Through The Bible in a Year - June 29, 2026

"He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light... a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!'" - Matthew 17:2, 5

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after receiving the Ten Commandments, his face shone so brightly that the Israelites were afraid to look at him. He had to veil his face when speaking to the people.

But there is a crucial difference between Moses' shining face and the shining face of the transfigured Jesus.

The shining on Moses' face was a reflection—like the moon reflecting the sun. He had been in the presence of God's glory, and some of it clung to him. But it was borrowed light. It would fade.

Jesus' glory in this passage comes from within Himself. His face shone like the sun—not reflecting light, but generating it. He wasn't simply near a source of divine glory. He was the source. The divine had come down, and the veil of His humanity was momentarily pulled back to reveal the eternal glory that had always been his.

And then the voice from the cloud settled it: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him."

Not "listen to Moses." Not "listen to Elijah." Not "listen to your traditions or the record of your performance or the voices of your own wisdom." Listen to Him – Jesus.

The impetuous Peter, who had witnessed the transfiguration began talking about building three tabernacles—one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah—as if to make them equal objects of worship. But God interrupted him mid-sentence: "Stop. This is My Son. Listen to Him."

We are often tempted to do what Peter did. We want to consult culture, tradition, our heroes, our own reasoning, what our parents said, what our peers think. Yet, when are hearts are open to God, He keeps interrupting with a simple and strong instruction: "Listen to Him."

Jesus is not one voice among many. He is the voice. The light that reveals his divine nature is not from impressive human leaders, from religious traditions, or from our own ingenuity. The voice that we are most to consider comes from Jesus—and from Jesus alone.

Respond: What other voices are competing with Jesus' voice in your life right now? Whose instructions, whose opinions, whose version of what's right and acceptable are you following alongside—or instead of—His?

The Father made it unmistakably clear on that mountain: "Listen to Him.” The voice of Jesus revealed in the truths of God’s Word is the voice that we are most to hear and heed.

This week, identify one area of your life where you've been listening to something else more than to Jesus. Then deliberately shine the light of God’s Word on that situation and ask: what does Jesus say about this? What does listening to Him require of me?

We don’t need multiple tabernacles to hear multiple voices telling us what God wants. We need just one voice, and God has provided it through Jesus. Listen to Him.

Prayer: Lord, I confess how easy it is to want to build multiple tabernacles—giving other voices equal or greater authority in my life than Your voice. Culture, comfort, comparison, convention—so many other voices compete for my attention. But the Father gave clear instructions: "Listen to Him." Jesus is not to be one voice among many. He is the Son of the living God, the light that doesn't borrow from another source. Father, help me listen to Him. Drown out the competing voices. Let Your Word be the final word in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.