Chapter One Continued

The question is, what changed in or on Jesus’ body?

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

—1 John 1:5

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

—Matthew 1:23

Jesus saith unto him [Philip], Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believe thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very work’s sake. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever

—John 14:9–11, 16

These verses answer the question. Jesus, along with Peter, James, and John, all went up on a high mountain, apart, or away, from everyone else. The account tells us that Jesus experienced a change. Just as we are changed by the Holy Spirit when we are saved, here God the Father has changed Jesus. The transformation, I believe, was one that replaced God in Jesus with the Holy Spirit. The verses suggest that God had been dwelling in Jesus up to this point. We say that Jesus is God incarnate, which means He was dwelling in Jesus. In order for Jesus to die, God had to depart from Jesus and be replaced by the Holy Spirit.

Now, Jesus is exactly like you and me, and He can experience how a man feels. Once the Holy Spirit was indwelt in Jesus, He could then die. During the transfiguration, His face shined like the sun, bright and unable to be looked upon directly. The sun is our source of life here on earth. The sun gives physical growth and life to plants, animals, and humans, just as Jesus gives life to us today. Jesus’ raiment was as white as light. The clothing that covered Jesus gave out the purest light, so white and bright. The transformation that occurred here is that Jesus relinquished God the Father, as evidenced by light. God is always associated with light, since God is light. Brightness came out of Jesus, and He became a human who was filled with the Holy Spirit. His death then could mirror a human’s death, with the release of His spirit upon the cross.

The transfiguration is also detailed in Mark 9:2–4 and 7. The account here starts with Jesus speaking to the disciples:

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

—Mark 9:1

The disciples hearing these words could conclude they would see Jesus and His power come before they died. At the resurrection, they saw that power over death, the empty tomb, and His appearance in the garden to Mary, and then His appearance in the upper room, proving Jesus was alive and on the earth, still with them. The Kingdom of God is entered into only by the new birth, the spiritual part of our salvation.

And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved Son: hear him.

—Mark 9:2–4, 7

Mark only describes His raiment, not His face, but he makes sure we know that the whiteness of His raiment had no equal, that nothing could be whiter. Mark doesn’t mention that John was the brother of James, as is mentioned in Matthew. The Matthew account uses the word “behold” three times, and this word calls attention to what may be seen or heard or mentally apprehended in any way. Therefore, the use of “behold” meant not only “to see or observe intently,” but it was also an order to do so. So, in Matthew’s account Peter, James, and John were commanded to behold the events that would be passed on to the others and with a wondering of why it is us. The “behold” is in verse 3, and I believe they were to observe intently the persons of Moses and Elias and store that in their minds.

Any good Jew would know the significance of these men. Elias, a great prophet of God, was translated by God to heaven, never to see death, and Moses, God’s great deliverer, was the giver of the Ten Commandments and the author of the first five books of the Holy Bible (the Pentateuch). These were great men of Israel’s history, and they came to talk with Jesus. Wow! Peter, James, and John were to take note of the company whom Jesus was with, as a sign of His power and authority and leadership there on that mountain and throughout all eternity. Moses was a great leader who led the nation of Israel up to the entrance of the promised land. Jesus will be the next great leader, the subject of the great books of the New Testament.

The “behold” found later in Matthew 17:5 again commands them to look intently at the bright cloud. Brightness again is seen in His face, which shone like the sun, and His raiment was as white as light. Total light seems to be all around Him, now coming from the cloud. This “behold” then centers on a voice coming from the cloud. It is God speaking and telling them, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him.” Once Jesus is transfigured, the change that came about was that God was now talking to them, signifying that God was now outside of Jesus. And God expressed now to His Son that His every act would bring pleasure to the Father.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

—Luke 1:28

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

—Luke 1:30–31

These verses continue to show the indwelling of God at the annunciation, letting us know that God was with Mary. She was blessed with the duty to bring forth the fleshly Savior of the whole world. She was highly favored and picked to birth God’s dwelling for a time. Understanding that God was in Jesus validates the story of Jesus lagging- behind from the trip to the feast of Passover. With knowledge unknown to the religious leaders, Jesus was able to converse with them on a level far above the knowledge of a twelve-year-old boy. This was the “all knowledge” of God He was displaying. Jesus knew He must be about His Father’s business. Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and Mary contributed the fleshly parts of Jesus. Jesus here became indwelt by God incarnate. And Jesus left us the Holy Spirit when He went to heaven.

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

—Luke 1:35

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

—Luke 1:37

Mary was filled with the power of God in order to accomplish the birth of God incarnate—that is, God with us. But the transfiguration changed Jesus from one form to another. While His body remained the same, it was an inner working that changed. God the Father relinquished His place in Jesus so that the crucifixion could take place. Baby Jesus was called “holy,” separated from sin and consecrated to God, sacred. The birth of Jesus will be talked about later, concerning His sinless blood.

The account of the transfiguration in Luke brings some additional information different from the other accounts.

But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory and spoke of his decrease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. While he thus spoke, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, this is my beloved Son: hear him.

—Luke 9:27–35

When Luke uses the word “fashion” in these verses, he is saying that the change was in appearance. “Fashion” suggests that which is seen, an appearance. But Luke uses different terms to describe Jesus’ countenance. Luke said His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening. Still with the light, His likeness was altered. Coming into contact with dead leaders and then watching them talk to Jesus would bring about a different countenance. Amazement, wonder, reverence, and maybe even fear was felt during this meeting. I sure would like to know what they talked about. They probably told Jesus that He would be the fulfillment of the Law and be the greatest prophet of Israel. But there still was the cross to face, the one sacrifice needed to take away the sins of the world witnessed by those great men of Israel. Each account has listed Peter, James, and John differently, probably due to the ranking of each in the eyes of Luke, who was different from the other writers. It might not be a significant thing, but it does beg an explanation, or a reason for the ranking of these names.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

—2 Corinthians 4:6

The shining of Jesus’ face gives the idea that God’s glory in Jesus was leaving, and the light radiating from His face and shining raiment gives the idea that the Holy Spirit has now entered Jesus. Jesus also was participating in the meeting of the minds of great men of God. As soon as God left Jesus, everyone disappeared except for Peter, James, John, and Jesus. Everything was back to normal. And now Jesus was on His way to the cross.

Luke 9:29 is different from the other two accounts. Matthew and Mark translate the transfiguration as “a change from one form to another.” Luke tells us that the fashion of His countenance was altered, that the glory of God came into the face of Jesus Christ. This change in Jesus’ face, His external appearance or form, signifies something physical happened, along with the spiritual light. God is light, so the light came out of Jesus and His body then became lightened by the Holy Spirit. The appearance of Jesus’ face changed and shone like the sun. The onset of the change was His prayer. In verse 32, the term decrease (meaning that He would be crucified) was ahead in Jerusalem, and I think that’s what Moses, Elias, and Jesus talked about. Verse 34 in Luke then ends like the other accounts, but this time they entered the cloud, and the voice out of the cloud again said, “This is my beloved Son; hear Him.”

Transformation occurred at the transfiguration involving the transfer of light from Jesus. Transformation also occurred with the appearance of Moses and Elias. Bringing dead people back alive is a real transformation, and then watching them disappear is another.

I want to go back to something I picked up while reading all of these three accounts. In every account, Jesus took the disciples and went up into the mountain. Why would they go into the mountain rather than upon the mountain? I believe, as do many others, that this mountain was Mount Hermon, known as “the gate of the fallen angels.” The angels that fell with Satan fell here, on Mount Hermon. Surprisingly, Mount Hermon holds the headwaters for the Jordan River. When the transfiguration occurred, Jesus, Elias, and Moses were inside the top of the mountain, exactly where the fallen angels were thrown down to the earth. This demonstrates the power of God being exercised over evil surroundings and evil spirits. The power of the Holy Spirit let those evil spirits know that Jesus was in charge, and that He carried the Holy Spirit to protect His fleshly body. Mount Hermon is cursed and a forbidden place. Pan, the god of sexual perversion (see Deuteronomy 3:11,) half-man, half-goat, lived in Mount Hermon. Fertility gods were worshiped there. This subject will be covered more thoroughly later in the book.

Why did Philip ask to see the Father? the Jews are taught that no one can see God the Father, yet Jesus told His followers that the sight of Him was equal to seeing the Father. Jesus came right out and said in verse 10, that the words He spoke came not from Himself, but from the Father who was dwelling in Him. This tells us that God indwelt Jesus. But because God must be the judge of the sin that Jesus took on Himself, He had to be detached from Jesus to allow Him to die on the cross—thus, we see the need for the transfiguration.

Transformation occurred in the Old Testament when Moses confronted Pharaoh over letting the children of Israel go from Egypt:

And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they become serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

—Exodus 7:10–12

These verses depict a confrontation between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh and the forces of Satan. The confrontation involves a demonstration of the power of God and the power of Satan. God told Aaron to throw down his rod (staff), and when he did so, it turned into a serpent. But the magicians of Pharaoh were able to do the same thing through the power of Satan. Moses’ staff turned into a serpent, but so did Pharaoh’s. God helped Moses and Aaron, and Satan helped Pharaoh’s magicians. But we see later that Aaron’s serpent swallowed the magician’s serpent, indicating a superiority of power. In this story of the confrontation between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh, God was using Moses and Aaron to free God’s people. Moses confronted Pharaoh and told him to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh said no. When they were asked about their God’s power, this is when the testing began. Aaron’s power over the staff demonstrated a molecular transformation. A piece of wood (a branch from a tree) has a molecular structure that makes it a tree. This structure contains millions of atoms that make up a tree. But they are radically different from the molecular structure of a serpent. A serpent is a reptile, made up of some of the same atoms, but millions more atoms are different. This is a prime example of a molecular transformation. A molecule is the smallest particle of a substance that retains all the properties of the substance and is composed of one or more atoms. Molecules makeup the substance of all life and each life has different molecular structure, thus the difference between a tree branch and a reptile. This miracle put Pharaoh on notice that the God of Moses and Aaron had great power. Transformation occurred when the staff changed into a serpent. Pharaoh’s magicians were able to perform the same miracle, showing that Satan had powers—to a certain point. The power of Satan is seen every day in the lives of people. Allowing Satan to think he has power over God is fruitless. Satan has the power of transformation, with the magicians performing the same miracle.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

—2 Corinthians 11:14–15

Satan is the great deceiver, and everything in him is wicked and anti-Christ. Yet he can change his form into that of an angel of light, and so can his demons. Here is where evil comes from: demons. In the garden, Satan deceived Eve by portraying himself as a “good guy,” which deceived Eve and enticed her to listen to him. A talking animal was unique, and he made Eve believe that there was something else in God’s instructions. Not only was she deceived, but she made the terrible decision to disobey God. Satan’s end shall be according to his works.

And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

—Exodus 7:20–21

Again, we see transformation in turning the waters of the Nile River into blood. Yes, each has a water base in the case of blood. But blood has a different molecular structure than does H2O. Here again, the power of God through Moses and Aaron shows Pharaoh the strength of their God to be superior to the gods of Egypt. The change happens from one form to another—can you imagine something happening like that today? Don’t forget, all of life centered around the Nile River for the Egyptians. Not only was the water supply affected for their drinking purposes, but the killing of the fish was harmful for their economy. Having no fish would be disastrous to the lives of the people. No bathing, no drinking, and no fish to eat: these curses were now affecting the people, and I bet they were wondering what was going on. To make these curses even more devastating, they were all accomplished in front of Pharaoh and his servants. The people were actually- seeing their leaders become confounded and superior power being demonstrated by the men of God. The people knew God’s power as they saw it demonstrated before their eyes. The smell must have been bad, with dead fish all around along with blood, and let’s not forget the blood smell wreaked havoc on their livestock and the whole economy.

I mentioned original transformation (creation) previously, but how did it happen? A few verses can sum it up:

By the word [logos] of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

—Psalm 33:6

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man become a living soul.

—Genesis 2:7

The Word (Logos) is the creating force that transforms. The Word has the power to transform nothing into everything. God, through the Word, created this world through the breath of His mouth, and all things were created by Him. The molecular structure of a man is another example of transformation, as he goes from one form to another that is completely different. Satan has the power to transform himself into another form and a different molecular structure. His transformation into an angel of light signifies “an awakening of the mind to truth.” God illuminates the mind and the spirit. Because Satan would illuminate his lies, a person’s mind would be awakened to the lie. As a false angel of light, Satan performs deeds in order to deceive us with his lies and lead us away from the truth. Truth can only be found in God’s Word, which illumines our minds to the real truth. The truth protects us from the lies and produces spiritual maturity. We must resist and not give place to the lie.

Transformation occurred in Jesus’ time at the beginning of His ministry:

Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.

—John 2:7–8

According to John, in verse 11, this was Jesus’ first miracle, but what it shows is transformation again. Like the example of Moses and the Nile River, here we have water being turned into wine, something entirely different. The molecular structure of the liquid substance has changed. Wine was usually made from grapes, and fine wine was made with excellent grapes. Jesus had turned H2O into fine wine, altering its very structure. The power of Jesus over everyday things like wine provides the scope and the personal touch that man needed. This New Testament example brings up many of Jesus’ miracles. He did many miracles recounted in the Scriptures that do not relate to molecular changes. But in this case, the governor of the feast was able to tell that what Jesus had produced was excellent wine—in fact, the best.

Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

—John 7:30

Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

—John 8:59

Jesus was confronted by the Jewish leaders about who He was. When Jesus equated Himself with God, the Jews raged at Him, seeking to kill Him. Jesus escaped by dematerializing before their very eyes and then passing through the crowd, invisible. In addition, after the resurrection, Jesus materialized to the two men who were walking on the road to Emmaus. He walked with them, talking about His crucifixion and death. Jesus also walked through a closed door; He was able to make Himself invisible and then transform His body into a spirit being and then back to a man.