The History of Christianity / Consisting of the Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth; the Adventures of Paul and the Apostles; and the Most Interesting Events in the Progress of Christianity, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time.

by John S. C. Abbott

It was but gradually that Jesus revealed the great mystery of his kingdom to his disciples. He now, for the first time, began to unfold to them the truth,—that he was to go to Jerusalem, there to suffer and to be killed, and to rise again from the dead on the third day. The impetuous Peter, perhaps unduly elated by the commendation he had just received, with the grossest impropriety took it upon himself to rebuke hisLord and Master, whom he had just confessed to be the Messiah. Jesus turned upon him, and, with terrible severity, said,—

“Get thee behind me, Satan! thou art an offence unto me; for thou savorest not [dost not understand] the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

Peter needed this rebuke; and it certainly must have satisfied him that he could set up no claim to infallibility. Jesus, continuing his address to his apostles, said, in words which will ever vibrate throughout the whole Christian world,—

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall find it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 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.”[21]

This conversation took place far away amidst the wild and mountainous solitudes of the north, in the vicinity of Cæsarea Philippi. Just north of them swept the magnificent mountain-range of Great Hermon. Rugged peaks were rising from the plain all around. Jesus, who ever loved the stillness of the night and the solitude of the mountain, took with him three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, and ascended one of these eminences “to pray.”

“And, as he prayed, he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as thelight. And there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him; and they spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

“But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; and, when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles,—one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias,—not knowing what he said. While he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And there came a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.

“And, when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid; and, when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only.”

Thus there were three witnesses to the divine attestation that Jesus was the Messiah. Still, when they were descending the mountain, Jesus requested them to “tell the vision to no man until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”

It was difficult for the disciples to accept the doctrine of a Messiah who should be put to death: it caused an utter bewilderment of all their preconceived conceptions of a Messiah triumphant over all his foes. As they walked along, “they questioned one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” It seems that they were thrown into a state of great perplexity, and began again to doubt whether Jesus were really the Messiah; for the next day they cautiously inquired of him how it was that “the scribes say that Elias must first come.” Jesus informed them that Elias had already come, in the person of John the Baptist; and that, as the scribes had done to him whatever they chose, “so likewise shall the Son of man suffer of them.”