“The transfiguration is a well deep beyond imagining. When we think we have hit rock bottom, a new spring appears. When we think we have exhausted the meaning of the passage, a new depth opens. When we think we have understood the implications, a new mystery arises.”
“In some ways, the cross is the reverse of the transfiguration. One shows us Jesus's ultimate disgrace, and the other his ultimate honor. While the face of Christ bore shame at his passion as he was spit on, beaten, and pierced with thorns, his face brightened with honor at the transfiguration.”
“We are tempted to think that Jesus's divinity overcomes his humanity, that this veil of flesh is vanquished for a moment. The transfiguration corrects us. God perfects flesh; he doesn't destroy it...The Son takes on flesh without any alternation of his divinity, bnut in so doing he perfects and sanctifies it. The transfiguration does not move us past Jesus's humanity: it reveals to us how the flesh will be glorified.”
“Christ descended in order to bring God to humanity, and he ascended to bring humanity to God.”
— The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine🔗
“Luke writes to encourage, to embolden emulation, and to evangelize. Together these things show the pastoral heart of Luke who was a travel companion of Paul and partook in the planting of churches.”
“Readers would do well not only to read Acts but to read Acts with their ears attuned to how Luke tells his story. The form of a story is the content; it is not merely an ornament.”