Luke 9:33

Luk_9:33

It is good for us to be here

Raise up your eyes heavenward

I.

If you frequently remember heaven, it will be A GREAT CONSOLATION IN YOUR MANY TRIBULATIONS HERE.

1. Affliction shall be no more.

(1) No separation.

(2) No grief.

(3) No pains.

2. In heaven we shall find an everlasting reward for our tribulations.

II. If you frequently remember heaven, you will be ENCOURAGED IS THE VARIOUS STRUGGLES OF LIFE.

1. Heaven is your peaceful home.

(1) No enemy.

(2) No struggle.

2. Heaven is the abode of infinite glory. (Joseph Schuen.)

On the top of Tabor

I. THEY HAD A VISION OF CHRISTS DIVINITY. Not His distinct, unveiled Godhead--that would have been an insufferable blaze that Jehovah Himself hath told us can no man look upon and live. On the form of a servant He wears His coronation robes, and is at one and the same time a mystery and a revelation--God manifest in the flesh! What an honour and a privilege was this!

II. THEY HAD A VISION OF GLORIFIED SAINTS. Thou too, my friend, for good or ill, will live on through all the ages. Not only men, but retaining their individuality, in form and feature as in the days of their flesh.

III. THEY HAD A VISION OF THE FATHERS PRESENCE. There came a cloud and overshadowed them; not an ordinary cloud, but the bright Shekinahcloud, in which Jehovah did ever manifest His presence--the medium through which He ever made His communications to a favoured few.

IV. THEY SAW A VISION OF JESUS ONLY. This, I think, was the chief end and aim of this great event. (J. J. Wray.)

Our wishes are not always wise

Peters instance showeth us two things.

1. That we are apt to consult with our own profit, rather than public good. It is our nature, if it be well with ourselves, to forget others.

2. How much we are out when we judge by present sense, and the judgment of flesh. Well then, let us learn by what measure to determine good or evil.

1. Good is not to be determined by our fancies and conceits, but by the wisdom of God: for He knoweth what is better for us than we do for ourselves.

2. That good is to be determined with respect to the chief good, and true happiness.

3. That good is not always the good of the flesh, or the good of outward prosperity; and therefore certainly the good of our condition is not to be determined by the interest of the flesh, but the welfare of our souls.

4. A particular good must give way to a general good, and our personal benefit to the advancement of Christs kingdom, and the glory of God.

5. This good is not to be determined by the judgment of sense, but by the judgment of faith; not by present feeling, but future profit. That which is not good may be a means to good. If we come to a person under the Cross, and ask him, What! Is it good to feel the lashes of Gods correcting hand? to be kept poor, sickly, exercised with losses and reproaches, to part with friends and relations, to lose a beloved child? he would be apt to answer, No. But this poor creature after he hath been exercised, and mortified, and gotten some renewed evidences of Gods favour; ask Him then, Is it good to be afflicted? Oh yes, I had been vain, neglectful of God, wanted such an experience of the Lords grace. Faith should determine the case when we feel it not. Well then, let us learn to distinguish between what is really best for us, and what we judge to be best. Other diet is more wholesome for our souls than that which our sickly appetite craveth. It is best many times when we are weakest, worst when strongest, all things are good as they help on a blessed eternity, so sharp afflictions are good. (T. Manton, D. D.)

Peters rash judgment

I propound six questions on this.

1. Could it be good for them that Christ should entrench Himself in Mount Tabor, and never go to Jerusalem to be crucified? Lord, grant us not our own wishes when we desire evil unto ourselves; for this apostle unwittingly desired as much mischief to fall upon his own head as the devil could wish.

2. And might not Peter counsel Him without offence against this ignominious death? No, my beloved; for it is not to be excused how he knew not the Scriptures, that this was the course appointed for the redemption of the world. The hungry could not eat their bread until it was broken; we could not quench our thirst with the water of life till it was poured out of His wounds.

3. I ask, if that condition of life be well chosen in this world which appears, as this did to Peter, to be exempted from all affliction? Danger is the best sentinel in the world to make us watch our enemies. Fear is the best warning bell to call us often to prayer. Tribulation is the best orator to persuade us to humility.

4. Where shall the dove rest his foot? If we would be contented with the present state we enjoy, yet all things will change, and though all things should remain as they are, and never change, yet we would never be contented. The sea is a new sea every tide, the earth is a new earth every month, or every quarter at the longest distance, the same mutability whirls us about, and the things that we possess. What content then could Peter take in one hill, though it were furnished with a most desirable vision? How quickly would it have cloyed him to have been long there, like a lark, hopping upon one turf of grass? Though God prepare for us a new heaven, and a new earth, yet He must give us a new heart likewise to delight in them for ever. For it is not the object alone, but the disposition of the soul which receives it, that must make us say, When I awake up after Thy likeness I shall be satisfied with it.

5. Should we call that good which is appropriated to ourselves, and not communicated to many? When every man is his own end, all things will corns to a bad end. Blessed were those days, when every man thought himself rich and fortunate by the good success of the public wealth and glory. Every man thinks that he is a whole commonwealth in his private family. Can the public be neglected and any mans private be secure? It is all one whether the mischief light upon him or his posterity. There are some, says Tully, that think their own gardens and fishponds shall be safe when the Commonwealth is lost.

6. To the last question briefly in a word: Could it be the supreme good of man to behold the human nature of Christ only beatified? Surely, the human nature shining as light as the sun was a rare object, that Peter could have been contented with that, and no more, for his part for ever, yet the resolution of the school holds certain, that blessedness consists essentially in beholding the Divine nature which is the fountain of all goodness, and power; and in the fruition thereof, accidentally it consists in beholding Christs human nature glorified, and in the consequent delectation. These things must not be enlarged now, because I am prevented by the time. (Bishop Hacker.)

Balloon religion

Peter is in ecstasy amid these surroundings. He desires to remain on the Mount. He says in rapture, It is good for us to be here. He would rather remain there for ever, than go down from the mountain and engage in the practical duties of life. But his request is denied him. Sometimes, in revival meetings, you have felt in the same way. There are duties outside of the revival. Longfellow, in one of his poems, pictures a youth, who, in winter, seizes a banner and begins the ascent of a mountain. He gradually leaves behind him the fields, the stores, the workshops, the dwellings, and the neighbours. As he rises higher and higher he shouts, Excelsior. His voice grows fainter and fainter, until heard no more. He has gone so high, that the atmosphere in which he moves has become too thin to sustain life, and he dies. So it is no uncommon thing to see professed Christians taking the banner of the Cross and crying, Hallelujah, Amen, rise higher and higher, emotionally, until they leave behind them this practical world. They lose sight of the duties of every-day life. They are too high up to give much attention to such matters as speaking the truth, keeping their temper, restraining their tongue from slander, and paying their debts. They have become too religious to give much concern to these things. But these persons soon reach an altitude where the atmosphere is too thin for them to live, and they die. It is one thing to be religious on the Mount of Transfiguration, and another thing not to deny our Lord in the world below. Instead of this gushing religion, let us have one that touches the ground. (Irving A. Searles.)

A three-tent heaven

Peter forgot the other disciples, the great world beneath, and the generations yet to come. How narrow and insignificant this proposed heaven, compared with the one seen by the Patmos exile, who beheld a great multitude which no man could number. But Peter is not the only follower of Christ who would be satisfied with a little three-tent heaven. This spirit is the death-warrant of missionary enterprise. What shall be said of a Christian who is satisfied if he can only gain heaven for himself, even if the rest of the world is lost? Away with the idea of a three-tent heaven! (Irving A. Searles.)

Holiness in religious assemblies and in every-day life;

1. The wish Peter here expresses is exceedingly natural.

2. It is seemingly pious.

3. It expresses a desire not altogether free from selfishness.

4. Like other selfish wishes, Peters was mistaken. Not knowing what he said indicates the blind manner in which it was cherished and expressed.

5. We have said enough already to indicate why Peters wish was not gratified. But why, if in form it had to be denied, might it not have been granted in substance? Supposing that Peters main object in wishing to remain there was the better and holier mood which he would have been able to maintain, why might not the spiritual condition have been granted to him, even though the surrounding circumstances could not be perpetuated? The same questions in effect are sometimes asked now. Say some, The Lord is able at once to sanctify you wholly. But to ask why, if God is able to sanctify us, we are not sanctified instantaneously by His power, is very much the same as to ask, why does not God make us other than men? Why does He not change us into things into which He can put whatsoever He pleases, while, for the possession of it, as we have no will in the matter, we shall be entitled to no praise, as for the lack of it we are subject to no blame? The answer is, because He has destined us for something nobler; that, while free to choose the wrong, ours might be the merit of making the right the object of our desires and aspirations, and prayers and strivings, until having, through diligent and untiring effort, gained the victory over evil, and attained to the possession of all that is well-pleasing in His sight, we hear from His lips the eulogy which can never be pronounced on those who are made, only on those who do, and labour, and fight, Well done, good and faithful servant, &c. (W. Landels, D,D.)

The overshadowing cloud

Like the clouds that overhang and surround us, so the sorrows of life come and go, and alternate our days with changeful light and shade. Let us gaze at this cloud overshadowing these apostles, that we may learn something of the clouds that may now and hereafter overshadow our hearts.

I. THE CLOUD OVERSHADOWING THE DISCIPLES.

1. When did it overshadow them? At the moment at which they were witnessing a new and unexpected revelation of the majesty and glory of Jesus. How unlikely that a cloud should then arise!

2. What cloud was it that overshadowed them? It was a cloud of salvation. It came in mercy.

II. THE FEAR OF THE DISCIPLES AS THEY ENTERED THE CLOUD. Why did they fear?

1. Perhaps because it was a cloud.

2. Because there was mystery in the cloud. Their fear implied their deficiency of love.

III. THE VOICE IN THE CLOUD. The voice of God, testifying to them of Jesus. It was the very testimony they needed, and it was vouchsafed to them in answer to the prayer of Jesus. In all the clouds that overshadow us, in all the sorrows that assail us, there is a Divine voice addressing us; and the design of the testimony is to exalt Jesus in our hearts. (W. T. Bull, B. A.)

The cloud

Our whole happiness and power of energetic action depend upon our being able to breathe and live in the cloud; content to see it opening here and closing there; rejoicing to catch through the thinnest films of it, glimpses of stable and substantial things; but yet perceiving a nobleness even in the concealment, and rejoicing that the kindly veil is spread where the untempered light might have scorched us, or the infinite clearness wearied. (J. Ruskin.)

The fear of the disciples

What is meant by the expression as they entered the cloud, will be understood by all of you who have ever climbed to the summit of some high mountain, and may be imagined by those who have seen the lofty peak of some towering hill enveloped in a robe of mist. When, as you stand in the cool air of the mountain-top, the cloud descends upon you, you seem rather to be rising up into it, and as it hides from your view the way you have come, and the wide reach of the surrounding country, you are seized and oppressed with a sense of loneliness and mystery which may well explain what is said of the disciples in the text. And the kind of fear which is here spoken of is just that which is most trying and hardest to bear, that namely of some unknown evil that may befall you in the gloom. We create for ourselves more evils than we are called to endure. We climb the shadows before we reach the hills. To be the slave of presentiments is to deprive life of the pleasure which it was intended to have in store for us, and so to weaken ourselves that when the expected trouble befalls us it crushes and overwhelms us. (J. R. Bailey.)

The voice from the cloud

Is there not rich and consoling meaning to be got out of the fact that the voice spake to the disciples out of the fearful cloud? Does it not show that the cloud itself was the token of the Divine presence? Does it not teach us that the very events and experiences we fear the most may be those which shall most surely bring God nigh to us? The cloud and the voice are inseparably connected in the narrative--the cloud which conceals, and the voice which reveals. It is not that there was a cloud here, and a voice there. It was from the midst of the cloud that the voice came. And, did we but know it, there is a Divine presence in, and a Divine voice issuing from every cloud. Let us learn to be thankful for the cloud, instead of fearful of it, if, without it, we should not hear the reassuring voice. (J. R. Bailey.)

The overshadowing cloud

Think of the cloud as a symbol--

I. OF THE MYSTERIES OF REVELATION AND OF HUMAN LIFE.

II. OF THE SORROW THAT OFTEN VEILS THE PURPOSES OF GODS LOVE, AND YET IS THE KEY TO THE SECRET RICHES OF THAT LOVE. III.. OF DEATH--THE VEIL THAT HANGS BETWEEN US AND THE GREAT HEREAFTER. (J. Waite, B. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:33 Let’s make three shelters as memorials: The Greek word translated shelter (skēnē) is the same word used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the Tabernacle, Israel’s portable temple in the wilderness, and for the portable shelters Jews lived in during the Festival of Shelters (Lev 23:42; Neh 8:14-17). Peter might have wanted to prolong the event by giving Jesus, Moses, and Elijah a place to stay.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 9:33 . While the two celestials were departing Peter made his proposal, to prevent them from going. μὴ εἰδὼς , etc., not knowing what he said; an apology for a proposal to keep the two celestials from returning to heaven.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

they departed--Ah! bright manifestations in this vale of tears are always "departing" manifestations.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 33. It is good for us to be here] Some MSS. add παντοτε, It is good for us to be ALWAYS here.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(33) Master.—The same word as before, in Luk_5:5; Luk_8:24, where see Notes.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. as they departed] Rather, were parting.

it is good for us to be here] The word is not agathon, but kalon; it is an excellent thing, or ‘it is best’ (cf. Mat_17:4; Mat_26:24).

tabernacles] like the little wattled booths (succoth), which the Israelites made for themselves at the Feast of Tabernacles. The use of skenoma in 2Pe_1:13 (Mat_17:4) is another sign that the mind of the writer was full of this scene.

not biowing what he said] Not knowing that the spectacle on Calvary was to be more transcendent and divine than that of Hermon, not knowing that the old was passing away and all things becoming new; not knowing that Jesus was not to die with Moses and Elijah on either side, but between two thieves.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there came, a voice out of the cloud,.... See Gill on Mat 17:5.

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Luke 9:36

luk 9:36

luk 9:36

luk 9:36And when, the voice was past,.... The above words were delivered, and it was heard no more: Jesus was found alone; by his disciples; Moses and Elias being gone, and he in the same form in which he was before his transfiguration.

And they kept it close; as Christ strictly charged them, when coming down from the mount with them; Mat 17:9.

And told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen; no, not any of their fellow disciples, until that Christ was risen from the dead.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

It is good for us. It is not good, O Peter, for Christ to remain always. Should he have remained there, the promise he had made thee would never have been fulfilled. Thou wouldst never have obtained the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the reign of death would not have been destroyed. Seek not for joys before the time, as Adam sought to be made like God. The time will come, when thou shalt for eternity behold him, and reign with him who is life and light. (Damasus, Orat. de Transfigurat. Domini.) --- Three tabernacles. The Lord does appoint thee the builder, not of tabernacles, but of his whole Church. Thy disciples, thy sheep, have fulfilled thy desire, by erecting tabernacles for Christ and his faithful servants. These words of St. Peter, let us make, &c. were not spoken of himself, but by the prophetic inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Therefore it is added, he knew not what he said. (Damasus, Orat. de Transfigurat. Domini.) --- St. Peter knew not what he said, because by proposing to make three tabernacles for these three personages, he improperly ranked together, the servants and their Lord, the creature and the Creator. (Titus Bostrensis)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias" not knowing what he said. The three evangelists who relate the Transfiguration scene, with trifling variations repeat this remark of Peter"s. It is valuable to us when we remember that the tradition of the marvellous event comes from Peter, James, and John; and that they repeat the strange inconsequent words uttered by one of themselves their acknowledged spokesman. No thought of self-glorification evidently tinged this strange memory of theirs. They simply wished to record the plain truth just as it happened, and in the course of the narrative they had to repeat their own poor, babbling, meaningless words for the remark of Peter is nothing else. Their own remark, which immediately follows, is the best comment upon them, "not knowing what he said." There was a deep feeling that in such a company, bathed, too, in that glorious and unearthly light, it was well with them. But they saw the heavenly visitants preparing to leave them. They would stay their departure if they could, so they stammered, "Let us build some shelter; let us erect some temple, however humble, to do honour, Lord, to thee and thy companions."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The voice from heaven:

v. 33. And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for Thee and one for Moses and one for Elias; not knowing what he said.

v. 34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

v. 35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.

v. 36. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

Moses and Elijah, having spoken those things for which they were sent, departed to make way for a still greater manifestation of glory. But in the interval, while they were withdrawing, Peter regained full consciousness for a moment, though he was still dazed with the wonder of what he had seen. He was filled with a peculiar ecstasy, with the joy characteristic of the great festivals of the Jews, especially of that of the Feast of Tabernacles. He was loath to see the visitors from heaven depart, and therefore proposed to build three tabernacles, one for Christ, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, that the communion thus begun might continue indefinitely, and the disciples might be witnesses of the heavenly glory for an indefinite length of time. But, as the evangelist says, Peter was not clear in his mind as to what he was really saying. The entire happening on the Mount of Transfiguration was for Christ a taste and pledge of the glorification which should be His after His final great Passion. For the disciples it was to be a strengthening of their faith in view of the days through which they would be obliged to pass, days of severest trial and tribulation. But to all that believe in Christ and share the persecutions which come upon the believers for His sake, the future transfiguration and glorification is here pictured. "This revelation shows that this life is nothing in comparison with that to come, which will surely fall to the lot of those that have died to the world in Christ. And we owe it to God to thank Him with sincere praise that He thus far humiliated Himself to reveal such glory to us, and that He wanted to make us sure of the hope of the life to come by means of such a beautiful, open, and mighty revelation."

While Peter was still speaking these words, there came a cloud, not a dark and dreary mass, but one refulgent with heavenly brightness. So obvious was this feature that the poor, sinful mortals instinctively shrank back and were filled with fear as they entered into the cloud. Here was such a cloud of glory as that which filled the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and the Temple when the Lord wanted to speak to the children of Israel. But whereas in those days there was only the lid of the ark of the covenant that served as a type of the things to come, now the great Mercy-seat Himself was in the midst of the cloud of God’s glory, surrounded with heavenly brightness. And now came the revelation of God the Father, who spoke out of the cloud as a witness for His Son: This is My Son, the Chosen One; hear Him, give obedience to Him. Hereby the prophetic dignity of the High Priest of the New Testament was raised above even that of the elect prophets of old. Beside Him even the highest, greatest, and best of mortals falls away into insignificance: Jesus must be all in all. As soon as the voice had been heard, Jesus was found alone and in His former lowly appearance, that of a servant. All traces of the heavenly glory had been removed. But the disciples had heard what they were to do. They had the Word of Jesus, the Word of the Gospel; this they should hold fast, to this they should render obedience. We Christians need not worry because the bodily presence of Christ has been removed from us; for we also have the Word and Jesus in the Word in all the glory of His wonderful love unto our salvation. In obedience to a command of Christ the three disciples kept silence concerning this wonderful revelation in those days. They did not speak of this experience until after the resurrection of Christ.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. ἐν τῷ διαχωρίζεσθαι αὐτούς. As they ‘were parting.’

Ἐπιστάτα. Matt. Κύριε. Mk. Ῥαββί.

καλόν ἐστιν κ.τ.λ. It is an excellent thing, or ‘it is best’ (cf. Mat 17:4; Mat 26:24).

σκηνάς. Like the little wattled booths (succôth), which the Israelites made for themselves at the Feast of Tabernacles. The use of σκήνωμα in 2Pe 1:13 (Mat 17:4) is another sign that the mind of the writer was full of this scene.

μὴ εἰδώς. ‘Because he knew not.’ The subjective negative gives the reason for his words. Not knowing that the spectacle on Calvary was to be more transcendent and divine than that of Hermon; not knowing that the old was passing away and all things becoming new; not knowing that Jesus was not to die with Moses and Elijah on either side, but between two thieves.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33.] while they were departing—with a desire to hinder their departure.

μὴ εἰδ. ὃ λ., from fear and astonishment—ἔκφοβοι γὰρ ἐγένοντο, Mark.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. ἐν τῷ διαχωρίζεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ. “As they were pasting from Him.” This again is in Lk. only, and it explains Peter’s remark. His first impulse is to prevent Moses and Elijah from going away. He wishes to make present glory and rapture permanent.

εἷπεν ὁ Πέτρος. Mt. and Mk. add ἀποκριθείς. It is his response to what he saw. For Ἐπιοτάτα see on 5:5. He says that “it is good for us to be here,” not “it is better.” There is no comparison with any other condition. The ἡμᾶς probably means the Apostles, not all six persons. The Apostles are ready to help in erecting the σκηναί. If they were to remain there, they must have shelter.

μὴ εἰδὼς ὃ λέγει. We need not follow Tertullian in interpreting this of a state of ecstasy (amentia), as of one rapt into another world. Mk. tells us plainly why Peter “wist not what to answer,” ἔκφοβοι γὰρ ἐγένοντο: and this he would have from Peter himself. In any case, neither Peter’s strange proposal nor the comment upon it looks like invention.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As they were departing [εν τω διαχωριζεσθαι αυτους] . Lit., in their departing. The verb only here in New Testament. The whole sentence is peculiar to Luke's narrative.

Master. See on ch. Luk 5:5.

Let us make. See on Mt 17:4.

Tabernacles. See on Mt 17:4. "Jesus might have smiled at the naive proposal of the eager apostle that they six should dwell forever in the little succoth of wattled boughs on the slopes of Hermon" (Farrar).

Not knowing what he said. Not implying any reproach to Peter, but merely as a mark of his bewilderment in his state of ecstasy.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.