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When God Proved Himself
Brian Mashburn
March 15, 2015
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When God Proved Himself
When God was a man, he was really a man. He was born through a woman, and depended on real parents for survival. He grew up, ate real food, drank real drink, and would have died without them. He had feelings, he laughed and cried, he got tired, he went to the bathroom, he had to sleep, and he was tempted to sin, just like us.
God was really a man. His disciples began by knowing him as a very impressive man, an unusually powerful, supernaturally connected man, but still a man.
Then Jesus cornered them, pressing them to say out loud who they ultimately believe him to be. "You are the Christ, the son of the living God," they said. This was a profound admission, but they carried this belief with a fragile faith. Especially when he started telling them he was going to suffer and die. This did not align with their view of the Christ spoken of in the Law and the Prophets.
And so Jesus climbed a mountain, taking three of his disciples. They needed
encouragement; evidence that God was indeed among them. Before their eyes, they watched as Moses, who wrote the Law, and Elijah, their greatest Prophet, met with Jesus, who no longer looked like a mere man, but shined with a heavenly
brilliance. He looked God-like.
They stared dumbfounded, as a cloud then engulfed them, and God spoke. He confirmed who Jesus was, and gave them direct, simple instructions: "Listen to him!" It was an encounter with God that they would never forget. A mountain-top experience that provided them with an obvious, unarguable moment that helped them believe that God was really among them.