20th July 2026

20th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 17:1–13 focus v1-2)


Message (Alan Burke) 


A long time ago, I had a friend who was an avid photographer. My parents thought she was an excellent photographer because apparently she managed to take a decent photo of me. Of course, I jest, for as we all know, every photo of me is a masterpiece. She came to mind because one of the things that she used to do for people was take old photos, ones where the original negative was lost, and through all kinds of analogue and digital trickery, be able to restore the photo to the glory it once displayed. Of course, these days, you just get AI to do things like that, and it spits it out in seconds and doesn’t even have six fingers anymore. You look at an old photo, and the colour has faded, it’s tatty round the edges, and you can see a glimpse of what it would have been like the day it was taken. Today, we come to a passage where Jesus takes three of his disciples up the mountain with him, and they see for a brief moment some of the fullness of the glory of the Son of God that was veiled by his humanity. 


It’s now six days after Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, and Jesus had taught them about his death and resurrection, to which brought about Jesus’ rebuke of Peter (16:23). He takes Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, to a high mountain. We don’t know where; it doesn’t matter; actually, it’s best that we don’t because our hearts are idol factories, and no doubt someone would think it a good idea (it’s not a good idea, by the way) to make some kind of monument so that people can make pilgrimages there. Anyway, there, as Jesus led them up, without warning, he was transfigured before their eyes. 


Now, the Greek word here that is translated as ‘transfigured’ in English is a word that, when we hear it in the Greek, we will hopefully be able to work out what it means without too much effort. The word that is translated transfigured is literally the word μεταμορφόω, literally metamorpho, meaning metamorphosis. Jesus was metamorphosed, he was transformed, transfigured; he changed before their very eyes. Up to this point, they had only seen Jesus in human form, but they were able to see Jesus as he is, as he was transfigured, metamorphosed before them. The deity of Jesus Christ that had been veiled is now bursting forth before the eyes of Peter, James, and John. We are told v2 “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light”. The glory that had been veiled in His humanity burst forth; even His garments became white as light.


There before them light was flowing out of Jesus, the Glory of God was being revealed to these disciples. It’s not that Jesus is mirroring the glory of God, like a reflection in the mirror, rather they were seeing what had been hidden from their eyes in His humanity. They are now able to see the deity of Jesus, for he is the incarnate God. What a sight was before them, as the radiance of the Glory of God shone around, as the radiance of Jesus was before them. They were beholding the Glory of the LORD, the Son of God. Brother and sister know that one day we will see him like he is, you and I will behold his glory, wonderful, beautiful, terrifying, and we will be like him, we will shine like the sun, our bodies will be glorified and all creation will be filled with God’s glory and there will be no more sin (1 Jn 3:2, Mt 13:43, Phil 3:20-21)


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q17 Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
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