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Metamorphosis

In school we learned about the process of metamorphosis, where a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. On average, a caterpillar will spend about two weeks in a cocoon before it emerges looking like an entirely different creature. The before and after picture are quite stark. 

The word metamorphosis is not just in our textbooks, but in the Bible as well. In Mark 9:2 we read, "And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them." The word translated as transfigured is the Greek word metamorpho. 

(Matthew also uses the word metamorpho, and together, these are the only two times that word appears in the Bible)

On the mountain Jesus underwent a metamorphosis, completely changing His appearance. It did not happen gradually over two weeks; He did not enter a cocoon in order to change. The Greek text indicates that it happened suddenly, all at once. Jesus looked different, but it was only temporary.

But He didn't look that different. When Peter woke up from his nap (he fell asleep while Jesus prayed), he immediately knew who Jesus was. So Jesus was different, but yet He was still recognizable. 

We also read about two visitors who joined Jesus--Moses and Elijah. I believe those men had come back from dead in their glorified bodies, and Jesus appeared as He will appear in eternity, with His glory on display (the Word of God veiled Himself in human flesh, but for a moment, His glory was allowed to shine through). 

This happened in part to give us a glimpse of the future that awaits us, when as believers we will be given glorified bodies; it will not be temporary, but for all eternity. 

In the meantime, we can undergo a metamorphosis of our own. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

If you put your trust in Jesus, you will change from the inside out, and in that heavenly city, you will be changed physically forever. If you put your faith in Him today, like a beautiful butterfly coming out of a cocoon, you will be transfigured into something glorious. 

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