appear
when he comes in his kingdom. And Moses and Elias "appeared with him
in glory," to show us how the people of Christ will appear when they
enter with him into his kingdom. And this was a good reason why these
very persons, and not the angels, should have formed the company that
came to visit our Saviour on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was
wonderful company indeed that waited on Jesus then. But, it was a
wonderful occasion. None like it had ever occurred before; none like
it has ever occurred since; and none like it will ever occur again
till Jesus shall come in the glory of his heavenly kingdom. The
second wonder of the Transfiguration was the wonderful company.

_The third wonder connected with this great event was_--THE WONDERFUL
CONVERSATION--_that took place between Jesus and his visitors_.

All the three evangelists, who tell of the Transfiguration, speak of
this conversation. St. Matthew and St. Mark merely state the fact
that Moses and Elias "were talking with Jesus;" but they do not tell
us the subject of the conversation, or what it was about which they
talked. But St. Luke supplies what they leave out. He says, "_they
spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem_" This
means that they talked about the death upon the cross which he was to
suffer. And when we remember that these great and good men had just
come down from heaven, where God, the loving Father of Jesus dwells,
and where all the holy angels are; and that this was the only time
when they were to be present with Jesus, and have an opportunity of
talking with him, during all his life on earth, we may wonder why
they did not choose some more pleasant subject of conversation. And
yet they did not make a mistake. God the Father had sent them from
heaven to meet his beloved Son on this occasion. And, no doubt, he
had told them what subject they were to talk about, and what they
were to say to Jesus, on that subject. And then they knew very well
how Jesus felt about this matter. And painful as the death upon the
cross would be, they knew it was the nearest of all things to the
heart of Jesus. It was the will of his Father that he should die on
the cross, and it was the delight of his heart--the very joy of his
soul to do his Father's will. And here we learn the unspeakable
importance of the death of Christ. The apostle Paul was showing his
sense of its importance when he said, "God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross o