Manifested Glory

Main Point of the Text: In the transfiguration Jesus shows not what he will become but who he is. He is the Christ, but the Christ is not a prophet he is God in flesh. Thereby God in coming in flesh will do only what God can do, fulfill the promise of redeeming his people by his death, burial and resurrection.

Main Point of the Sermon: Jesus reveals who he is, not what he will become to the disciples, that they would know, and we would be assured that God has come to redeem, save, restore, and give to his people not just a present hope and glory but a future hope and glory.

A Displayed Glory 2-4

After six days

This is right after Jesus and the disciples have come from Caesarea Phillippi where Peter declares “You are the Christ”

Took Peter James & John

The inner circle of Jesus’ disciples

High mountain, Mount Tabor

Mount Sinai/Horeb:

Mount Sinai, also known as Mount Horeb, is where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. This event marked the establishment of the Mosaic Law, which served as a guide for the Israelites' moral and spiritual conduct. The Law highlighted humanity's need for redemption by revealing the standard of righteousness and pointing to the need for a Savior.

Mount Moriah:

Mount Moriah is the site where Abraham was instructed by God to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. As Abraham was about to carry out the sacrifice, God provided a ram as a substitute, demonstrating His provision and foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Mount Moriah symbolizes God's willingness to provide redemption and foreshadows the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.

Mount Carmel:

Mount Carmel is famous for the contest between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah called upon God to consume his sacrifice with fire, which God did, affirming His power and existence. This event demonstrated God's superiority over false gods and His ability to redeem His people from idolatry and spiritual deception.

Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal:

These two mountains are significant in the context of blessings and curses. As the Israelites entered the Promised Land, half the tribes stood on Mount Gerizim, and the other half stood on Mount Ebal. They alternated pronouncing blessings and curses according to their adherence to the covenant with God. These mountains symbolize the consequences of obedience and disobedience and emphasize the need for redemption and restoration through faithful adherence to God's commands.

Mount Zion:

Mount Zion is a prominent mountain in Jerusalem and holds great spiritual significance throughout the Bible. It became the site of the Temple, representing God's dwelling place among His people. In the New Testament, Mount Zion is associated with the heavenly Jerusalem and the redeemed community of believers. It symbolizes the ultimate redemption and the eternal dwelling place of God with His people.

Transfigured- μετεμορφώθη, metamorphosis

Not changed in his nature, not becoming something that he was not but revealed something that he already was.

Jesus revealed to his disciples his glory

not a reflected glory, not the glory of Moses or Elijah but HIS glory. Mt Sinai**

Clothes became radiant- shimmered, intensely white, the pure essense of unreflected color. We get color from the refraction of light, Jesus was pure light. His glory shown forth and it imminated through his clothes.

Mark says so white you couldn’t get this color if you had all the bleach in the world. A baseball mom’s dream.

There appeared Elijah and Moses, what is their significance?

Moses- the greatest prophet in Israelite history

lead the people of out Egypt. Met with God, talked with God, wrote the first 5 books of the OT.

Moses saw the glory of God and lived. His face reflected absorbed God’s glory so intently that he had to wear a vail for the people b/c it was so bright

He was buried by God on Mt. Nebo

Elijah was a prophet of God in the OT.

He battled the prophets of Baal and was the greatest prophet since Moses that Israel had ever seen.

He didn’t die, but was taken up to heaven on a flaming charriot.

Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the Prophets, the full counsel of God’s revelation to the Israelites.

It was eschatological too.

Moses’ prophecy was that a greater prophet, like himself would one day come. Deut. 18:15 ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”

Elijah was prophesied to also bring about the coming kingdom of God in Malachi 4:4-6 ““Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

Moses tells of the coming prophet that would also rescue his people.

Elijah’s prophecy represents the restoration of God’s people with himself.

What is this inner 3’s response to seeing the Glorified Christ, and the two greatest prophets in their people’s history? POSTERS on the WALL?!

The Diluted Disciples 5-14

Peter representing the 3, offers their service to build them tents or tabernacles.

It’s good that we’re here!

They are diluted in the level of significance of the moment.

This was for them to see, not for them to serve

They missed that Jesus was the tabernacle.

God with them.

God’s glory revealed and they still lived

Jesus didn’t need the disciples shelter, he needed their attention.

It’s hard for us to sit still and be amazed with the wonder of God, the peace of God.

Sitting and listening praying and watching are hard. We are a people who want to be busy. But sometimes the greatest benefit is for us to gaze upon the wonder of Christ’s glory.

These disciples had a unique experience here in this moment, God spoke again and said from out of the cloud “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

This was for the disciples, not Moses and Elijah.

Listen to the words of Jesus through the scriptures, listen to the prompting of the holy spirit in your life

GOD SAYS LISTEN TO JESUS!

Then Elijah and Moses are gone.

Elijah and Moses fade into vapor compared to the significance of Christ.

Again Jesus reminds them as they come off the mountain about not saying anything about what they saw or heard until he had risen from the dead.

They still didn’t understand. Their view of a savior didn’t work like this they were disillusioned by their own expectations of how God works that they miss the glory of God revealed.

HOW OFTEN ARE WE?!

They knew the prophecy of Elijah’s coming, and so Jesus explained that Elijah does come first, he was referring to John the Baptist who was said to come in the Spirit of Elijah

Luke 1:17 “and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.””

Then he goes on to say how the son of Man, must suffer many things and be treated with contempt

ps 22:6 “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.”

isa 53:2 “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”

Zech 13:7 ““Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.”

Jesus tried to explain how what they were looking for was happening in front of their eyes, if they only had eyes to see...

A Desperate Father 15-27

They didn’t get to think about this much, because when they came down there was a lot happening and great crowd had gathered.

A father responds to Jesus and says that his son is the reason for the disturbance and arguing.

The rest of the disciples were down in the village and they were they ones that were trying to help this father and his son.

This child was attacked by a demon from his youth

the demonic love to destroy innocence

They try to corrupt the family

They cause harm and destruction

The devil is never for you. There is nothing redeemable about the demonic. It will always corrupt and destroy.

The disciples were unable to cast the demon out of the boy

Jesus responds, specifically to the disciples, paralleling the earlier interaction where they were arguing about not having bread after Jesus had just done a miracles,

The disciples were still not seeing Jesus for who he really was.

Their faith was not in Jesus as savior from their sin, or God in flesh, but one who was savior from roman oppression and a significant prophet.

This is who Jesus can be to people and to us some times.

Jesus therefore calls them a faithless Generation, a refrain he repeats 5 times in Mark (8:12 [2x], 38; 9:19; 13:30)

This desperate father tells of the horrors of this demon’s impact on his son and ask Jesus IF he can.

IF JESUS CAN?

In the degree of doing, nothing is difficult.

We ask with such little faith.

The desperate father responds

I BELIEVE HELP MY UNBELIEF

This is the hopeful and humble cry of a loving father. This is the cry of any humble child of God. We realize how weak our faith is, so we believe and ask God to help our unbelief.

Because or faith is a dependent faith...

A Dependent Faith 28-29

The boy is healed.

The disciples ask in private why they were unable to cast the demon out.

Doubtful prayer is no prayer at all.

John Calvin

They relied on their ability, their faith, not in the Son of God, but in their own means.

We cannot discount the power of prayer.

True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length. The Secret Of Power In Prayer, Volume 34, Sermon #2002 - John 15:7

Charles Spurgeon

Prayer is the breath of faith. Prayer meetings are the lungs of the church.

Charles Spurgeon

Pray as if life depends on it. Pray to the Son of God, who the fullness of God dwells bodily. Because in him, is all of life!

Charge & Benediction

Because Jesus not only displays the glory of God but is God, may we not dilute our understanding of who he is but as desperate people, let us depend on the resurrected Christ for our faith, making each day an opportunity to love him more and more!

Ephesians 3:16-19 “Now I pray that according to the riches of his glory the Father may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” *