And we are indeed a people who need this reminder. We are so prone to judge by appearances. When we see weakness, we assume defeat. When we see suffering, we assume God is absent. But the Transfiguration teaches us that humiliation does not nullify glory. The cross will not revoke Christ’s kingship. The One who will be lifted up in shame is the same One whose face shines like the sun.

The Epistle of the Hebrews begins by addressing the reality that God condescends himself to interact with His creation.  The medium that God chose was through the Prophets in the days of old which has its terminal fulfillment in the Son of God.

In Exodus 17, Moses recorded a time when the freemen of Israel put God to the test. The Israelites’ thirst grew, causing an uptick in their persuasion that death by dehydration may befall them. Under intense pressure from the thirsty people, Moses sought God’s help. The Lord responded to Moses’ prayers by commanding him to use his staff to strike the rock.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he writes that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). We stand in awe when we read this (or we ought to), because we are told that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, and chose to live in the midst of his people.