Jesus Needed Help - Day 31

It had been a difficult time. Peter had finally said that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus then told them what he, the Messiah, had to do (suffer and die), Peter had rebuked Jesus, Jesus then rebuked Peter. Things were very quiet in the camp for the next week. No one dared to talk. No one quite knew what to do.
Six days after all of these difficult revelations and tumultuous confrontations, Jesus takes Peter and James and John to a “high mountain apart… [where]… he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.” (See Mark 9:2-8)
While there in all of his glory, Moses and Elijah showed up and the three could overhear their conversation. I have always wondered what Moses and Elijah had to say to Jesus, and what Jesus had to say to them. I have always imagined that Moses and Elijah were there to give Jesus support and encouragement. As soon as Jesus came down the mountain he set off for Jerusalem; as soon as he came down out of the light he began to descend into the “valley of the shadow of death.” As much as he was clear about his mission, no one could embark upon it and not feel some trepidation. So what I hear Moses and Elijah saying is something like this: “Jesus, our ways, the ways of the Law and the Prophets, were not enough. These ways didn’t bring the people back to God. These ways didn’t change their hearts. These ways didn’t melt their resistance. Now, it is your turn. Maybe your death, your blood, your sacrifice, will help the people to see how much God loves them. We are with you. Always.”
Jesus needed help. We all do. If Jesus needed help, who are we not to be open to it ourselves? I know many people—me included here, sometimes—who are much better at giving help than accepting it. That is pretty foolish when you think about it, isn’t it? And, it is pretty arrogant. There is no self-sufficiency in life or in the Body of Christ.
So, be both humble enough and strong enough to ask for some help. Jesus did. And he got it. So will you when you ask. Be like Jesus.