A Sight For Sore Eyes

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Matthew 17: 1-9 February 10, 2002

I’d like to start this morning by saying we’ve had two persons in our church who have recently had eye surgery, Ms. Irene & Ms. Donna… I hope you’ve been praying for them; that their eyesight will be restored & corrected, and they will have a Godspeed recovery…

But you know, many of us may need eye surgery… maybe our eyesight is going bad – sometimes it’s only in hindsight that we can see 20/20…

Do you know how precious eyesight is – I think it’s one of the greatest gifts that God gave… Our eyes allow us to see the beauty that surrounds us… We can see the beauty of the creation, we can see the beauty of our family & friends… Can you imagine having a son or daughter, a mom or dad, and never being able to see them – not knowing what they really look like…

Or not being able to see the blue sky or the pastures green with grass, or all the beautiful colors in the arc of the rainbow… Can you imagine what it would be to live in a dark world – a world without light – a world without sight…

Many of us may have perfect eyesight, yet we don’t see – Isn’t that a strange thought…

One theologian once said, “The eyes are the windows into our soul…” Our eyes, like windows, allow light to shine in… Both our eyes & windows allow us to see what is outside… We need both – We need the capability to absorb what is on the outside – allowing it to come into our lives…

You would never build a house without windows, would you? Not only do we need the light that shines in the window – but we need to be able to see through the window – so we can see & experience a whole other world, outside our window…

In a similar way, our scripture this morning is another window that allows us to see our Lord Jesus Christ in a NEW WAY… It was on top of the mountain that through the Transfiguration of Christ, God allowed the disciples, Peter, James, & John to see Jesus Christ in His true identity as the Son of God…

Matthew tells us that Jesus: “was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light…” This is a very interesting & symbolic description of who Christ really is… For in the Gospel of John, Jesus describes Himself as “the light of the world…”

We know that in the natural world, light is necessary for the life & growth of plants, animals, & even human beings… It’s also necessary for spiritual life & growth… Many people refer to their spiritual knowledge & Christian journey by saying, “I have come to see the light” or “the light has shown upon me…” As to say, they no longer live in darkness – but they now live in the light of Christ…

It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words…

I’m careful of the words I say, to keep them soft & sweet.

I never know from day to day, which ones I’ll have to eat…

As the disciples followed Jesus Christ, Jesus often spoke to them, teaching them lessons of life…

Through His words, He often gave them words of warning about the corrupt & phony religious leaders of their day & time… He often gave them words about His true identity… And on many occasions, He spoke words about His departure… But words can only go so far… It’s obvious that the disciples didn’t comprehend everything Jesus was telling them…

That’s why Jesus did a lot of His own ministry… He knew that a picture was worth a thousand words… That’s why He not only used words, but He used His hands…

In the presence of His disciples, Jesus healed the sick, He gave sight to the blind, He made the dumb to speak, & the deaf to hear… He fed the 5,000… He walked on the water…

He was painting pictures for His disciples to see… beautiful, powerful pictures… as to say, “Don’t you see, I am the Son of God, I am Jesus the Christ… I am the light of the world… And I have come to bring sight to the blind…

But even after all of this, Christ knew that His disciples couldn’t fully understand His message… He knew that they needed another sign, another picture – So Jesus took His executive group, the inner circle of the disciples, and they take a little short retreat to the top of the mountain to where there will be very little talking – but Jesus will paint one very powerful picture…