Matthew 17:1-13, “Listen to Him”

Why do we gather as a church? What are we doing here? Our passage today shows us what church should be. The center point is listening to Jesus. Immediately we all have a problem.

In a Psychology Today article titled, “We're Worse at Listening Than We Realize”, Clay Drinko says, “In one survey, 96 percent of respondents said they were always or sometimes good listeners. 

“However, one study showed that we retain only around half of what people say to us. And that’s directly after they say it, so don’t blame your long-term memory, people. 

“The good news is that women were significantly better listeners than men. Sorry, guys.

“We spend about 45 percent of our communication time listening and 30 percent talking. (That's an average. I definitely know more talking-heavy communicators.) You'd think we'd spend more time trying to improve our listening, right?

“We’re often spending our listening time thinking about what we’re going to say next or, worse still, thinking about something else entirely.”

He points out we make assumptions and interrupt more than we ask good questions to seek understanding. We are terrible listeners.

In our own relationship with Christ, are we any better? Listening to the voice of Jesus is where our life comes from. How much time do you spend in silence, just listening to the voice of Jesus? If you could see Jesus right now in all His glory, I guarantee, you would pay attention.

Our passage today gives us an outline for our relationship with Jesus, but also a really good church service: it begins with worshipping Jesus for His glory, moves to listening to God’s word, then going out with Jesus as His witnesses. As we go through this passage, you could think about this question. When was the last time you experienced the glory of Jesus and really heard His voice, and told someone about it?

To practice together, I would encourage you to have a Bible open in your lap as we go through this. Listen to God’s voice for yourself, and never take my word for it. So, go ahead and open to Matthew chapter 17.

The passage begins with the “transfiguration” of Jesus. Read verses 1 and 2. Who is Jesus?

Jesus took His triad away from the other twelve, up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured. The word is metamorphoō, transformed. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Three witnesses to Jesus’ glory as the suffering Son of Man and Son of God testify that we should listen to Him.

The Testimony of the Prophets: “Worship Jesus Christ”

The first testimony comes from Moses and Elijah, representing the prophets of Israel’s history. They appear to testify to the authority of Jesus.

Why these two? They both had experienced the glory of God’s presence on the mountain of the LORD where He spoke to them. Then, at the end of their careers, they had both been taken up by God into glory. So, in verse 3, Matthew tells us that they were talking with Him. What were they talking about? Luke tells us,

Luke 9:30–31 ESV

And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure (lit. “exodus”), which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Jesus will be taken up to heaven, just as these two faithful prophets of God. But He will not be taken up until He fulfills the Exodus. He will be the lamb slain to provide redemption. He will pass through the waters of death to new life in His resurrection. His glory will not come through victory over armies or battles against human enemies. His glory will come through suffering and sacrifice, love for enemies. And this makes His glory greater than the prophets.

Matthew Henry describes the glory of Jesus on the mountain this way: “It shone as the sun when he goes forth in his strength, so clear, so bright; for he is the Sun of righteousness, the Light of the world. The face of Moses shone but as the moon, with a borrowed reflected light, but Christ’s shone as the sun, with an innate inherent light, which was the more sensibly glorious, because it suddenly broke out, as it were, from behind a black cloud.

“His [clothing] was white as the light. All his body was altered, as his face was; so that beams of light, darting from every part through his clothes, made them white and glittering. The shining of the face of Moses was so weak, that it could easily be concealed by a thin veil; but such was the glory of Christ’s body, that his clothes were enlightened by it.”

Are you captured by the beauty of Jesus, His glory, His radiance? His glory is to love, to suffer for our sins, be raised to new life, and exalted to His throne. Our glory is to behold Him and become like Him.

As Paul says it,

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Alexander Maclaren says, “Christ’s glorified bodily humanity is the type to which all His followers will be conformed. Gazing on Him they shall be like Him, and will grow liker as they gaze. Through eternal ages the double process will go on, and they shall become ever more assimilated, and therefore capable of truer, completer vision, and ever seeing Him more fully as He is, and therefore progressively changed into more perfect resemblance.”

This is why we come to church. It is good for us to gather as the community of Jesus’ followers to gaze upon the beauty, the goodness, the glory of Jesus. As we sing songs, they are only worship if they are songs about God’s glory and for His glory. We want our worship to be undistracted and uncorrupted by thinking about ourselves or the song itself. We also want worship to be more than singing. As we gaze upon the glory of God in Jesus Christ, the beauty, the goodness, the saving power, the infinite love of Jesus, we want to offer ourselves to Him. And we are ready to listen to Him.

The Testimony of God the Father: “Listen to My Beloved Son”

When Peter sees the glory of Jesus and the prophets of old, he is overwhelmed. And he speaks the first thing that comes to mind. Verse 4.

Any of us, when we are experiencing something so glorious, so good, so transcendent and pure and beautiful, would wish that moment would never end. Have you ever experienced the presence of Jesus in such a real way, you wanted to stay in that place forever? Peter wants to build tents, or tabernacles, dwelling places. “Let’s stay right here.” But that isn’t why Jesus brought them here.

Look at verse 5!

“Peter, let me stop you right there. You’re not here to speak. You’re here to listen.” How many of us miss this in our communion with Jesus. I experience His presence, and I fill that time with all my thoughts and plans. “Jesus, let’s stay here on this mountain top forever. It’s good, it’s beautiful, it’s comfortable.” But Jesus has other plans.

If we are beholding the glory of Christ in our gatherings, the next movement in our gathering is listening. What would He say to us?

Jesus knows God the Father like no one else. He is filled with the Holy Spirit like no one else. He is with the Father and the Spirit eternally, perfectly happy in unrestrained, loving communion. As he said to Nicodemus, Jesus bears witness to what He has seen in heaven to tell us. Could He give you a bigger vision for life than you know?

I heard a pastor say this week, “People come to church to hear how God can be part of their story. But what they need is to know how they are part of God’s story.” My story is small, and I want a god that can fit comfortably into it. But God can’t do that. He is infinite and His story doesn’t fit inside mine. Are we ready to get caught up in God’s story? Can we all confess that that’s a little scary? Jesus here in all His glory, full of authority and power, God the Father leveling our pride and plans with His word, they are in control and we are not.

If you feel some fear around that, you are not alone. Peter, James and John felt it too.

Verse 6. They are terrified. The voice of God has leveled them. Have you ever been leveled by God’s word? You had thoughts you thought were pretty smart. You had plans you thought were wise. You were walking some way that you thought was right. And God’s word came and laid you flat.

But what does He tell us to do in those moments? Listen to Jesus. And when He speaks, what does He say?

Verse 7

The Testimony of the Son of Man: “Bear Witness”

The last movement as a church is to go with Jesus and fearlessly bear witness to what we have seen and heard.

When we have beheld the glory of Jesus Christ and heard God’s word, Jesus ministers to us. Verse 8. This is good for every believer. Look to Jesus only. His word is sufficient. His gospel removes all fear. He is filled with grace and truth, justice and mercy, filled with love.

Then he takes His disciples back down the mountain to the real world. Verse 9. This will be their mission, for now to watch and learn, but after His resurrection, to go out fearlessly to tell everyone this vision. What vision? Jesus is the glory of God in human form. He is bringing the kingdom of God, justice to the nations. He is raising sinners up from the ground and telling us to have no fear. God loves us. And to demonstrate that, He himself will go to the cross to bear our sins.

Verses 10-13. The final prophet came like Elijah to prepare the way for Messiah. What is His way? We learned last week, He walks the way of the cross. Jesus will suffer at the hands of wicked men. But this is our salvation.

Communion

And now that He has been raised from the dead, He leads His church by His word. We can encounter Him any and every time we hear His word. Some questions that come to mind for me:

Are we beholding the glory of Jesus when we gather as a church? How can we grow in that?

Am I encountering God when I read His word? How can I become not just a reader, but a better listener as I read? What have I heard God say to me this week?

If I have a testimony of my encounter with the glory of Jesus, am I fearlessly sharing it?

Questions for Discussion

What’s the most encouraging thing you heard this week?

What makes it hard to listen? What are some methods or tools you have learned for listening better?

What do we learn about God in our passage?

Who is Jesus, according to our passage?

If you look at the context of Matthew 16:24-28, why did Jesus orchestrate this event for His disciples?

What do we learn about ourselves from our passage?

What makes listening to God difficult? What does our passage teach us that could help?

How will you respond to this passage this week?

Who is someone you could share this passage with this week?