January 27, 2026

Today's Reading: Matthew 17:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33

“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Had you encountered Jesus during His time of humiliation, that is, from His incarnation and birth through His final breath on the cross and His burial, there would be nothing remarkable to behold. Isaiah prophesied this when he wrote, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus looked like any other human being.

What gained Him notoriety were the things He did and the things He said. Healings and other marvels, like feeding thousands on a couple of occasions, drew attention. His words cut two ways: some clung to them for dear life; others grew ever more resentful until they were driven to murder to shut His mouth. But He looked like any other person when He did the things He did and said the things He said. Even when He walked on water, He looked like an ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing.

The exception was His Transfiguration. On that mountain, He took on a new form. Not that He abandoned the flesh and blood He had assumed at His incarnation—rather, He set aside for a moment the form of a servant He had taken at His incarnation (Philippians 2:7). The figure He revealed on the mountain was the figure of a man and also at the same time more than man. Jesus revealed the divine glory and majesty that He had humbly hidden, but was always there.

The Transfiguration demonstrates the full and complete unity of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ. This union is so full and complete that the Son of God communicates the divine majesty to human flesh and blood. The regular, ordinary, normally unremarkable human being who said and did some noteworthy things shines with the glory of God. In this union, God elevates the human creature to a heavenly life.

The glimpse of divine glory Jesus reveals on the mountain is also a preview of the glory that awaits those who are in Christ. By faith in His Word and participation in His body in the Sacrament, we become members of His body, which shines with divine glory. For a time in this world, the glory remains hidden under suffering and the cross. But “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17) when Jesus returns.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

With shining face and bright array Christ deigns to manifest today What glory shall be theirs above Who joy in God with perfect love. (LSB 413:3)

Author: Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.