Eight days later, Jesus took Peter, Jacob, and John and climbed a high mountain to pray. As he prayed, his face began to glow until a blinding glory streamed from him. A radiant glory illuminated his entire body. His brightness became so intense that it made his clothing blinding white, as multiple flashes of lightning.
All at once, two men appeared in glorious splendor: Moses and Elijah. They spoke with Jesus about his soon departure from this world and the things the Father destined him to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had become very drowsy, but they became fully awake when they saw the glory and splendor of Jesus standing there and the two men with him.
As Moses and Elijah were about to return to heaven, Peter impetuously blurted, “Master, this is amazing to see the three of you together! Why don’t we stay here and set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah?”
While Peter was still speaking, a radiant cloud of glory formed above them and overshadowed them. As the glory cloud enveloped them, they were struck with fear. Then the voice of God thundered from within the cloud, “This is my Son, my Beloved One. Listen carefully to all he has to say.”
When the thunderous voice faded away and the cloud disappeared, Jesus was standing there alone. Peter, Jacob, and John were awestruck. But they didn’t say a word to anyone about what they had seen.
The next day, a massive crowd was waiting at the foot of the mountain to meet them. A man in the crowd shouted desperately, “Please, Teacher, I beg of you, do something about my son, my only son. An evil spirit possesses him and makes him scream out in torment, and hardly ever leaves him alone. It throws him into convulsions and he foams at the mouth. When it finally does leave him, he’s left with horrible bruises. I begged your disciples to drive it out of him, but they didn’t have enough power to do it.”
Jesus responded, “You are an unbelieving people with no faith! You twist your lives with lies that have turned you away from doing the right things. How much longer should I remain here, offering you hope?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son to me.”
As the boy approached, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into violent convulsions. Jesus sternly commanded the demon to come out of the boy, and it left immediately. Jesus healed the boy of his injuries and returned him to his father, saying, “Here is your son.”
Everyone was awestruck and stunned to see such power and the majesty of God flow through Jesus. Everyone marveled, trying to process what they had just witnessed. Jesus then turned to his disciples and said, “Listen carefully and let these words sink into your hearts. The Son of Man is about to be betrayed and surrendered to the authority of men.”
But the disciples could not grasp the meaning of what he was saying, for it was a veiled mystery to them, and they were too embarrassed to ask him to explain it.
The disciples began to argue and became preoccupied over who would be the greatest one among them. Fully aware of their innermost thoughts, Jesus called a little child to his side and said to them, “If you tenderly care for this little child on my behalf, you are tenderly caring for me. And if you care for me, you are honoring my Father who sent me. The one who is least important in your eyes is actually the most important one of all.”
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