Have you ever had someone wake you to catch a particularly beautiful sunrise? That happened to me while I was camping on Padre Island in Texas. I woke with a start when someone threw sand at the side of my tent, just about where my ear was pressed up against the canvass. When I stumbled out of my tent to see what the deal was I was greeted with a wonderful panorama. The eastern sky looked like a layered cake with orange, red, and pink frosting. These colors were also reflected in the water and on the wet sand so that it seemed as if I was standing in the middle of a frosting dish. I was still tired and sleepy, but I was glad to have been awakened to catch such a glorious sight.
This morning the Holy Spirit invites you to wake up to Jesus’ glory. You’ll do that as you take in his light on top of the Mt. of Transfiguration, and as you take in his flight down from the Mt. of Transfiguration. So rub all sleep from your eyes now and give the Holy Spirit your full attention, for he will help make sense of what Jesus’ transfiguration means for you.
Six months before his crucifixion Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John on a hike up a tall mountain. At first the disciples may have thought this was just another one of Jesus’ prayer retreats. It was not unusual for Jesus to withdraw from the crowds and to climb a mountain to be alone to pray. And sure enough, that’s what Jesus did when he reached the top of this mountain; he prayed. He must have prayed for some time because the disciples fell asleep. But then something spectacular happened. Jesus’ clothes started to shine with a white as brilliant as a flash of lightning. As the disciples stirred awake and rubbed their eyes, they also saw that Jesus’ face was shining with a sunlight intensity! The cause of this brilliance was not a spotlight beaming on Jesus as if he was some rock star on a concert stage about to rip off a guitar solo. This dazzling light was coming from within Jesus!
The disciples had never seen Jesus like this before, but it should not have surprised them. After all, just six days earlier Peter had said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Here now was that truth revealed in all of its glory – Jesus radiating with a divine brightness. It’s good for us to see Jesus like this too, for like Peter we also have confessed of Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And yet we sometimes wonder don’t we? Is Jesus really God? Is my faith in him well founded? The Christian author Donald Miller once mused with an unguarded honesty: “The goofy thing about Christian faith is that I believe it and don’t believe it at the same time. I believe in Jesus; I believe he is the Son of God, but every time I sit down to explain this to somebody I feel like a palm reader, like somebody who works at a circus or somebody at a Star Trek convention who hasn’t figured out the show isn’t real.”
If you can relate to Miller’s words, you’re not alone. Even the disciples who saw Jesus with their own eyes struggled between belief and unbelief. That’s why the Holy Spirit gives us this vision of Jesus this morning. He wants us to wake up to Jesus’ glory, to see and fully believe that he is the Son of God because that’s who he revealed himself to be in that glorious light on top of the Mount of Transfiguration.
But it wasn’t just the glorious light of Jesus that impressed the disciples. Standing alongside of him were two men: Moses and Elijah. What were these stalwart believers from the Old Testament doing on the Mount of Transfiguration? They had come to speak with Jesus. The Gospel of Luke tells us that they spoke to Jesus about his upcoming departure, or “exodus” as Luke literally put it (Luke 9:31). These two Old Testament prophets were helping the disciples understand what it meant that Jesus was the “Christ” or “appointed one.” Jesus had been appointed to win our salvation and he would do that by suffering and dying on the cross.
Oh how I wish we knew more about that conversation between Jesus and the prophets. But it was just then that Peter interrupted. He blurted: “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Luke 9:5). Had the talk of Jesus’ death scared Peter? Had he thought to himself, “Jesus die? No! He can’t die. I have a better idea. We just need to prolong this glorious event. If we can get Jesus to stay shining like that and keep Moses and Elijah around, then all of Israel could come here and be convinced that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Before Peter could say anything else, however, a bright cloud enveloped them and a voice boomed: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7) It was God the Father pointing out that Peter was speaking again when he should have been listening. We have that problem too don’t we? We’re quick to cry out to God when we’re in trouble. We plead. We beg God to do as we have asked. And that’s good. But do we as often open his Word to see what he has to say to calm our fearful hearts? If not, we’re all the poorer for it.
That was a lesson Peter should have already learned. For after he had confessed that Jesus was the Christ six days earlier, he heard Jesus explain what that meant - that he must go to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die, and then come back to life again. But this plan didn’t fit with Peter’s perception of what Jesus should do. Jesus’ words were too depressing. When Peter objected, however, Jesus turned on him and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23). Jesus spoke so forcefully because Peter’s well-meaning words were a temptation to him to abandon the road to Calvary where he was to suffer and die for all mankind.
This leads us to the second truth on which we want to focus this morning. We also wake up to Jesus’ glory when we take in his flight down the Mount of Transfiguration. After the Father’s voice died away, the disciples, who had all hit the ground in fear, looked up when Jesus said, “Get up. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 17:7). When the disciples did look up they didn’t see anyone but Jesus, and he appeared ordinary again. He wasn’t even glowing just a little. Jesus then started to walk back down the mountain with his face resolutely set towards Jerusalem. God’s love was running down the mountain into the dark valleys below (Steve Wiechman), like a clear mountain stream that tumbles over the rocks to give refreshing water to the villages below. But Jesus wasn’t just going down to hang out some more in the villages. He was going down to save sinners. The one who had just beamed with brilliance would soon be bathed in blood.
Tell me, which picture of Jesus do you prefer? Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? Or Jesus on Mount Calvary? Which one shows Jesus in all of his glory? It’s Jesus on Mount Calvary covered in blood. Surprised to hear me say that? Think of it like this. When does your mom appear to be the most glorious? When she gets all dressed up for an anniversary meal at a fancy restaurant, or when she gets up at 2 in the morning to look after a sick child? She looks great when she’s headed to the fancy restaurant. Her hair is meticulous and she’s wearing her expensive jewelry, but she seems more glorious when she gets up at 2 in the morning to look after you – even though her hair is a mess, and her pajamas may not match. She looks glorious because her love for you is unmistakable at times like that (David Fleming).
That’s how it is with Jesus. He was at his most glorious when he resolutely set out to win your salvation. And although the unbelieving world scoffed at Jesus as he hung on the cross, because to them he looked weak and ineffective, for us who believe the truth, we see Jesus’ love for sinners like us.
That’s an awesome truth to wake up to isn’t it? It doesn’t just help you marvel at what a tremendous Savior you have in Jesus. It helps you make sense of your own life too. Take this morning for example. With Tina’s baptism and confirmation we’re celebrating one of those mountaintop experiences in the life of the church. Tina, we’re thrilled for you today. I hope that this will be a day that you remember and cherish for a long time. BUT this service will come to an end. This day will turn to night. And tomorrow…well tomorrow is Monday. You know what that means: getting lunches ready, driving the kids around, keeping the house clean, encouraging your husband, being there for your friends. It may even feel like this day never happened.
Don’t you wish you could prolong the glorious moments like this when you’re together with your family and it doesn’t seem as if any problems can reach you here? That’s also what the Apostle Peter was aiming at when he suggested building three shelters on top of the Mount of Transfiguration. But Jesus said no. He had work to do at the bottom of the mountain. And so do you Tina. You have work to do as a wife, daughter, sister, mother, and as a Christian. But you’re not the same person you were yesterday. Through your baptism you have been transformed. Your sinful nature has been drowned and its power over you has been broken. You don’t have to keep falling back into the pattern of sinful frustration. What’s more, through the Lord’s Supper you’ll continue to be transformed until the day you will shine with glory just like Jesus.
Remember that when you’re tempted to think there isn’t very much to life. On difficult days climb back up the Mount of Transfiguration and see your Savior transformed. Be convinced that he’s not some ordinary guy. Jesus is the all-powerful, all-glorious Son of God. There is no problem he cannot handle. And then follow Jesus back down the mountain and see him on the cross. Be reassured that there is no problem of yours that he does not want to handle because he’s already handled our greatest problem: sin. And so when he says, “Do not be afraid,” you have every reason to listen to him and believe him. That’s the truth of Transfiguration. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How many months before Jesus’ crucifixion did the transfiguration take place? Why is that important to note?
Who else appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration? What did they talk about? Why is that important?
Peter suggested building three shelters on the mountain? Why?
Why is God the Father’s instruction to “Listen to Jesus,” so important for us to put into practice?
What was so glorious about the fact that Jesus went down from the Mount of Transfiguration?
How will the events of the Transfiguration encourage and motivate you in your daily rounds this week?
