Jesus went up on the mountain, away from the crowds. He’s on a wandering journey, keeping the disciples away from Jerusalem, away from the people who might want to kill him. He’s training the disciples, teaching them how to open the things he’s commanding.

And on this day, he takes Peter and James and John with him, up on a mountain, to pray.

Because yesterday was transfiguration Sunday, and the really cool part of the story is Jesus glowing, we skip over what happened. They went up on the mountain, Jesus started conversing with his father, and the disciples fell asleep.

And while they were sleeping, Jesus started to glow. The glory that belonged to him, that he set aside when he put on a body and walked around on earth, was still his. And on this day on this mountain, for this conversation, he was shining bright. Like lightening, Matthew says. Like bleach, Mark says.

And he’s joined by Moses and Elijah. Two people who knew what it was like to be misunderstood. Two people who had heard God’s voice before, who had seen God’s power in interaction with them. One of them, Moses, regularly picked up the reflection of the glory of God. It faded, but it was real.

And on this mountain on this day, they were able to provide encouragement to Jesus about what it meant to be human and facing hard challenges. They were friendly, understanding faces. They were exactly what Jesus needed before heading down the mountain and toward Jerusalem for the hardest thing anyone could imagine.

Dying for all the sins of all the humans ever.

Somewhere toward the end of the conversation, Peter and James and John woke up. They saw the glory. They saw, and somehow recognized, two of their heroes. Every Jewish boy knew about Moses, knew about Elijah. And now their heroes were standing talking with their teacher, before their eyes. No wonder they were excited. No wonder they wanted to remember.

But Jesus wasn’t ready for the next part of the story. And he wasn’t going to let Peter determine the story.