Jesus is the Christ—­had been at last definitely accepted by the disciples.  Very solemnly our Lord has put it to them:  “Who say ye that I am ?” No doubt it was a trying moment for Him as for them.  What was He to do if it had not now become plain at least to a few steadfast souls that He was the Christ—­the Messenger of God to men?  Happily the impulsiveness of Peter gives Him little space for anxiety; for he, with that generous outburst of affectionate trust which should ring through every creed, said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  You see the intensified relief which this brought to our Lord, the keen satisfaction He felt as He heard it distinctly and solemnly uttered as the creed of the Twelve; as He heard what hitherto He could only have gathered from casual expressions, from wistful awe-struck looks, from overheard questionings and debatings with one another.  You see how at once, He steps on to a new footing with them, as He cordially, and with intense gratitude, says to Peter, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona.”  In this Divinely-wrought confession of Peter’s, He finds at last the foundation stone of the earthly building the beginning of that intelligent and hearty reception of Himself which was to make earth the recipient of all heaven’s fulness.  But as yet only half the work is done.  Men believe that He is the King, but as yet they have very little idea of what the kingdom is to consist.  They think Him worthy of all glory, but the kind of glory, and the way to it they are ignorant of.  From, that time forth, therefore, began Jesus to show unto them how He must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things, even of the men who ought chiefly to have recognised Him, and to be raised again the third day.

Once before our Lord had been tempted in another way to the throne of the universal dominion of men; again this temptation is pressed upon Him by the very men who should have helped Him to resist it; His closest, His warmest, His most enlightened friends, those who stand on quite a different plane from the world at large, are His tempters.  Satan found in them an adequate mouthpiece.  They, who should have cheered and heartened Him to face the terrible prospect, were hindrances, were an additional burden and anxiety to Him.

Now, it is to this conversation that the incident known as the transfiguration is linked by all the evangelists who relate it—­the first three.  It was six days after (or, as Luke says, eight days after) this conversation that Jesus went up Mount Hermon for the sake of retirement and prayer.  Plainly He was aware that the great crisis of His life had come.  The time had come when He must cease teaching, and face His destiny.  He had made upon His disciples an impression which would be indelible.  With deliberation they had accepted Him as the Messiah; the Church was founded; His work, so far as His teaching went, was accomplished.  It remained that He should die.  To consecrate Himself to this hard necessity,