Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.[Mark 9:2–3]
The miracle of the Transfiguration wasn't that Jesus shined like the sun; the miracle was that He didn't shine like the sun all the time. When Jesus came to Earth, He never gave up His deity. But we might say that He shrouded His glory and laid aside the privileges of His deity.
Jesus Christ is God. He is a member of the Trinity, coequal and coeternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God before He was born, and He remained God after He became man. His deity was prehuman, pre-Mary, and pre-Bethlehem.
Jesus laid aside not His deity, but the privileges of deity, to model what it is to be a servant. Paul told the believers in Philippi, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:5–7).
We are to follow His example. If Jesus could lay aside the privileges of divinity, then how much more should we, as human beings with sinful hearts, be willing to put the needs of others above ourselves?
This isn't easy. In fact, we could say that it's virtually impossible—apart from the power of the Spirit. This is not so much about imitation as much as it is about impartation—Christ Himself living in us and giving us His love and power. It's the only way we can put the needs of another person above our own, love people whom we really don't like all that much, or effectively die to ourselves. It seems impossible. But this is the way God has called us to live.
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Today's Bible Reading
Exodus 35:1 Moses gathered together the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do:
Instructions for the Sabbath
2 Do your work for six days, but the seventh day should be holy to you, a Sabbath of complete rest for the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath will be put to death. 3 Don’t start a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day.
Preparing to build the dwelling
4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 Collect gift offerings for the Lord from all of you. Whoever freely wants to give should bring the Lord’s gift offerings: gold, silver, and copper; 6 blue, purple, and deep red yarns; fine linen; goats’ hair; 7 rams’ skins dyed red; beaded leather;[a] acacia wood; 8 the oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; 9 gemstones; and gems for setting in the priest’s vest[b] and in the priest’s chest pendant.
10 All of you who are skilled in crafts should come forward and make everything that the Lord has commanded: 11 the dwelling, its tent and its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its posts, and its bases, 12 the chest with its poles and its cover, the veil for a screen, 13 the table with its poles and all its equipment, the bread of the presence, 14 the lampstand for light with its equipment and its lamps, the oil for the light, 15 the incense altar with its poles, the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling incense, the entrance screen for the dwelling’s entrance, 16 the altar for entirely burned offerings with its copper grate, its poles, and all its equipment, the washbasin with its stand, 17 the courtyard’s drapes, its posts, and its bases, and the screen for the courtyard gate, 18 the dwelling’s tent pegs and the courtyard’s tent pegs, and their cords, 19 the woven clothing for ministering in the sanctuary, and the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons for their service as priests.
Gifts for building the dwelling
20 The whole Israelite community left Moses. 21 Everyone who was excited and eager to participate brought the Lord’s gift offerings to be used for building the meeting tent and all its furnishings and for the holy clothes. 22 Both men and women came forward. Everyone who was eager to participate brought pins, earrings, rings, and necklaces, all sorts of gold objects. Everyone raised an uplifted offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And everyone who had blue or purple or deep red yarn or fine linen or goats’ hair or rams’ skins dyed red or beaded leather brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a gift offering of silver or copper brought it as the Lord’s gift offering. Everyone who had acacia wood that could be used in any kind of building work brought it. 25 All the skilled women spun cloth with their hands, and brought what they had spun in blue and purple and deep red yarns and fine linen. 26 All the women who were eager to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The chiefs brought gemstones and gems to be set in the priest’s vest and the chest pendant, 28 spices and oil for light and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet-smelling incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were eager to contribute something for the work that the Lord had commanded Moses to do brought it as a spontaneous gift to the Lord.
Moses introduces Bezalel and Oholiab
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites: “Look, the Lord has chosen Bezalel, Uri’s son and Hur’s grandson from the tribe of Judah. 31 The Lord has filled him with the divine spirit that will give him skill, ability, and knowledge for every kind of work. 32 He will be able to create designs, do metalwork in gold, silver, and copper, 33 cut stones for setting, carve wood, do every kind of creative work, 34 and have the ability to teach others. Both he and Oholiab, Ahisamach’s son from the tribe of Dan, 35 have been given the skill to do every kind of work done by a gem cutter or a designer or a needleworker in blue, purple, and deep red yarns and in fine linen or a weaver or anyone else doing work or creating designs.
36:1 “Let Bezalel, Oholiab, and every other skilled worker whom the Lord has given skill, ability, and knowledge for the work of building the sanctuary do all that the Lord has commanded.”
2 Moses then called together Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person whom the Lord had given skill and who was eager to come and do the work. 3 Moses gave them all the gift offerings that the Israelites had contributed to the work on the sanctuary. They kept bringing him spontaneous gifts, morning after morning.
4 Finally, all the skilled workers building the sanctuary left their work that they were doing one by one to come 5 and say to Moses, “The people are contributing way too much material for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.”
6 So Moses issued a command that was proclaimed throughout the camp: “Every man and woman should stop making gift offerings for the sanctuary project.” So the people stopped bringing anything more 7 because what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.
Construction of the dwelling
8 All the skilled workers made the dwelling out of ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and deep red yarns, with figures of winged heavenly creatures worked into their design. 9 Each curtain was forty-two feet long and six feet wide. All the curtains were the same size.
10 They joined five of the curtains to each other and joined the other five curtains to each other. 11 They made loops of blue thread on the edge of the outer curtain of the first set. They did the same on the edge of the outer curtain of the second set. 12 They made fifty loops on the one curtain and fifty loops on the outer curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite each other. 13 They also made fifty gold clasps, and they used the clasps to join the curtains to each other so that the dwelling was one whole structure.
14 They also made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the dwelling. They made eleven curtains. 15 Each curtain was forty-five feet long and each curtain six feet wide. All eleven curtains were the same size. 16 They joined five curtains together and the six other curtains together. 17 They made fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain of the one set and fifty loops on the edge of the other set of curtains. 18 They made fifty copper clasps to join the tent together so that it would be one whole structure. 19 They also made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of beaded leather.
20 Then they made acacia-wood boards to stand upright as a frame for the dwelling. 21 Each board was fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide. 22 Each board had two pegs for joining them to each other. They did this for all the dwelling’s boards. 23 They made twenty boards for the dwelling’s southern side. 24 They made forty silver bases under the twenty boards, with two bases under the first board for its two pegs, two bases under the next board for its two pegs, and so on. 25 For the dwelling’s other side on the north, they made twenty boards 26 and forty silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on. 27 For the back of the dwelling on the west, they made six boards. 28 They made two additional boards for the dwelling’s rear corners. 29 They were spread out at the bottom but joined together at the top with one ring. In this way, these two boards formed the two corners. 30 And so there were eight boards with their sixteen silver bases, with two bases under every board.
31 They also made acacia-wood bars: five for the boards on one side of the dwelling, 32 five bars for the boards on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the boards on the back wall of the dwelling on the west. 33 They made the middle bar, which was halfway up the boards, run from one end to the other. 34 They covered the boards with gold. They made gold rings to house the bars and covered the bars with gold.
35 They made the veil of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and fine twisted linen, with figures of winged heavenly creatures worked into its design. 36 They made for it four acacia-wood posts covered in gold with gold hooks and cast four silver bases for them. 37 They made a screen for the entrance to the tent of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. 38 They made its five posts with hooks. They covered their tops and bands with gold, but made their five bases out of copper.[Footnotes:
Exodus 35:7 Or dolphin skins
Exodus 35:9 Heb ephod\
Acts 10: Peter, Cornelius, and the Gentiles
1 There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion in the Italian Company.[a] 2 He and his whole household were pious, Gentile God-worshippers. He gave generously to those in need among the Jewish people and prayed to God constantly. 3 One day at nearly three o’clock in the afternoon, he clearly saw an angel from God in a vision. The angel came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Startled, he stared at the angel and replied, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and your compassionate acts are like a memorial offering to God. 5 Send messengers to Joppa at once and summon a certain Simon, the one known as Peter. 6 He is a guest of Simon the tanner, whose house is near the seacoast.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had gone, Cornelius summoned two of his household servants along with a pious soldier from his personal staff. 8 He explained everything to them, then sent them to Joppa.
9 At noon on the following day, as their journey brought them close to the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat. While others were preparing the meal, he had a visionary experience. 11 He saw heaven opened up and something like a large linen sheet being lowered to the earth by its four corners. 12 Inside the sheet were all kinds of four-legged animals, reptiles, and wild birds.[b] 13 A voice told him, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!”
14 Peter exclaimed, “Absolutely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke a second time, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.” 16 This happened three times, then the object was suddenly pulled back into heaven.
17 Peter was bewildered about the meaning of the vision. Just then, the messengers sent by Cornelius discovered the whereabouts of Simon’s house and arrived at the gate. 18 Calling out, they inquired whether the Simon known as Peter was a guest there.
19 While Peter was brooding over the vision, the Spirit interrupted him, “Look! Three people are looking for you. 20 Go downstairs. Don’t ask questions; just go with them because I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went downstairs and told them, “I’m the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They replied, “We’ve come on behalf of Cornelius, a centurion and righteous man, a God-worshipper who is well-respected by all Jewish people. A holy angel directed him to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 Peter invited them into the house as his guests.
The next day he got up and went with them, together with some of the believers from Joppa. 24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Anticipating their arrival, Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in order to honor him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Get up! Like you, I’m just a human.” 27 As they continued to talk, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them, “You all realize that it is forbidden for a Jew to associate or visit with outsiders. However, God has shown me that I should never call a person impure or unclean. 29 For this reason, when you sent for me, I came without objection. I want to know, then, why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius answered, “Four days ago at this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayers, and your compassionate acts are like a memorial offering to him. 32 Therefore, send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, located near the seacoast.’ 33 I sent for you right away, and you were kind enough to come. Now, here we are, gathered in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has directed you to say.”
34 Peter said, “I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another. 35 Rather, in every nation, whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 This is the message of peace he sent to the Israelites by proclaiming the good news through Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all! 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism John preached. 38 You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him. 39 We are witnesses of everything he did, both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him up on the third day and allowed him to be seen, 41 not by everyone but by us. We are witnesses whom God chose beforehand, who ate and drank with him after God raised him from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 They heard them speaking in other languages and praising God. Peter asked, 47 “These people have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. Surely no one can stop them from being baptized with water, can they?” 48 He directed that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited Peter to stay for several days.[Footnotes:
Acts 10:1 Or cohort (approximately six hundred soldiers)
Acts 10:12 Or birds in the sky]
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