Dr Paul Allen

Christianity is a religion irreducibly and uniquely fixated on the death of its Saviour. Every Sunday, in every corner of the globe, Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper and in so doing proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again (1 Cor. 11:26). We often think of Christ’s death as an atonement for sin, but it is also worth reflecting here that Christ suffered on the cross not just for our sin but for our shame. We tend to focus on the physical pain of crucifixion, and it was horrendous. It was an unbelievably cruel way to kill someone. It was a gruesome ordeal where naked criminals died in excruciating pain. Even many of the Romans spoke out against crucifixion as a hideous and barbaric instrument. But the Gospels don’t focus on any of that. Yes, Jesus suffered physical torment. But so did two other men on that hill, and so did hundreds of criminals who were crucified by Rome. In fact, what’s physically remarkable about Jesus’s death on the cross is that he died so quickly (Mark ...

Russian Orthodox icon of the Transfiguration (Theophanes the Greek, ca. 1408). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses , who were talking with Jesus. MARK 9:2–4 Recorded in three of the Gospels (Matt. 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36), and evidently planned by Jesus for Peter, James, and John to see and, later, to testify to (Matt. 17:9; cf. 2 Pet. 1:16–18; John 1:14), the Transfiguration was a significant event in the revelation of Jesus’ deity.  The transformation that the divine-human Lord underwent as he prayed (Luke 9:29) was from one standpoint a taste of things to come: it was a momentary transition from the concealing of his divine glory that marked his days on earth to the revealing of th...