The Transfiguration

Announcements

HSM sitting in main 2 weeks

Beach day break for 2 weeks

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OC Fair Friday July 25th

Introduction

Last week:

We saw the turning point in the gospel of Mark

Ministry & Miracles -> Headed to Jerusalem

And Jesus made an invitation for the crowds to follow him

If any one wants to follow me let them:

Deny themselves

Take up their cross

And follow me

Six days after this, Jesus took his inner 3 disciples up to a mountain and is transformed in front of their eyes

Today we’ll be talking about the story of the Transfiguration

Scripture Reading

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Mark 9:2-13

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Outline:

The Transfiguration

The Error of Peter

The Supremacy of Jesus

The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke

This story was one of the lasting memories of the disciples that witnessed it

In his old age, Peter would write:

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2 Peter 1:16–18 CSB

16 For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” 18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.

These disciples saw Jesus in his full glory

Moses had a similar experience on Mt Sinai in Ex 34

Where he had just received the 10 commandments

He had spent 40 days on the mountain with God

And he came down the people were afraid of him because his face was shining

But Moses had a reflected glory

He had spent time with God and he reflected the glory of God

But it wasn’t the same thing with Jesus

Not just a light shining on Jesus

A radiance from within

These disciples were seeing Jesus truly was

You see Jesus was not just a holy and righteous man

He was not just a prophet

He was God in human flesh

Undercover Boss

Transfigured - Metamorphosis

An unveiling, a peeling back, and uncovering

They saw Jesus for who he truly is

We all need moments like this

Mountain-top experiences where Jesus is revealed

Have any of you had an experience like this?

Where who Jesus is, is so clear and evident

God’s love for you is so tangible

Jesus took his disciples up to this mountain so that they would know, without a doubt, that He was God

Even Peter in his old age couldn’t forget what happened on that mountain

But we also see Jesus wasn’t alone

Moses and Elijah

Two OT Giants (Law & Prophets - talk about later)

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Luke 9:30–31 CSB

30 Suddenly, two men were talking with him—Moses and Elijah. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Departure-Exodus

They were talking about his departure in Jerusalem

The cross

This hits right at the tension of the gospels

Jesus is God in human flesh

Yet Jesus is headed to a criminal’s death on the cross

The paradox

Creation crucifying their creator

God’s willingness to enter this suffering world

We tend to separate glory and suffering

But here in his glory, Jesus’s eyes are still fixed on the suffering awaiting him

After this monumental event, the next thing we see is

The Error of Peter

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Mark 9:5–6 CSB

5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—6 because he did not know what to say, since they were terrified.

Rightly so, the disciples jaws hit the ground

And Peter blurts out the first thing that comes to mind

“Lets just stay here” — “Its good for us to be here”

And here we see the problem with Peter’s thinking

First, The temptation to stay on the mountain top

We all have an innate desire to stay on the mountain tops with Jesus

We want the kingdom without the cross

All glory and no suffering

But Jesus had a mission, He had to go to Jerusalem to accomplish it

Not only that but there was real desperate need down the mountain

Next week, we’ll see that as they head down they are faced immediately with a demon-possessed child that none of the disciples are able to cast out

There was deep suffering in the world down the mountain—but often we too, want to settle in the comfort of the mountain top with Jesus

But instead of seeing the mountain tops as the goal, we should let them be the fuel for us as we leave those places and times

We have met and heard from the Lord, now let me bring this back to the brokenness of my world

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These experiences fill us up, so we can be poured out for others

But the second error in Peters thinking was:

Second, Peter saw Jesus as equals to Moses and Elijah

His plan was to build three shelters or tents, one for Jesus, one for Elijah, and one for Moses.

But he was missing the fact that as amazing as Moses and Elijah were, they were not in the same category as Jesus

Jesus was something greater than just a prophet and leader—which leads me to the last point:

The Supremacy of Jesus

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Mark 9:7–8 CSB

7 A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

The implications of this are profound:

Moses and Elijah were two of the most revered men in Scripture

Moses represented the Law (Establishment of covenant)

Elijah represented the prophets (pointing people back to the covenant)

They represented the main thrust of the OT

And here we see, in the presence of Jesus, the disciple hear a voice from heaven saying:

“This is my beloved Son; Listen to him!”

Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets

Jesus is the better Moses

Leading his people from slavery into freedom

Shepherding them through the wilderness

Giving them a better law, written on their hearts

Jesus is the better Elijah

A prophet from God sent to call God’s people back into relationship

More than just a miracle worker, but God himself

Successfully leading a revival towards faithfulness to God

All of the scriptures have been pointing to Jesus

And he is here

And in this moment God says: Listen to Him

Not only has Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets

He is the new, fresh, living word of God

And the question for each of us is are we listening?

Have you ever heard someone say, they’ve heard something from Jesus?

Have you ever heard something from Jesus?

Its something more than just reading our Bibles

God says listen to him! Not study your Scriptures

Not master theology, not even do good deeds

As followers of Jesus, we must be listeners of what Jesus has to say

Jesus always has something to say to us, if we take time to listen

But so often we drown out what he might want to say with the noise of the world

Are we listening?

This happens primarily through reading the scriptures and prayer

Reading God’s word and meditating on it

By memorizing it (not just being able to look it up)

Understanding who God is

So that when we pray, we have the right idea of who he is

In any given situation, Jesus can and will speak, if we are paying attention

Stressed -> Peace

Sad -> Comfort

Guilty -> Forgiveness

Discouraged -> Encouragement

Scared -> Confidence

Unloved -> His immense love

Compromised -> Challenge or Love

Happy -> Rejoices with you

Are we listening?

Often I find myself trying to fix my own problems, or manage my own life, before I take time to listen to Jesus

Are you listening to Jesus?

And this is why we must know our Scriptures

There are many ideas of who Jesus is, but are we listening to the Jesus that the Bible puts forth

Grace Jesus

Condemning Jesus

Indifferent Jesus

Christianity is not about knowing the right things, it is about a living relationship with Jesus

That is why God tells the disciples—Listen to him!

He is not just showing us the way to God

HE IS THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

Conclusion

So as we end, I want you guys to listen to Jesus

What is he trying to tell you?

If you are actually desperate to hear from Jesus, I’ll give you three things

I know you’ve heard these many times in the past, but it really is this simple

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Read your Bible

You can’t expect to hear from Jesus if you are not reading his word

Just like you can’t expect to hear from me if you block my number and avoid contact with me

We have to know God’s word

But knowing isn’t enough

The Pharisee’s had God’s word but missed the Mark

We are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit to bring illumination

We must read our Bibles with open hearts and inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us

Expectant that there is something there for us

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2. Prayer

Prayer is a conversation—it is not just us speaking to God, its allowing room for God to speak to us

We often just list off prayers, but we don’t take time to listen

After praying, I encourage you to sit for a few minutes asking “God what do you have to say to me?”

Maybe a Scripture pops into your head

As we speak to God, he listens, and he wants to speak to us too

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3. Community

God speaks to us through one another

No successful Christian is a lone wolf

But the thing is, often there requires vulnerability

You can’t expect someone to speak to you what you really need to hear if you don’t let them know what is happening in your life

As we let people into our lives, we allow them to speak

I can’t list the number of times, I have been lost, disoriented, and confused at what was happening in my life

And then I talked to one of my pastors or friends and let them in on what was happening

And they spoke clearly from God exactly what I needed to hear

We need each other

As we open ourselves up, God comes and floods in the cracks

So Scriptures, Prayer, and Community

Guys, let’s be people who are attentive to what God wants to say to us

Because it truly is exactly what we need

God himself, the creator of the universe, wants us to know how much he loves us, how secure our destiny is, and how his grace for us is far greater than we can imagine

Reflection Questions

Listen to Jesus

Encourage to talk to someone