“Transfigured With Christ”
Matthew 17:1-8
INTRODUCTION: We continue in our series on ‘Great Events In The Life And Ministry Of Jesus”.
This is one of the greatest, and perhaps one of the most complex, occurrences in the life of Christ. There are several ways we can look at the Transfiguration. We can study the theological implications … examine the doctrinal issues … OR … apply the practical application. I chose to do the latter.
Let’s take a look at the Transfiguration of Jesus … and see how it applies to you & me. Let’s see how it affected the 3 Disciples who were present.
READ: Matthew 17:1-8
NOW … I want you to turn to Luke 9:28, and keep your finger there. We will be turning back & forth between the 2 accounts.
17:1 – “6 days” – Don’t be confused by Luke saying “about 8 days” – Luke 9:28. Matthew counts only the 6 days between the 2 events … Luke counts the 2 days of the events.
There were 6 days of silence, since Jesus last spoke to His Disciples – Mt. 16:21, 24.
Jesus let them think about these things for 6 days. HOW MUST THE DISCIPLES HAVE FELT?
o Jesus said He was going to be killed.
o Jesus said that if they wanted to follow Him, they had to take up a “cross” also.
We have a different view of the “cross” than they did in that day. They knew what a “cross was. It wasn’t made of gold, and hang around your neck. It was made of wood, and you hung on it. A cruel, inhumane death.
These words of Jesus must have haunted them for days … always on their mind.
“Peter, James & John” – the INNER CIRCLE of the 12 Disciples. WHY DID JESUS CHOOSE THESE 3 TO GIVE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO?
Jesus knew their FUTURE MINISTRY:
PETER – he would be the leader of the early church.
JAMES – he would pastor the church in Jerusalem.
JOHN – he would write the book of Revelation.
Jesus knew that they needed this experience to PREPARE them … and to ENCOURAGE them … for what God had for them to do.
LESSON: Every experience that you have in life, is God’s preparing you to handle future experiences.
God will always give you the strength and encouragement when you need it. God has plans for you. We stifle His plans when we get stuck in the process of His preparing us to move on.
17:2 – “transfigured” – Gk. ‘metamorphothe’ – ‘a change’.
LIKE: the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly … or a tadpole into a frog.
For 33 years, Jesus lived in a body of FLESH (the caterpillar, if you please). NOW, Jesus is going to allow His GLORY to shine through (butterfly, if you please).
Luke tells us something that Matthew leaves out. Luke 9:29
NOTICE: Jesus went up into the mountain with His 3 Disciples to PRAY. WHAT USUALLY HAPPENED WHEN JESUS WENT OFF TO PRAY WITH HIS DISCIPLES? That’s right, they fell asleep. Luke 9:32.
LESSON: PRAYER will CHANGE (metamorphosis) you! It may, or may not, change your circumstances. It may, or may not, make things turn out the way you want them to. BUT … prayer will change YOU. It will change your doubt into hope … your fear into faith … your turmoil into peace.
Jesus knows that He’s soon going to the cross. He wants somebody to talk to. The Disciples are always sleeping when Jesus prays to God. SO … God sends Jesus 2 old friends to talk to … Moses & Elijah.
LESSON: Jesus wants to talk with you. He didn’t save you, just to have you ignore Him the rest of your life. What if I saved your life … OR … paid your debt when you declared bankruptcy? What if you never spoke to me again … after all I did for you? Jesus misses you when you don’t talk with Him.
NOTICE in Mt. 17:2, that the body of Jesus GLOWED. This wasn’t like a spotlight was shining on Him. This light came from the INSIDE … and passed through His clothes.
The Bible says that Jesus is the “light of the world”. The Bible also says that there won’t be any sun in Heaven … because the glory of Jesus will provide all the light we need.
LESSON: No matter how dark the storm-clouds get in your life … Jesus is always there to lighten it up. 1 John 1:5 – “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” WHO WROTE THIS? John … the same John who witnessed the LIGHT of the Transfiguration.
17:3 – “Moses & Elijah” - We even know WHAT they talked about - Luke 9:30-31
Jesus couldn’t talk to these 3 Disciples about His death. They didn’t want to THINK about it … much less TALK about it. They didn’t take Jesus seriously when He talked about dying on a cross. MAYBE they didn’t think Jesus COULD be killed. It had been tried before … and they failed. They thought Jesus was going to usher in the Everlasting Kingdom.
AND … even if Jesus WAS to die on a cross … they couldn’t see the significance. BUT … Moses & Elijah understood.
Here they are, talking together in all this brightness. Moses is probably talking about how that by Jesus going to the cross, He will fulfill all the O.T. Laws that God had given to him (the sacrifices, the Feasts, etc.). Elijah is probably talking to Jesus about how all the O.T. Scriptures of the prophets pointed to the sacrificial death of Jesus.
THEY understood the significance of His coming crucifixion. They were probably going to go back to Heaven to give a progress report to the O.T. saints up there. It wouldn’t be long now, until all that they had hoped for would be fulfilled.
LESSON: We learn here from the appearance of Moses & Elijah, that the dead live on. Death isn’t the end of it all … it’s just the beginning. This was REALLY Moses & Elijan … not a spirit.
LESSON: We will recognize each other in Heaven. Jesus didn’t introduce Moses & Elijah … they just knew who they were. I don’t think we will have to be introduced to Adam, Joseph, David, Job in Heaven. We will know them.
17:4 – “it is good for us to be here” – the Disciples were listening in on the conversation. Jesus invited them up on the mountain to be a part of this great event.
LESSON: You can talk to Jesus any time you want to! It’s a privilege … don’t waste it! You … and GOD … talking together. That’s what prayer is!
“3 tabernacles” – FOR WHAT PURPOSE? When traveling, they would build small huts from palm branches to spend the night in. “Let’s stay here a few days … we don’t want this to end!”
NOTE: Only THREE tabernacles … none for the Disciples. They were willing to sleep out in the open.
What need did Moses & Elijah have for huts? They were citizens of heaven, not earth! Luke 9:33. The Disciples didn’t want this experience to end.
LESSON: We can’t experience Heaven NOW. We’re going to have to wait. Life here isn’t perfect … only in Heaven. If the disease, disappointments, death, heartache, and troubles of earth living bothers you … welcome to planet Earth! You’ll have to wait until you get to Heaven before things will be perfect. Don’t expect perfection here on earth. If you do, you’ll never be happy … never be satisfied … never be content.
“if thou wilt” – At least Peter wanted to do this ONLY if that’s what Jesus wanted (it wasn’t!).
LESSON: Sometimes, our good intentions may not always be God’s will. We THINK we know what’s best … BUT … we don’t always know. Even good intentions need to be checked out with God’s will.
Jesus never answered Peter, but Peter got his answer – Luke 9:34
17:5 – “bright cloud” – This wasn’t a DARK cloud, like we normally think of clouds. This cloud was “bright” … a visible symbol of the presence of God. Many times in the O.T., God revealed Himself in a cloud (in the wilderness, above the Mercy Seat, etc.).
Without a cloud, the 3 Disciples would have been consumed with the brightness of God’s glory. No one can see God and live.
“voice” – These are the same words God spoke at the Baptism of Jesus … at the beginning of His ministry. NOW, His ministry on earth is about to come to a close.
“well pleased” – God wasn’t always “well pleased” with Moses or Elijah … Peter, James, John. BUT … God was always “well pleased” with His Son, Jesus.
LESSON: The only way you can please God, is to be identified with Jesus. If you die, and you stand before God ALONE, you will receive His wrath & judgment. If you stand there with Jesus, you will receive His grace and pardon.
“Hear ye Him” – If God is pleased with Jesus, He is worthy to be HEARD … and HEEDED. Jesus is the FINAL WORD.
LESSON: It’s not enough just to LISTEN to what Jesus has to say. You also have to DO it. You can memorize every word that Jesus said … and still spend eternity in Hell. “Hear ye Him” with your HEART … as well as with your EARS.
17:6 – I can imagine! There’s a difference between being “afraid” … and “sore afraid”. “sore afraid” is “wet your pants” afraid!
17:7 – “touched them” – Jesus personally put His hands on them. Were you ever afraid as a kid, and your mother came and hugged you … held you tight? How did you feel? Safe … not afraid anymore.
There’s a song in our Blue Book - #190 – “Safe In The Arms Of Jesus” – Vs. 2
“Arise and be not afraid”
LESSON: Whenever you are alarmed, afraid, confused, overwhelmed … Jesus is always there to lift you up. Just pray … and wait for His touch.
17:8 – Moses & Elijah were gone. The Disciples had hoped that this would be the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom – 16:20. BUT – this experience was only meant to give them a TASTE of it.
LESSON: Jesus is all you need. We can get a TASTE of Heaven here on earth. BUT … it’s NOTHING compared to the BANQUET TABLE we will receive in Heaven itself. THEN, we will see Jesus face to face. BUT … right now … Jesus is all you need to get you through … until then.
CONCLUSION:
SOMEDAY, we (Christians) will see Jesus like the Disciples did when they got a glimpse of Him in His glory. 1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.”
NOTICE: 17:8 – “Jesus only” – Jesus is all you need.
When the Transfiguration was all over, Jesus looked the same way He had looked for the past 3 years. They were brought back to reality.
LESSON: Life goes on … BUT … the Disciples would never be the same. They had an experience with Jesus.
If you die, and have never had a SALVATION experience with Jesus … you will have to stand before God ALONE. Jesus won’t be there to stand up for you.
If you HAVE HAD a SALVATION experience with Jesus … you will never be alone. AND … someday … you will get to see Him in all His glory.
STAND – PRAYER
HYMN - #487 – “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“Transfigured With Christ”
Matthew 17:1-8
INTRODUCTION: See also Luke 9:28-36
17:1 – “six days” – see also Luke 9:28.
- 6 days of silence since Matthew 16:21,24.
- Jesus needed to prepare them and encourage them for their future ministry.
- LESSON: Every experience you have in life is God’s preparing you to handle future experiences.
17:2 – “transfigured” = ‘metamorphosis’ – a change.
- Jesus is going to let His glory shine through.
- Jesus goes to the mountain to PRAY – see Luke 9:29,32.
- LESSON: Prayer will change YOU.
- Jesus wants to talk with you … He misses your fellowship.
- LESSON: No matter how dark the storm clouds … Jesus is always there to lighten up your life – 1 John 1:5
17:3 – We know what they talked about – see Luke 9:30-31.
- They didn’t understand or really believe in the crucifixion.
- LESSON: The dead live on.
- LESSON: We will recognize each other in Heaven.
17:4 – LESSON: You can talk to Jesus any time you want to.
- “3 tabernacles” - Not needed for Moses & Elijah – Luke 9:33.
- LESSON: You have to wait until Heaven for life to be perfect.
- “if thou wilt” – LESSON: Sometimes our good intentions may not be God’s will.
- Peter got his answer – see Luke 9:34.
17:5 – “well pleased” – God was always well pleased with Jesus.
- LESSON: The only way you can please God, is to be identified with Jesus.
- “Hear ye Him” – LESSON: Listen to Jesus!
17:6 – They were VERY afraid.
17:7 – “touched them” – You can feel safe with Jesus.
- “Arise and be not afraid” – LESSON: Whenever you are alarmed, confused, overwhelmed, Jesus is always there to lift you up.
17:8 – The Disciples hoped this would begin the Millennial Kingdom - 16:20
- LESSON: “Jesus only” – He’s all you need.
CONCLUSION: 1 John 3:2 – Don’t stand before God ALONE.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
