Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Shortly after Peter’s success and failure with declaring Him to be the Christ and then rebuking Him Jesus knew that they would need some encouragement.
Prophecies of suffering, rejection, and death have overwhelmed their minds and souls.
How desperately they need to see what Christ means about His power and glory if they can ever break the hold of the temporal upon their lives.
Unless they share a vision of the joy that Christ sees, they can never endure the cross or despise the shame that awaits them as well.
Jesus indicated that there will be those who are going to experience and incredible thing: the kingdom of God will be present with power.
Power is the word which we would translate as dynamite being dynamin in the Greek.
It is the same word used in Acts 1 describing the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Six days is how long it was before Moses could go up the mountain to receive the law due to all the smoke and thunder.
It was six days after that Jesus and His disciples headed up the mountain to pray according to Luke’s gospel.
Six days after that which was spoken of by Jesus was fulfilled.
What mountain was it?
Tradition says it was Mount Tabor but, like so many traditions, there is unlikely to be any truth to it for it is not a high mountain nor is it close to where they were.
But there was a mountain close to Cesarea Philippi which is where Mark says they were for the discourse between Jesus and Peter, Mount Hermon.
Now this is a high mountain.
Mount Hermon is the same mountain mentioned in Psalm 133 about the unity of God’s people and God commanding the blessing.
James and John were to receive a blessing witnessing only that which we will see when either we die or He comes again, there on the mountain, they were on top of the world with Jesus.
But it is a tiring journey and just as in the Garden of Gethsemane they could not keep awake they fell asleep.
But from their slumbers they were awoken by a great light.
In fact, the word used by Luke indicates it was as bright as lightning and Matthew says that Jesus’ face shone as the sun.
What a sight it must have been.
For what they witnessed is Jesus’ true being.
He was transformed back to what He is, glorious in the beauty of holiness.
The word transfigured here is the word metamorphosis.
We use it is for the changing of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
It is the same word found in
This just reveals how far we are to go in our own transfiguration.
Jesus on the mountain, was transformed in a much more spectacular way than that of a butterfly, becoming other-worldly and so shined as the noon-day sun along with His clothes which became whiter than Persil can make white.
For a moment Jesus ‘ true essence shone through.
This was something that those few disciples would hold onto for the rest of their lives.
John tells us:
And Peter tells us:
And there on the mountain appeared two others: Moses and Elijah:
These both had been shown God’s glory.
Both also had famous departures from this earth.
Moses died on Mt.
Nebo, and God had buried him in a grave known only to himself.
Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire.
Oh that we would desire to see His glory!
Was it not Abraham who prayed ‘show me your glory’.
What radical affect it would have upon us if we should see it.
Abraham prayed and saw.
And after this Moses saw God face-to-face on the mountain and his own face was illumined.
Isaiah was changed when he saw the glory of God in all His holiness: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty.
And it was then that Isaiah cried out: ‘woe is me’.
He realised that before God he was truly sinful and wanted nothing further to do with his sin.
Is this not what we want?
as a result to live lives of holiness truly to the Lord alone?
For Isaiah declares what we are really like:
God is pure; God is sinless.
And Elijah saw the glory of God when on the mountain and fire came down which made all Israel declare: the Lord He is God, the Lord He is God!
Peter, James and John who did not ask saw God’s glory.
Can we see His glory?
Perhaps we will not receive such an experience but the experienced of these men are worth contemplating and even praying for.
We will, of course, one day, see His glory.
And Peter, being Peter, could not keep his mouth shut!
But no longer brash but erring on the side of caution said: it is good for us to be here.
Suddenly a cloud descends.
Clouds in the Bible speaks of God’s glory.
It was in the cloud that God spoke to Moses.
It was a cloud that led the people of Israel through the desert in the day.
It was a cloud that filled the tent in the wilderness.
It was a cloud that filled the Temple at its dedication.
It was a cloud that Jesus ascended in.
We will meet Jesus in the air in the cloud that He will come.
And it was a cloud that now filled the mountain top.
This glory is called the Shekinah glory.
Literally His presence.
And out of the cloud came a voice, clear and unmistakable of God the Father; hear Him!
By the command, “Hear Him!” God erases any distinction between His revelation and the revelation of Christ.
On that same authority, Jesus will proclaim, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (13:31).
From now on, the disciples will know that every Word of Jesus, whether they like it or not, will carry the glory of transcendent truth.
Jesus is the expression of truth.
Hear Him means listen!
And just as we find in Deuteronomy when we are told to listen it means to listen intently in order to obey.
We need to listen to Jesus’ words about all of life.
“Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
May we listen to no other voice.
Listen when he says: “If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37).
Listen when he says: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
Listen when he says: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
And just as all those before, those who heard God speak fell face down to the ground, scarred witless, so it was with these disciples..
“Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.”
The shekinah was gone.
Jesus’ skin and clothing no longer glowed.
Moses and Elijah had disappeared, the voice of the Father was still, and the three disciples saw only Jesus
This is what all our experience, all our theology, all our work should come to—seeing only Jesus!
Coming down the mountain the secret was to be maintained.
Do not tell anyone until I have risen.
But they did not comprehend.
But what of the disciples’ conversation about Elijah?
What of that?
I tell you that Jesus was well pleased.
Their conversation was no longer about the mundane things of the world but the conversation was spiritual in nature probably spurred on by hearing Elijah and Moses speak with Jesus about the things that were about to happen.
Their question represents an honest attempt to link the Revelation of Jesus the Messiah with the prophecies of Holy Scripture.
Only advanced students draw such relationships between facts.
Commending them for an intelligent question, Jesus answers the disciples in depth.
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