The Face of God 

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Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

 

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.  -  Luke 9:28-36

 

When Moses asked to see the glory of God, God said no. There was no way for anyone to see the glory of God’s face and to live through it. So Moses had to hide behind a rock until God passed by (Exodus 33:18-23).

 

Jesus told his disciples, “Any­one who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). But he wasn’t talking about seeing the Father physically. He meant that his own words and actions, his own heart and spirit, were a reflection of the Father. All that anyone could see physically when looking at Jesus was his humanity. His divinity was hidden, in a sense, underneath his humanity.

 

But one day, for a few moments on a mountain, Jesus’ appearance changed. His clothes became as bright as white light. And his face “shone like the sun.” His divine glory was shining from his body through his clothes. More than that, something like a veil was removed, so his face could be seen in all its glory. And of all people, Moses was there to see it.

 

The glory of God was fully present in Jesus. So Moses finally saw the face he had wanted to see so many years before. And one day, because of Jesus, we too will see the face of God. How wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The devotional message, “The Face of God”, was written by Pastor Bob Arbogast, and appeared in “Today”, www.todaydevotional.com, December 17, 2022.  Used here with permission from the website.