He suffered no one to accompany Him but Peter, James, and John

As we have covered root, branch, and fruit, it is appropriate now to touch on Peter, James, and John, the disciples who represent basically the same things: with Peter being faith, James being charity, and John being the works of charity which proceed from the marriage of faith and charity; just as fruit depends on the root and the branch. 

We read in Mark, on the occasion of the Lord's raising a 12 year old girl from the dead, that

"he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James" (Mark 5:37). 

That the Word specifically mentions these three disciples in the context of someone's being raised from the dead is due to the fact that there is no resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life without charity, faith, and good deeds.

Many things are said to and about Peter, James, and John, and these all have something to do with what they represent. Since Peter represents faith, and faith can be either married to charity or separated from charity, the Lord will sometimes address Peter in a positive manner ("Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona") or a negative manner ("Get thee behind me, Satan") (Matthew 16:17; Matthew 16:23).

Similarly, we see a number of very significant things said about John, the works of charity. We read, particularly, that John was the disciple whom Jesus loved; that He identified the Lord for Peter after the resurrection; that he leaned on the Lord's breast; and that the Lord's human mother was to dwell with him after Jesus' departure.

John is referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved because Jesus loves a fruitful life in which charity and faith marry and the believer brings forth abundant fruit of good works. It is John who identified Jesus to Peter because it is a loving life that recognizes the Lord. What after all did the disciples on the road to Emmaus say after they had learned the man who spoke with them was the Lord? 

"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32). 

For the same reason it is said, "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord" (John 21:7).

The reason why John leaned on Jesus' breast is that the breast is the body part which signifies charity; so there is a reinforcement of the concept of good deeds depending on charity in one's heart; charity which allows for a loving and abundant life and which recognizes the Lord in whatever form He takes. 

We are also told:

"26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home" (John 19:26-27).

This is not just some kind of practical provision for Mary's needs in the earthy sense; but moreover it is because the Church is where charity is to be found. That is why these kinds of statements are made about the various disciples and tribes of Israel in the Word; because each one of them means something and it is a convenient way to store information about the relevant concepts and practices.

We began with an occasion in which Peter, James and John were the only ones Jesus wanted to accompany Him; so we turn now to another such occasion, the transfiguration on the mount:

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:1-5). 

As with the raising of the young girl from the dead, He very particularly brought these three disciples with Him because there is no opening up of the spiritual sense of the Word of God if there are no charity, faith, and good deeds. And this episode of the transfiguration on the mount is about the revelation of what the literal sense means spiritually.

We are told that His shining face represents divine love even as His shining clothing represent divine truth. Moses represents the historical Word while Elias represents the prophetic Word; with the entirety of the Word implied by the mention of both men.

The passage mentions a bright cloud, and one will briefly note that this is the same kind of cloud in which Jesus is said to appear with great power and glory. The reason why we see a cloud here is that a cloud represents the literal sense of the Word; and the brightness and the voice coming out of the cloud represent the illuminated meaning of the literal sense being revealed and brought home to us by God as we read and study the Word.

Now, these three men were along with Paul particularly entrusted with the task of teaching the Gospel. In order for anyone to coherently teach the Gospel, God must reveal a sufficiency of the spiritual sense, the glory, hidden within the literal sense, the cloud, in order for the teacher to make the Word relevant to people's spiritual lives. 

It is not enough for someone to attend a seminary of any kind whatever in order to teach the Word in God's sight. God must reveal the power and the glory to the inner human of the teacher; or it is not teaching inspired by God. That is why Peter, James and John had this experience and why Paul was sufficiently instructed within himself to write such as the following: 

"16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19).

It is not an accident that Paul refers to "riches of his glory" and "strengthened with might"; these are the same power and glory with which Jesus is to appear in the clouds of Heaven when He comes. And where does He come? He comes in the clouds of the literal sense of the Word to the inner human of the believer who hears and does the Word. 

It is because the Lord illuminated the cloud with His brightness that Paul, Peter, James, and John were able to teach the Gospel of love. As you can see, Paul was taught the real meaning of the temple dimensions such as length, breadth and height as having at bottom to do with love and not architecture; we will go into this another time, but that is the sort of thing that God reveals when He transfigures on the mount and illuminates the cloud with His loving presence and illuminating teaching.

If one had no personal perception of the power and glory as they came to one's inner human, then one would not be explaining these things today. I am afraid that as usual one has scarcely scratched the surface of a book written by a superhuman mind who dipped various human beings into ink in order to write His Word. One hopes it will help you as to your understanding and practice. Godspeed.

Appendix:

"THE WORD IN ITS GLORY WAS REPRESENTED IN THE LORD AT HIS TRANSFIGURATION.

We read about the Lord's transfiguration in the presence of Peter, James and John that His face shone like the sun, His clothes became like light, and Moses and Elijah were seen speaking with Him; a shining cloud overshadowed the disciples, and a voice was heard from the cloud saying, This is my beloved Son, listen to Him (Matt. 17:1-5).

I have been taught that the Lord then represented the Word. His face, which shone like the sun, represented the Divine good of His Divine love; His clothes, which became like light, the Divine truth of His Divine wisdom. Moses and Elijah represented the historical and prophetic sections of the Word; Moses the part of the Word written by his instrumentality and the historical parts as a whole, Elijah the whole of the prophetic part of the Word. The shining cloud which overshadowed the disciples represented the Word in its literal sense; that is why a voice was heard from it saying, 'This is my beloved Son, listen to Him'. For all statements and replies given from heaven are only given through the outermost forms, such as is the literal sense of the Word; they acquire their fulness from the Lord" (True Christian Religion 222).