TEXT: Luke 9:28-36
I am posting tonight because I have an early-morning appointment with a donut tomorrow.
I am posting tonight because I have an early-morning appointment with a donut tomorrow.
TEXT INTRODUCTION: Mentioned in
the Synoptic Gospels and Peter's second epistle, the Transfiguration is one of
the most dramatic turning-points in the earthly ministry of Jesus.
Though the event is
mentioned in three of the Gospels, none of the writers mention a specific
location. The traditional sight of Mt.
Tabor may be correct but Mt. Hermon may be a more-likely place. Both mountains are near Caesarea Philippi,
but at 9000 feet above sea level Mt. Hermon better fits the description of a
"high mountain" than Mt. Tabor which stands only 2000 feet above sea
level. Then, too, during the first
century a Roman Garrison was stationed atop Mt. Tabor, making it an unlikely
spot for Jesus to have chosen as a place of solitude.
What's more important
is the fact that the Transfiguration took place so soon after Peter's great
confession at Caesarea Philippi. There
Peter, speaking for all the apostles, declared their conviction that Jesus was
the Messiah, the Son of God. According
to the Gospel writers, after acknowledging Peter's confession, Jesus then began
to speak more openly about his forth-coming death. Peter's confession and the apostles' response
to Jesus' candor about his mission is important in understanding some of the
elements of the Transfiguration.
*****
SERMON INTRODUCTION
About a week after Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi Jesus
invited three of his closest followers to join him on a hike to the top of a
nearby mountain. Apparently Jesus began
to pray and the disciples may or may not have prayed for a while
themselves. In any case, the three
disciples became drowsy but just as they were about to nod off, they were
jarred to wakefulness by a blazing light.
The light was emanating from Jesus himself. He had been changed, He had been
"transfigured" to use the term from the Revised Standard
Version. Although he was still the man
they knew as Jesus of Nazareth, he appeared as they had never seen him
before. Even his clothing glowed with a
brightness no human effort could achieve.
What had happened? Perhaps the
best explanation is to say that those three disciples--for a brief moment--saw
their Lord as he truly was, saw him in his pre-incarnate glory. Paul, in Philippians 2:5-11, cites what is
probably an ancient Christian hymn which speaks of how the eternal Son of God
temporarily laid aside his glory to become a man. In the Transfiguration Jesus seems to have
briefly reclaimed that glory.
As if seeing their Lord in his rightful glory wasn't enough of a shock,
the disciples realized Jesus was no longer alone--two men were talking with
him, men whom the disciples somehow knew were Moses and Elijah.
These were two of the greatest figures in Jewish history. Moses was the Liberator who had, after a
mountaintop experience with God, brought the Law down from Mt Sinai; Elijah was
the courageous prophet who challenged the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel and
who, in his own mountaintop experience, had defeated the prophets of Baal in a
dramatic showdown. These two men
represented the best of Israel's spiritual heritage.
No, I don't know how Peter, James, and John recognized them. It's tempting to suggest nametags but that's
unlikely. Remember, taking the story at
face value, we have Jesus talking with one man who had lived 800 years before
and another who had lived 1400 years before.
When you look at the moment in that light, getting their names straight
seems a small matter.
It would be hard to overemphasize the drama of this experience. Irish Bible teacher David Gooding explains
some of its significance.
"The first effect of the transfiguration on the apostles was
doubtless to convince them beyond any shadow of doubt of the real existence of
the other world, the eternal kingdom.
Our world is not the only one:
there is another. Next they were
given to see that that other world is not just future to our world, but
concurrent with it, though also before it and beyond it. They further saw that though that world is
normally invisible to ours, Christ had contact with both worlds
simultaneously...."[1]
This was obviously a heavenly moment, one into which some very human
thinking intrudes.
Luke alone tells us what Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were talking
about. They were discussing the issue of
Christ's death. As Phillips translates, they
were discussing "...the way he must
take and the end he must fulfill." Imagine
being able to have eavesdropped on this conversation. A. B. Bruce, in his classic The Training of the Twelve, contends
that the encounter was intended to give encouragement to Jesus as he began his
eventful final journey to Jerusalem.
After the Allied victories in North Africa during W.W.II, many
Britishers were elated, believing the war would soon end. Knowing this wasn't true, Winston Churchill
told the people, "This victory is
not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end, but it may be the end of the
beginning." In a sense, as far
as Jesus' earthly ministry was concerned, the Transfiguration was the end of
the beginning. Remember, it was not too
long after this experience that Jesus "set
his face to go to Jerusalem."
Seeing their Teacher speaking with two of Israel's greatest heroes, the
three disciples were almost dumbstruck, almost but not quite. In a delightful observation, Luke tells us
that Peter, no doubt disturbed by thoughts of Jesus' death and not knowing what
to say, said something--the wrong something.
In effect, Peter said, "Lord,
this is a great meeting of the minds. We
need to take advantage of this opportunity.
Let us build three dwellings, one for each of you..." Before Peter could even finish his thought
the top of the mountain was covered with a cloud and a Voice from Heaven said,
in effect, "Look, this Jesus, the
one you've been following, the one who's been performing those miracles, the
one who's been teaching as no one else ever taught, the one who speaks and
makes sea calm, the one who brought you up on this mountain, the one who shines
with such a glorious light is my Son, my Chosen One, pay attention to what he's
been saying to you."
It was, of course, a rebuke. It
came from the highest source. God had
spoken and when the clouds cleared, the disciples saw only Jesus. A short time later they band of four men
descended the mountain. Jesus told them
to keep what they had seen and heard to themselves until he had been
"raised from the dead." Even
though they weren't sure what he meant by being raised from the dead, they
agreed.
There's a lot in this story we could explore, but right now, I want to
consider what this experience says about the nature of Christian
commitment. In short, this account
reminds us that our commitment should be shaped by God's expectations.
I
GOD EXPECTS A COMMITMENT
MARKED BY
EXCLUSIVENESS NOT
ECLECTICISM
Peter's proposal said a great deal.
One translation suggest he said what he said "at random" or
thoughtlessly. To put the matter simply,
Peter often had trouble connecting the dots.
Consider his great confession at Caesarea Philippi. There he had boldly and accurately identified
Jesus as "the Christ of God."
Yet, only moments later Peter attempts to correct Jesus for even
suggesting that he would soon face the cross.
It doesn't fit. You don't correct
God's Chosen One, but that's what Peter attempted to do.
In the same way, even after seeing Jesus in his glory Peter makes a
suggestion which reveals he thought of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as being
"equals".
Lots of people think like this today.
Jesus is worthy of honor, no less than Buddha or Mohammed, but no more
either. In fact, they have created a
kind of eclectic commitment, taking what they consider the "best"
from a variety of religions. Never mind
that the parts can't fit together because they come from different worldviews.
Perhaps Peter, like so many of us, believed this was the gracious, the
open-minded thing to do. We, of course,
are much more broad-minded than Peter.
Peter didn't have to step outside the Hebraic tradition to make his suggestion. We go further. We shape our religious faith
as if we were choosing a meal at a cafeteria.
Perhaps this is because some 64% of Americans believe practitioners of
all religions--Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.--pray to the
same God. Never mind that these
religions portray God in very different terms.
God's rebuke of Peter speaks to this situation as well. For all the good Moses and Elijah may have
done, God declared Jesus to be his Son, the Son who was to be heard. It's significant that when the Voice was
quiet, "Jesus alone" was seen.
God expects our commitment to be to Jesus alone. Consider these truths:
• Jesus alone embodies the very revelation of God. John, who was on this mountaintop, would one
day write, "The Word became flesh and we beheld his glory." Of Jesus alone among all the great religious
leaders can it be said: if you want to
know what God is like, look at him.
• Jesus alone took his commitment to redeem a broken world to a
lonely Cross. Ravi Zacharias recently
wrote of a trip he made to an Asian nation where he witnessed participants in a
religious festival mutilate themselves with sharp hooks, trying to win the
favor of their gods. Zacharias
commented, "What a heart cry this is
to reach God. Yet, they ignore the offer
that Christ has already made in walking that road [of suffering] for them, shedding His blood, and opening up
the way that we might draw near....
There is nothing, absolutely nothing that any other faith has to
offer that compares with the depth and the breadth of our Lord's
crucifixion."[2]
• Jesus alone confirmed his claims by triumphing over death in his
resurrection. Lewis Johnson put it
succinctly when he said, "The
resurrection is God's 'Amen!' to Christ's statement, 'It is finished.'"
In his mountaintop experience Peter learned that commitment cannot be
eclectic if it is to be Christian, it must be exclusive. That degree of commitment would take Peter to
a cross of his own outside Rome. You
see, such an exclusive commitment was no more welcome in the Roman world than
it is in ours.
II
GOD EXPECTS A COMMITMENT
MARKED BY
ENCOUNTER NOT ESCAPISM
What do you suppose was uppermost in Peter's mind during the past
week? Jesus had spoken of his coming
death. From the moment the words were
spoken Peter found them hard to accept.
No doubt, he pondered how he could keep it from happening. The mountaintop experience gave him an idea.
Peter's program would have kept Jesus far away from Jerusalem and the
cross. The Master would be safe, in
fact, saved from himself.
That this was in Peter's mind is suggested by the heavenly rebuke. God said, "This is my Son...listen to
him." What had Jesus said? The reference is to what Jesus had said
following Peter's own confession the week before. Look at Luke 9:23-27.
God was saying the way of the Cross is the way to glory, the way to
salvation.
True, on the mountaintop there was unexcelled glory; in the valley
there was unending work. On the
mountaintop there was light; in the
valley there was darkness.
Had Jesus remained on the mountaintop he would have been safe, but we
would have been lost.
Had Jesus remained on the mountaintop Satan would have been
unchallenged and unconquered. That's why
I think the disciples were treated to such a dramatic encounter with Satan as
soon as they came down from the mountain.
Here’s the story in Luke 9:37-43.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great
crowd met him. And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you
to look at my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him,
and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and
shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I begged your disciples to cast it
out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation,
how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he
was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus
rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
And all were astonished at the majesty of God.
Had Jesus remained on the mountaintop, Satan would have triumphed.
Had Jesus stayed on the mountaintop, there would have been no cross, no
atonement, no forgiveness, no resurrection, no hope.
The church frequently has to wrestle with the escapist mentality. Many in today's churches seem so gripped with
panic, so eager to retreat to the safety of their sanctuaries that they hardly
resemble the Christians of the Book of Acts who boldly challenged the power of
evil. When beaten--literally--for their
commitment to Christ, the early Christians did not pray for escape, they prayed
that they might have more boldness for further encounters.
Some are sounding retreat before we have even engaged the enemy.
The way of the escapist is the easy way; the way of encounter allows us
to see God's victory.
The way of encounter may lead to difficulty and even death. It would be wrong to deny that. But as Peter reflected on the reality of what
he saw on the mount of Transfiguration, he understood that death, for the
Christian, is not defeat.
Writing to a beleaguered band of Christians he reminded them that the
message of hope at the heart of the Gospel had been confirmed on that
mountaintop:
2PE 1:10
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager
to make your calling and
election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, [11] and you
will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
2PE 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. [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."
[18] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven
when we were with him on the
sacred mountain.
The mountaintop experience which Peter shared not only revealed
Christ's pre-incarnate glory, it revealed the glory which would once again be
his following the resurrection. And, the
experience was a reminder of every believer's future. With this in mind, Peter urged his readers to
be faithful, to maintain their commitment.
CONCLUSION
Sometimes we speak of "mountaintop experiences" with a
certain disdain. We suggest that there's
something wrong with them. They're only
a problem when we forget our place is in the valley.
--In the valley there are those who need to hear the message that Jesus
alone is the Savior.
--In the valley there is evil that needs to be challenged in the Name
of Christ.
In the valley we walk alongside Jesus.
[1] David Gooding, According to Luke: A New
Exposition of the Third Gospel, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987, p.167.
