Second Sunday of Lent
In the beginning of John’s Gospel, Philip says to Nathanael “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth,” (John 1:45). Jesus Himself said, “All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John,” (Matthew 11:13) and it was John who pointed to Jesus, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29).
Now today Jesus is atop a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and beside Him stand Moses, the Lawgiver, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets. Their presence testifies to the truth of Jesus’ claims of being the Messiah, confirming Peter who, just over a week prior, professed his faith in Jesus being the Messiah (Luke 9:22)
This just after His first prediction of the Passion, exhorting His friends afterward to embrace the Cross if they are to follow Him. What a kindness to invite three of them to the mountaintop where He can reveal not only that their faith in Him as Messiah is well-founded, but that He is more than any messiah before ever was: the Son of God.