How To See Jesus

How to See Jesus

Matthew 17:1-9

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - June 21, 2009

*How do you see Jesus? Our popular culture certainly sees Him in a warped way. Their Jesus once made an appearance on "The Simpsons". He has often appeared on the raunchy cartoon "South Park" doing battle with Satan.

*Not too long ago, rapper Kanye West had his picture on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine. At the time, Kanye was wearing a crown of thorns and the picture was titled “The Passion of Kanye.” (I promise you that Kanye’s thorns were not punching holes in his scalp.) In the mocking comedy, “Talladega Nights,” Will Farrell played a NASCAR driver who liked to pray to an 8 pound 6 oz. baby Jesus who was wearing a diaper made from the golden-fleece. (1)

*That’s how much of our media sees Jesus today, but how do you see Jesus?

*In his book, “Vintage Jesus,” Mark Driscoll tells us that:

-Jehovah’s Witnesses say that Jesus was merely Michael the archangel, a created being that became a man.

-Mormonism teaches that Jesus was not God but only a man who became one of many gods; it also teaches that he was a polygamist and a half-brother of Lucifer.

-Universalism teaches that Jesus was not God but rather that he was a great man to be respected solely for his teaching and love.

-Muslims think Jesus was a prophet, but one who is inferior to Mohammed. Islam also teaches that Judas took Christ’s place on the cross. (1)

*These are just a few of the misguided ways the world sees Jesus. But let’s look into the Word of God to see the real Jesus.

1. First: See Jesus shining in the light of His glory.

*In vs. 1&2, we see Jesus shining in the light of His glory: “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up on a high mountain by themselves, and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.”

*What they saw that day in the face of Jesus Christ was a small part of the glory of God. If they had seen all of His glory, they would have died on the spot. But they saw a small part of the glory of God. And they saw the glory of God in Jesus because He is Almighty God, one with the Father and Holy Spirit.

*Jesus’ face shined like the sun. Can you imagine that? They must have shielded their eyes from His face, because no one can look at the sun without going blind. Why did the Lord reveal His glory to them like that? It is because He wanted the disciples and us and all the world to know that Jesus is Lord of all!

*Col 1:15-17 tells us that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Col 2:9 tells us that all the fullness of the Godhead lives in the body of Jesus Christ!

*Jesus certainly considered Himself to be God, and He used language for Himself that the Bible uses exclusively for God. For example, in John 8:56-59, Jesus told the Jews:

56. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’’

57. Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’’

58. Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’’

59. Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them and so passed by.

*When He called Himself “I AM,” Jesus was clearly referring back to Exodus 3:13-14 where Moses met God in a burning bush. There the Lord first called Himself by the same name:

13. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

*Before He became a man, the Lord Christ of the New Testament was seen by Isaiah in the Old Testament. Isaiah 6:1-5 tells us:

1. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.