The Transfiguration of Our Lord

How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and other books, such as the Koran and Book of Mormon, are not? St. Peter answers this question in the Epistle reading for this morning. Peter, James, and John were eyewitnesses of Christ’s glory. They saw His face shine like the sun. They heard the voice of God the Father come from out of the cloud. They saw Moses and Elijah standing there with Jesus.

God gave us the first five books of the Bible through Moses. How do we know that Moses was a prophet and not an imposter? God proved Moses’ words through the miracles of the Exodus: the Ten Plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna from heaven. Moses had the credentials of a prophet. And in the days of Elijah, there were hundreds of false prophets claiming to speak for God. How do we know that Elijah’s words were true and theirs were false? God confirmed Elijah as a true prophet by answering his prayer with fire from heaven and performing many other signs. These miracles proved that the prophets of the Old Testament spoke the Word of God.

The Koran can make no such claim. Who was Muhammad but an adulterer and a thief? He did no miracles. He was a false prophet. And what was Joseph Smith but a religious con-man from a family of counterfeiters and cheats? Smith made up a tall tale about magic eyeglasses that he used to translate the Book of Mormon, which was supposedly written on golden tablets only he could see, in a language only he could understand. He was a liar and a false prophet.

But the the truth of the Bible is backed up by the power of God. Peter, James, and John, saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes. They saw his face shine like the sun. They saw his clothes become whiter than light. This they saw before Jesus died. And after Jesus died more than five-hundred people saw him alive. He ate food, drank drink, walked into rooms that were locked from the inside, and promised miraculous signs to validate the teaching of His apostles. And Jesus delivered. He told the eleven that they would cast out demons, survive poisonous snake bites, speak in languages they had never learned, heal the sick, and do other signs to prove they were His spokesmen. And they did all these things. These signs were proof that the apostles spoke the Word of God, just as the miracles of the Old Testament proved the same for the prophets.

On the mountain of transfiguration Jesus is surrounded by His prophets of the Old Testament and His apostles of the New Testament. These are the men who wrote the Scriptures that tell us about Jesus. It’s no accident that they are chosen to be on the mountain with Jesus. God the Father speaks from heaven, saying, “This is my Son. Listen to Him!” What does it mean to listen to Jesus, the Word made flesh? It means to listen to the Word of Jesus that He then put in the mouths of the prophets and apostles assembled here on this mountain. This written Word of God was authenticated by all the signs and miracles of the Old and New Testaments.

It is incredibly sad how often one will hear Christians today speak of this or that revelation they received from God. “The Holy Spirit showed me. God spoke to my soul. The Lord gave me a vision. My heart tells me to do this or that.” But you know who was not there on the mount of Transfiguration? You. You weren’t there. Your opinions weren’t there. Your dreams weren’t there. Your sinful heart wasn’t there. So, don’t listen to these things. That is not how or where Jesus speaks. Your sinful heart can’t be trusted. It’s in league with Satan, the father of lies. Your dreams can’t be trusted. God no longer speaks speaks in dreams and dark sayings in the night. Yes, He sometimes spoke this way in the days of old, but now in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:1), whose name is the Word of God. What does it mean to listen to Jesus? It means to ignore every other voice, including that of your own sinful heart, and rely solely on the Word of Jesus, which He caused to be written by the prophets and apostles.

We tend to put a lot of stock in experiences. I’ve heard many Christians tell me about a spiritual encounter or a moment when they heard the audible voice of God clear as day. “God told me to move to Florida. God told me to marry this woman. God told me to quit my job. Gold told me that after twenty years of suffering it’s finally my time to get blessed.” No. This is not the voice of God. It cannot be trusted. People who follow this voice are simply following the voice of their own heart and desires. “God told me to marry you” can just as quickly turn into, “God told me to get a divorce.” There is only one trustworthy source, one certain way to know that you have heard the voice of God. You will find His voice in the pages of the Holy Scripture, written by the prophets and apostles.

In our Epistle reading, St. Peter reminisces about what is arguably the greatest human experience ever. “I was there,” Peter says, “I was with Jesus on the Holy mountain. Along with James and John, I was an eyewitness of Jesus in all His glory. I saw the bright light. I heard the voice that came from heaven.” I doubt that any human experience can top this. “And yet,” writes Peter, “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that sings in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). What does the apostle Peter say is more trustworthy than being an eyewitness of the Transfiguration? The prophetic word, which you do well to heed. Listen to Him. Listen to the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures that testify concerning Jesus on every page. God the Father speaks from heaven, “Here is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”

Don’t trust your feelings. Feelings are fickle. Don’t trust your heart. Your heart lies. Don’t trust your dreams, your emotions, or your spidey senses. Trust the written Word of God. Pay attention to this voice. You will find Jesus only here. Where is the God who forgives sinners and gives grace to the undeserving? You won’t find Him in nature. You won’t find Him in your heart. You will find Him only as He has chosen to reveal Himself within the pages of Holy Scriptures.

Your experiences will always tell you that you are couldn’t possibly be a child of God. You’re too great a sinner. You’ve messed up too many times. It’s too late for you. Your emotions will tell you that you don’t feel forgiven. The sinful world will tell you that Jesus was simply a holy man who tried to tell people to be nice to each other. But these voices are charlatans that cannot be trusted. Scripture alone teaches you of the Incarnate Son of God who joyfully went to His cross in order to save you. Knowledge of Christ comes only from the words He caused to be written by the Holy prophets and apostles. Here and nowhere else is forgiveness, life, and salvation. By this prophetic word alone, the Holy Spirit teaches you to know your Savior, who loved you so much that He set aside the radiant glory of the mountain of Transfiguration, and embraced the shame of Mount Calvary. “This is my beloved Son,” the Father says, “Listen to Him.” Amen.