Listen To Him
Notes
Transcript
Try to recall a time when you either said to someone, of withheld from saying it but you definitely were thinking it: “why would I listen to you?”
Chances are - you have at least thought that once or twice in your life - probably more times than that.
I can think of a few scenarios when that question would pop up.
Someone who has never had children trying to tell you how to raise your child.
Someone who has no experience whatsoever in your line of work giving advice on how to do your job.
Somebody who’s been divorced a half dozen times giving marriage advice.
Someone who is constantly mismanaging money sharing some hot investment tip.
Why wouldn’t we listen to the person in those situations?
They may lack real experience, or specific knowledge, lack authority, lack wisdom, no proven track record…any number of reasons we would tune them out.
There is a flip side to this question. How many times should we have listened to someone but we didn’t?
I remember before opening my restaurant, running my business plan by a retired business executive who told me in no uncertain terms: don’t open a restaurant! He went over all the statistics, laid out the risks, painted a grim picture - and foolish me at the time thought, “it will be different for me.”
Most likely you can remember a time when you did not heed good instruction.
The same question can be applied to our faith journey. Have you ever not listened to Jesus and how did that work out for you?
Think a time when you willfully did something that you knew was outside of the boundaries God has placed on your life. It shouldn’t be too hard to recall - that is what sin is and we all do it.
Now there is also those who hear about Jesus and hear his teachings - yet do not listen or take them to heart. Those who refuse to believe.
There were plenty of people back when Jesus was walking on earth, who did not listen to him - just as there are today. In their minds, they ask the question: Why should I listen to you Jesus?
One such incident occurred the time Jesus’ teaching was rejected by those who knew him and knew his family.
and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Jesus spoke truth with authority and his words were affirmed by the mighty signs and wonders he performed - and yet there were those who heard but refused to listen.
The synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke - all make the argument that Jesus is the One we are to listen to and follow. In each of these gospels, as well as the letter 2 Peter, we read of this mysterious event we refer to as the Transfiguration - Jesus true nature and glory shining through for a brief moment. The gospel accounts tell what happened, as we heard in the reading out of Mark this morning, and in 2 Peter, Peter references this experience he had lived through as he encourages the Church to live out our calling.
We didn’t repeat crafty myths when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes. He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to him from the magnificent glory, saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
This event had a lasting impact on the three disciples who witnessed it - but I must admit, it is not the easiest Jesus story to understand.
What is the purpose or meaning of this odd mountaintop encounter?
In the passage, we heard that after 6 days, Jesus led three of his closest disciples (Peter, James and John) up the mountain. Six days after what? When we back up to the previous chapter, we find that it is six days after Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was and Peter answered “you are the Christ”. Six days since Jesus foretold what lay ahead for him:
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Six days after Jesus told his disciples:
Mark 9:1 (ESV)
“Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Six days later, on top of the mountain, Jesus and the clothes he was wearing turn a brilliant, bright white - the Greek word used is the same one we get the word metamorphosis. He changed into something greater and more beautiful. He is joined by the Old Testament characters Elijah and Moses. A cloud overshadows them and a voice comes from the cloud “This is my beloved son, listen to him.”
What does this mean?
There are several things going on - and as is usually the case, we can go back into the Old Testament and see how earlier events and revelations pointed to this moment on the mountaintop - and shine light on what it means for us.
[Let me show you an interesting slide - this graphically illustrates the cross references we find in the Bible. One of the creators of this graphic Chris Harrison explains that “Cross references are conceptual links between verses, connecting locations, people, phrases, etc. found in different parts of the Bible. Cross-references are included in the margins or footnotes of some Bibles. There are 63,779 cross references in total.
66 books comprise the Holy Bible - some written many centuries apart - and yet all woven together to tell one story. If you come across a difficult passage of scripture to understand, one that seems to have strange or specific imagery or themes - chances are you can go back and find the same imagery used before.]
What elements of the transfiguration story do we find elsewhere? We start with an event that is reported in the book of Exodus, directly following the giving of the Law to Moses and Moses sharing what God said to the people.
The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Six days the cloud covered Mount Sinai.
And when God called Moses up into the cloud, Moses was not alone - he was on the mountain with 3 others, his brother Aaron as well as Nadab and Abihu, and they all experienced the glory of God within a cloud.
Throughout the Bible, mountaintops are commonly places where God reveals something about himself to those He has called to hear.
What is also significant is the presence of a thick cloud.
The Hebrew people have a name for God’s visible manifestation here on earth - it is Shekinah glory. In several places, this Shekinah glory appears as a cloud.
For instance,
Exodus 19:9–10 (ESV)
And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
Peter, James and John would be very familiar with the Exodus story and of God’s shekinah glory in the form of a cloud.
And the God’s presence within a thick cloud is not only connected with the liberation of slaves in Exodus, but also in the prophecies regarding the last days.
For instance in…
Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy.
and
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
These images, the mountaintop, the cloud from the Old Testament tell us that God is manifesting himself here on earth and revealing something that we need to hear.
And then we have the two OT characters Moses & Elijah - representing the law and the prophets.
A lot has been written on why the two of them appear. But I want to call out the word given to the prophet Malachi regarding the future time of judgement and renewed covenant between God and his people:
“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.”
The presence of Elijah and Moses on the top of the mountain with Jesus signified that the time had indeed come - the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven had begun. For a moment, the supernatural realm and the natural realm came together and the disciples witnessed the glory of Christ, two men who residence is in heaven appear with Jesus, and a command to listen is given.
Peter says something stupid out of fear - but we can’t blame him really - and just as quickly, all returns to normal.
Why do you think the transfiguration needed to occur? Why would Peter, James and John need to witness such a odd, fearful, electrifying event?
Maybe because of what lay ahead. Jesus begins his journey toward Jerusalem. And the path to glory was going to come through pain, sorrow and death. The way up was down. Peter, James and John would be able to look back to this moment as they wrestled to make sense of Jesus’ crucifixion and death.
God’s Kingdom broke through and is present but it has not yet been fully realized. As we wait for Jesus return, it is important for us to not just remember, but settle it in our hearts who it is we serve and to listen to Him. He is speaking to each of us. We can read his words, study his teachings, talk with him through prayer - but are we listening and are we letting His words direct our lives?
The voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved son, listen to Him.”