28 About eight days after he had said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a mountain to pray. 29 While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, both Moses and Elijah were talking with him. 31 They appeared in heavenly glory and were discussing Jesus’ approaching death and what he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and the men with him were sleeping soundly. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter didn’t know what he was saying.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them. They were frightened as they went into the cloud. 35 A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him!”
36 After the voice had spoken, they saw that Jesus was alone. The disciples said nothing, and for some time they told no one about what they had seen.
Read Luke 9:28-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Often, when I am reading a passage in the Bible about a specific event, and then compare it with other gospels that also include it, a word or phrase in one of the gospel accounts jumps out at me. With the transfiguration event on the mountain – something that three of the four gospels include – Luke’s gospel wins with a unique phrase that the other gospel’s don’t include.
In Luke’s gospel, we read that when God the Father comes in the cloud and speaks in verse 35, He says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen . . .” Some other translations say instead “My chosen One”, while the other two gospels instead say “whom I love”.
Don’t miss this distinction, because it is powerful: God chose Jesus. God chooses people who He loves and He loves people who He chooses.
It is easy for us to picture God the Father having love for Jesus the Son, but too often we stop there and miss the other side of the coin: God chose Jesus. Perhaps we don’t like thinking about this idea from this angle, because it implies that God could have chosen to not choose Jesus, but even on this line of thinking, we see a powerful part of God’s character. God chooses people based on His view of history, not based on our view – and once He has chosen someone, He will not “unchoose” them.
This is easy to grasp when looking at God the Father, and at Jesus the Son, but what about you and me? Are we left to wonder where we stand in God’s eyes?
Nope. Jesus came to show us the Father, and He died to show us how much love the Father has for each of us. This demonstration of God’s love has other implications: God chooses people who He loves and He loves people who He chooses.
If Jesus came and died for you (which is 100% true), then equally true is the idea that God loves you – and if God loves you, then He has chosen you. This could be choosing you to be someone special/significant, to do something subtle/important for Him, or to be an example for others by leaning on Him for strength in your weakness.
God chose Jesus for a task that only He could do. God chooses you and I for tasks that He specifically created us to do.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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