Changed

Changed

Matthew 17: 1 – 9

Intro: A husband and wife were watching a football game together. As usual there was a coin toss to decide which team will kick off and who will receive. When the game was over the wife looked at the husband and said that she thought the whole thing was just stupid. When he asked why, her answer was, “Well, during the whole game all I heard was people shouting, “get the quarter back.”

I I don’t think the lady really understood the game of football at all. Most people don’t really understand this passage of scripture.

A VS. 2 “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.”

B The problem for most people is the word, “transfigured.” Exactly what does that mean?

C The GK. µetaµ??f?? / metamorpho? means to “transform / change / transfigure / change in appearance / to change the use or purpose – to change a barn into a house.

II What is significant here is not the “special effects” but that Jesus was NOT just another exceptional human being.

A Jesus was the representation on earth of the Divine. He was the ruling Son of God.

B After seeing this “wonder” the disciples hear a voice saying, VS. 5 – “While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’”

C From that point on, the disciples saw Jesus differently. We have all experienced that same thing. We have seen someone in a new way other than the way we originally saw them. – Our perception of our parents changes as we age, they get smarter.

III Jesus appeared as the same person to the disciples; but, he was somehow different.

A The disciples had their eyes opened to a new reality; namely, Jesus was God’s way in the world.

B What do we learn from this transfiguration story? It teaches us that we are often unaware of visions we are able to see.

C When God comes near to us, it changes not only us; but also, everything and the way we see things. Things are put in a new perspective. Perhaps important things finally come into focus for us.

Concl: Sometimes, the things we plan do not always turn out as we wished they would. We start out in one direction only to be side-tracked into another. For us to be changed, transformed into the person God wants us to be, we must learn to “Listen to him!” Be open to hearing and following the soft, tender voice of God beckoning us to come and be changed.