Peter had a big idea, perhaps an obvious one. In the passage immediately previous to these verses, he had finally realized who Jesus is – the Christ, the promised Messiah. And now, right before his eyes was the evidence of the coming Kingdom of God the Jewish people had been awaiting for so long, as Jesus was displayed in all His glory.

It was also significant for Peter that Elijah was there. After all, Malachi 4:5 says that Elijah would return before the great and terrible Day of the Lord, and here he was! Surely that meant that Jesus would stop all this ministry of teaching and healing and get down to the serious business of justice. Surely, now He would publicly establish His Kingdom on Earth and drive the pagan Romans out of the Promised Land and restore independence and prosperity to His people.

That’s the sort of triumph they wanted Jesus to have, so they could experience its benefits. And of course, in verse 33 Peter confesses that he also wanted to share in Christ’s glory, albeit the reflected glory of putting up a tent for a conquering king. After all, everyone wants to be on the winning side, right?

No, it’s no wonder that Peter wanted to build tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus – so they could all stay right there on the mountaintop, with their power and glory clear for all to see. That’s still the way we want our lives in this world to go, an easy, unbroken chain of successes.

But that’s why what God said to Peter was so important. For while the voice out of the cloud admitted that Jesus was in fact the Son of God, it also insisted that Peter should “Listen to Him!”

And what had Jesus said right before this passage begins? “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” In other words, He had not come to be the sort of Messiah who would display His glory so that the world would give Him a crown. No, He had come to be the Suffering Servant of God, carrying a cross so that we might be saved. He had not come to correct all the wicked circumstances of this world, but to transform all who trust in Him as we live within it.

And He went further: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” In short, it’s not the time to stay up on the mountaintop – that’s for when Jesus comes again. No, if we want to proclaim His Kingdom, we must do as He did and live as He lived – proclaiming our love for God by loving others self-sacrificially and unconditionally.

Luke 9:28-36 (NAS)

28 And some eight days after these sayings, it came about that He took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray.
29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,
31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.
33 And it came about, as these were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah “– not realizing what he was saying.
34 And while he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.