Jesus the Tabernacle
Jesus the Tabernacle
Jordan Alturas / General
Life of Christ / Cloud with God’s Glory; Glory of Moses’ Face; Holy Place of the
Tabernacle / Matthew 17:1–13
The Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1–13 HCSB
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them
up on a high mountain by themselves. He was transformed in front of
them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white
as the light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with
Him.
Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I
will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a
voice from the cloud said:
This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him.
Listen to Him!
When the disciples heard it, they fell facedown and were terrified.
Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.”
When they looked up they saw no one except Him —Jesus alone. As they
were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t
tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the
dead.”
So the disciples questioned Him, “Why then do the scribes say that
Elijah must come first?”
“Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” He replied. “But I tell you:
Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary,
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they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man
is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He
spoke to them about John the Baptist.
It seems to me in further studying rather than referring to this as the
transfiguration we could call it the sneak peak. This was a teachable
moment, like the confession of Peter, the teaching was not intended for
immediate application but for evidence to use later in exegeting the
identity of Christ.
Before we dive into this text it's important we go back in redemptive
history and gain some knowledge for context into this story.
First of all lets talk about Moses and Elijah, then lets talk about this
cloud.
Moses
Exodus 33:17–23 HCSB
The LORD answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for
you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Please, let me see Your glory.”
He said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will
proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will
be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion.” But He answered, “You cannot see My face, for no one can
see Me and live.” The LORD said, “Here is a place near Me. You are to
stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the
crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face
will not be seen.”
Exodus 34:5–8 HCSB
The LORD came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed
His name Yahweh. Then the LORD passed in front of him and
proclaimed:
Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger
and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a
thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He
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will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the
fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and
fourth generation.
Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
Exodus 34:29–35 HCSB
As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the
testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not
realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the
LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face
shone! They were afraid to come near him. But Moses called out to
them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him,
and Moses spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he
commanded them to do everything the LORD had told him on Mount
Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over
his face. But whenever Moses went before the LORD to speak with Him,
he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would
tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, and the Israelites
would see that Moses’ face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil
over his face again until he went to speak with the LORD.
Then they began to build the tabernacle.
Tabernacle
What was the purpose? It made it possible for God to live among His
people without destroying them. The tabernacle provided protection
for those whom God desired to dwell amongst.
Elijah
1 Kings 19:9–13 HCSB
He entered a cave there and spent the night.
Then the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are
you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Hosts, but the
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Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and
killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are
looking for me to take my life.”
Then He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the LORD’s
presence.”
At that moment, the LORD passed by. A great and mighty wind was
tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the LORD, but
the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake,
but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was
a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a
voice, a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?”
Isaiah 6:1–8 HCSB
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and
lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing
above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with
two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to
another:
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts;
His glory fills the whole earth.
The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and
the temple was filled with smoke.
Then I said:
Woe is me for I am ruined
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of Hosts.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal
that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with
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it and said:
Now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed
and your sin is atoned for.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
Who should I send?
Who will go for Us?
I said:
Here I am. Send me.
Isaiah was in the Holy place, in the temple which was the permanent
tabernacle. However He unexpectantly came in to contact with God's
presence. When we come into God's presence we are made aware of
how Holy He is and how unholy and worthy we are. Isaiah was sure He
was going to die.
Matthew 17:2–4 HCSB
He was transformed in front of them, and His face shone like the sun.
Even His clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly, Moses and
Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I
will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah.”
What was happening here? Jesus starts to glow, and He's not reflecting
glory from somewhere else it's radiating from Him. Then Moses and
Elijah appear both of which have been in God's presence, Moses who
would meet with God then reflect His glory, Elijah who had experianced
the cloud and God's voice and lived, then was taken up in the rushing
wind not having had to suffer death. Peter then knowing the context
expresses gratitude for being present but offers to build tabernacles for
the three of them. He knows what happens when someone who is
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unclean is in the presence of God, they die. Priests could only enter this
sanctuary once a year and needed to prepare with great care, and still
would tie a rope around them before entering in case they made a
mistake and died in God's presence so the body could be removed. The
shelters were not for the men, they were to protect Peter and the other
disciples. Then the scariest thing imaginable happens! Boom
Matthew 17:5–6 HCSB
While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a
voice from the cloud said:
This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him.
Listen to Him!
When the disciples heard it, they fell facedown and were terrified.
The glory cloud appears and they hit the dirt! They are sure they are
dead. Next jesus touches them and they look up. They were hiding their
faces on the ground because they knew they weren't holy, but when
they look up it's just Jesus, and He's not glowing anymore everything is
back to normal? What happened? Why aren't they dead?
Jesus the Tabernacle
John 1:14 HCSB
The Word became flesh
and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory,
the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
the word used here for took up residence is literally tabernacled. The
Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us. However they
observed His glory, thats what happened here at the transfiguration!
They observed Jesus glory, He momentarily removed the veil, pulled
back the curtain.
Colossians 1:19 HCSB
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For God was pleased to have
all His fullness dwell in Him,
Hebrews 1:3 HCSB
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His
nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making
purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high.
So what do we see here? Jesus is the physical expression of the
tabernacle and temple. This was the way God could most intimately
dwell among His people, and then suffer on our behalf. So the disciples
didn't die here because Jesus protected them from the Fathers glory, He
revealed the glory of the Father dwelt in Him, and He contained the
glory so they were not destroyed by it. After Jesus died on the cross the
curtain in the temple dividing the Holy of Holies was split from top to
bottom, revealing the final atonement had been made and we no longer
needed to be sheltered from God's presence, we now have access. Jesus
did the work of protecting us, sinful broken unholy people from the holy
presence of God so now we can have access to intimate relationship
with the Father. Now we are the place the Spirit dwells.
Tim Keller when reflecting on this text came up with three principles:
1. The transfiguration tells us who Jesus is
2. It tells us what He came to do.
3. It tells us how to respond to Him:
1 Obey
2 Worship
3 Wait
Also as far as our individual application and reflection this text should
stir our hearts in affection for Jesus because of what He has done for us
individually. Many people mishandled the presence of God and were
struck dead. Everyone deserves to be dead because of the presence of
sin in our lives, and the holiness of God, yet by grace He shows mercy.
Which is what is depicted here, they should have died and they knew it,
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but in His mercy Jesus shielded them. Then By His mercy Jesus paid our
debt on the cross and acted as the perfect sacrifice offering His blood in
our place. Not only did He pay atonement for our sin but then He
imputed us with His righteousness, giving us access to the Father. Now
not only can we be in His presence and not die but He takes up
permanent residence in us! Our hope then is we have assurance of our
position forever. We no longer need to fear death, because He has made
us Holy, and will continue the work of making us more holy.
Ephesians 5:13–14 HCSB
Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes
everything clear is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and the Messiah will shine on you.
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