Matthew 17, Part 1
Notes
Transcript
The Transfiguration
The Transfiguration
We are getting ready to study an amazing passage of scripture. Up until this time, Jesus has told the disciples He was the Son of God, they have witnessed the miracles, they have heard His teaching, they have LIVED with Him…and yet I don’t know that they fully grasped the concept of Him truly being the Son of God. With the exception of Peter, we know Peter’s answer when Jesus asked who others and who the disciples think He is -
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Historically, the belief that divine beings can become human is not unique to Christianity. Some of the major religions that originated from Asia like Hinduism also believe in the concept of incarnation. The belief in the resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from others, and the disciples were given a preview of Jesus’ bodily transformation in the story often called the “Transfiguration” wherein Jesus’ physical form changed.
This story recalls the experience of Moses at Mount Sinai not long after the Law was given to him. In Matthew, the event occurred six days after Jesus first informed his disciples about his death; likewise, six days after God’s covenant with Israel was confirmed, he called Moses to communicate with him personally. Jesus and Moses did not bring many companions with them; only Peter, James, and John were with Jesus, and only Joshua was with Moses. It makes me realize only a few were able to fully grasp and understand the magnitude of WHO Jesus really, truly, deeply was, and with whom Jesus could have a deep relationship with. The disciples as a whole had been told of Jesus’ upcoming death and resurrection. Again, it was not something they were able to fully grasp yet. Jesus then brings His closest disciples with Him to witness something miraculous. Something that would give them a deep understanding and a great strength to face what the future held for them all.
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
Jesus was on a high mountain. Note that this event took place six days after drilling His disciples with the fact of His coming death and resurrection. Christ needed to get all alone with God. He took three disciples, Peter, James and John, with Him and climbed a high mountain. The place chosen is important. It was “an high mountain,” an isolated place where they would not be interrupted. It was conducive, fitted for being alone with God. Four major things drove Christ to get alone with God. The same things should always cause us to get alone with God for an extended time:
⇒ pressure (from facing the cross)
⇒ a momentous decision (to bear the cross)
⇒ intensive training
⇒ the need for renewed strength
Peter, James, and John apparently formed an inner circle around Jesus. Jesus revealed more to these three men than to the other disciples. They were with Him when He raised Jairus’ daughter, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and here on the mount of transfiguration. Why were these three chosen to receive these additional revelations?
What is known is this. Each was being chosen for a very special ministry role or call. They were not aware of it yet, but they were to fill unique positions in the ministry.
1. Peter was to be the leader of the early church, the one who was to open the door of the gospel to both Jew and Gentile after Pentecost (Ac. 2:1f; 10:1f).
2. James was called to be an apostle and to be martyred for his faith in Christ (Ac. 12:2).
3. John was to receive The Revelation from God to close out the Scripture.
Jesus would need supernatural strength in the coming days. The word transformed (metamorphothe) means a change into another form; a transformation; a change of countenance; a complete change. Luke said, “the fashion of His countenance was altered”. Note how the gospel writers described what happened.
3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.
Apparently the glory of His Godly nature was allowed to shine through His body. “The glory which [He] had with God before the world” shone through His body right on through His clothes (Jn. 17:5). Peter said, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Pe. 1:16). In John’s vision of Christ in The Revelation, he described the glory of Christ as the sun that shines in its strength (Re. 1:16).
Why did Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus? There seem to be two reasons.
a. To discuss Jesus’ death (Lu. 17:31). Jesus needed to be strengthened to bear the weight and pressure of the cross (see note—Mk. 9:2–13. See the Garden of Gethesemane experience and His cry on the cross, Lu. 22:39–46; see note—Mt. 27:46–49.)
b. To show that Jesus was the true Messiah, the Son of God, the One who was superior to the Law and the prophets. Moses represented the law; and Elijah, who was considered the greatest of the prophets, represented the prophets. These two men were honoring and ministering to Christ. By such, they were symbolizing that the law and the prophets found their fulfillment in Christ.
⇒ Christ was the One of whom the law and the prophets spoke.
⇒ Christ was the One to whom the law and the prophets pointed. The old covenant was now to be fulfilled in and superseded by Christ who was to usher in the new covenant
Christ was soon to fulfill His prophetic and priestly offices. Moses and Elijah were symbolically transferring the old prophetic and priestly offices to Him.
Something very significant is seen here. Believers who have gone on before are as alive, if not more alive, than we are. They are living in a dimension other than our physical world, an eternal world that is perfect and free from all sin, suffering, and death. What a glorious hope!
4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
There was the strength of a heavenly experience. The three disciples were tasting glory. They were in the very presence of God Himself and were tasting some of heaven’s joy, peace, security, fulfillment, and perfection. They did not want to leave this hallowed ground.
Note what Peter did.
a. He offered to build three shelters (skenas) for Jesus and the two prophets. By this act, he hoped to extend the stay of the heavenly guests and the glorious experience. The shelters offered were the booths made of branches and grass which could be quickly built, the kind often built by travellers on their stops along the road night by night.
b. He said, “If thou wilt.” Peter, even in a moment as glorious as this, would not act against his Lord’s will. Imagine the devotion and loyalty!
Thought 1. There is a great need to learn something: God knows exactly how to meet every believer’s need. He knows just what kind of experience is needed, and God will do whatever it takes to meet our need—if we truly seek Him.
However, we must remember something: our experiences must conform to God’s Word. God will not go against His Word in order to give growth and experiences. The experiences that come from God are the experiences that conform to His Word. In fact, spiritual experiences and growth usually come about as a result of reading and studying God’s Word.
Thought 2. A deep spiritual experience with God is always a glorious time. Nothing can compare to a session of deep communion with Christ, and there is always the wish that we could remain in His presence.
But such is not our calling, not now. Our present call is to bear the cross and its message, not to wallow around in deep spiritual experiences. Our spirits do occasionally need to be spiritually renewed, but they are always renewed for a purpose: to strengthen us for going out and bearing a much stronger witness for our Lord.
Again, we see a manifestation of God (Shekinah glory) as He speaks to those in attendance, and again gives the same announcement He did on the day of His baptism. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. The Father acknowledges the perfect service and sacrifice His Son had and was to make.
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
I don’t know about you, but if God were to present Himself to us physically in this place tonight, how would we react? I think we would be just as the disciples. TThe voice speaking actually says in the Greek, “This is My Son, the Beloved One.” Note the two facts stressed: Christ is God’s Son, and He is the Beloved One. The idea is that Christ is the “only begotten Son” who was to be given for the world.
The Lord stood there alone. The representatives of the Old Testament and covenant (law) had faded away. The bondage and darkness and terror of the law were now gone. Christ now stood in the law’s place (see note—Mt. 5:17–18). The new covenant was soon to take effect; the new covenant of light, love, and liberty was now replacing the old covenant of darkness, fear, and bondage.
The disciples’ experience can be applied to the believer’s future, to his appearance before God in the great Day of Redemption. In fact, that is just what is happening to Peter, James, and John. They find themselves in God’s presence.
Does it make more sense to us now why Paul would have conflict between staying on earth and doing the ministry of God, or to be put to death and be in the presence of the Lord? When we are truly SAVED, we EXPERIENCE God and it is something that CHANGES us forever.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”
11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.
12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”
13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
The resurrection proves two things.
⇒ First, the resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is definitely the Son of God.
⇒ Second, the resurrection proves that the transfiguration actually happened—that it actually foreshadowed the supremacy of the new covenant and to some degree the believer’s experience of heaven.
Jesus did not allow the three disciples to share their experience because it could not be understood. It was just too incredible to grasp until after the resurrection. This charge to keep silent baffled the disciples because the Scribes had always taught that Elijah was to come to proclaim the Messiah (see Mal. 4:5). They had just seen Elijah with Christ. When would Elijah begin announcing Jesus to be the Messiah? And if he were going to proclaim the message, why should they keep silent about Jesus’ Messiahship? Should they not also proclaim Him as Messiah? Jesus told them that John the Baptist was the prophesied prophet like Elijah who was to come. The people killed him, and the Messiah too was to suffer at the hands of the people.
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Matthew: Chapters 16:13–28:20. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.