Luke 9:28-36
The Transfiguration "It is good for us to be here."
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
Last month there was a little excitement in the news about a college football player from Notre Dame University who had an imaginary girlfriend he had met on the internet. To make a long story short, this football player met someone online, this person he thought was real. They communicated over the internet for awhile, and as they did, he started to like her more and more. But she wasn't real. She was just someone pretending to be a girl interested in the football player. Eventually the whole thing blew up when the pretend girl pretended to die, and the media found out, and it became a big mess.
Isn't that interesting, though? This person thought he knew someone, thought he had a girlfriend, but then he found out that the whole thing was a hoax.
There are millions of people who think they know God. Maybe they think they even have a relationship with him. "I know God," a person might say. "I believe in God. I think he will let me into heaven when I die."
But they don't believe in Jesus. They don’t care about the Bible. The whole thing is just a hoax that the Devil has created, this fake god that doesn't exist. Do you know anyone like that? "Yeah, I believe in God. No, I don't believe in Jesus. I don't believe the Bible. But yeah, I believe in God." It's a sad thing - so many people, falling for this hoax that the Devil is carrying out in the world.
But how do we know that Jesus really is the one to believe in? Today on this Transfiguration Sunday, we are going to see 3 pieces of evidence that Jesus really is the Son of God, and our Savior from sin. And as we see these things, God will strengthen our faith, and protect us from all the confusing and untrue beliefs that the Devil is spreading throughout this world. Of all places, it is good for us to be here, to be with Jesus, to be in his Word. Only here, will we find something that is true and something that is helpful to us.
Put yourself in the shoes of those disciples just for a moment. For just a few minutes, Jesus stopped hiding his glory, and there on that mountain they saw, with their own eyes, that Jesus was God: "his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." Is Jesus really God, the Light of the World? Just look at his appearance.
Also, look at who shows up on the top of that mountain. Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. Is Jesus really the focus of the Old Testament, the Messiah talked about by the prophets. Look at who is with Jesus, talking to him - two of the most important prophets of the Old Testament.
And if that's not enough, the disciples heard the very voice of God the Father himself, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." Is Jesus really the Son of God? Is he really the chosen one? That's exactly what God the Father said, on the top of that mountain. And the disciples responded, "Lord, it is good for us to be here."
Very soon they would descend that mountain, and be surrounded by all kinds of false ideas about Jesus. For this one moment in time, there was no doubt in the minds of those disciples that this Jesus was indeed the Savior of all mankind.
We live in a world that still today has all kinds of false ideas about Jesus Christ. There are all kinds of hoaxes out there, that the Devil has put into your path. Is Jesus really the Savior? Maybe he's not. And this has eternal consequences. Believe in Jesus and go to heaven. Do not believe in Jesus - follow one of the hoaxes of the world - and go to hell. What will happen to you someday?
Jesus allowed the disciples to see his glory, and it helped them. "Lord, it is good for us to be here," they said.
Where does Jesus do this for us today? When you need your faith to be strengthened, where do you go? The Apostle Paul once said, “We live by faith, and not by sight.” Today Jesus isn’t going to dazzle our eyes with the holy light of heaven, like he did back then. God isn’t going to dazzle our ears today with his booming voice from the sky, like he did back then. The next time that will happen will be Judgment Day. Until then, we live by faith, and not by sight.
And so where can people go, who are living by faith, and not by sight? There is a place. That place is called the Word. And that place is called the Sacrament. That's our mountain. That is where we find our taste of heaven.
Do you have a hard time believing that Jesus is real? That God really forgives the thousands of sins you commit every day? That there really is a place called heaven? Are you starting to have doubts, because of all the hoaxes and lies that the Devil is spreading about Jesus in this world? Then go to the Word, go to the Sacraments, and there let Jesus speak to you, and as you do, you will agree with the Apostle Peter, "Lord, it is good for us to be here."
On this Lakeside Sunday, we also highlight Christian education, and how important it is to have the Word of God in your life. No matter how good the school facilities are, no matter how cutting edge the technology, no matter how new and innovative the classrooms are designed, none of it matters - none of it matters - if the student doesn't believe in Jesus. At Lakeside, the Word of God is present. In some ways, it's a mountain-top experience every day at Lakeside, as Jesus shows the students who he really is, through his powerful Word. "Lord, it is good for us to be here," at Lakeside, the students can say, because God's Word is there.
When you die, you will experience 3 surprises in heaven. Did you realize that? Surprise #1 - there will be people not there, that you thought would be there. They were such good people, but they didn't believe in Jesus, and believed the hoax that Jesus and the Bible are nothing. Surprise #2 - there will be people there, that you didn't expect. They weren't very churchy, perfect people. But, they believed in Jesus - the Word of God was in their lives. And surprise #3 - you will be there. Deep down, we all wonder if we are worthy. Jesus makes you worthy, by taking your sins away and making you holy by his death on the cross. And if I may add a 4th surprise - when you arrive in heaven - you will be surprised, at how awesome God will really be - to be in his presence, to see his love and beauty and power and to hear his voice and to see it all - at that moment, when you walk into heaven, you will be able to say forever, with the Apostle Peter - "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Amen.
