On the Mount of Transfiguration the disciples glimpsed the glory of Jesus. They would have been more than ready to go tell it. But Jesus said, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” “Hold your testimony until you see more, then you can tell the whole story.” The fullness of glory had not been seen on the mountain, it needed the cross and resurrection to show the full nature of glory. The gospel of John tells us that the cross was where Jesus was glorified (7:39,12:23,13:31-32). This is counter intuitive; it is opposite to what we call glory. Paul gloried in the cross because there is where the glory was (Galatians 6:14). The glory of God is that He entered human suffering; that includes being present in yours.
“And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’” Matthew 17:9–13 (NASB)
