Ch. 37, The Mount of Transfiguration
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
The Mount of Transfiguration
On August 12, A.D. 29 Jesus and the apostles pitched their tents in the foothills of Mount Hermon where the lad, Tiglath, had not long ago waited on Jesus as he ascended the mountain alone, confronted and conquered his arch-enemies, and technically ended the Lucifer rebellion settling the spiritual destiny of Urantia. They rested here for two days to prepare their spirits for the events to come. Jesus hoped that all of them would be able to arise to the spiritual levels they needed to participate, but that was not to be—the apostles had not yet reached the spiritual maturity needed to justify their full exposure to the celestial beings that were soon to appear on Earth. Since he could not take all of them up the mountain with him, Jesus decided that just Peter, John, and James—the three apostles normally assigned to him—would share in this unique experience.
The Transfiguration
Six days after Peter’s confession under the Mulberry trees when he had stated that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus and his three apostles hiked up the mountain. Jesus had been summoned to this meeting with the celestial host to discuss matters related to his progress as the Son of Man, and how that progress was affecting his universe. It is worth noting that this extraordinary meeting was timed to not only take place while Jesus was in gentile lands, but that it actually took place on a mountain claimed by the gentiles.
The four made it almost halfway up Mount Hermon by noon and stopped for lunch. While they were eating, Jesus told the three apostles some of the events that occurred in the hills east of the Jordan right after he had been baptized by John, and some of his experiences when he was by himself the last time he was on Mount Hermon.
When Jesus was a boy he used to climb the hill close to his house, and looking out on the plain of Esdraelon he would sit and dream about all of the armies and battles that had been fought there in the past. Now he was on Mount Hermon to receive the endowment—to be awarded the spiritual gifts—that were going to prepare him to return to those very Jordanian plains and meet the final closing scenes of his time on Earth.
Jesus did not have to do this: that day he could have chosen to return to rule his universe. Instead, he chose to meet the requirements of divine sonship according to the mandate of the Eternal Son on Paradise and to embrace the present will of the Paradise Father. His three apostles watched in amazement as they saw him decline his right to full universe authority, and the celestial messengers depart leaving him alone to complete his life on Earth as the Son of Man and the Son of God. The apostles faith had peaked when they fed the five thousand, then it quickly fell to almost zero. Now with Jesus admitting his divinity their faith peaked again for the next couple of weeks, only to then progressively decline; it would not be until after the resurrection that it was again revived.
It was a beautiful day on the mountain. About three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus said “I am going off by myself for a while to talk with the Father and his messengers. I want you to stay here, and while you are waiting for me to get back pray that the Father’s will be done in your future time with the Son of Man.”
Jesus then left the three apostles and went off by himself where, when he was alone, he had a long conference with Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek. Jesus returned about six o’clock that evening, and when he saw that the apostles had been worried about him being gone so long, he said “Why were you afraid? You know I must be about my Father’s business. Why do you doubt when I am not with you? I am now telling you that the Son of Man has decided to go through his full life with you, and as one of you. Be happy—I will not leave you until my work is finished.”
As they were eating what little they had for supper, Peter said “How long do we stay on this mountain away from the others?”
Jesus said “Until you see the glory of the Son of Man, and you know that whatever I have told you is true.” As the evening wore on the four sat around the glowing embers of the fire and talked about the Lucifer rebellion. But they had started up the mountain early that morning, and the apostles’ eyes grew heavy and they fell into a deep asleep around the fire. Then about half an hour later they were suddenly woken up by a nearby crackling sound. Looking on amazed and afraid they saw Jesus talking to two brilliant beings clothed in celestial light, Jesus’ face and body shinning with a heavenly glow. The three of them talked in a strange language and Peter, trying to understand it, wrongly decided that the two beings with Jesus were Moses and Elijah. Actually as said earlier, they were Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek. The apostles were able to see these events because Jesus had arranged with the physical controllers for them to be able to do so.
The apostles were afraid and slow to compose themselves. As the dazzling vision faded and they saw Jesus standing alone, Peter, who was the first to come to his senses, said “Master it is good to have been here. We rejoice to see this glory. We do not want to go back down to the shameful world below. If you are willing let us live here we will set-up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Peter said this because he was confused, and because just at that moment nothing else came to his mind. While he was still speaking a silvery cloud appeared above the four of them. This apparition frightened the apostles so much that they fell down to the ground on their faces and prayed. And then they heard a voice—the same voice that had spoken at Jesus’ baptism—say “This is my beloved Son: take notice of him.”
When the cloud vanished the three were again alone with Jesus. Reaching down and touching them, Jesus said “Get up and do not be afraid. You will see grander things than this.” But the apostles were truly afraid; they were silent and thoughtful as they prepared to head down the mountain shortly before midnight.
Coming Down the Mountain
No one said anything until they were about halfway down Mount Hermon. Then Jesus said “Make sure that you tell no one, not even the other apostles, what you have just seen and heard on this mountain until the Son of Man has arisen from the dead.” The three apostles were shocked and bewildered. “Until the Son of Man has arisen from the dead?” They had just reaffirmed their faith in Jesus as the Deliverer, as the Son of God, and they had all just seen him transfigured into elevated glory right before their eyes and now he was talking about arising from the dead?
Peter shook at the thought of Jesus dying: that was too horrible of an idea to even bring up. And since he was afraid that John or James would question Jesus about what he had just said, Peter started the conversation off in another direction. Not knowing what else to talk about he asked Jesus the first thing that came to his mind, and said “Master, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first before the Messiah will appear?”
Jesus knew what Peter was trying to avoid, and he said “Elijah indeed comes first to prepare the way for the Son of Man who must suffer many things and finally be rejected. But I am telling you that Elijah has already come and they did not receive him well, but instead they did whatever they wanted to him.” The three apostles thought that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist as Elijah. Jesus knew that since they insisted on thinking of him as the Messiah, then in accordance with that belief John must be the Elijah in the prophecy.
Jesus had ordered the three apostles to not tell anyone about seeing a hint of his glory that was going to come after the resurrection. He knew that they thought of him as the Messiah, and he did not want them now thinking that he was going to fulfill their hopes for miracles. Peter, John, and James did as Jesus asked and told no one about what they had seen until after his resurrection.
After hiking farther down the mountain, Jesus said “You would not accept me as the Son of Man. So I have agreed to be seen by you as you think I am. But do not mistake the fact that my Father’s will must be done. If you decide to follow your own ideas, be ready to experience many trials and to suffer many disappointments. Regardless, the training I have given you should be enough to see you through even those sorrows of your own choosing.’
Jesus did not take Peter, John, and James with him because they were more spiritually fit for the experience than the others. In fact none of the twelve were spiritually qualified to witness this rare event. These three men were allowed to participate just because they were the apostles that normally accompanied him when he was alone in the hills.
Meaning of the Transfiguration
What Peter, John, and James saw on the mount of transfiguration was just a fleeting glimpse of the heavenly parade of events that occurred that night on Mount Hermon. The Eternal Mother-Son of Paradise affirmed that Michael had met the requirements of his incarnated life on Earth, while Gabriel assured Jesus that the Eternal Son’s expectations had been met and the Father Melchizedek affirmed the same for the Infinite Spirit.
Jesus was grateful for the Eternal Son and Infinite Spirit’s assurance that his mission had met their requirements for success. Still, Jesus noted that his Father had not yet indicated that Jesus’ time on Earth was through. The only word so far from God the Father—and this is what was heard by the three apostles—came when Jesus’ Personalized Adjuster said “This is my beloved Son: take notice of him.”
After that celestial visit Jesus wanted to better know his Father’s will. He decided that it was for him to follow his mortal life to its natural end. For Jesus, this was the meaning of the transfiguration and why it was so important. For the three apostles, this event marked Jesus entering his final phase as the Son of God and the Son of Man on Earth. After Jesus, Gabriel, and the Father Melchizedek had finished their formal business they relaxed and talked about universe affairs.
The Epileptic Boy
Jesus and the three apostles returned to where the others were camped Tuesday morning before breakfast. When they arrived they found a group of about fifty people arguing among themselves. There were the nine apostles, and the rest of the crowd was about equally divided between Jerusalem scribes against Jesus and believing disciples who had tracked Jesus down on the journey from Magadan.
There were many heated arguments happening at once, but the loudest concerned a man from Tiberias who had arrived the day before looking for Jesus. This man, James of Safed, had a son who was an only child and who had a bad case of epilepsy. Furthermore, to make matters worse he was possessed by one of the wandering, mischievous, and rebellious midwayers who were still uncontrolled on Earth at that time. He was suffering from a double affliction: he was epileptic and possessed by a demon.
James of Safed was a low ranking official in Herod Antipas’ government. He had wandered around the western borders of Philip’s lands for almost two weeks looking for Jesus to ask him to heal his son. When he arrived at the apostles’ camp there were almost forty other people following him. Their arrival surprised and upset the nine apostles, most of whom had fallen back to arguing about the honors and positions they were going to receive in the coming kingdom. They could not entirely free themselves of their older materialistic ideas of the coming messiah, and now that Jesus himself had admitted that he was the Son of God their most wonderful hopes and ambitions were foremost in their minds.
Andrew was the first to step up and greet James of Safed and his son, and he said “Who do you seek?”
James replied “My good man, I am searching for your Master. I seek healing for my sick son. I want Jesus to cast out this devil that possesses my child.” And then he went on to tell the apostles about how his son was so possessed that he had almost lost his life many times because of his seizures.
Then Simon Zelotes and Judas Iscariot stepped up and said “We can heal him: you do not need to wait for the Master to return. We are ambassadors of the kingdom; no longer do we hold these things in secret. Jesus is the Deliverer, and the keys of the kingdom have been given to us.”
This concerned Andrew, and he took Thomas aside to talk. Nathaniel and the others looked on in amazement—they were all horrified at the two’s sudden boldness. Then James of Safed said “If it has been given to you to do these works, I pray that you will speak those words that will bring my child out of this bondage.”
Simon Zelotes stepped forward and placing his hand on the child’s head while looking straight into his eyes said “Come out of him, you unclean spirit; in the name of Jesus obey me!”
Right then the young boy had a violent fit, and the disappointed apostles suffered the taunts and ridicule of the scribes and other unfriendly critics. Andrew was upset by this foolhardy attempt and its complete failure, and he called the other apostles together to pray and discuss what had happened. Then feeling the full weight of their humiliation, Andrew went to the boy and tried his hand at casting out the demon only to again fail. Andrew straight up admitted his failure to everyone and going to the father asked him to spend the night and wait until Jesus returned. Andrew said “Perhaps this sort of demon does not leave except by the Master’s personal command.”
While Jesus was coming down the mountain with his three now ecstatic apostles, the other nine were having a confused, humiliated, and sleepless night. They were dejected and embarrassed. As for James of Safed, he was not going to give up and he agreed to stay until Jesus returned, whenever that would be.
Jesus Heals the Boy
The nine apostles were more than relieved when they saw Jesus and the other three walking back toward the camp, and they were encouraged to see how excited Peter, John, and James were. The nine all rushed forward to greet their friends, and as they were welcoming them back to the camp the crowd gathered around. Jesus said “What were you arguing about as we drew near?”
Before any of the humiliated apostles could speak, James of Safed stepped forward, knelt at Jesus’ feet, and said “Master I have a son, an only child who is possessed by an evil spirit. Not only does he cry out in terror, foam at the mouth, and fall down like he’s dead whenever he has a seizure, but many times this evil spirit puts my son into convulsions, and sometimes he has made my son throw himself into the water and even into the fire. With much grinding of teeth and as a result of many bruises, my child is wasting away. His life is worse than death; his mother and I have sad hearts and broken spirits. About noon yesterday when I was looking for you I caught up with your disciples, and while we were waiting for your return your apostles tried to cast out this demon but they could not do it. Now Master, will you do this for us? Will you heal my son?”
After Jesus listened to James of Safed he reached down and touched him, motioning him to stand as he gave his apostles a searching look. Then to everyone present Jesus said “O faithless and headstrong generation, how long will I tolerate you? How long will I be with you? How long before you learn that the works of faith do not come when asked from someone with doubting unbelief?” Then pointing to the bewildered father, Jesus said “Bring me your son.”
When the father had fetched his son, Jesus asked “How long has the boy been sick like this?”
James of Safed replied “Since he was a young child,” just as the boy had another violent seizure falling in front of them gnashing his teeth and foaming at the mouth. After a few moments the convulsions stopped and the lad looked like he was dead. James went to his knees again in front of Jesus and said “If you can cure him, I beg you to have compassion on us and rid us of this sickness.”
Jesus looked down into the father’s anxious face and said “Do not question my Father’s power of love, only the sincerity and reach of your faith. All things are possible to him who believes.”
Then James of Safed spoke those long to be remembered words of faith mixed in with doubt, “Lord I believe. I pray that you help my unbelief.”
Jesus took the boy’s hand and said “I will do this according to my Father’s will, and in honor of living faith. My son, get up! Come out of him disobedient spirit, and do not go back into him.” And then placing boy’s hand in that of his father, Jesus said “Go on your way. The Father has granted your soul’s desire.” All who were present, even Jesus’ enemies, were astonished at what they saw.
The three apostles who had been with Jesus on Mount Hermon and who were so excited after witnessing his transfiguration were now disillusioned after seeing the other disciples so discouraged. This is how it always was with these twelve men: throughout their lives they never failed to swing between total joy and utter humiliation. Jesus performed a true double healing: he cured both a physical disease and exorcized a demon. After James of Safed and his son had left, Jesus said “We are going to Caesarea-Philippi: prepare yourselves at once.”
In Celsus’ Garden
That night they all stayed at home with Celsus. After supper and when they were all gathered together in the garden, Thomas said “Since we cannot know yet what occurred on Mount Hermon, can you speak to us about what we did wrong trying to exorcize the devil out of the boy?”
Jesus replied “Everything that the others heard on the mountain will be told to you in due time. But now I will show you the reason why you failed in what you so unwisely tried to do. While your Master and his companions, your friends, went up the mountain yesterday to gain a better understanding of our Father’s will and the ability to better enact that will, you men who stayed behind guarding the camp were supposed to also be praying for more spiritual insight. Instead, you gave into your old evil thoughts of a material kingdom and your places in it. You hold on to these mistaken ideas regardless of how many times I tell you that my kingdom is not of this world.’
“No sooner can you through having greater faith know the identity of the Son of Man, than you fall back to talking about your selfish desires for worldly fame. You ask yourselves who will be the greatest among you in this kingdom of heaven, yet the kingdom as you believe in it will never be, and has never been. I have told you that he who would be greatest in the kingdom of my Father’s spiritual brotherhood must become little in his own eyes and a server of humanity: it requires a God-like understanding love without the attempt to exalt oneself. You completely failed in your unwise effort to cast out the demon because your ambition was not unselfish; your method was not based in love, your goal was not in the will of the Father in heaven, and your purpose was not pure, divine, or spiritual.’
“How long before you learn that you cannot time-shorten the course of natural established events except when it is in accordance with the Father’s will? Neither can you do spiritual work without spiritual power. And even when the potential of using spiritual power exists, to use it requires a third essential human factor—you must have the personal experience of possessing living faith. You do not need to be attracted to the spiritual realities of the kingdom with material manifestations of power. Can you grasp the spiritual significance of my mission without having to see signs and wonders? When can you be depended on to follow the higher spiritual realities of the kingdom regardless of what is happening in the material world?’
When Jesus finished reprimanding the twelve, he said “Now go get some rest. Tomorrow we return to Magadan to plan our mission to the cities in the Decapolis. In order to finish our talk about what happened today, I am telling you what I told Peter, James, and John on Mount Hermon and let these words forever stick in your hearts: The Son of Man is now entering on the last phase of his time on Earth. We are about to start the work that will soon lead to the final and momentous test of your faith and devotion—that time when I am put into the hands of the people who want to destroy me. And remember this, The Son of Man will be put to death but he will arise again.”
The apostles did not understand Jesus and they were afraid to question him, but after the resurrection they recalled all he had told them.
Peter’s Protest
None of the apostles could sleep: even the Alpheus twins were shocked by what Jesus had said. That Wednesday morning they left Caesarea-Philippi and headed south for Magadan Park near Bethsaida-Julias. Jesus instructed Andrew to take the intersection with the Damascus road just beyond the Waters of Merom because it would take them through Galilee, Herod Antipas’ land. Jesus knew that the people following them would figure he was afraid of Herod, and that to avoid a confrontation Jesus would instead continue walking straight down the east Jordon Road. Jesus pulled this ruse because he wanted the day alone with his apostles.
They made their way through Galilee not stopping until well past the lunch hour. After they had eaten and were resting under some shade, Andrew said “Master, we do not understand what you are saying. We have come to believe that you are the Son of God, and now we hear this talk about you dying and leaving us. We do not understand what you are trying to teach us. Are you speaking to us in parables? We pray that you speak to us plainly.”
Jesus replied “My apostles, it is because you have stated that I am the Son of God that I am obliged to tell you the truth about the end of my time on Earth. You insist on believing that I am the Messiah who must sit on the throne in Jerusalem, even though I keep telling you that the Son of Man must soon go to Jerusalem; suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, scribes, and chief priests, and after all of this be killed and then raised from the dead. This is not a parable: I am telling you the truth so that you can be prepared when these events suddenly happen to us.”
Before Jesus could continue, Simon Peter jumped up and without thinking put his hand on Jesus’ shoulder and said “Master, it is not our place to argue with you, but I am telling you that these things will never happen to you.”
Peter said this because he loved Jesus. But Jesus’ human nature saw that in Peter’s well intentioned statement there was present the subtle hint that he, Jesus, should change his policy of living his life to the end according his Father’s will. Because of the danger of allowing even his loving apostles’ suggestions to possibly change his course, Jesus immediately turned on Peter and the others and said “Get yourselves behind me. You smell like my enemy, the one who tempts us. When you speak like this you are not on my side, but his. By doing this you put your love for me in the way of me doing my Father’s will. Do not worry about the ways of humanity, but rather the will of God.”
Continuing, Jesus said “If people are going to follow me, let them disregard themselves and take up their daily responsibilities, because those who selfishly save their life will lose it but those who lose their life for me and the gospel will save it. What does it profit people to gain the whole world and lose their own souls? What would people give in exchange for eternal life? Do not be ashamed of me and my words in this sinful and hypocritical generation, just like I will not be ashamed of you when I appear before my Father in glory and in the presence of all the celestial host. Regardless, many of you now standing before me will not die until you see the kingdom of God come with power.”
Jesus made it clear to the apostles that following him was going to be a painful and conflicting path: he shocked these Galilean fishermen who continued to dream of their position of honor in an earthly kingdom. But Jesus’ courageous appeal stirred their loyal hearts and not one of them intended to desert him. Jesus was not sending them alone into battle, he was leading them: he was only asking that they bravely follow.
The apostles were slow to grasp that Jesus was telling them about his death, and they completely failed to comprehend what he said about arising from the dead. But as the days passed Peter, John, and James recalled their experience on Mount Hermon and better understood his meaning. In all of the time that the twelve apostles spent with Jesus, they only saw that flash in his eye and felt his quick scolding a few times. Jesus was patient with their human shortcomings, but only up to the point of carrying out his Father’s will. The apostles were amazed and horrified: they were stunned, and could not find the words to express their sadness. Slowly they were beginning to realize what Jesus was going to endure, and what they were going to endure with him. But they did not come to this realization until long after these early hints of the future.
At Peter’s House
It was twilight by the time they arrived at Capernaum and made their way unnoticed through the back streets to Simon Peter’s house. After dinner and while waiting for David Zebedee to arrive to take them across the lake, Jesus looked over at Peter and the other apostles and said “As you were all talking on the way this afternoon, why was everyone so serious?”
The apostles remained silent: no one responded. Many of them had continued to talk about their positions in the coming kingdom—who was going to be the most important among them, etcetera. Jesus knew this. Calling over one of Peter’s youngest children, Jesus sat the child in the middle of the group and said “It is the truth when I tell you to do an about-face and become more like this child or you will make little progress in the kingdom. People who humble themselves and become like this little one are those who will become the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And those who receive a little one receive me; those who receive me, also receive him who sent me. If you want to be first in the kingdom, teach this to your friends. But for those who cause these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them if a millstone was hung around their neck and they were cast into the sea. If the things that you do with your hands or the things that you see with your eyes hinder the progress of the kingdom, give up those cherished idols because it is better to enter the kingdom without the material things that you love in this life than it is to hold on to those earthly pleasures and shut yourself out of the kingdom. But most of all, do not harm even one of these little ones because their angels are the face of the heavenly host.” After Jesus finished speaking they boarded Zebedee’s boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee to Magadan.