From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is My beloved Son, hear Him.
Imagine that you are with Peter, James, and John on the mountain. You have come apart with Jesus for a while to pray, but you do not realize that Jesus has something truly remarkable in store for you. You pray for a while, as Jesus does, but then you get sleepy and start to nod off.
Something startles you, and your eyes pop open. Your jaw drops. Jesus is standing there before you, but He is glowing, radiating. His face looks different, and His clothes are so white they shine. Two men stand beside Him, and you somehow recognize Moses and Elijah. They are speaking to Jesus about His upcoming exodus. You have no idea what that means, and you don't even know what to say or do. You just sit their with your mouth hanging open and your eyes wide. Jesus is so beautiful, so glorious.
Peter, of course, is the one who speaks up, mumbling something about making tents. You know he is thinking about the Feast of Tabernacles and how Jesus is the Messiah, but he hardly seems to realize what he is saying.
Suddenly a cloud descends over you, and you are actually immersed in it. You fall on your face, terrified, for you know that this the shekinah, the glory cloud, the same one that led the Israelites out of Egypt, the same one that descended on the mountain as Moses received the law, the same one that descended on the Tabernacle and the Temple. It is a sign of the intense, overwhelming presence of God.
A voice rings out from the cloud. “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.” Then when you dare to look up, Jesus is there alone. He touches you and tells you not to be frightened. But you are a little anyway, for you have just experienced something perfectly divine.
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