This past spring a friend invited me to climb a mountain. It wasn’t a tall mountain, mind you. The rugged trail to the summit was few miles and the ascent was gentle enough that it didn’t wear me out too much. But, it was a mountain. The view was spectacular. As an Iowa boy living my life on the rolling plains, it was a rare opportunity and experience.
A year or so ago I listened to The Bible Project’s podcast series on mountains in the Bible. In case you didn’t know it, mountains are a whole theme across the Great Story, and in today’s chapter we encounter one of the most crucial examples. it’s a strange one—but once you see the connections (because in the Great Story, everything connects), it opens up in all sorts of ways.
To unpack it, we first have to travel back to our chapter-a-day trek through Exodus. In Exodus 19, Moses and the recently freed Hebrew slaves arrive at Mount Sinai and God makes a covenant with the Hebrew people.
- Moses ascends the mountain
- A cloud envelops it
- God’s voice thunders
- His face shines when he comes down
- The Law is given
Sinai is fire and fear.
Distance. Boundaries. “Do not come too close.”
It’s holy, yes—but also heavy. The people tremble. Even Moses feels the weight of it.
Now, let’s compare that to what happens in today’s chapter.
- Jesus ascends the mountain
- A cloud envelops it
- God’s voice speaks
- Jesus’ face shines like the sun
- And… Moses is there
Did you catch that?
Moses—the man of Sinai—now standing beside Jesus.
The Law stands next to its fulfillment.
As I meditate on the two, I find four absolutely delicious echoes.
1. The Cloud
Same symbol. Same presence.
At Sinai: terrifying mystery.
At Transfiguration: intimate revelation.
The cloud hasn’t changed.
But the way we experience it has.
2. The Voice
At Sinai: commands carved in stone.
At Transfiguration: “This is my Son… listen to him.”
That’s not just a statement—that’s a handoff.
From law → to living Word
From tablets → to a person
3. The Shining Face
Moses reflects glory.
Jesus radiates it.
One borrows the light…
The other is the light.
4. The Conversation
Luke tells us what they’re talking about:
They speak of Jesus’ “departure” — the Greek word is exodus.
Oh, that’s not accidental. That’s poetry with teeth.
Moses led the first exodus—out of Egypt.
Jesus is about to lead a greater one—out of sin and death.
Same word. Bigger story.
But the best is yet to come when it comes to what this means for me today as a disciple following Jesus.
Peter, bless his enthusiastic heart, wants to build tents.
“Let’s stay here. Let’s capture this. Let’s make it permanent.”
Oh, I feel that sentiment. I’ve felt it on several spiritual mountaintops.
I love those Sinai moments.
Those Transfiguration moments.
Those flashes of clarity where everything feels bright and certain and… safe.
But then the cloud clears.
And Jesus?
He’s alone.
Moses fades. Elijah fades. The moment fades.
Because the point was never the mountain.
It was always Him… and He never stays there.
If Sinai and the stone tablets say “Obey and live,”
and the mountain of Transfiguration says “Listen to him”…
Then the question quietly slips into my morning like a hand on my back:
Am I still trying to live by laws carved in stone…
or am I actually listening to the voice?
Because it’s possible—oh, dangerously possible—to admire Sinai, respect the law, nod at the glory…
…and still not follow the Son down the mountain.
And he always comes down the mountain.
Toward people.
Toward pain.
Toward Jerusalem.
And when I listen to the Voice…it’s always calling my name.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
