Sermon-Sunday-Feb 18, 2007
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43) 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a sight and experience this must have been for Peter, James, and John. I mean try to imagine what that must have been like. Jesus takes the three of them up to a mountaintop. Considering everything that they had seen in their time with Jesus, who knows what they might have been expecting Jesus was going to show them or teach them up on that mountain top? And when they get up there, Jesus begins to pray and He is illumined.
It says that His face changes it’s appearance and His clothes become a dazzling white. And then all of a sudden they see Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. That would have been amazing on a purely visual level, but think about what it would have meant on a spiritual or religious level. Think about what it would have meant to Peter, James, and John; three faithful Jews, to see Moses and Elijah with Jesus.
What that moment shows is that everything that they had been taught as Jews was pointing to Jesus. The appearance of Moses and Elijah connects the experiences that they had with Jesus with the entire history of God’s people. We are told that Jesus, Elijah, and Moses were speaking of Jesus’ departure, of His death on the cross. They were speaking of the moment where Jesus would bear the burden of your sin. They were speaking of the moment where the full and complete glory of God would be revealed.
Jesus isn’t merely connected to the history of God’s people, He is the central figure. He is the Word incarnate. In John 5:39, Jesus says that all of scripture testifies about Him.
And indeed, He is the central figure of all scripture, He is the central figure of God’s word. And as He and Moses and Elijah appear on that mountaintop they are discussing the central moment of Jesus’ time on earth, and thus the central moment of all of God’s people; the moment where you are reconciled to God through the blood of Christ; the moment where Christ Jesus takes your sin, and your guilt, and you shame, and your weakness, and He frees you from your captivity to it. In that moment, you are given all of the defense that you need against all of the attacks that Satan can muster against you.
As Peter, James and John see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, Peter is apparently pretty overwhelmed by what he sees and he suggests that they should make three dwelling places for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. This was apparently a pretty impulsive reaction to everything that was taking place because it says that as Peter said this, he wasn’t even really aware of just what he was saying.
But in what appears to be maybe an attempt by God to re-direct Peter, James and John’s attention or focus, a great cloud appeared and overshadowed them and a voice says “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him!” And then when they see Jesus again after the voice of the Lord speaks, He is by Himself.
Peter, James, and John had experienced, what seemed to them to be a moment of great and miraculous glory, when they saw Jesus illumined and Moses and Elijah standing with Him. And when they saw and experienced what indeed must have been a truly magnificent moment, they wanted to stay there. They wanted to stay there because in that moment, it was easy to believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of scripture. In that moment it was easy to believe that Jesus was the central figure in the history of God’s people. It was easy to believe that all of scripture points to this man who had called them from their homes and families to a life of humble servanthood and ministry in His name.
But Jesus doesn’t leave them there. Jesus knew that His greatest moment of glory was yet to come. And He also knew that in spite of His best efforts to make it clear to His disciples that His greatest moment of glory would not come in what the world saw as victory, but in what the world saw as defeat on the cross; He knew that, until death was actually defeated in the resurrection, the disciples would get it wrong.
He knew that Peter would deny Him and that the disciples would end up hiding in the upper room. In the hour of glory they were still captive to their own misunderstanding, and their own limited understanding of glory.
We’re no different. If we could see Jesus in dazzling white then we would have no problem believing. But it’s not so easy to be certain when we see the dying Jesus on the cross.
If you could hear that bold voice from heaven the way Peter, James, and John did, it would be no problem for you to believe. But in those moments where God seems so silent and distant, you might wonder about Jesus. If you could see Jesus standing next to Moses and Elijah, it would be easy to believe, but when He is dying on a cross in-between two criminals, you might wonder about Him.
When your friends and loved ones get sick and die, and when Satan and the world slings it’s arrows of guilt, shame, sorrow, and pain at you, you probably find it hard to believe that Jesus is there. When Jesus appears as He did during the transfiguration, it’s easy to believe. But at the foot of the cross it would have been darn near impossible to believe. Even though the disciples had been foretold of the events of the cross numerous times, they still struggled to believe, because they hadn’t listened to Him.
It wasn’t until after the resurrection that they finally began to listen to Him. And we need only look to the second chapter of Acts to see the difference that listening to Jesus makes where we see the same Peter who showed so much confusion, now proclaiming the full Gospel and telling those who would listen to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
Paul reminds us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ. Faith does not come from seeing great miracles, or from hearing voices, or when God fits himself into the image that you would like Him to.
Faith comes from hearing. And repentance is a key element to truly hearing and listening to the Gospel. Now repentance is not about climbing some pietistic ladder of righteousness as some would have you believe. It’s not about showing the right outward signs. It’s simply about realizing the futility of your own efforts toward justification. It’s about realizing that Christ Jesus refuses to transform Himself to your image because what He has in mind, is actually the exact opposite; to transform you to His image.
To truly listen and hear the word of Christ is to simply allow yourself to be transformed by it as it takes hold of you through the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit creates faith in you. The truth is Jesus does speak to you. He speaks to you through His word, the same word that comes to you in the waters of baptism and claims you as a child of God marked by the cross of Christ. The same word that comes to you in the Lord’s Supper as you hear the words given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin, the same word that comes to you in the Gospel and as you fellowship with other believers.
When you hear Christ Jesus speaking to you through His word, He lifts the veil and the burden of the law, and sin from you. Paul writes in the lesson from 2nd Corinthians today “..a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. …And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image…”
Christ Jesus spoke a word of eternal promise to you in the waters of baptism, He continues to speak to you everyday. He is the Son of God, and you have been chosen and claimed by Him. So, listen to Him.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a sight and experience this must have been for Peter, James, and John. I mean try to imagine what that must have been like. Jesus takes the three of them up to a mountaintop. Considering everything that they had seen in their time with Jesus, who knows what they might have been expecting Jesus was going to show them or teach them up on that mountain top? And when they get up there, Jesus begins to pray and He is illumined.
It says that His face changes it’s appearance and His clothes become a dazzling white. And then all of a sudden they see Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. That would have been amazing on a purely visual level, but think about what it would have meant on a spiritual or religious level. Think about what it would have meant to Peter, James, and John; three faithful Jews, to see Moses and Elijah with Jesus.
What that moment shows is that everything that they had been taught as Jews was pointing to Jesus. The appearance of Moses and Elijah connects the experiences that they had with Jesus with the entire history of God’s people. We are told that Jesus, Elijah, and Moses were speaking of Jesus’ departure, of His death on the cross. They were speaking of the moment where Jesus would bear the burden of your sin. They were speaking of the moment where the full and complete glory of God would be revealed.
Jesus isn’t merely connected to the history of God’s people, He is the central figure. He is the Word incarnate. In John 5:39, Jesus says that all of scripture testifies about Him.
And indeed, He is the central figure of all scripture, He is the central figure of God’s word. And as He and Moses and Elijah appear on that mountaintop they are discussing the central moment of Jesus’ time on earth, and thus the central moment of all of God’s people; the moment where you are reconciled to God through the blood of Christ; the moment where Christ Jesus takes your sin, and your guilt, and you shame, and your weakness, and He frees you from your captivity to it. In that moment, you are given all of the defense that you need against all of the attacks that Satan can muster against you.
As Peter, James and John see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, Peter is apparently pretty overwhelmed by what he sees and he suggests that they should make three dwelling places for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. This was apparently a pretty impulsive reaction to everything that was taking place because it says that as Peter said this, he wasn’t even really aware of just what he was saying.
But in what appears to be maybe an attempt by God to re-direct Peter, James and John’s attention or focus, a great cloud appeared and overshadowed them and a voice says “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him!” And then when they see Jesus again after the voice of the Lord speaks, He is by Himself.
Peter, James, and John had experienced, what seemed to them to be a moment of great and miraculous glory, when they saw Jesus illumined and Moses and Elijah standing with Him. And when they saw and experienced what indeed must have been a truly magnificent moment, they wanted to stay there. They wanted to stay there because in that moment, it was easy to believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of scripture. In that moment it was easy to believe that Jesus was the central figure in the history of God’s people. It was easy to believe that all of scripture points to this man who had called them from their homes and families to a life of humble servanthood and ministry in His name.
But Jesus doesn’t leave them there. Jesus knew that His greatest moment of glory was yet to come. And He also knew that in spite of His best efforts to make it clear to His disciples that His greatest moment of glory would not come in what the world saw as victory, but in what the world saw as defeat on the cross; He knew that, until death was actually defeated in the resurrection, the disciples would get it wrong.
He knew that Peter would deny Him and that the disciples would end up hiding in the upper room. In the hour of glory they were still captive to their own misunderstanding, and their own limited understanding of glory.
We’re no different. If we could see Jesus in dazzling white then we would have no problem believing. But it’s not so easy to be certain when we see the dying Jesus on the cross.
If you could hear that bold voice from heaven the way Peter, James, and John did, it would be no problem for you to believe. But in those moments where God seems so silent and distant, you might wonder about Jesus. If you could see Jesus standing next to Moses and Elijah, it would be easy to believe, but when He is dying on a cross in-between two criminals, you might wonder about Him.
When your friends and loved ones get sick and die, and when Satan and the world slings it’s arrows of guilt, shame, sorrow, and pain at you, you probably find it hard to believe that Jesus is there. When Jesus appears as He did during the transfiguration, it’s easy to believe. But at the foot of the cross it would have been darn near impossible to believe. Even though the disciples had been foretold of the events of the cross numerous times, they still struggled to believe, because they hadn’t listened to Him.
It wasn’t until after the resurrection that they finally began to listen to Him. And we need only look to the second chapter of Acts to see the difference that listening to Jesus makes where we see the same Peter who showed so much confusion, now proclaiming the full Gospel and telling those who would listen to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
Paul reminds us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ. Faith does not come from seeing great miracles, or from hearing voices, or when God fits himself into the image that you would like Him to.
Faith comes from hearing. And repentance is a key element to truly hearing and listening to the Gospel. Now repentance is not about climbing some pietistic ladder of righteousness as some would have you believe. It’s not about showing the right outward signs. It’s simply about realizing the futility of your own efforts toward justification. It’s about realizing that Christ Jesus refuses to transform Himself to your image because what He has in mind, is actually the exact opposite; to transform you to His image.
To truly listen and hear the word of Christ is to simply allow yourself to be transformed by it as it takes hold of you through the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit creates faith in you. The truth is Jesus does speak to you. He speaks to you through His word, the same word that comes to you in the waters of baptism and claims you as a child of God marked by the cross of Christ. The same word that comes to you in the Lord’s Supper as you hear the words given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin, the same word that comes to you in the Gospel and as you fellowship with other believers.
When you hear Christ Jesus speaking to you through His word, He lifts the veil and the burden of the law, and sin from you. Paul writes in the lesson from 2nd Corinthians today “..a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. …And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image…”
Christ Jesus spoke a word of eternal promise to you in the waters of baptism, He continues to speak to you everyday. He is the Son of God, and you have been chosen and claimed by Him. So, listen to Him.
Amen
posted by Steve at 5:42 AM
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