A Study of Matthew: When Everything Changed
Notes
Transcript
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
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.”
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.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
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.”
And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”
He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.
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.”
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
How many of you remember the show “Touched by an Angel”? This one angel, Monica, would be sent by God to people who needed help and direction. She would show up as some sort of worker, building a relationship with the folks, but the show always ended with Monica transforming into her angelic self. She would be dressed in white, with perfect hair and makeup, and bright light shining around her as she told people about how much God loves them. It was always so nice and heartwarming.
Here, we have a scene that has to be the inspiration for the revelation scenes in the TV show. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to a secluded area high up on a mountain. Once they get there, Jesus is suddenly transformed. He is dressed in shining white clothes. His face shines like the sun. On top of that, two other glowing guys appear; somehow, the apostles recognize these other dudes as Moses and Elijah.
From their response, I am assuming that what Peter, James, and John were feeling was not what we would call heartwarming! They are freaked out. Peter tries to put on his game face.
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.”
Lord, why don’t I build some comfy place for you to hang out with two of the greatest men in Jewish history! Don’t you love how Peter is such an “all in” kind of guy!
This is the guy who saw Jesus walking on the water, and said, “If you really are Jesus, and not some evil spirit, invite me to walk on the water with you.” He’s also the one who sank and had to be rescued by Jesus.
This is the guy who correctly identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and then got scolded by Jesus for trying to prevent Jesus from dying on the cross.
And now, here he is again, witnessing first-hand Jesus revealing his true self, standing in the midst of the heroes of the Jewish faith, and he’s trying to find something cool to say. Have you ever been in a group of people who seemed so much cooler than you, and you tried so hard to impress them, only to embarrass yourself? That’s kind of where Peter is right now.
Peter is not even done speaking when he gets interrupted by the voice of God himself.
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.”
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more extreme, GOD shows up, with a thick cloud and everything! The three disciples do the only sensible thing: they fell down, hiding their faces in fear.
And here comes Jesus.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
How compassionate Jesus is, that he would keep reaching out to these men who always seem to be getting it wrong!
Now, we could look at the symbolism of the moment—how the appearance of Moses and Elijah demonstrate how Jesus is truly the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, since Moses is the great law giver, and Elijah was the great prophet.
We could look at the conversation Jesus had with the disciples on the way down the mountain, explaining that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of a prophecy that said Elijah would come back before the Messiah arrived. Not that John was the reincarnation of Elijah, but that he carried the same anointing and purpose as Elijah, declaring the coming of the Lord.
What I want to take a moment to look at is the fact that, on this mountain near Jerusalem, Jesus met with Elijah and Moses. Why is this significant?
And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?
And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them,
and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”
And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan,
all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.”
Moses, the great law giver, disobeyed the Lord; that disobedience cost him entry into the Promised Land. But here in Matthew 17, Moses is standing on a mountain outside of Jerusalem, in the Promised Land. Why? Because of Jesus.
You see, when Jesus enters the equation, everything changes. Lepers become healed and clean. The blind see. The deaf hear. A woman who had lived a life of shame is made holy and pure again. Demons are cast out. Even the forces of nature are affected. Raging storms are calmed. Water becomes a walking path.
Moses may represent the law, but this moment proves that Jesus can do what the law could never do. The law kept Moses out of the Promised Land. That’s what the law does. It shows us how incapable we are to earn our own place into God’s kingdom. Every single one of us has broken God’s law. Just like Moses, each of us should be banished from ever entering the Promised Land.
But then Jesus steps into the picture. Everything changes. Not because the laws have somehow changed; no, Jesus in fact fulfilled the law completely by taking our crimes upon himself and bearing our punishment. Jesus experienced complete separation from God so that we could be reunited with our Creator. The Son of God poured out his blood to cover us. His blood now flows through our veins, making us legitimate children of the Most High God! We are now blood heirs of God’s kingdom!
What does that mean for us? It means that, no matter what we are going through, we need to make sure that Jesus is with us, because Jesus changes everything. What seems like defeat will prove to be His victory. What was broken will be mended. What we foolishly allowed to be lost will be restored. That which had been a source of shame will be a testimony of God’s glory.
So what is going on in your life? Is there an obstacle that seems overwhelming? Allow Jesus to show up and do what he wants to do. Give him room to reveal himself in all his glory. It might get intense. It might even scare you as bad as it scared Peter, James, and John, so that you are collapsing and covering your face. Sometimes it’s good to have that kind of scare, so that we remember how small we are and how big God is.
Whatever it is you are going through, Jesus can change the outcome. He can change your circumstances. Most importantly, he can change you.
