The Meeting On The Mountain

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-13

Theme: Transfiguration

Title: The Meeting on the Mountain

In the meeting on the Mountain we see 1. A Revelation 2. A Reaction 3. An Expected Response

Revelation – Reaction – Response

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

In 1995 there was this rather interesting little movie called – The Englishman that went up a Hill and down a Mountain that starred Hugh Grant. It was all about a (fictional) Welsh village that was in danger of losing its beloved so-called mountain. The mountain’s height was being challenged by the government. The government believed that the mountain was not really a mountain but simply a hill.

To be declared a mountain, a structure had to stand over 1,000 feet tall. Anything under 1,000 feet tall was considered a hill. In the movie, after measuring the town’s earthen structure several times it was discovered that the structure was under 1,000 feet high and therefore would have to be relabeled as a hill.

The village was distraught. They could not lose their mountain. It was their pride and joy. With some keen engineering, some secretly well-placed dirt and rocks the villagers were able to reclaim the status of their mountain and everything ended well.

So, what really can be called a mountain? What is the definition of a mountain?

Before 1970 the definition of something being called a mountain rather than a hill was in fact the 1,000-foot elevation. The movie was true to life. Anything below a thousand feet was called a hill and anything over 1,000 feet was called a mountain.

However, everything has changed today. Today, there is no clear-cut qualifications when it comes to calling something either a mountain or a hill. Some experts say it can only be called a mountain if it is over 2,000 feet. Other experts claim that if it is part of a certain mountain ridge then all the peaks can properly called mountains even if their peaks are under 1,000 feet high. It seems no one knows anymore what defines a mountain from being a hill and vice versa.

All I know is I grew up in Eastern Kentucky and I thought that we were surrounded by a lot of mountains. Then years later our family traveled out west, and I saw Pike’s Peak, Mt. Renoir, and Mt. Saint Helens. Suddenly, I knew what the difference was between a hill and a mountain.

While we do have a few mountains in Eastern Kentucky, after seeing what I saw out west what we have are mostly hills.

That is not however what Jesus along with his disciples, James, John and Peter traveled up to in our passage this morning. They traveled up quite a mountain. In fact, it was a mountain that was a little over 9,000 feet high.

Most Bible scholars today say that the Mount of Transfiguration is Mt. Hermon which is located just outside the town of Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was very close to where Jesus was at the time of Matthew chapters 16-17.

While the story is about a mountain, we all know that it was not all about the mountain. It was about what happened on the top of the mountain while Jesus was praying and the disciples who were trying to pray with Jesus were slowly falling asleep.

Luke tells us that a bright light stirred the disciples up and they were able to witness this amazing supernatural encounter between Jesus, Moses and Elijah. They were also able to hear the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY speak to them about Jesus.

Let’s take a few moments this morning and reflect on what happened up on that mountain top.

I. We first witness a Revealing

It is hard to get a hold of all that was happening.

+We see Jesus glowing brightly – his face and his clothes.

+Luke tells us that the same thing was happening with Moses and Elijah.

So, we have these three individuals –

+One living on the earth in the present – Jesus of Nazareth.

+One having died back on Mt. Nebo – Moses, the Lawgiver.

+One having been carried into Heaven in a chariot of fire – Elijah the Prophet.

Three individuals that are all glowing in light; their faces are glowing and their clothes are glowing.

There is a lot that we could say about what was happening, but let’s focus for a moment on the three people – one present, one having died and one have been translated into heaven – I think one thing is clear – they all reveal to us who we are today and who we will be in totality one day in the future.

Jesus talks about this in Matthew 13:36-43 when He shares the Parable of the Weeds. Listen to what Jesus says in verse 43 –