Paper 158 Overview: The Mount of Transfiguration

This paper describes Jesus' journey with Peter, James, and John to Mount Hermon, where he experienced the transfiguration - a pivotal spiritual event where celestial beings met with Jesus to confirm his bestowal mission on earth. During this supernatural encounter, Jesus' appearance became luminous as he communed with Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek, while a voice from a cloud declared, "This is my beloved Son; give heed to him." This celestial confirmation marked Jesus' transition into the final phase of his earthly ministry.

Meanwhile, the nine apostles who remained behind failed in their attempt to heal an epileptic boy because they lacked faith and were distracted by arguments about position in the coming kingdom. Upon Jesus' return, he successfully healed the boy, then used the situation to teach important lessons about faith and spiritual power. The paper concludes with Jesus' increasingly direct statements about his coming death and resurrection, which the apostles struggled to comprehend, culminating in Peter's rebuke of Jesus and Jesus' stern response to this temptation to deviate from his divine mission.

On Friday afternoon, August 12, Jesus and his companions arrived at the foot of Mount Hermon, near where Jesus had once visited alone to address the spiritual destinies of Urantia and technically end the Lucifer rebellion. They remained there for two days in spiritual preparation for the significant events to come, as Jesus knew beforehand much of what would transpire on the mountain and desired that all his apostles might participate in this experience.

However, most of the apostles had not reached the spiritual level necessary for exposure to the full celestial visitation that was to occur. Since Jesus could not take all of his followers with him, he selected only Peter, James, and John – the three who regularly accompanied him on special vigils – to share even a portion of this unique experience with him. This selective invitation foreshadowed the increasingly specialized nature of Jesus' final teachings to those most prepared to receive them.

Early Monday morning, August 15, Jesus led Peter, James, and John up Mount Hermon, six days after Peter's memorable confession of Jesus as the Son of God by the roadside. Jesus had been summoned to the mountain to address important matters concerning the progress of his bestowal in the flesh and its relationship to the universe he had created. The timing and location were significant, occurring in Gentile territory rather than on Jewish soil.

After reaching their destination halfway up the mountain before noon, Jesus shared with the three apostles some of his earlier experiences in the hills east of the Jordan after his baptism and his previous visit to Mount Hermon. Around three o'clock, Jesus took leave of the apostles to commune with his Father and celestial messengers, returning about three hours later. When the apostles fell asleep later that evening, they were suddenly awakened to find Jesus conversing with two brilliantly clothed beings – Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek – though Peter mistakenly believed they were Moses and Elijah. As the vision concluded, a silvery cloud overshadowed them, and a voice proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son; give heed to him," leaving the three apostles awestruck and fearful until Jesus reassured them.

For about half the descent, the group traveled in complete silence until Jesus addressed the apostles, instructing them to tell no one what they had witnessed until "the Son of Man has risen from the dead." This reference to resurrection bewildered the three apostles, who had just reaffirmed their faith in Jesus as the Deliverer and Son of God. They struggled to reconcile their concept of a triumphant Messiah with Jesus' allusions to his death.

Peter, disturbed by talk of Jesus dying, attempted to change the subject by asking about the scribes' teaching that Elijah must precede the Messiah. Jesus explained that John the Baptist had fulfilled this role of Elijah, adding, "they received him not but did to him whatsoever they willed." Jesus further explained that he allowed them to receive him according to their expectations as the Messiah, though this would lead to disappointments when his true mission unfolded differently than their preconceived notions. He clarified that he did not take Peter, James, and John up the mountain because they were spiritually superior, but because they were his regular companions during times of private retreat.

What Peter, James, and John witnessed on the mountain was a glimpse of a celestial event through which Jesus received formal acknowledgment of his completed incarnation mission from universe authorities. The transfiguration represented two significant confirmations: first, the acceptance of Jesus' incarnated life by the Eternal Mother-Son of Paradise, with Gabriel bringing this assurance; and second, the testimony of the Infinite Spirit's satisfaction with Jesus' bestowal in human form, delivered through the Father Melchizedek.

While Jesus welcomed these confirmations from the messengers of the Eternal Son and Infinite Spirit, he noted that his Father provided no visible indication that the bestowal was complete, only the voice through his Personalized Adjuster saying, "This is my beloved Son; give heed to him." After this celestial visitation, Jesus sought to understand his Father's will and decided to continue his mortal mission to its natural conclusion rather than returning immediately to his universe duties. For the three apostles, this event signified Jesus' entry into the final phase of his earth career as both Son of God and Son of Man.

Shortly before breakfast on Tuesday morning, Jesus and his three companions returned to the apostolic camp where they discovered a substantial crowd surrounding the other nine apostles. The group of about fifty people was engaged in heated debate, with Jerusalem scribes arguing with the disciples. The controversy centered around James of Safed, who had arrived the previous day seeking Jesus to heal his epileptic son, his only child, who suffered from both a nervous disorder and demon possession.

The nine apostles had attempted to heal the boy but failed, in part because they had succumbed to their old temptation of discussing who would hold the greatest positions in the coming kingdom. When James of Safed arrived seeking Jesus, Simon Zelotes and Judas Iscariot confidently attempted to cast out the demon, proclaiming, "We are ambassadors of the kingdom; no longer do we hold these things in secret." Their failure led to mockery from the scribes and disappointment among believers. Andrew subsequently attempted the healing but also failed, admitting defeat and suggesting that some afflictions might require Jesus' personal intervention. Despite the apostles' inability to help, James of Safed remained, determined to wait for Jesus' return.

As Jesus approached the camp, the nine apostles were greatly relieved to see him and their three companions, especially noting the unusual enthusiasm and good spirits of Peter, James, and John. The crowd quickly gathered around Jesus, and he inquired about their dispute. Before the apostles could answer, James of Safed knelt before Jesus, describing his son's affliction – how the boy would cry out in terror, foam at the mouth, fall like a dead person during seizures, and had been cast into both water and fire during these episodes.

After listening to the father's account, Jesus touched him and bade him rise, then surveyed the apostles before addressing the crowd: "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I bear with you? How long shall I be with you? How long ere you learn that the works of faith come not forth at the bidding of doubting unbelief?" Jesus then asked how long the boy had been afflicted, and upon learning it had been since early childhood, the youth experienced a violent attack in their presence. When the father implored Jesus to help if he could, Jesus responded, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who really believes." The father's poignant reply, "Lord, I believe. I pray you help my unbelief," moved Jesus to heal the boy completely by taking his hand and commanding the disobedient spirit to leave him.

That evening at Celsus' home, Thomas asked Jesus to explain why the nine apostles had been unable to heal the epileptic boy. Jesus responded that their failure resulted from several factors: their lack of genuine faith, their tendency toward doubt, and their preoccupation with status in the kingdom rather than spiritual service. He reminded them that while they remained on watch with instructions to develop spiritual insight through prayer, they had instead yielded to the temptation of personal ambition.

Jesus further explained that spiritual work requires spiritual power, which depends on faith, genuine motives, and unselfish purpose. He admonished them for seeking material manifestations rather than adhering to the higher spiritual realities regardless of outward appearances. Before dismissing them to rest, Jesus declared he was entering the last phase of his bestowal, stating: "The Son of Man now enters upon the last phase of the bestowal. We are about to begin those labors which shall presently lead to the great and final testing of your faith and devotion when I shall be delivered into the hands of men who seek my destruction." Though confused and saddened by these words, the apostles feared to question him further about their meaning.

Early Wednesday morning, Jesus and the twelve departed from Caesarea-Philippi for Magadan Park near Bethsaida-Julias. The apostles had slept poorly after Jesus' disturbing words about his coming death. To avoid being followed, Jesus directed them to take the Damascus road through Galilee rather than the usual eastern route along the Jordan, correctly anticipating that those seeking him would expect him to avoid Herod's territory.

During a lunch break, Andrew approached Jesus, expressing the apostles' confusion regarding his statements about dying and rising from the dead. Jesus responded with increasing directness: "My brethren, it is because you have confessed that I am the Son of God that I am constrained to begin to unfold to you the truth about the end of the bestowal of the Son of Man on earth." He explained that they clung to the belief he was the Messiah who would establish an earthly throne, whereas he must go to Jerusalem, suffer rejection by religious authorities, be killed, and then be raised from the dead. Peter, impulsively rushing forward, protested: "Master, be it far from us to contend with you, but I declare that these things shall never happen to you." Jesus sternly rebuked Peter with the famous words, "Get you behind me," explaining that such thoughts, though well-intentioned, represented the adversary's temptation to divert him from his Father's will.

Entering Capernaum at twilight, the group took unfrequented streets directly to Simon Peter's house for their evening meal while David Zebedee prepared to transport them across the lake. Jesus, observing the apostles' subdued manner, asked what they had discussed during their afternoon walk. The apostles remained silent, uncomfortable revealing they had been debating who would hold the greatest positions in the coming kingdom—a continuation of the very discussion that had contributed to their failure to heal the epileptic boy.

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus called one of Peter's children to stand among them and delivered a profound lesson on humility: "Whosoever shall humble himself and become as this little one, the same shall become greatest in the kingdom of heaven." He warned against causing little ones to stumble and emphasized the need to sacrifice anything that hindered spiritual progress, saying it was better to enter the kingdom without cherished material possessions than to be excluded while clinging to them. With this powerful teaching on the values of the spiritual kingdom contrasting sharply with their worldly ambitions, they boarded the boat and sailed across to Magadan.