The Transfiguration

3-17-24

 

            One of the outstanding characteristics of God is His glory.  We can define glory as visible, light-like radiance.  There are many examples in the OT of God revealing His glory.  He appeared in glory in response to Israel's complaints about lack of food during their wilderness wanderings; He revealed His glory when He gave Moses the law on Mt. Sinai; He showed His glory at the completion of the tabernacle just to name a few.  Whenever the glory of the Lord appeared, it manifested and represented the very presence of God Himself.

            As awesome and awe-inspiring as those manifestations of God's glory might have been, it is in and through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ that the glory of God is most fully and clearly manifested.  Hebrews describes Christ's glory.  Heb. 1:1-3.  Paul also describes the Lord's glory.  2 Cor. 4:3-6.  But the event that most dramatically proved Jesus Christ to be the true glory of God is the one we're going to look closer at this morning.  The transfiguration is a preview of Christ's second coming, when He returns in full visible glory to the earth.  Matt. 24:29-30.

            The last vision that the world had of Jesus was of Him hanging on a cross.  But that is not the final view the world will have of Him.  When He was here the first time, He promised that one day He would visibly and gloriously return.  But He also made it clear to the disciples that He wouldn't return during their lifetime.  But He did promise that they would experience an event that would verify the truth of what He was saying.  Jesus graciously allowed three of His disciples to get a glimpse of His glory in order to encourage them and to strengthen their faith.  Let's read of the transfiguration from Luke 9:28-36. 

            We see here where Jesus was going to go up on a mountain to pray.  He didn't go alone.  Instead, He brought with Him three of His closest followers, Peter, John and James.  These men made up the Lord's innermost circle of the apostles. 

            Prior to this, Jesus had predicted His death and also prophesied about the disciple's martyrdom.  The twelve were struggling with reconciling those unexpected predictions with their messianic views.  They were also struggling with reconciling those predictions with the Lord's promised glory.  How could He be the Messiah who overthrows Rome and establishes Israel as a great nation if He dies?  How can He be glorified if He's not here?  To help them understand and to help bolster and strengthen their faith, Jesus allowed them to have this awesome experience of seeing His glory.

            The disciples had been waiting and hoping for the coming of the promised kingdom since they first began to follow Jesus.  They had seen the power of the kingdom every time He cast our demons, healed the sick or raised the dead.  But what Peter, James and John experienced here went beyond merely observing the signs that point to the kingdom; they would actually enter the kingdom itself for a brief period of time. 

            While Jesus was alone praying on this unnamed mountain, the apostles were asleep.  Suddenly, while they slept, Jesus' appearance changed.  What happened was that Jesus pulled back the veil of His flesh to reveal a brief glimpse of His divine glory.  Even His clothes became white and gleaming.  But Jesus wasn't alone.  In addition to Him being there in His glory, Moses and Elijah were also there in the splendor of their glorified bodies.  That they were recognized shows that people in heaven retain their identities and are not disembodied spirits.

            Moses was the greatest and most revered leader in the nation's history.  He was the one who confronted Pharaoh to let God's people go.  He led the nation out of slavery in Egypt.  He led them through the Red Sea on dry ground.  He is the one who received the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.  He is the author of the first five books of the Bible.  When he died, Michael the archangel and Satan fought over his body.  Jude 9. 

             Elijah was one of the greatest and most respected prophets in the OT.  It was Elijah who challenged the prophets of Baal to a test to see which God was the only true God.  Of course, Almighty God won that battle because He is the only true God.  He was also one of only two men, along with Enoch, not to experience death, but to be taken directly to heaven.  2 Kings 2:11. 

            The three were talking about Christ's impending and upcoming departure.  That shows that His death was the fulfillment of God's eternal plan, not a breaking of it.  Christ's death was a truth that the apostles were having trouble accepting.  But Moses and Elijah understood it in their perfect knowledge.  The two of them had been in the presence of God since their departures from this world.  They had known and worshiped Jesus and understood the plan of redemption.   

            One of the questions that this passage raises for us is why these two men had visible bodies.  Scripture describes OT saints as spirits.  Heb. 12:23.  God's Word also teaches that they won't receive their glorified bodies until after the tribulation.  Dan. 12:1-2.  Apparently, these two either received the bodies they appeared in temporarily for this occasion, or God gave them their permanent resurrection bodies early. 

            While this incredible scene was unfolding, Peter, James and John were sound asleep.  They were not uninterested, indifferent or apathetic.  They were tired and fell asleep while the Lord was praying and before His glory was revealed.  But Jesus didn't bring them on the mountain to sleep; He brought them there to witness His glory.

            When they finally woke up, they were surprised and frightened by what they saw.  They not only witnessed the full glory of Jesus, but they also saw Moses and Elijah.  We're not sure how much they knew or when or why they became aware of who was with Jesus.  Did they recognize the two just by looking at them?  That seems unlikely.  They might have guessed at first who they might be but they wouldn't have known what they look like.  Did Jesus introduce them to the three?  Did they introduce themselves?  Whatever actually took place, the disciples did eventually at least know the two men who were with Jesus.

            How ever long this scene took place is not known.  Eventually, however, Moses and Elijah began to leave.  At that point, Peter blurted out that it was good that they were all there.  That indicates that the revelation of the kingdom was what he had been waiting for.  His suggestion to build tabernacles reflects his desire to bypass the cross and make the current situation permanent. 

            Peter's brash suggestion shows astounding self-confidence, if not outright arrogance.  He was out of his element, the normal world of time and space.  Instead, he was in the supernatural realm of the divine.  Yet he didn't hesitate to offer a suggestion to the Lord about what should be done.  He was still trying to divert Jesus from His suffering and toward setting up His reign on earth at that time.

            Even though he meant well and was humble, Peter's suggestion was off target.  He really didn't know what he was saying.  This was not the beginning of the kingdom Peter wanted.  God's plan of redemption wasn't going to be and couldn't be short circuited.  Before the crown comes the cross; before the kingdom comes Calvary; before Jesus could reign as King, He must suffer as a servant.  But this vision they experienced would stay with them for the rest of their lives, reassuring them of the reality of the coming kingdom.

            While Peter was interrupting the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah, God interrupted him.  As he was offering his suggestion, a bright cloud formed and overshadowed them.  The cloud was a visible representation of God's presence in Shekinah glory.  Numbers 16:42. 

            The cloud engulfed Jesus, Moses and Elijah, leaving the apostles outside, since when they heard God's voice it came out of the cloud.  Understandably, the three men were afraid and fell face down at the glorious presence of God.

            And just like at His baptism, God said, "This is My son, listen to Him."  That's a testimony that as God's son, Jesus shared God's nature, He shared His essence and He shared His deity.  Then God commanded the terrified apostles to be silent and listen to Jesus, especially concerning the matter of His death. 

            After the voice of God had spoken, Jesus was found alone.  The cloud representing God's presence had vanished, as had Moses and Elijah.  Jesus raised the disciples up from the ground and calmed their fears.  The disciples said nothing to no one about what they had seen because Jesus warned them to keep silent and say nothing until after He had risen from the dead. 

            Why did Jesus tell them to tell no one about their vision?  What the three had seen was so far removed from everyday reality that most people probably would not have believed them.  Speaking openly of the kingdom may have aroused the suspicions of the Romans.  They were always on guard against the possibility of an insurrection.  In addition, the news of the vision could have incited the Jews to make Jesus the leader of a revolt against Rome.  Most importantly, they couldn't preach a glorified Christ without the truth of the death and resurrection.  Only after He rose from the grave could these three testify to the glorious preview of the second coming they had seen, in its proper relation to the cross and empty grave. 

            One truth that we can learn from this passage is that Jesus is God.  That might be basic knowledge to most of us here this morning, but it is vital that we not only know the truth that Jesus is God in the flesh, but that we also believe it and let that truth affect our lives.

            Matthew 1:23 highlights this fact for us.  The prophet Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah wouldn't just be some sort of great man, but that He would be God come to earth to live as a human and be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  This has important implications.  Jesus isn't just a prophet; He isn't just a good teacher; He's much more than a good moral man or role model for us.

            Jesus is God in the flesh.  He came to live as we live and to experience life as we experience life.  It's not like God doesn't understand human life, suffering and temptation, He does.  But in coming to the earth as a man, God lived with us.  This way, we can appreciate the fact that He does understand us.  He does more than just sympathize with us in our weakness; He emphasizes with us because He went through it too.

            One of our basic foundational beliefs is that Jesus is God in the flesh.  If He wasn't that; if He was anything less than God, then He isn't the Messiah.  If He's not the Messiah, then He couldn't have died a sacrificial death for our sins; if He didn't die for our sins then we are still in our sins; if we're still in our sins then we are not saved and have no hope of heaven when we die.  That's how significant and important it is to believe that Jesus is God.

            The second truth that we can learn from this passage is that because Jesus is God, we need to listen to Him.  We can't just hear what He's saying, although it starts there.  To listen means we pay attention and apply what we hear.  Jesus had a lot to say to us during His ministry.  We need to know what He said; we need to know what He taught; we need to apply those truths to our lives as we listen to what He has to say to us. 

            John 10:16.  All of the people that Jesus brings into His flock through His work of salvation and forgiveness, do and will listen to His voice.  The Jews thought that they were the only ones who could be in a right relationship with God because they were the chosen people.  But Jesus said that anyone who listens to Him can be right with God.  One of the keys to our walk with Jesus is for us to listen to He's saying.

            How do we do that?  It's quite simple actually.  We first and foremost listen to God by reading His Word.  The main means of God communicating to us is through His written Word.  The Bible has everything we need for life and godliness.  All that God wanted and needed to tell us is found within these pages.  We need to do more than just read.  We also need to meditate, memorize and apply God's Word to our lives.  As we do that, as we listen and pay attention to what He's saying we'll be obedient to Him and grow in our walk.

            There are other ways of listening to God.  We also listen as we pray.  Most of us no doubt think of prayer as something that we do; that we speak to God about what's going on in our lives.  That certainly is part of what prayer is all about.  But it is also a time for us to slow down and stop and listen to God.  He certainly is able to speak to us audibly.  But when God speaks to us during our times of prayer it is more likely going to be the impressions that He puts on our hearts as to what we need to know.  So slow down a bit and listen to God during your prayer time instead of just running through your requests in an effort to get on to the next thing in your life.

            We can listen to God as He speaks to us through other people.  We all have, or should have, folks in our lives who are godly and righteous and want what's best for us.  Sometimes God may use those folks to communicate to us.  They may encourage us; they may rebuke us; they may say things we like; they may say things we don't want to hear.  Either way, God can use others to communicate to us and we need to listen to them.

            God can also speak to us through circumstances.  Things happen in life and God can use those times to help us know what we need to do or what we need to not do.  However it is that God communicates to us, we need to be diligent to listen for His voice and then obey and follow Him in whatever way He may be leading us.

            As our singer and musician come now, we invite you to believe the truth that Jesus is God and to listen to what He is saying to you.  If you need to share something with us this morning as your church family, we invite you to do that now as we stand and sing.

 

            Prayer.

            


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