“SO, NOW WHAT?”
MATTHEW 17:1-9
OPEN
This past week we had revival services. Excellent revival services. Outstanding preaching. Great singing. A true spiritual high. But what does it all really mean? Are we supposed to now just go back to business as usual? Are we supposed to stay on fire for Christ? What are we supposed to do?
This morning we’re going to look at an event that happened toward the end of Jesus’ ministry. He takes three of His closest followers – Peter, James, and John – and heads for the top of a mountain. What mountain? The New Testament doesn’t say so the name must not be important. But the event is important because it certainly stayed at the forefront of the minds of those who were there.
I’m sure that John is referring to this incident in John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. In his second letter, Peter talks about this event in 2 Pet. 1:16-18 – We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
The event we’re going to look at this morning is known as “The Transfiguration.” The word in the original language for “transfigured” is one from which we get our term “metamorphosis”. It literally means “a change beyond or above”. It refers to extraordinary change. We use it to refer to the changes when a tadpole becomes a frog and when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The Bible also uses this term to refer to us when we become transformed by Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation [there’s that word]; the old has gone, the new has come!
Jesus went through metamorphosis more than once. First, He left the glories of heaven to come to earth in human form. For about 33 and a half years, He lived with us and shared our pain and suffering, our earthly hungers and temptations.
In our study today, we see an event unfold where for just a brief time Peter, James, and John are privileged to see a glorious metamorphosis as once again Jesus is clothed in His glory – the glory of Almighty God. They had a spiritual high beyond comprehension – a real mountain top experience. This “spiritual high” experienced by these followers of Jesus should teach us something about what should happen next.
Mt. 17:1-9 – After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 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. 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.” 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!” When the disciples
heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid.” 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.”
MOVE ON
Have you ever seen what looked like a beautiful place to camp? You start to get the tents and the other gear out to set up camp and then you see a sign that reads: “NO CAMPING.” Isn’t that frustrating? You think you’ve got the perfect place and then someone in authority has to ruin it by placing a sign that says you can’t camp in that spot.
There are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t camp there. You’re just not aware of them. Maybe it’s a low-lying area and is susceptible to flash-flooding. Maybe there are bears that frequent the area that are looking for something to eat. It may be that the ground is unstable and there’s a chance for sink holes. It could be any number of reasons but it’s just not safe [BE CAREFUL] to “pitch your tents” in that area.
Do you notice what Peter does as he’s caught up in the spiritual high? He wants to pitch tents and stay on the mountain top. The term translated as “shelters” here in the NIV is literally in the original “tents” or “tabernacles.”
One of the dangers after a spiritual high is you want to camp there. You don’t want to leave. You don’t want things to change.
I remember a spiritual retreat that I went on 17 years ago. It really changed my life. I loved the fellowship. I loved the spiritual growth that I experienced. I really loved the worship. When it came time to go home, I was wishing that I could stay at that campground forever. I felt so spiritually “warm and fuzzy.” I felt comfortable and content. But I had to leave and get busy about living out what I had learned.
DO WHAT JESUS SAYS
Before Peter can even finish getting the words out of his mouth about setting up the tents, the voice of God the Father speaks clearly. Mt. 17:5 it says, 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!”
In the Sept./Oct. 2008 edition of the magazine Men of Integrity, there was a segment from Erwin McManus’ book, The Barbarian Way. McManus writes:
My son, Aaron, was five or six when he began asking me, “What does God’s voice sound like?” I didn’t
know how to answer. A few years later, Aaron went off to his first junior high camp. In the middle of the
week, I went up with another pastor at Mosaic to see our kids. Aaron, I learned, had started to assault
another kid but had been held back by his friends. He was unrepentant, wanted to leave camp, pulled
together his stuff, and shoved it into the car.
I asked him for a last talk with me before we drove away. We sat on two large rocks in the middle of the
woods. “Aaron,” I asked, “is there any voice inside you telling you what you should do?”
“Yes,” he nodded.
“What’s the voice telling you?”
“That I should stay and work it out.”
“Can you identify that voice?”
“Yes,” he said immediately, “It’s God.” It was the moment I’d waited for.
“Aaron,” I said, “do you realize what just happened? You heard God’s voice. He spoke to you from
within your soul. Forget everything else that’s happened. God spoke to you, and you were able to recognize
him.”
I will never forget Aaron’s dug-in response: “Well, I’m still not doing what God said.”
I explained to him that that was his choice, but this is what would happen. If he rejected the voice of God
coming from deep within and chose to disobey his guidance, his heart would become hardened, and his ears
would become dull.
If he continued on this path, there would be a day when he would never again hear the voice of God.
There would come a day when he would deny that God even speaks or has ever spoken to him.
But if he treasures God’s voice however it comes to him—through the Scriptures, through his
conscience — and responds to him with obedience, then his heart would be softened, and his ears would
always be able to hear the whisper of God into his soul.
Aaron chose to stay, I’m grateful to say. If he had chosen differently, he would have begun the path
toward nominal discipleship. Perhaps he never would have rejected the faith overtly. He might have even
chosen to be a faithful attender at a church and been by everyone else’s estimation a good man, but he would
no longer be a close Jesus-follower.
Just two weeks ago, in the message from our series through Ecclesiastes, we heard how the Bible equates “hearing” with “doing.” The concept of “hearing God” means “heeding God” as well. In Lk. 6:46, Jesus asks, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” In Mt.7:21 – Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” James writes in James 1:22 – Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
BE COURAGEOUS
What happened when Peter, James, and John heard the voice of the Father? Vss. 6-8 of our text tells us: When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Back when Joe Garagiola was a catcher in the major leagues, he had a young pitcher out on the mound who had just come up from the team’s farm club. It was his first time ever to pitch in the majors. The first two batters he faced had both gotten hits, and now were on second and third base. The next batter up was none other than the St. Louis Cardinals’ slugger – Stan Musial.
Garagiola, the veteran, knew it was a critical situation, but he was ready to go to work. He squatted down behind home plate and flashed the signal for a fastball. The young pitcher shook his head to indicate that was not the pitch he wanted to throw. So Garagiola signaled for a curve ball. Again the youngster shook his head, indicating that wasn’t what he wanted to throw, either. He tried for a slider and then a change-up, both with the same results. Nothing seemed to suit the young rookie.
So Garagiola called time out and ran out to the mound. He said to the pitcher, “I’ve called for every pitch in the book and you’ve shaken them all off. What is it you want to throw?”
The young pitcher turned to Garagiola with a look of fear in his eyes and said, “Nothin’, Joe. Nothin’ at all. I just want to hold onto the ball as long as I can!”
Fear is a real killer. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear is the opposite of faith. Faith says that we trust God with the outcome. Fear says God can’t do what He’s promised to do in us and through us.
The Bible does say that fear of the Lord is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom. But the kind of fear that the Bible is speaking about in those passages is a healthy respect and awe for God. When we come to the Father through the Son, we should have no fear of rejection or reprisal. Heb. 4:14-16 tells us, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Paul writes to his young protégé Timothy and says in 2 Tim. 1:7 – For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. Just remember, the will of God will never lead you where the grace of God could not keep you.
What was it that dispelled the fear of these first century disciples? They fixed their eyes on Jesus. Vs. 8 –When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
TELL OTHERS
In vs. 9, we see these first century disciples moving on. They have to come down from their mountain top experience. Jesus still has things to do. The disciples still have things to do. Vs. 9 says, 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.”
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, there are a number of times where miraculous things happen and Jesus says to the recipient of the miracles, “Don’t say anything to anyone about how this happened.” What do the recipients of these miracles do? Do they remain quiet? Do they hold their tongues? No! They go running off to tell everybody about their encounter with Jesus.
The reverse is true today. It’s after the resurrection. Jesus has told us to tell everyone about Him and what He’s done in our lives. In Mk. 16:15, Jesus says, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
How do we respond? We’re like arctic rivers, frozen at the mouth. We make all kinds of excuses about why we can’t talk to others about Jesus. We don’t have to know all the right words and we don’t have to have all the right answers. We’re simply called to tell others about the Christ who loves us and wants a relationship with us. We simply need to be faithful in the telling. God will take care of the rest.
My friend Darrel Land, Sr. Minister at the Christian Church of Jasper, IN shared with me this week a story that he used in his message today. He said, “A few weeks back I was reading an interview in Sporting News with Super bowl Quarterback Kurt Werner who is a devoted follower of Christ. He is very outspoken about his faith and was asked what he thought about the fact that some people didn’t think he should be. I loved his response. He said “It is one of those things where if you believe strongly in something, it’s not something you turn on or off at different times. Part of the message is just showing the impact God has had on my life. And I am to live my life everyday as an ambassador for Him.”
CLOSE
The highest point on the face of the earth is Mount Everest – 29, 035 feet. People have been trying to reach that high point since 1921. On May 29, 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to conquer the climb to the top. Since that time around 1500 people have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. In this day, it costs more that $60,000 to reach the top of Mt. Everest. It takes about 90 days and 1-in-8 people don’t make it back.
Here’s a very important question: Do you think it’s more dangerous to climb Mt. Everest or to come back down from Mt. Everest? More people have died trying to come back down than did those trying to reach the summit. You have to be extra-careful coming off of a high place.
The question remains, “So, now what?” What are you going to do in response to the mountain top experience we’ve had this past week? Are you going to try to set up camp and not move from where you’ve been? Or are you going to come down the mountain and get to work?
Will you choose to love the Lord through trust and obedience? Our spiritual life is a series of highs and lows. Following Jesus down the mountain into the valley then back to the mountain is a series of small steps, small choices all in the right direction. In that journey God, by His spirit in you, forms you to be like His son Jesus.
There’s a question you’re probably asking, “What if I trip and fall? You already said that coming back down the mountain is more dangerous than climbing up. What if I fail?” Here’s the answer: Even when you fail, God never does. His care for you will never fail and His love for you will never fail. Rom. 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jeanette George tells about flying from Tucson to Phoenix. During the flight she noticed across the aisle a
young mom with her baby daughter. Both mother and daughter were wearing, crisp, white dresses. The mother was smiling and the baby was saying “Dada, Dada.” She had a little pink bow where someday she was going to
have hair and anytime anybody walked by she greeted them with “Dada, Dada.
Let’s pick up the story in Jeanette’s own words: “I think I know who is going to be there waiting when this
plane lands, ‘Dada.’ Meanwhile that baby was the magnet of everyone’s attention on the plane. The mom had a baby bottle filled with orange juice. It turned out to be a rough flight and when the baby got fussy, the mom would pacify her with juice and fruit, juice and fruit. And the baby started crying. I guess the ears or something as they’re flying. And the more the baby cried, the more juice and fruit.
“Then the flight got turbulent. Oh, yeah, you know what happened. That baby had more come up than had gone down. It was just a huge, huge mess. The baby’s face is blotted with red from the crying. Her hair, her white dress, just everywhere is covered with fruit and juice. People were assuring this young mother that it was okay, handing her tissues while running for cover.
“By the time the plane landed, the little girl was fine. She started saying, ‘Dada, Dada,’ again. Nobody else was fine, but that little girl, she was fine.”
Jeanette told that when they got off the plane, she spotted the daddy. He was standing there in white pants, a white shirt, and holding white flowers. As he walked to embrace his wife, she just handed him the child, as she made her way to the bathroom to clean up.
Jeaneete said, “I thought when he looked at how nasty that little girl had gotten, he would say, “She’s not by baby. I don’t know whose baby she is.’ That’s not what happened. That daddy took that little girl in his arms and he started kissing her, stroking her hair and saying over and over again, ‘Daddy’s baby came home.’
“I watch him all the way to the baggage area. He never stopped kissing that baby and I thought, ‘Where did I ever get the idea that Father God is less loving than a young daddy in a white shirt, in white pants with white flowers who doesn’t care what his little girl looks like or what she smells like? He’s just glad she’s home.”
Maybe you’re here this morning and have never made Christ your Lord and Savior. We invite you to behold His glory to know that He loves you and wants a relationship with you. While others are considering they’re walk with Christ, why don’t you consider starting the journey with Christ?
