Today’s message centered around:
2 Peter 1:16–18 “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
We’re going to unbox what the Apostle Peter spoke of, in this verse. This event is found in the synoptics of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Let’s begin in Mark, chapter 9, verse 2
Please stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
Mark 9:2–4 “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.”
Mark 9:5–6 “Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.”
Mark 9:7–8 “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.”
Please be seated.
Now,
Luke 9:28–30 “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. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,”
Luke 9:31–34 “who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 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. 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. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.”
Luke 9:35 “And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.
and lastly Matthew.
Matthew 17:1–3 “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”
Matthew 17:3–7 “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.””
Matthew 17:8 “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”
There are some obvious differences in these passages. These are eyewitness accounts of Peter, John, and James, recorded in Mark, Matthew and Luke.
It’s not the differences we should focus on, but the event itself.
Here’s a mash-up of the 3 passages:
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, His face shone like the sun, His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them, and He was transfigured before them. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah.” 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”—because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”” “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”
This is yet another event, The Big Three, had been alone with Jesus:
First one’s called, along with Simon Peter’s brother Andrew
Only one’s present at certain healings and miracles
Jesus asks them to watch and pray while He was praying in garden of Gethsemane
James and John were brothers that Jesus nicknamed Sons of Thunder.
Interestingly, James was the first disciple to be martyred, and John was the last of the 12 to die.
These men were assigned very special leadership roles:
James was to be the head of the first great church, which was to be @ Jerusalem
John was to receive the Revelation from Jesus
Peter was to be the leader of the early church, who opened the door of the gospel to Jews and Gentiles after Pentecost.
They were in Jesus’ inner circle.
Is that you?
Here’s a general definition of the word Transformation:
A great change of form or appearance, especially a change that beautifies, glorifies, or makes more spiritual.
While the Baptism of Jesus was the starting point of His public ministry; the transfiguration, is the capstone of His public ministry.
Let’s examine this event:
v2-Have you ever noticed that Jesus is always wanting to take us to deeper spiritual experiences, as He did with Peter, John and James?
Jesus took 3 men with Him atop the mountain.
This was according to Deuteronomy 19:15 ““One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.”
2 Peter 1:16–18 “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
John 1:14 “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.”
I’m just going to share some “not so highly structured” thoughts with you today. Is that okay?
Transfiguration was a change on the outside which came from the inside.
His deity shone through, but merely a glimpse of His glory. The disciples wouldn’t have been able to handle any more than a glimpse.
It’s important for us to know that His nature didn’t change, only His appearance.
These three knuckleheads that fell asleep on the mountain, are the same 3 that fell asleep in the Garden.
Have you ever noticed that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer.
In fact, He was transfigured after He prayed!
Prayer changes things:
Our countenance
Our situations
It also increases our hope and strengthens our faith.
Prayer leads to an altered, transformed life!
—I see a series on prayer coming to a church near you!
Impetuous Peter blurted out “let’s build 3 tents”. An obvious reference to Feast of Tabernacles.
In Peter’s amazement, he just wanted to stay right there and bask in Jesus’ glory.
These men are soon to go through a roller-coaster ride of emotions, the likes of which they had never experienced.
They needed to see a glimpse of Jesus’ glory, to have something to look forward to.
Is that us?
Don’t we just need a daily glimpse of His glory to get us through the day?
And when we do get that glimpse, are we like Peter and just want to stay there?
So Peter was nervous, fearful and excited.
Kinda like Lisa was, about 37 years ago, and she just blurted out “I do”!
When we do get that mountain top experience, it is so we are prepared to go down into the valley and preach the gospel!
Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets that Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount.
Moses represented The Law.
Elijah represented The Prophets.
and now Jesus, represents The Grace of God.
When Moses and Elijah left, it was only Jesus. And He’s all we need. God made it clear that they were to focus on Jesus alone.
“Listen to Him”- several translations use “Listen to Him”, instead of “Hear Him”.
As a parent, I relate better to “listen” rather than “Hear”.
Our children oftentimes would hear us, but not so often “listen”.
Hearing is a rattling of sound waves, where listening is a transference from the ears to the mind, where it provokes thought and action.
God is saying “listen to Him”.
First off, I believe this means listen to Him, and continue listening to Him all your days.
He is also saying, The Law and The Prophets must now give way to Jesus.
Scripture tells us in this passage “apart by themselves”. They were apart from the crowd, and alone with Jesus.
I hope you have your moments of solitude with Jesus!
There is great peace, dynamic power, and divine revelation in my solitude with Jesus.
...and His face shone like the sun.
We all know that the sun’s light can be reflected. That’s how we get moonlight.
The glory of Christ should shine on and in us, and reflect onto others.
We should be Jesus’ reflectors, and the cleaner reflectors are, the brighter they reflect.
We are to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, so that we can reflect His glory.
Jesus had veiled His glory from all eternity, until this moment when He shone a glimpse of it.
In His Second Coming, His glory will be fully unveiled!
Jesus’ clothes were “white as the light”.
Ever heard the expression “white hot”?
There’s red hot, then there’s “white hot”.
I’d never seen white hot, until a few years ago, when our shop burned down. The metal on the building was so hot it was white, and almost translucent.
I picture that, as His glory shone through Jesus’ body and through His clothes.
His clothes became an “unearthly white”- A white like never before seen. A heavenly white.
They (Moses and Elijah) were discussing Jesus’ departure (some versions use “decease”).
The way it is written, implies an “extended conversation”.
They were having this extended conversation, and Peter, uninvited interjects “let’s make a tent”, and while we’re at it, I’ll roast “some-mores”.
Then God interrupts Peter...
Has the Holy Spirit ever interrupted you? You know, like “Shut yo mouth, right now”
Come on now, I know who you are!
What God has to say, is always more important than what we have to say.
...as we get close to the closing,
By now, most of you are probably saying “Man, this transfiguration thing has me jazzed up, I can’t wait for church to be over, so I can tell the world”.
That would be wonderful if you are! As our message last week brought to our attention, we should prepare ourselves when we are telling others the Good News.
Reading about God’s glory, and experiencing His glory are not the same!
This is why our testimonies are so important.
CLOSING
The Greek transliteration for the English word “transfigured” is a combination of two words, making up the word “metamorphoo” (meta-MORE-foe) that means:
An inward condition that expresses an outward condition. Sound familiar?
We often say “baptism (water baptism) in an outward expression of an inward decision”
Shouldn’t our salvation produce a transfiguration in our lives, that His glory shines through us for all to see?
Our thoughts, words and deeds should become transfigured. Sadly for me, that is all too rare an occasion.
I should be a cross-bearer, so I can be a glory receiver.
If the purpose of the transfiguration of Jesus was to reveal His divine glory and give us a glimpse of our glorified bodies, shouldn’t we desire to go out and make disciples in all the world?
Check this out.
Upon Jesus’ baptism, scripture tells us this:
Matthew 3:17 “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””
After the transfiguration:
Mark 9:7 “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!””
I don’t know about you, but I want to know that I pleased God, and hear His words, “well done, good and faithful servant”
I’d like to read a quote to you as we close out today. It’s a little long, but I’m compelled to share it with you.
Here it is:
The natural simplicity of the synoptic accounts and their sober insistence upon the detailed features powerfully testify to the historical reality of the event. 2 Peter 2:16-18 asserts the historicity of the occurrence. But the accounts of the event have evoked much critical discussion. In accepting the scriptural accounts as factual, we readily recognize that nowhere in the Gospels are we led further into that which is beyond ordinary human experience than in this singular occurrence. Beyond Peter’s and John’s confirmation of the event, scripture makes no comment on the significance of the event.
The commentator continues...But it inseparably linked the teaching of His suffering with His glory and gave them a vision of the future glory of the reigning Messiah.
I know that’s a lot for us to take in, but I believe we were given privy to this event, and recording of it, so we could take action!
Before the transfiguration Jesus said this:
Mark 9:1 “And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.””
At that point He was speaking to a crowd.
After the transfiguration He said he commanded Peter, John and James that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Mark 9:10 “So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.”
After the Resurrection is a whole ‘nuther glorious story!
I want to encourage you to go back over this account of the Transfiguration of Christ today, while it is still fresh in your minds, and prepare yourselves for a glimpse of His glory.
