Luke 9:28-45

Key Verse: "A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."" (Luke 9:35)

Eight days after Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus took Peter, James and John up onto a mountain to pray. These three were like the leaders of the disciples, key members that the other disciples looked up to and drew encouragement and knowledge from. They were also those that Jesus focused on training. He could have been frustrated with their immaturity and lack of growth, but instead he sought out spiritual encouragement and went to pray. While they were there, Jesus became a changed man; it says that “the appearance of his face changed, and his cloths became as bright as a flash of lightning” (v. 29).

Then Moses and Elijah came down from heaven and spoke with Jesus. These spiritual giants, representatives of both God and the Old Testament, came to encourage Him. They had been God’s servants before Jesus’ time, prophets and leaders of God’s people. Most importantly, they had known suffering during their time and knew of the suffering that Jesus would go through soon. “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem” (v. 31).

However, the disciples were sleeping. They were immature in their faith and more concerned with the physical aspects of their journey instead of what was going on with Jesus. Granted they were surely tired from hiking all the way up this mountain, and Jesus praying could not have been the most exciting thing for them to watch, but their hearts were not aware of the importance of this trip. Even when he was awake, Peter spoke before thinking, suggesting that they build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He wanted to stay on the mountain with them in their glory instead of going down and working among the people as he was called to do.

But before Jesus could answer him, “a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (v.34-35). The cloud, representing the voice of God, delivered this message to them: Listen to him. It tells us three things about Jesus: that he is God’s son, that he was chosen by God, and that we should listen to him. Even in the midst of all this glory, God was giving them a reality check.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to believe if God did this today, but God speaks to us in other ways. In fact, it requires more faith to believe in that that we cannot see. But it also makes it harder for us to listen. In group settings, I am not much of a talker; I prefer to listen and interject when I feel it’s necessary. In a one-on-one setting, though, it is much easier and often times you can’t get me to shut up and be quiet. Like all humans, I have a tendency to talk about myself—my latest accomplishments, something I saw on TV or the internet, or things that I think are interesting. It is hard for me to listen to others’ stories because I am always reminded of something that I want to say or a story that I want to tell. It is something I need to work on and am being made aware of more and more.

How much more do I ignore God when He is trying to tell me something? Prayer time is spent actively praying: asking for things for myself or people I know, guidance during difficult situations, and the like. It’s always “take, take, take,” but hardly ever “give.” I ask for things, but hardly ever spend time listening or waiting for an answer. I know there have been many opportunities when God has been trying to tell me something and I ignore it or don’t recognize it for what it is.

I need to listen more to God’s voice and learn to recognize it better. To do that, I need to be more open in my heart to hear Him, and to study the ways in which He speaks. Reading the Bible and studying His word will help me come to know Him better, and by knowing God more I can better communicate with him.

One Word: Quiet my heart and hear Him speak.