Good Morning everyone, When I was preparing for this Sermon it was hard for me to associate myself with this scripture reading. Also, how do I write a Sermon on something as important as the Transfiguration without getting into a lot of scripture and Bible ease as I call it?
Soooo…...I asked myself, "What if I started by presenting this sermon in the context of a normal morning? This morning I got up and washed my face and got dressed." I said good morning to Bill and fed Roxie and Garfield and got ready for Church. Jesus tells me every Sunday its time and Bill and I head off to church. Much like Jesus saying to Peter, James and John follow me we are going up on the mountain.
When we get here, we great everyone and settle down for service with all of you and now David. Suddenly, the sanctuary is full of a light that is so glorious that we can hardly see and there is Moses, Elijah, and Jesus in front of all of us having a conversation. We don't know what they are saying, and only in Luke are we told that they are discussing, Jesus departure from this earth.
Then a cloud descends and a voice like we have never heard before says, "This is my son, the Beloved; listen to Him!"
Now I don't know about all of you, but I would be under my chair. How would you react? Would you want to crawl under a chair too? Would you want to get out of the church as quickly as possible? Would you sit and listen and wait till you could say something to Jesus? What would you do?
Then as quickly as all this is happening it all disappears, there is no bright light or cloud or anyone else and we are here with Jesus in our Sanctuary like we are right now. I'm the first one to tell you that I want to get on my phone and tell my daughter, and my entire family and anyone who will listen, BUT……...Jesus says to us. "I order you to tell no one about what you have seen. You must wait until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead.
LORD, ARE YOU KIDDING ME. YOU KNOW ME. I CAN'T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!!!! but Peter, James, and John do just that as far as we know. They return from the mountain and go on to do what Jesus asks them to do. What would you do? How would you react? Could you do what Jesus has asked you to do?
My next question was:
Why Moses and Elijah.
What makes them so special to this passage? Moses is associated with the Law in the Old Testament. He wrote the Pentateuch laying out the law to the Israelites and what they were to do and how to live. Elijah is considered the greatest prophet in the Old Testament. He is not afraid to rebuke the Israelites and their leaders on the worship of idols. Like Jesus, Elijah performs miracles such as multiplying the oil and meal for a widow and her son when she is willing to share her portion and raising a widow's son from the dead. Elijah promises to double Elisha's portion of Elijah's spirit if he will stay with him till, he is gone. Elijah was the only person besides Enoch who is said not to have died but is taken to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire.
Moses and Elijah are very important to the Transfiguration. They represent the Old Testament and are the two prophets who make the biggest impact in the creation of law and the prophecies of the coming of Christ as the Messiah. They are the Law and the Prophets.
We saw this in the Old Testament reading this morning in the book of Kings. Elijah knows he is leaving Elisha and he has told Elisha this. He tells him three times and three times Elisha tells him he will not leave him alone. When Elijah is taken away Elisha cries out Father, Father but after he mourns he carries on the prophecies of Elijah.
Why Peter, James and John.
We know that Peter was known as the one who loved Jesus the most. He is also established by Jesus to be the rock on which Jesus will build His church. Peter is considered the first leader of the church. The first Pope.
James the Greater as he is known is the first of the Apostles to become a martyr. Many feel Jesus chose him for this reason.
John the Beloved is the last of the Apostles to die. He is at the foot of the cross at Jesus Crucifixion and it is he that is put in charge of taking care of Mary for the rest of her life.
All three were trusted apostles who are singled out by Jesus. He considers them the most valuable of the Apostles. They are His inner circle.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all refer to the Transfiguration in their Gospels. John's says nothing and Luke is the only apostle with a Gospel not at the Transfiguration. Most students of John's Gospel believe that there are many references in his gospel to the Transfiguration. They say Jesus is always transfigured in what John writes. When we read John's Gospel, we see the common theme of Transfiguration throughout the Gospel story. For example.
John l:14 "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father."
John 2:11. When Jesus transforms the water into wine at the wedding feast John tells us, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."
John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
John does not narrate what he saw at the Transfiguration but refers to it throughout his Gospel.
John goes on to tell us of the curing of the nobleman's son, the restoration of the paralytic at the pool, the miracle of the bread, the walking on the water, the healing of the man born blind, and finally the raising of Lazarus from the dead in John ll:l-44. John records exactly seven miracles of Jesus. Seven is the number we see over and over in the Bible symbolizing the fullness of the revelation of the divine glory of Jesus. Who Jesus is, is revealed in what Jesus does.
In Matthew verse 5 the voice from the cloud says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." then adds, "listen to him!" Mark says, "This is my son, the Beloved; listen to Him." Luke says, "This is my son, whom I have chosen, listen to him." Three different versions, but each one intended to let us know that Jesus is not the human being we think He is, but the Son of God.
The Transfiguration is where Jesus now becomes more than what the Apostles think he is. The disciples have worshipped Him who walked on water, as the Son of God, but they cannot yet imagine what it means for Jesus to claim this title. Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God, but he rejects Jesus announcement that he will suffer and die.
It isn't until the Agony of Jesus, His Crucifixion and rising from the dead and finally and His Ascension into heaven that the Apostles can fully understand what Peter, James and John saw at the Transfiguration. This is why Jesus instruction to not say anything was so important. Jesus knew that they could not fully understand who he was and how important it was for them to know Him. Only after His suffering and death and his resurrection and ascension could they convey to others the true nature of Jesus.
We are given the story of the Transfiguration so we can see and be witnesses of Christ. It helps us to understand that as we travel through our life, we can convince others that Jesus is Lord, and we are able to convey that through our faith. The Transfiguration is a difficult story to understand, but I have found that by going deeper into the people who were there and seeing what they said it makes it easier to understand who Jesus was and what he means to us today. I would like to think that if the Transfiguration happened today, here in our sanctuary, I would not be hiding under my seat. I feel that we can all leave today with a better understanding of what Jesus wants us to do by trying to understand the Transfiguration.