Theme: This is My Son, obey Him
Text: Gen. 15:5-12; Rom. 3:21-31; Lk. 9:28-36
Every successful student needs to listen carefully to what is being taught and also needs to read about what has been written on the subject. This makes what we hear and read an important aspect of our lives. These days, however, reading and listening have become very difficult things to do because of the many distractions that take up our time. These distractions come in the form of TV, video, computer games, records, CD’s and now the Internet. Today the average person spends very little time reading but we all still know that the most important thing about a book is not its cover but what it contains. You can buy a book with the most beautiful cover and never finish reading it because its contents are not worth reading. On the other hand you could buy a book with a cover that is not the least appealing and find out that it is the best book you have ever read. The value of the book is not in its cover but in its contents. In a similar way the benefits of what we hear depends on how we listen. You can listen and not understand what you hear because you are listening to too many things at the same time. How we listen is very important since almost everything we do is a result of what we hear. The Scriptures say it simply that “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Hearing is an integral part of the communication process. But today we do not really hear what is being said because we are not listening. Listening requires a lot of discipline. It requires respect for others and their opinions. It requires staying linked to each other and learning about others. Just as it takes reading a book to know its contents and listening properly to understand what is being said, the value of a person is not in his or her looks but in his or her character. You cannot judge a person by how that person looks and many people who have done so have lived to regret it. To know a person you need an insight into the character of that person. You need to know his or her attitudes and behaviour. In today’s gospel reading God, as it were, opens the book for us to see its contents and speaks for us to hear. God allows us to see Jesus as He really is. He allows us to see the glory of God and to have a special revelation of who Christ is in the words “this is my Son, obey Him”.
The revelation of Christ’s glory as His appearance changed and His clothes became white and glistening in the transfiguration was God’s seal of approval to Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of God. The word glory refers to the wonder of Christ in all His godly might and splendour. In His transfiguration Christ revealed the glory of God. The transfiguration was also the Father’s way of encouraging the Son as He began to make His way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. The Father had spoken at His baptism before the beginning of His ministry and now speaks before the ending of His earthly ministry, both times to encourage Him. Jesus death was going to be a very painful one but beyond the suffering of the cross would be the glory of the throne.
“This is my Son, obey Him!” reveals Christ’s divine nature and exalted Him above Moses and Elijah as the long awaited Messiah. That we should obey Him confirms His divine authority. This experience of His transfiguration was a special revelation of the promised kingdom of God. It was God’s affirmation of everything Jesus had done and was about to do. The disciples at this time were confused about the kingdom of God because of Jesus’ words about the cross. Jesus by His transfiguration was assuring them that the OT prophecies would be fulfilled, but first He had to suffer before He could enter into His glory. Moses and Elijah were the two greatest prophets in the Old Testament – Moses represented the Law and Elijah the prophets. Moses had delivered Israel out of bondage to Egypt and Elijah had delivered them from bondage to false gods. But Jesus would die to set a sinful world free from bondage to sin and death. Their appearance and their sudden disappearance leaving Jesus alone showed Jesus as the fulfilment of both the Old Testament Law and the prophetic promises. Seeing Jesus in His glory was to strengthen the disciples and prepare them for what Jesus and they would go through. James was the first to be martyred and this experience must have been tremendously reassuring and given him strength. We have every reason to follow our transfigured Lord in faith and trust. As God entered into a covenant with Abraham and blessed him, so God has entered into a covenant with us and blessed us. But as Abraham walked by faith and trusted the Lord so we also should walk by faith and trust the Lord. Abraham was called a father of many nations when he had no child – when he was old and when Sarah was past the childbearing age. “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness.” The glory of Christ has been revealed so that we can recognise Him, acknowledge Him as our Saviour and Lord and follow Him in faith and trust. The experience of the disciples was a wonderful one but experiences are not the basis for a consistent Christian life. The basis of a consistent Christian life is the Word of God. Experiences come and go, but the word remains. Our recollection of past experiences will fade but God’s Word never changes. Our own personal ‘transfiguration’ comes from inner renewal, and that comes from the word. As we surrender ourselves to the Lord, He transforms us from within so that we are no longer conformed to the world but become more like Christ.
The glory of God reveals His presence and the only response to His presence is worship. Peter wanted to build three shelters for these three men to show how the coming of God’s kingdom fulfilled the feast of tabernacles. Peter had the right idea about Christ but the timing was wrong. Peter wanted to act but this was a time for worship and adoration. As we worship and praise Him, we are filled with His love and experience His transforming power. The presence of God demands a response of joy, as He is the source of joy. There is a great difference between joy and happiness. Joy is in the realm of the spirit and happiness is in the realm of the soul. Happiness is related to our emotions, our feelings and our circumstances. When things are going well, we are happy. When things are not going well we are unhappy. It is good to be happy but we cannot be happy all the time. Joy on the other hand is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. It does not depend on our physical condition. It is within the spirit. There is only one source of joy and that is God Himself. God is eternal and unchangeable and that is why it is possible to be joyful even when we are not happy. Joy comes directly from God Himself. Just like God, joy is eternal, unchangeable, unaffected by situations and circumstances. That is why it is good to be where the glory of God is because God is there and there is joy.
When Peter saw the glory of God he wanted to remain in His presence and worship Him. The glory of God was always present and the transfiguration teaches that the glory can remain hidden. The experience, however, cannot be a substitute for the Word of God. We sometimes pray for God to reveal Himself visibly and to confirm our trust by a visible, emotionally felt sign. This experience teaches that even if He did – and He sometimes does – it would not make much difference. It will, perhaps, strengthen our faith but the Word of God would do the same thing. Visions are no substitute for faith in the Word. We are to listen to His words and follow in His steps, confident that what the disciples saw – the hidden glory that Jesus always had – we shall also see and experience at the appropriate time. God is present everywhere whether we see Him or not. God was always present in Jesus, as Jesus is now in those who believe in Him. Just as Jesus was always aware of the divine presence within Him so we should always be aware of His presence in us. Jesus is the Son of God and the only response to His presence is worship. When we have a correct understanding of Whom Christ is the only response is to surrender to Him completely and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour. God’s glory should lead to faith in Christ. Some people make a profession of faith in Christ but do not become His possession. They say with their lips outwardly, “I believe; I trust; I commit myself to Christ,” but it does not change their heart; it does not change their life. When we become God’s possession we will trust Him in every situation. We will become like Paul who could say, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
The transfiguration, like all truly religious experiences, is both a real event and an anticipation of future glory. In this case, it is an anticipation of the resurrection glory of Jesus, including our share in it. It provided these three most intimate friends of Jesus with a glimpse of His glory to help them get through the upcoming difficult days. It assured them that despite everything that would happen to Him, His suffering and death, He remains God’s Son and servant. As a revelation of the hidden quality of Jesus’ life the transfiguration was a guarantee not only of later glory, but also of the present quality and strength of their own life when Jesus would be raised and be enabled to enter into them through His Spirit. This intense quality of life can, will and does shine through in the life of a disciple, especially at prayer. However, it will never replace suffering in this life. We can no more skip the cross than Jesus did, even though we, like Him at Gethsemane, would want to. Christians live within the earthly boundaries of time and space but they also live because of their identification and communion with Christ within the spiritual boundaries of the realm of God. Because we live in both worlds simultaneously our focus and attention shifts back and forth and can drive us a little crazy at times. We do have our moments when concentration on God’s presence lifts us temporarily out of this earthly world but mostly they are but fleeting glimpses of a later permanent experience of the glory of God. The presence of God is always there – the glory, that is, the felt presence of God for now, comes and goes. We can always experience the presence of God when we belong to Him. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour we too will sometimes have such inspiring experiences, which will make us want to stay where we are – away from the reality and problems of our daily lives. But we should not run from these problems but face them with faith in the Lord.
There are experiences that occur and that we simply cannot explain. Some simply rule out the notion that reality exists on other levels than our own and deny even the possibility that visions of other dimensions of reality can occur. But even those of us who are open to these other dimensions know that such visions or experiences do not really produce faith. They may and should strengthen faith, but not necessarily or automatically so. The three disciples in this account do not seem to have had any noticeable change in their ability to put their faith in Jesus after this vision. In fact, it was only after Jesus’ resurrection that they understood what they had experienced and only then could they even talk about it. What believers also know is that such experiences will not affect faith or render faith unnecessary so long as we live in this dimension. Glimpses into other dimensions are wonderful indeed, but it is really the ever present and available Word of God that really reveals the inside of God and our relationship with Him. When the disciples came down the mountain and re-entered ordinary reality as we perceive it, the vision was gone but the Word, Jesus was still present. So it is with us. Peter, James and John experienced a wonderful moment on the mountain and they did not want to leave. Sometimes we also have such an inspiring experience that we want to stay where we are, away from the reality and problems of our daily lives. Yet staying on top of the mountain prohibits our ministering to others. God has clearly identified Jesus Christ as His Son who should be obeyed. We can only follow Christ when we believe that He is God’s Son. If we know who Christ is then we will surely want to do what He says. Let us not only make a profession of faith, let us become His possession for God has declared, “This is my Son, obey Him!” Amen!
