Transfiguration

Luke 9:20 Transfiguration

How many of you want your lives transformed?

- Changed into a life more like Christ’s?

- One that demonstrates His love and power?

I suggest that that is possible

- But it depends on how you answer this question

- Who do you say Jesus is?

In Luke 9:20-26

- Jesus asked the disciples “Who do you say I am?

- He had already asked them, “Who do the people say I am?”

- But what really mattered to Him

- Was what the disciples understood about His identity

- “Who do you say I am?”

- That is the same question we as disciples of Christ must answer

- Who is Jesus Christ?

- Now Peter responded to answer that question

- “You are God’s Messiah.” Or “You are the Son of the Living God.”

- “You are the anointed One, sent by God”

- We all have come to know Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ

- The One sent to bring us salvation and new life

- It is important also to see that right after Peter answered that question

- Declaring Jesus as the Christ

- That Jesus told them in vs 22

- “The Son of Man has to undergo great suffering, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests and doctors of the Law, to be put to death and to be raised again on the third day.”

- He told them, “Yes, I am the Messiah and I must die.”

- “My purpose is to suffer and die and be raised again to life.”

- That is the truth of the Gospel

- That brings us to salvation by faith

- It gets us into the gate

- And when we see that about Jesus

- We find new life and salvation

- But that alone will not get us very far down the road of maturity in Christ

- In our walk with Christ

- We need to know more, and to see more

- To grow in our understanding and faith

- As believers

You see Jesus moving the disciples one more step forward

- In their understanding who He is

- They were at the point of understanding

- That He was God’s Messiah

- But He wanted them to understand what that meant

- He told them more about the Messiah

- About what He was about to do and what was about to happen

- He would suffer and die and rise again

- He moved them, stretched their understanding

- He revealed to them more about who He is

- And that is what He wants to do for us

Shortly after this conversation

- In fact 8 days later

- He took three disciples

- Peter, James and John

- Up into the hills to pray

- There these three had an experience

- That moved them from a confession

- Of Jesus as the Christ

- To seeing Him as He was before He came to earth from heaven

Read with me Luke 9:28-36

28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.

30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,

31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.

33 And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not realizing what he was saying.

34 While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"

36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

NASU

- These three saw Jesus transfigured

- And they heard God speak from the cloud

- “This is my Son in Whom I am well pleased”

When was the last time Christ was transfigured before you?

- You know we grow comfortable with Him as we know Him

- And Jesus wants to come

- And shatter that box we have built around Him