Do Not Tell Anyone

"Do not tell anyone about the vision which has been shown to you until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

We all stopped short along the trail leading down the side of the mountain.  Rocks and sand, words that hung heavy in the air.  What did He mean by this? We were coming to understand the terms He would use to describe Himself, Son of Man, Son of God.  We all had come to believe He was the promised messiah.  Even those waiting for us in the field understood that.

What did raising from the dead mean?


We kept away from the subject of death as we continued down to where the rest of our group waited.  He had mentioned this before, death and His raising.  We always chose not to venture too deep in the subject.  Instead we asked Him about the vision, about Moses and Elijah, about the suggestion to erect a tent, a place of worship, to honor the sight.

"Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" One of us asked.  We were all in such a fog, that is the best way I can describe the feeling.  I cannot recall if I spoke the words or if one of the others did.

"Elijah is coming first... and in fact he already has come.  There were many who did not recognize him.  They treated him without mercy, just as they will treat the Son of Man the same way."

We each nodded to each other, understanding that Jesus spoke about the Baptist named John.  He was dead now and we all mourned his loss.  There were those among us who had been disciples of John before he pointed them in the direction of Jesus.

Did we feel a sense of joy as we approached our brothers waiting for us at the mountain's base.  I suppose we did to a degree.  We had been chosen to witness Jesus in all His glory.  Illuminated and standing with the Fathers of our faith.  Moses and Elijah would not come to simply speak to a humble carpenter, or even a devout rabbi.  No, they came to the mountain to speak to Israel's Messiah, our king of glory.

Then why did I feel a lingering sadness as looked back up the mountain?  With glory comes pain.  With joy comes hardship.  Is that what life must be?  With all that we had witnessed at the mountain top there was still one small phrase Jesus spoke which haunted us all.

"Do not tell anyone about the vision which has been shown to you until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."



copyright 2017 - Donald P James Jr 

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