This
week we turn to one of the most mysterious and awesome scenes in the
New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus goes to a mountain
to pray, probably Mount Tabor in Southern Galilee. He takes Peter, John
and James with him. While he is praying, Jesus is transformed. We are
told that his face shone like the sun.
Nowhere
else in the Gospels does anyone, not even Jesus blaze like the sun! Not
even after he was raised from the dead, --in his resurrection
body, his spiritual body, as Paul refers to it, does he shine like
this.
In the Old Testament when Moses received the Ten
Commandments and afterwards, he spoke to the Lord face-to–face. Exodus
24 says that his face would become so radiant that he would have to put
a veil over his face because the people were afraid to come near him.
But
in this New Testament transfiguration scene, the energy within Jesus
extended from his inner being so strongly that even his clothing was
illuminated and became as white as light. Luke is more
descriptive. He says that Jesus’ clothes were as bright as "the flash
of lightning." The disciples must have shaded their eyes, --screened
them to avoid such a dazzling, bright exposure.
It was a breathtaking scene that Peter, James and John would forever
treasure—
The blazing light irradiating from Jesus--
The appearance of the two most illustrious Old Testament leaders
--Moses and Elijah--
• A heavenly voice from the cloud,
calling Jesus his Son, whom he loves, with whom he is well-pleased--
And then the Father’s command: “Listen to Him.”
It was a scene so powerful that it fastened itself permanently in
Peter’s mind. Years later he wrote,
2Pet.
1:16 “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we
told
you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were
eyewitnesses of his majesty.” [He’s referring to this extraordinary and
unforgettable scene.]
“17 For he received honor and glory from
God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory,
saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased."
I believe that this wondrous scene shaped
Peter’s life and actions. It inspired passion and white-hot
commitment in Peter’s life.
Let’s look more closely at the passage. Verse 3 says,
“Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of
James,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was
transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes
became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared
before
them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”
Moses was Israel’s
great Law-giver. Both Jews and Christians have historically considered
Moses to be the author of the first five books of the Old Testament,
the Pentateuch. ELIJAH was considered Israel’s greatest prophet. There
they were: three giants among the religious leaders of mankind--MOSES,
ELIJAH, and JESUS. You would think that the disciples would have been
so overwhelmed that they would have stared at the spectacle in silent
awe. But instead of silence, we get words. And it was, of course, Peter
who spoke up.
Peter said to Jesus, v. 4 "Lord, it is good for us
to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters --one for you,
one for Moses and one for Elijah."
In
Mark’s rendition of this story, he tells us that “they did not know
what to say, they were so frightened.” We believe that Mark got his
information from Peter, and perhaps Peter gave Mark that excuse. “We
were all so frightened, I blurted that out.”
In Luke’s account, no excuse is given for Peter. Luke simply
says that “Peter did not know what he was saying.”
Peter begins well. His first word is "Lord." He gets that
right. The next few words are harmless, but
unnecessary. “It is good for us to be here” --
Next, “If
you wish.” Peter is asking for permission, he wants to do the right
thing. “If you wish,” --that’s appropriate! “I will put up
three
shelters--one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” We
aren’t sure what Peter had in mind. Perhaps he was trying to prolong
their visit, stretch it out to a few days or weeks. Most commentators
think that Peter was again trying to block Jesus’ intention to go to
Jerusalem where he had announced he would be killed.
Peter
wanted to put up three shelters--one for Jesus, one for Moses and one
for Elijah. At least he mentions Jesus first. But he places
all
three on the same level. John Calvin, the Geneva Reformer, along with
many other commentators object strongly to Peter’s idea. John Calvin
called Peter “foolish!” “Peter,” he wrote, “was
foolish
enough to put the servants on the same level as their Lord.”
Actually,
it is a common error. Many people think that all religious leaders
speak with equal authority: —Buddha, Socrates, Ghandi, Mohammed, Jesus,
Moses, Elijah. One might say that Shakespeare speaks with even more
eloquence than Jesus, and that Plato has more philosophical appeal.
Modern cultures does the same thing. It likes to assemble a religious
hall of fame from as many religious traditions as possible. This is in
line with our commitment to religious toleration.
But this story gives a totally different point of view. While Peter was
still speaking, the text says, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a
voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased. Listen to him!"
God the
Father speaks only twice in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and
both times God says the same thing. At the Baptism of Jesus, the heaven
was torn open and a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I
love; with you I am well pleased.”
Again at the Transfiguration,
a bright cloud enveloped the disciples and a voice from the cloud said,
“This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Listen to
Him.”
Let’s make sure that we understand what God is
communicating to us. It is this: the single most important fact that
God wants the church and the world to know is that he loves his Son, He
is deeply pleased with His Son, and that therefore we are to love and
reverence His Son, --more than any other person, more than any other
project, more than any other cause on earth.
Furthermore, the Father calls him my Son. Not "a wonderful Son among
many that I have. " No,-- there is only one beloved
Son. Not "my most wonderful Son of all --
better than
all the others." But "My Son, the beloved—agepetos--the
absolutely unique and solitary Son."
There is
no need for competing religious figures. He is the ultimate
multicultural figure. The transfiguration tells us that he is unique
among all humanity, and that is why the Father adds this
command:
“Listen to him!" (v. 5)
This is God’s
expectation of us as a church and of us as individuals. -- to
listen to Jesus. The Father doesn’t even say, “Listen to me,” or
“Listen also to me!” . . . as if the Father had important things to say
independent of Jesus, his son. Instead, God directs complete attention
to his Son. Jesus is God the Father’s Word. So if you want to listen to
God, listen to the Word: Jesus.
This is the
point of the entire story. This is why we have the transfiguration, the
Old Testament heroes, the cloud, and the voice. What God wants for his
priceless Son is that human beings would listen to Jesus.
And that’s why the church gives top priority to the words of Jesus. For
example, we no longer pray every word in the Psalms because some of
those words conflict with what Jesus tells us to do. For example, in
Psalm139, sensitive Christians often skip the words that read, “How I
hate them, O Lord, that hate you! . . . I have nothing but
hatred
for them.”
Why do some Christians skip those words? Because Jesus’
taught us to love our enemies, not to hate them.
Or
take the example of unclean foods. The Pharisees challenged Jesus
because his disciples were eating food with ceremonially unclean
hands. And Jesus said, “Nothing that enters a man from the
outsides can make him ‘unclean.’ In saying this, Jesus declared all
foods ‘clean.’” (Mark 7:19)
The early church listened to Jesus
and because of his word, did away with the very long tradition of Old
Testament teaching on clean and unclean foods.
Again and
again in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus repeats this phrase, “You have
heard it said to you by the men of old, but I say to you….” So who are
we going to listen to? The men of the Old Testament, or to Jesus? The
Father says to us, “Listen to Him, my Son whom I love!”
Does
that mean that we shouldn’t read the Old Testament. No, it doesn’t mean
that at all. Christians are to honor the Old Testament and its words if
for no other reason than the fact that Jesus did, and Jesus is Lord. If
we truly listen to Jesus we will also listen to Jesus’ reverence for
Hebrew Scripture.
What about other authors,
other books, others philosophers? Are we to keep away from
them.
No, of course not. It means, rather, that we read other
writers
and thinkers like Shakespeare and Tolstoy and Aristotle-- in light of
Jesus' deeds and teachings.
The point is that Jesus is our
paramount authority. We are doing what the Father tells us to do when
-- first, and last, and in between -- we listen to
Jesus.
And we hear him most clearly as we read and study and meditate on the
Gospels. That’s why many churches have the congregation stand when the
Gospel is read, --because in the Gospels we hear the words of
Jesus.
Other books of the Bible are extremely important
,-- Joshua, Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, the Epistles to the Romans,
Ephesians, James or Peter. These are inspired books, they are all the
Word of the Lord. But the Father is very explicit. He says,
“I
have one Son who is beloved, who is priceless, ‘Listen to Him!’”
Some
of the words of Jesus are not easy to understand, or to apply. They
have to be pondered, studied. For example, six days before he had told
the disciples, Matt. 16:24 “If anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for me will find it.” What does it mean “to lose our lives,” “to deny
ourselves,” “to take up our cross?” Do you know what that means? How
are you denying yourself? How are you taking up your cross?
Or
take the words he spoke right after the transfiguration scene. Luke
tells us that an argument started among the disciples a to which of
them would be the greatest. Jesus said to them and he says to us, “He
who is least among you all, he is the greatest.” Or as he says in
Matthew, “whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.”
What does Jesus mean? How do we apply that to our lives?
Leadership
in the church is not first of all a matter of doing things for
Jesus. It is first of all letting Jesus speak, understanding
his
words, applying them to our lives, and then—after we have made some
progress in applying his words to our lives-- doing the things he says
we are to do.
Verse 6 tells us that “When
the disciples heard this, [the father's voice] they fell facedown to
the ground, terrified.” The disciples were leveled before the awesome
power of God’s voice. They fell flat on their faces.
It is a fascinating point. When God draws near no one can
predict
what may happen. Some feel joy and
assurance as did
St. Augustine at his conversion. Others crumble and shake and cry like
Eldridge Cleaver at the moment when he had a vision of Jesus back in
the 70s. The three disciples fell facedown to the ground,
terrified.
And Jesus seeing
them in this state of fear and anxiety came to them, touched them to
comfort them and reassure them. V. 7 -- "Get up," he said. "Don't be
afraid.”
Hasn’t he done that for you? Haven’t you gone to
him, fallen on your face before Him, placed yourself and your troubles,
your fear, your doubts, your questions before Him? I
certainly
have. And what has been his response—he quiets us, he calms us, he gets
us on our feet, he sets us on our way.
What
we learn in this final scene is that Jesus is there for us. He is the
one who knows and understands our fears. He is the one who comes to us
to comfort and reassure us. He is the one who says, “I love you,
there’s no need to be afraid.”
The
Transfiguration of Christ! What a story! Totally Christ-centered!
Totally Christ honoring! There he is with three of his
disciples
on a mountain top--- (a) only Jesus is transfigured. (b) Only
Jesus is honored by the Voice of the Father. (c) Only Jesus
is
singled out as the One to whom we must listen. (d) Only Jesus goes to
the disciples and lifts them out of their fears and doubts.
I
said earlier that it was this Transfiguration scene that Peter
treasured in his mind, --that the vision of the Transfiguration gave
him passion and energy to carry out his service for Christ. May it have
a similar effect upon each of us. May it help us honor Christ, desire
to know him better, and increase our commitment to listen to his words
and to do them. Amen.
