Jesus In Glory, Rest In His Touch

June 3, 2021

When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

~Matthew 17:8~

I love this story when Jesus transfigured before Peter, James and John high up on the mountain. It always struck me how these men were chosen to see Jesus in His glory before He was even sent to the cross. They received a vision of what the Lord was to be in His full glory and they were told not to speak of it until Jesus was risen from the dead; "Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9)

I don't believe they fully understood what He meant by this but we can look back and see that Jesus was giving them a taste of what was to be. After the Father's cloud of Presence came and took away Moses and Elijah, the disciples trembled. They fell down on their face and were fearful of the thundering voice of God. This is a reaction we see all throughout the bible. That thundering voice and magnificent glory which cannot keep us on our feet; "Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place!” (Ezekiel 3:12)

What response does Jesus give as His disciples tremble and fall on their face? He gently reaches out and touches them telling them not to fear. This verse today shows us His gentleness in the midst of even the most sovereign moments. John went on to receive the same powerful vision of Christ's glorified body following His gentle touch, same as before; "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last."

(Revelation 1:17)

They look up and see no one but Jesus. Once they felt His warm embrace and His welcoming touch upon them they were focused on only Him. Where are we in our walk today? Are we seeing no one but Jesus? Even as we witness the best of things or the worst of things around us are we focusing on Him alone? Are we able to see Jesus in everything around us with our spiritual eyes or is there something keeping us distracted from His glorious Presence?

"He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen."

(Deuteronomy 10:21)

The gift He gave these men im sure they did not comprehend just how special it was until after Christ rose, just as He told them would happen. He is a Man of His word. Jesus will speak to us in ways we will not fully understand until the time comes when we can look back and realize just what He meant by that word, vision or circumstance at that moment. They saw the supernatural in front of their eyes and yet afterward saw no one but Jesus in front of them. They weren't focusing on Moses or Elijah anymore, they were only focusing on Christ. There are people around us that may throw us off, there are things around us that may cause confusion and there are situations we will not understand quite yet; but all in all Jesus says focus on Me. All you need to see is Jesus. He is the center of all things, put all trust in Him.

God's glory is enough to make anyone tremble, I speak from experience. It truely is unlike anything you could possibly imagine. There is no control of emotion, thought or understanding. God is so Sovereign it is unbearable for our earthly bodies to approach. In spirit we can approach our Father because Christ gave us the ability to do so. Jesus comes in with gentleness in the flesh and tells us to not fear but to focus our eyes upon Him. God came in flesh to dwell with us in flesh. This is how badly He wanted us to open ourselves up to His glory; "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

It's as if God made Himself like us so we may not fear His true Glory filled Presence, so we could feel His true gentle touch through His Son Jesus Christ. He invites us in to witness the fullness of His true glory just as Peter, James and John saw with their very own eyes; yet only in glimpses so as not to overwhelm us. Eventually all they saw was Jesus. Let us focus on Jesus and understand His glory in respect. There is a trembling part of us which knows God Almighty and there is the calm serenity of Jesus Christ and the comfort of Holy Spirit all in One. He gives us His full self in these seperate ways for us to feel complete with Him. We may not all fully understand, but one day we will just as these men understood in the perfect time they needed to. Jesus loves us so much He gives us a glimpse of who and where He is in our day to day life. Are we seeing no one but Him in all we do? Are we looking for where Jesus is in each moment? I can assure you when we do the glory will be felt all around us. We will appreciate it more and more as we become closer to Him. What a gift these men received by seeing what was to be and what is. They got a true taste of Heaven on earth and so can we! Just look to Jesus and ask Him to make His glory known, to manifest His wondrous Presence because He surely lives and His glorified body is with us everyday!

Prayer:

Almighty Alpha and Omega, how thankful I am for Your sovereign glory that can come in and fill me at any moment in time. I want to feel, see and hear You more in each of my days. Let me see no one but You in all that I go out to do in the world and in my own home. I know You are always beside me and can manifest whenever You desire. Even as I dont see You with my eyes I know each situation I am in You are in the midst and I can see only You. Open my spiritual eyes Holy Spirit and guide me into all glorified truth. I carry on the fear of the Lord all while resting in Your gentle Presence. I am grateful for the trinity of God which gives me every aspect of who You truely are. My God will never fail. I receive Your everlasting glory today and I long to keep my eyes focused on You alone as I move ahead day by day from glory to glory, faith to faith. My love for You is always growing by the minute, it is an unending well in my heart. I praise You my King and I honor Your glorified body in all that I live for. It is in Your Power filled Name I pray, Jesus Christ. Amen.