It is Good for us to be Here!

Mat 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment
was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and
Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord,
it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles;
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the
cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear
ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were
sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be
not afraid.

This is the greatest understatement in history! Of course, poor "foot in the mouth," impetuous Peter was given to saying things before thinking them out:

* "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."
* "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."
* "#$%^&@ I don't even know the man!"
* "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?"
* "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?"
* "Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended."
* "What about John?"
* "I go a fishing."

Of course, that doesn't mean that he never got things right. Take a look at Mat 16:16, "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Yea Peter!

Perhaps you have a friend, co-worker or even a family member, who, much like Peter, is only comfortable when their mouth is running. Be honest, somebody’s face just popped into your mind!

Today's incident shows that Peter is going to force saying something, even if it causes others to look at him in bewilderment and think, "Duh, ya think?"

Jesus is transfigured before the sleepy eyes of Peter, James and John.

Revelation better describes what Jesus looks like in His heavenly state:

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Just think, John got to see Jesus in His glorified appearance twice!

It gets more intense. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appear. I mean, imagine you seeing the Lord glorified and George Washington and Abe Lincoln flanking Him. Most of us would be speechless. Suddenly, your pal nudges you in the side with his elbow and exclaims, "Ya know, it sure is a good thing that we're here!"

But then it gets a bit sillier. "Um Lord, Moses, Elijah, hold on a minute would you? We're gonna build three tabernacles for you guys."

Peter, good brother, SHUT UP!!!!

In fact, that's basically what God from Heaven says next. May I paraphrase? "Peter, this is my beloved Son. Remember your confession just last week? 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God?' Obviously, it's time for you to stop talking and listen for once!"

So Peter and pals fall to their faces and tremble like scared little kids.

Funny thing is, Jesus had nothing to say after that. What they witnessed sufficed. He came and tapped them on their shoulders and said, "Come on boys, get up, nothing to be afraid of." (I know, Jesus would not have ended a sentence with a preposition, but work with me here.)

"Lord, it is good for us to be here." What an enormous understatement. Makes me think of some of the things I say:

* "Lord, it was good to be in your house today."
* "Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me."
* "Lord, bless all the missionaries."

You get the idea. We don’t really have the verbal skills to adequately express ourselves, so we just blurt out what comes to mind. Paul felt the frustration of understatement when, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." II Cor 9:15

Sometimes, even well-intended words just don't suffice. We just need to hush up, be in awe and wonder as we listen to what the Lord has to say and witness His glory.