Just eight and a half weeks ago we celebrated the birth of our newborn King, Christ, the Lord. For the last few weeks we have been hearing Jesus, as an adult, preaching to us His Sermon on the Mountain. This week we conclude our Gentile Christmas season, or the season of Epiphany as we call it. This week Tuesday is what is known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday and the end of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is the celebration of the flesh that takes place prior to our time of personal reflection and penance, what we call the season of Lent, which begins on Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. What I am telling you in human terms is that you have three days left, counting today, to get out all your sinning before we begin the season of Lent and repenting. Well, that is one theory, at least. The other theory is that very much like the swift passing of each day of our life, so are the weeks of the church year, a constant reminder of the shortness of our life here on this earth. Today we celebrate the transfiguration of our Lord, but what is this transfiguration and what are we to do with it?
We celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord as that event which marked Jesus as true God and true man; which marked Jesus as God’s Son who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets; and which marked Jesus for His journey to Jerusalem and the cross of Calvary.
I want to take the time this morning to walk with you through the events of that day of transfiguration, step by step. You might want to have your Bibles open or take out your bulletin and follow along. Our text is Matthew 17:1-9. Our text begins, “after six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves” (v. 1). Jesus had come into the region of Caesarea Philippi and He had been talking to His disciples about who He was and about His mission, to die on the cross. And now, after six days, Jesus took all of His disciples to the mountain, but only the inner circle of His disciples, Peter, James and John, the brother of James, did He take to the top of the mountain. These are the three that we see go with Jesus often times where the other disciples did not go.
Our text continues at the top of the mountain, “there he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus” (v. 2-3). Jesus was transfigured, He was changed. And this was not a vision. The word in our text is the word metamorpho, which sounds like a modern term, and really, it means about the same thing today as it did in Jesus’ day. He was morphed, or changed so that He was seen in His heavenly glory. The disciples were getting a glimpse of what Jesus will look like in heaven. His purity and holiness shown through in His face, which “shone like the sun.” His clothes were bleached whiter than any bleach we might know. Again, this was Jesus as He was and will be in His heavenly glory.
Also, with Jesus we see Moses, the Law giver, and Elijah, the prophet. These two represent the Law, which Jesus came to fulfill, and the prophets who foretold all the events of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Now they are here, on the mountain, conferring with Jesus, making sure that all the Law and prophecies have been fulfilled, giving Jesus encouragement for the work which was still ahead, namely His suffering, death and resurrection.
Our text continues, “Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah’”(v. 4). You remember Peter, the guy who speaks without thinking, it seems he always had something to say, but here he is speechless. Peter realizes that he is witnessing a great event and he does not want it to end. Personally, I do not believe I would want it to end either and I am sure my words would be just as inadequate as Peter’s in asking for this experience to be able to continue. Interestingly enough, did you notice that Peter knew who Moses and Elijah were without having to ask. Possibly in our glimpse of Jesus in all His glory, we see that there will be perfect knowledge in heaven, no one will have to ask who anyone is because we will all know each other (we won’t need name tags). Peter might not have known what to say, but he knew that he was enjoying this experience and that he did not want it to end. His suggestion is to build three shelters, one for each of these heros of faith, so that this experience might continue on.
Unfortunately for Peter, just as he asks, the experience comes to an end. For “while he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’”(v. 5). A bright cloud covered them and a familiar voice from heaven was heard. The voice of God the Father was speaking familiar words, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” This happened that we might know for sure that Jesus is who He says He is, the Christ, the Son of God, true God and true man.
So, “when the disciples heard this, they fell face-down to the ground, terrified”(v. 6). I do not know about you, but I believe that if I were there, I might have fallen face down a long time before hearing the voice. The disciples fell to the ground in fear and in awe in the presence of perfection. This was indeed an amazing sight and event of which they were witnesses. This was indeed what we would call, “a mountain top experience.”
When it was all over we are told, “Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’”(v. 7). Jesus comforts, encourages, and reassures the disciples. What a grand experience they have been privileged to witness and of which they have been privileged to be a part. A terrifying, yet awesome event. And now it was over and they were there, still trembling.
“When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’”(v. 8-9). What a wonderful, “mountain top,” experience and I am sure they were ready to burst with excitement and ready to tell everyone what they had just seen and heard. Yet, Jesus brings them back to earth and instructs them to tell no one, at least, not until He has been raised from the dead. In the Epistle lesson for today we read Peter’s account of this event as he writes in his letter. He was finally able to tell of what he saw. What a wonderful experience and we have Matthew’s description of this account so that we can be a part of it.
But, what does it mean? And what does this mean to us? As we have noted as we were looking at this event, one thing we see, quite clearly, again, is that Jesus shows Himself to be who He says He is, true God and true man, the Savior of the world. This fact is important because Jesus had to be true man in order to give His life for us and He had to be true God in order to die and rise from the dead.
Jesus’ transfiguration shows us the greater picture of God Himself. God sent His only Son, full of grace and truth, to come into our world to fulfill the law and the prophets. Certainly, seeing Moses and Elijah with Jesus was a sure sign of the resurrection. These two had been long gone, so to speak. Moses had died before the children of Israel entered the promised land and Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, but that was many years earlier. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets so that He might give His life as a ransom, to pay the eternal death penalty for each one of us and He did.
Jesus came to do for us what we could not do. Perfection is what is demanded of us, yet we are unable to be perfect. Jesus came to live perfectly, for us in our place. And just as He lived perfectly for us in our place, so He also makes His perfection ours. By grace, through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, He clothes us with His perfection so that we may come before Him on His eternal throne.
Jesus received strengthening through His transfiguration in order to face the trip to the cross. Certainly, Moses and Elijah gave Jesus words of encouragement. And the words of God the Father, spoken through the cloud, His words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him,” reassured Jesus in His humanness that He was doing the will of the Father in heaven and He was doing it to His glory. And as He received strengthening, so He strengthens, comforts, encourages, and reassures us. He gives us comfort in our time of need, because we know that He has already suffered all things. He gives us encouragement to know that our sins are forgiven because He has given His life, He has paid the price, He has shed His blood as payment for our sins, so we can live guilt free lives. He gives us reassurance to know that our sins are forgiven and we can share that forgiveness and His Gospel message with others.
The transfiguration reminds us that Jesus gives us all things. Peter’s words in the Epistle remind us that Jesus did all that He did for us. The events that took place were not random events, but were events that were planned and were for a purpose. The events that took place did so according to God’s divine plan and purpose, they are not stories, they are not human wisdom, they have nothing to do with humanity, except that it was God’s plan to save humanity. In other words, your faith in these events is not what makes them true, nor does your lack of faith make them false. These events happened as God planned them.
The term, “mountain top experience” is used by many people in our world to express an experience that was so uplifting that it made a difference in their lives. Unfortunately, if you speak with these same people they will tell you that most mountain top experiences are followed by a dip into the valley, in other words, most emotional highs, mountain top experiences, are so great that when they are over they leave you feeling rather low, because you have to go back to “reality.” Jesus’ mountain top experience with His disciples was certainly the same. Jesus emotional high on the mountain is to be followed by His journey to the cross.
Our text for today reminds us once again that not only did Jesus come as one of us, He also experienced all of life the way we do. Jesus came as an example, but more than an example. Jesus also fulfilled the example that He set for us and now He works to help us to follow His example. There is a saying which goes something like this, “Seven days without worship makes one weak (w-e-a-k).” Our greatest need and desire it to make regular and diligent use of God’s means of grace through which He comes to give us all His good gifts and blessings, to forgive us our sins, to strengthen us to help us make it through each day. As we have seen, Jesus has been to the mountain. Jesus, then left the mountain, He also left all the glory that was His as true God. He took on human flesh. He lived as one of us. He suffered and died as one of us. He rose again and He defeated, sin, death and the devil. As we have been to the mountain with Jesus so we descend that mountain and with His help we face the everyday world in which we live, strengthened, encourage, and assured that He is with us every step of the way. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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