Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4
Jesus Is with You
Movie previews can be dangerous. You go to the theater for a film, but then the previews start. And one of them looks so good you find yourself thinking, “Wait… why am I here for this movie? I want that one!”
That’s a little like what happened to Peter on the mountain. Jesus’ face shone like the sun. His clothes were bright as light. Moses and Elijah appeared. It was a glimpse of glory—a preview of heaven.
So, Peter said, “It is good for us to be here.” He even offered to build shelters so they could stay. But Peter wanted the glory without the suffering. He wanted Jesus shining and without the cross.
And honestly, don’t we?
We love the part of faith that feels uplifting. Peace. Joy. Hope. Blessings. But when life gets heavy, when grief comes, when fear rises, when our prayers don’t seem answered, then we start longing for a quick escape. We want mountaintop moments. We want out of the valley. We want the preview to become the whole story.
But Jesus didn’t stay on the mountain. He came down. Because the glory Peter saw could only be ours if Jesus first went to the cross. And he did for you.
Here’s the comfort: when Jesus came down, he didn’t come down away from his disciples. He came down with them. Into the crowds. Into the mess. Into the hard days. Into the valley.
So, if life feels low right now, don’t assume Jesus is far. The Savior who shines with glory is the same Savior who walks beside you in pain. He has not left you. He knows the valley. And he will bring you through it.
The preview, heaven, is coming for all those who put their faith in Jesus as their Savior. And right now, Jesus walks with you in the middle of real life because he came down the mountain.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when I want comfort without struggle, remind me that you came down the mountain and went to the cross for me. Give me strength to follow you, trusting your love. Amen.
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Matthew 17:2
Who Is Jesus?
People have lots of opinions about Jesus. Some say he was just a good teacher. Some say he was just a prophet. Some say he was just a symbol of love and justice. Some say he was just a legend.
But what Jesus reveals and tells us about himself doesn’t leave any room for “just.” The apostle Matthew tells us that Jesus was “transfigured.” That means he changed right in front of his disciples. For a moment, his glory showed through. He shone like the sun. His clothes became dazzling white. And God the Father spoke from a cloud: “This is my Son.”
That means Jesus isn’t simply an inspirational leader. He is God’s Son. And that changes everything.
Maybe you need that reminder today. It’s easy for doubts to creep in. Life gets messy. Suffering makes you wonder if God is really there. And sometimes Jesus can feel far away. That’s why this moment matters. God didn’t just want the disciples to hope Jesus was the Savior. He wanted to show them so they would know with certainty.
Since Jesus is God’s Son, his words carry authority. His promises carry weight. His death is not a tragedy; it’s a rescue. His resurrection isn’t a myth; it’s the doorway to eternal life.
And that is why Jesus matters for you right now. Because Jesus is God’s Son, your life is not an accident. Your sins are not too big for forgiveness. Your pain is not ignored. And your future is not hopeless.
You don’t have to wonder if God loves you. God sent his Son for you. The Transfiguration shines a spotlight on who Jesus really is. And when you see him clearly, you can finally see your life clearly too.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me see you for who you truly are, God’s Son and my Savior. Give me confidence in your promises today. Amen.
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Matthew 17:1-2
Jesus Alone is Your Savior
It was late summer, a little more than half a year until Jesus’ crucifixion. We don’t know exactly what mountain this was, but since Jesus and his disciples had just been near Caesarea Philippi on the slopes of Mount Hermon, it is likely that this was the Mountain of the Transfiguration.
Jesus took three of his disciples up the mountain with him. These three were his inner circle of friends who were privileged to witness an amazing scene—Jesus was transfigured before them. The appearance of his face and clothing changed. For a brief time, those three disciples saw the unveiled divine glory of Jesus, the bright glory that is his from eternity as the Son of God.
In a few short months, these same disciples would witness the deepest point of Jesus’ humiliation on earth—his bitter suffering and death on a cross. The vision of Jesus’ divine glory on that mountain helped prepare the disciples for what they would see their friend go through at the hands of his enemies. The transfiguration of Jesus assured them that he is the Son of God whom God the Father appointed and sent to earth to be the world’s Savior from sin.
With that firm conviction, Peter later preached, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus alone is the world’s Savior—your Savior!
Prayer:
Jesus, glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration as the eternal Son of God, you went on to deeply humble yourself as my Savior on Calvary’s mountain and die to take away the punishment for my sins. Lead me to always honor you as my Lord God and love you as my only Savior. Amen.
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1 After Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people who were listening, he went into Capernaum. 2 A centurion’s servant, who was valuable to him, was sick and about to die. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, 5 because he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us.”
6 Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, because I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I am also a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, he was amazed at him. He turned to the crowd that was following him and said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” 10 And when the men who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward [1] Jesus went on his way to a town called Nain, and [2] his disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. 12 As he was approaching the town gate, there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother. She was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not cry.” 14 He went up to the open coffin, touched it, and the pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16 Fear gripped all of them, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us” and “God has visited his people!” 17 This was reported about him in all of Judea and in all the surrounding countryside.
Footnotes
Luke 7:11 Some witnesses to the text read On the next day.
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.”
39 He also told them a parable: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? 42 Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck in your eye,’ when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.
Listen and Do
43 “Certainly a good tree does not produce bad fruit, and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. 44 In fact, each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, and they do not gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 The good person brings what is good out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil person brings what is evil out of the evil within. [1] To be sure, what his mouth speaks flows from the heart.
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid a foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river beat against that house but could not shake it, because it was founded on bedrock. [2]49 But the one who listened to my words and did not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river broke against it, it fell immediately, and that house was completely destroyed.”
Footnotes
Luke 6:45 Some witnesses to the text read out of the evil treasure of his heart.
Luke 6:48 A few witnesses to the text read because it was well built.
12 It happened in those days that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When it was day, he summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, also Simon, who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Heals Many
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, as well as from the coastal area of Tyre and Sidon. These people came to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. 18 Those who were troubled by unclean spirits were also cured. 19 The whole crowd kept trying to touch him, because power was going out from him and healing them all.
Blessings and Woes
20 He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor, because yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you whenever people hate you, and whenever they exclude and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because of this: Your reward is great in heaven! The fact is, their fathers constantly did the same things to the prophets.”
24 But woe to you who are rich, because you are receiving your comfort now. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, because you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, because you will be mourning and weeping. 26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, because that is how their fathers constantly treated the false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other too. If someone takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not demand them back.
31 “Treat others just as you would want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? To be sure, even the sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even the sinners do the same thing. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even the sinners lend to sinners in order to be paid back in full. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the unthankful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
27 After these things, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow me.”
28 Levi left everything, got up, and followed Jesus. 29 Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house. There was a large crowd of tax collectors and others dining with them. 30 The Pharisees and experts in the law grumbled against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “The healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples fast and pray often, and so do the Pharisees’ disciples, but yours go on eating and drinking?”
34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then, in those days, they will fast.”
36 He told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new garment, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old one. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Instead, new wine must be put into fresh wineskins so both are preserved. 39 And no one wants new wine while drinking old wine, because he says, ‘The old is fine.’”
Lord of the Sabbath
Luke 6
1 When Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath day, his disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry (he and his companions)? 4 He went into the house of God, took and ate the Bread of the Presence, which is lawful only for the priests to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 Jesus also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand
6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught. A man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 The experts in the law and the Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They wanted to find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he always knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up and step forward.” [1] He got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at all of them and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored. 11 They were filled with rage and began discussing with one another what they could do to Jesus.
12 On another occasion, Jesus was in one of the towns, and there was a man full of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be made clean.”
Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Jesus ordered him to tell no one, “But go, show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony for them.” 15 The news about him spread even more, and large crowds gathered to listen and be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.
Jesus Forgives Sins
17 On one of the days while Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 Just then, men who were carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher tried to bring him in and lay him in front of Jesus. 19 Since they did not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him down through the tiles on his stretcher into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins have been forgiven.”
21 The experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God alone?”
22 But Jesus knew their thoughts and answered them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”
25 Immediately, he stood up in front of them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all astonished and glorified God. They were also filled with reverence and said, “We have seen wonderful things today.”
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