“Transfigured by Glory”
Luke 9:28-36
A sermon for 2/27/22 – Transfiguration Sunday
Pastor John Bright
Harmony & Swansonville UMC
Luke 9 “28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to formed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You have to choose.
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Jesus has an inner circle – Peter, James and John. That’s just the way it is.
These are the three that went with Jesus into the room when the daughter of Jarius is healed – Luke 8:51 “When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.” They also go further into the Garden of Gethsemene with Jesus – Matthew 26 “36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Now, in Luke 9, we find them going onto the mountain with Jesus - “28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” Even though 2 out of the 3 times we see them with Jesus they fall asleep, Jesus is sowing into these three men so that the gifts in them will produce fruit in the future.
What makes you sleepy? Driving on a long trip to the beach? Eating a big meal? Sitting down in your recliner after a long day at work and taking care of the kids? What about when you pray? This can happen to me – especially if I am laying in the bed at night. It used to bother me, but then I heard someone say that’s the best way to go to sleep. I guess it’s better than drifting off to sleep when I am praying in worship on Sunday morning! 😊 I mention prayer because both times we read about the inner circle going to sleep is when Jesus is in prayer.
Do you have an inner circle of Believers? If we are going to grow in our Holy Spirit walk, we need a few folks that we can meet with and pray with and be real with – in my small group, I can say anything and they will still accept me and love me. That’s why I NEED TO BE in a small group. Again, I meet weekly with two other pastors on Zoom in a Discipleship Band. (https://discipleshipbands.com/) I would call those two guys my inner circle. I can look back over my Holy Spirit walk during the last 3 decades and see the greatest difference between the seasons I made time for a small group and the seasons I made all kinds of excuses (too busy, nobody to meet with, lack of trust). Every season with a small group was a season of growth and every season without the small group was stagnation and coasting. Do you see why I say I NEED TO BE in a small group?
The Glory that Transforms – v. 29-30
“29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
When I see a phrase like “white and glistening” it makes me wonder about other translations. In the NIV, it describes it like this – “his clothes became as bright as lightning.” That’s really, really white and glistening. The brightness of lightning has been compared to 100 million lightbulbs. By the way, you have a one-in-a-million chance of being struck by lightning in your life time (1/1,443,000).
http://lightningsafetycouncil.org/Odds.pdf
This same event is recorded in all of the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. This may be what prompted John to write, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 It was Moses in the Old Testament that had his face transformed by the Glory of God. In talking about this – Paul described how we are transformed also: 2 Corinthians 3 “12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Each one of us – all Believers – are becoming like Christ… well, at least, that’s the plan!
So, how does all this transformation begin? SALVATION – we all know that word, but there is another word that speaks directly to our spiritual transformation: REGENERATION!
“Another word for regeneration is rebirth, related to the biblical phrase “born again.” Our rebirth is distinguished from our first birth, when we were conceived physically and inherited our sin nature. The new birth is a spiritual, holy, and heavenly birth that results in our being made alive spiritually. Man in his natural state is “dead in trespasses and sins” until he is “made alive” (regenerated) by Christ. This happens when he places his faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1).”
“Regeneration is a radical change. Just as our physical birth resulted in a new individual entering the earthly realm, our spiritual birth results in a new person entering the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6). After regeneration, we begin to see and hear and seek after divine things; we begin to live a life of faith and holiness. Now, Christ is formed in the heart; now we are partakers of the divine nature, having been made new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). God, not man, is the source of this transformation (Ephesians 2:1, 8). God’s great love and free gift, His rich grace and abundant mercy, are the cause of the rebirth. The mighty power of God—the power that raised Christ from the dead—is displayed in the regeneration and conversion of sinners (Ephesians 1:19–20).” https://www.gotquestions.org/regeneration-Bible.html
The Church of today seems to have left behind the transforming work of regeneration. I know I bring this up all the time – but I have to – it’s part of the Great Experiment: A person can claim to be a believer, yet still believe and think and say and do whatever they want. That is NOT Biblical Christianity. I can’t say it any simpler. This is what is ripping apart my denomination. This is why folks are coming out of the deep sleep of the pandemic and not seeing the Glory of God in our local congregations. They are hungering for the supernatural and that’s what our transformation is supposed to be – God changing us – but we have to allow it and right now, not many seem to desire that transformation.
Sleepy disciples – v.32-33
“32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.”
Peter, James and John wake up to this amazing scene – Jesus, as bright as 100 million light bulbs, is talking with two giants of the Jewish faith. For them Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. Doctors today study those few moments we have between being asleep and being awake – it’s called the hypnagogic state. Many find it is a time of great inspiration and creativity. I can imagine Peter, James and John rubbing their eyes and wondering if they were still dreaming.
When they realize what’s happening, Peter rushes in – as usual. I really like Dr. Ralph Wilson’s take on this: “How did Peter think of making shelters (or tabernacles or booths)? When I read this passage, I can't help but chuckle. What is there to say on an occasion like this? But if there was ever an inappropriate thing to say, Peter voices it: "It is good that we're here. Let's construct three shelters, one for each of you, so that you can be comfortable and this can continue." I expect that later on, when the Transfiguration was fully known among the disciples, Peter was the brunt of a lot of jokes from his fellow apostles: "You sure put your foot in your mouth, Peter." But Luke says it much more nicely: "He did not know what he was saying."
The Cloud – v. 34-36
“34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.”
When I was serving in Bedford, one of the most popular places to have a wedding was the Peaks of Otter. You drive way up the mountain to get to the hotel on a small lake. I was officiating at a wedding. The bride and groom and all the guests were facing the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day, but then it suddenly got dark as a cloud moved in and enveloped us all. We kept going and in 3 or 4 minutes the cloud moved away and we got the sun and the panoramic view back.
This no natural cloud – this is God. Where does the voice of God, the Father, come from? “And a voice came out of the cloud.” This is the cloud that came down on the Tabernacle in the wilderness – Numbers 9 “15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. 18 At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.”
Peter, James and John knew that in the wilderness the cloud was the very presence of God. They knew they could trust what God was telling them just like God spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle. If there was any shadow of a doubt about who Jesus was or about the words He was speaking to them, it vanished now with these words - “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
God often used miraculous, supernatural, glorious events to let the world know about His Son. He sent a choir of angels in the night sky to let the shepherds know about the birth of Jesus. He spoke and sent the Holy Spirit like a dove at Jesus’ baptism. He raised Jesus from the dead and the disciples saw Jesus ascend into heaven. After Jesus is gone – there are more miraculous, supernatural, glorious events – tongues of flame at Pentecost and 3,000 saved/regenerated, middle-of-the-night prison breaks, and we even read about people being healed when the shadow of Peter touches them.
God wanted them to see and know on that mountain. God wanted them to see and know in as they walked with Jesus. God wanted them to see and know in the Early Church. God wants us to see and know today. What?
The Glory of God is still here today and we can still be transformed – in miraculous, supernatural, and glorious ways – today! Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
“Transfigured by Glory”
Luke 9:28-36
date
Jesus has an inner circle – Peter, James and John. These are the three that went with Jesus into the room when the daughter of Jarius is healed – Luke 8:51 They also go further into the Garden of Gethsemene with Jesus – Matthew 26:36-38
The Glory that Transforms – v. 29-30
The brightness of lightning has been compared to 100 million lightbulbs. By the way, you have a one-in-a-million chance of being struck by lightning in your life time (1/1,443,000).
http://lightningsafetycouncil.org/Odds.pdf
“Another word for regeneration is rebirth, related to the biblical phrase “born again.” Our rebirth is distinguished from our first birth, when we were conceived physically and inherited our sin nature. The new birth is a spiritual, holy, and heavenly birth that results in our being made alive spiritually. Man in his natural state is “dead in trespasses and sins” until he is “made alive” (regenerated) by Christ. This happens when he places his faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1).”
“Regeneration is a radical change. Just as our physical birth resulted in a new individual entering the earthly realm, our spiritual birth results in a new person entering the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6). After regeneration, we begin to see and hear and seek after divine things; we begin to live a life of faith and holiness. Now, Christ is formed in the heart; now we are partakers of the divine nature, having been made new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). God, not man, is the source of this transformation (Ephesians 2:1, 8). God’s great love and free gift, His rich grace and abundant mercy, are the cause of the rebirth. The mighty power of God—the power that raised Christ from the dead—is displayed in the regeneration and conversion of sinners (Ephesians 1:19–20).” https://www.gotquestions.org/regeneration-Bible.html
Sleepy disciples – v.32-33
When they realize what’s happening, Peter rushes in – as usual. I really like Dr. Ralph Wilson’s take on this: “How did Peter think of making shelters (or tabernacles or booths)? When I read this passage, I can't help but chuckle. What is there to say on an occasion like this? But if there was ever an inappropriate thing to say, Peter voices it: "It is good that we're here. Let's construct three shelters, one for each of you, so that you can be comfortable and this can continue." I expect that later on, when the Transfiguration was fully known among the disciples, Peter was the brunt of a lot of jokes from his fellow apostles: "You sure put your foot in your mouth, Peter." But Luke says it much more nicely: "He did not know what he was saying."
The Cloud – v. 34-36
God often used miraculous, supernatural, glorious events to let the world know about His Son. After Jesus is gone – there are more miraculous, supernatural, glorious events – tongues of flame at Pentecost and 3,000 saved/regenerated, middle-of-the-night prison breaks, and we even read about people being healed when the shadow of Peter touches them.
God wanted them to see and know on that mountain. God wanted them to see and know in as they walked with Jesus. God wanted them to see and know in the Early Church. God wants us to see and know today. What?
The Glory of God is still here today and we can still be transformed – in miraculous, supernatural, and glorious ways – today! Amen.
