Not many Christians have seen that the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus was the appearing of the kingdom of God and was also the jubilee. It is very important for us to see this.
The Lord Jesus Christ now lives in us. We may say that He has again become incarnated, this time in us. Therefore, in a sense, as the One who lives in us, He is once again in the flesh, in our flesh. We are all the flesh in which the Lord Jesus lives. Therefore, there is the need of another transfiguration.
Most Christians know something about the Lord’s transfiguration. But they know this merely in a doctrinal way. If we have a bird’s-eye view of the entire Gospel of Luke and view it according to the principle of the jubilee declared in chapter four, we shall see that the transfiguration in chapter nine is related to the jubilee.
Who in 9:27-36 had the full enjoyment of the jubilee? Only three of the disciples had this full enjoyment—Peter, John, and James. However, although these three participated in the jubilee and enjoyed it, they were still very natural. The Lord Jesus was transfigured, but Peter, John, and James were not transfigured. Thus, although they were in the jubilee, they did not actually know anything about it, because they had not yet been transfigured.
We need to be impressed that the transfiguration of the Man-Savior is related to the jubilee and is also the appearing of the kingdom of God. Because Peter, John, and James had not yet been transformed, they could participate in the jubilee without having the proper realization concerning it. These three disciples were still in the old creation, still in the natural life.
While the transfiguration was taking place on the mountaintop, down in the valley the disciples were trying to cast out a demon. Although they did what they could to cast out the demon, they were not able to cast it out. Only three of the disciples—Peter, John, and James—were on the mountain with the Lord to participate in the jubilee. The others remained in the valley. This was the situation the Savior faced when He came down from the mountaintop.
Luke 9:37 says that when the Lord and the three disciples came down from the mountain, a great crowd met Him. Then “a man from the crowd called out, saying, Teacher, I beg You to look upon my son, for he is my only child; and behold, a spirit takes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it convulses him with foaming; and crushing him, with difficulty it departs from him. And I begged Your disciples that they would cast it out, and they could not” (vv. 38-40). Here we see that the disciples did not have the ability to cast out the demon. This was true not only of the nine who remained in the valley, but also of Peter, John, and James who were with the Lord on the mountaintop. The fact that John and James took the lead to argue who was greater indicates that they themselves were occupied by the Devil and thus were unable to cast out the demon.
The jubilee was present with the Lord Jesus. However, because the disciples were still in the old creation, still in the natural life, they could not participate in the jubilee. This indicates that as long as we remain in the natural life and live in the old creation, we cannot share in the jubilee. The jubilee has nothing to do with the natural life.
According to 9:41 the Lord Jesus said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” Then He rebuked the unclean spirit, cured the boy, and gave him back to his father (v. 42). Concerning this, verse 43 says, “And all were astounded at the majesty of God.”
While “all were marveling at all the things which He did He said to His disciples, Put these words into your ears; for the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men” (vv. 43b, 44). Here the Lord unveils His death the second time. However, the disciples “did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him concerning this saying” (v. 45). Immediately afterward, we are told that “a reasoning came in among them as to which of them would be greater” (v. 46). This certainly indicates that the disciples did not know where they were. They certainly were not in the jubilee, for they were still very natural.
The Lord Jesus had indicated that He was about to die. He also indicated that it was necessary for the disciples to die with Him. Here the Lord seemed to be saying, “I must die in order to accomplish the jubilee, and you need to die in order to participate in the jubilee. Without My death there will not be a jubilee, and without your death with Me you cannot participate in the jubilee.”