Clouds are fascinating to me. They hold a beauty that is very difficult to capture either in photographs, or on an artist’s canvas. Their shape, size, depth, and color variation make for endless hours of wonder. The subtleties of color shade are amazing. And of course there are many different types of clouds. All this makes for interesting study.
Clouds also signal coming weather, if you know how to read them. As the pressures change, in indicator of weather changes, the clouds change as well. I personally don’t know how to do this, but some people make it their job to watch the weather, observing the clouds.
Our story tells of a cloud that symbolizes God’s presence. Jesus and three of His disciples have pulled aside for an advanced course in theology. But the disciples are still in quite a fog. Even when Jesus speaks clearly, they can’t seem to grasp the meaning of what He is plainly saying. Jesus told them He would rise again after His suffering and death, but they can’t figure out what He means by that.
And now Jesus’ appearance changes and He is standing with Moses and Elijah, both of whom have died centuries ago. The disciples still don’t get it. They want to set up three tents and turn it into some type of shrine. But the LORD has other plans.
A cloud envelops the three obscuring the disciple’s ability to see them clearly. The cloud obscures so that the LORD can bring clarity. And He does that with His voice. He speaks from the cloud. He says three short things, and then the cloud and Jesus’ two visitors are gone. So what did He say?
The first is that Jesus is His Son. This is not a generic term meaning that Jesus is under the providential care of God. This is more than owing our existence to Him. This is the identification of lineage. Just like my earthly son and daughter are both humans, having gotten that through the passing of DNA, so Jesus is the LORD’s Son, possessing God’s unique DNA. Jesus possesses everything that makes God unique from every created thing.
Jesus is loved by the Father. This is more than “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” This is the greatest love possible.
The final and perhaps most important is the last thing spoken before things go back to normal. The voice from the cloud tells the disciples to listen to Jesus. This is what the disciples have been missing. They are hearing, but not really listening. Jesus is telling them plainly, but they just aren’t paying attention to what He is saying.
When a small child is having trouble listening there are some things you can to do to focus their attention and help them to listen. Get down to their level, your face in line with their face. Then tell them to look you in the eye, and continue to repeat this until they are looking at you. If they drift away, have them look at your eyes again. Don’t go on with the message to be delivered until they are looking eye to eye. Then tell them what you need them to know, keeping it simple and age appropriate. Then have them repeat it back to you.
God does this kind of thing for the disciples. They keep getting distracted by what they see around them. So Jesus focuses their attention and then they can hear the message. Listen!
The Arnold Journey 