The Life of Christ: His Transfiguration

Exegetical Idea: Christ reassures his disciples that it is worth it to pick up their cross and follow him through foreshadowing the Resurrection in his transfiguration.

Theological Idea: Christ’s transfiguration reassures Christians that the glory to come outweighs their contextual costs of discipleship.

Homiletical Idea: Christ shows us that the costs of discipleship are worth it through the glory to come.

Big Idea: We endure the costs of discipleship with hope because we have a glimpse of the coming Resurrection.

Objective: To instill believers with a sense of hope in the life to come.

Introduction: How can we have hope?

It was an ecstatic day. The politicians had finally managed to get their act together. They had passed a major education reform bill that guaranteed education for almost everyone in the Empire. The politicians invoked Biblical imagery to talk about how their education initiative would usher in a golden age for humanity, a utopia, peace on earth and a new garden of Eden. This hope for a political aim had driven them and animated them. They had a great hope, and they had achieved their goal. Their society seemed to be on the cusp of eternal, sacred greatness.

Hope is a powerful motivator. The secularist Rebecca Solnit says this about hope, “Your opponents would love you to believe that it’s hopeless, that you have no power, that there’s no reason to act, that you can’t win. Hope is a gift you don’t have to surrender, a power you don’t have to throw away.”

The problem is that hope is often fickle, misplaced, and unrealized. The story I opened with was from the 1800’s. And it was describing what was one of the most powerful empire of the world, the Hapsburg Empire. It was one of the first secular empires in modern Europe. It came to its own in the period of the Enlightenment and it exploded in creativity. They made many social gains and established many social conventions which today we would be jealous of. THey were a hope-filled today. The problem was that the hopes of so many in this empire never were met. The Empire fizzled in the second part of that century and was dismembered after World War I. Today, many of the poorest, most dangerous, and most backward countries in Europe come from what was once the Hapsburg Empire.

Yet, hope lives on. And, as we will see today, the hope that Christ offers is true and genuine hope. One that does not fail to meet our expectations, but exceeds them. One that does not fail us, but does not stop surprising us. One that does not point us towards our own achievement, but one that points us towards Christ’s.

The Cost of Discipleship

Deny himself and take up our cross: So Christ begins this instruction to teh disciples and says, “Hey if you want to follow me, you should deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.” Now there are two things that are being said there. The first one ist hat Christ tells us we must “deny ourselves.” That phrase “deny” is the phrase that sometimes describes “disown.” So you need to disown your own interests. You need to give it up. You need to say, “This is no longer important to me.” You need to say with Christ in teh garden, “Not my will be done, but yours’.” The second phrase he uses is to “take up your cross”. The cross was the most brutal form of execution ever created. It was a symbol of power and of shame and of fear. And Jesus says, “Hey if you are going to follow me, you had better mount shame on y our back. You should get used to having a cost to follow me.” Christ openly admits that to follow him will bring costs, it will bring strain, it will mean saying “no” to things in our lives so that we can say “yes” to him.

Take up his cross

follow Christ

We must lose our lives: Jesus is even more explicit about this in vs. 25. He says, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” To gain in the kingdom is to lose. To lose in the kingdom is to gain. Do you want to save your soul? Do you want to be spared? Jesus says, “well, surrender it.” Give it up. This is why he says in teh next verse, “What will it profit a man if he gains teh whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Jesus says, do the math. If you get everything in the world for a couple of years here on earth, but then spend eternity in Hell, is this really a worthwhile endeavor? But if you lose everything in the entire world for a few years, but you gain eternity with immeasurable wealth, why would you choose anything else? I mean, if you weigh those two possibilities against each other, is that even an option.

Discipleship here on earth will cost us: So we should just note right now. Discipleship, following Christ, will cost us. Our church’s vision statement starts out with this sentence, “We follow Christ.” We know that vision will cost us. There is a cost to following Christ. There is the heartbreak of having family who do not know Jesus. There is the pain of people thinking your strange for your faith. There are teh simple sacrifices of our time and energy and money. But there are much more profound relational sacrifices.

Viz: Two weeks ago there was a ruling in England where a group of refugee Christians were denied asylum. What was the reason? Was it that their profession of faith was not credible? Was it because they had caused problems? No, it was because they believed in the bible. It was because they believed that the God of Scripture was both loving and holy. It was because they believed that the Bible was true. Listen, this is a Western nation who denied asylum to Christians because of their Christian beliefs. That is what it means to pick up the cross and follow Christ.

It will be worth it in the life to come: Here is the assurance that Christ provides. It will be worth it. He says in vs. 27-28… He says, I am going to go to glory, and then I will repay to each what he owes. I am going to make sure that what you gave up here on earth will be repaid in glory. He says, I promise, some of you are going to see the glory of God and you will know that it is worth it.

And the question that you know the disciples were asking is how in the world do we know? How can we have hope? What does that even look like? This is not an abstract question. When your child cuts off communication with you because you have shared the gospel with them. When you are fired from your job because you refuse to act without integrity. When your friends ostracize you, how do you know that God has something waiting for you? Now, let me be honest. God does not have to give us an answer to this question. If God were to say, “You’re going to have to trust me,” then that would be justified, and holy, and warranted. But God in his grace and love towards us, says, “Let me give you some assurances for this.

The Assurance of the Glory to Come

So Jesus leads the three disciples up on top of the mountain. And he is transformed before them. And this event is called “the transfiguration” in Christian theology and history. And it is a deeply significant event for Christians, because in it, God gives three assurances for us. For reasons to hope for the future.

The Witness of Moses: The first witness that Jesus provides is the witness of Moses. So they are up on the mountain, and Jesus is transformed. The Greek word here is the word, metamorphasized. They are transformed. And His clothes turn white and his face shines. And Moses appears with him.

Moses and glory: Now, something similar happens to Moses in the Old Testament. Moses goes up on Mount Sinai and asks to see God’s glory. And God says, “I can’t do that, but what I can do is let you see the residue of my glory, after I pass by.” So he hides Moses in the cleft of the rock, and as he’s passing by, he declares his name to Moses. And then Moses peaks out after and sees the glory of teh Lord. So Moses goes back down the camp, having just had this life-changing experience. And he walks up to his friends and they get freaked out and hide from him. And he’s like, “What do I have something on my face?” And they’re like, “Uh Moses, your face is shining brighter than the sun.” So Moses has to veil his face so that they can be around him. That is what the glory of God does, it transforms. And so, when we see Jesus standing here in glory with Moses, we’re meant to see the connection between the two.

The booths: So Peter sees this and is impressed. ANd he says, “Jesus, give me a few minutes and I’ll set up some tents.” Peter thinks that these three are going to usher in the kingdom of God, and God

The Veils: Now, here is the difference between Moses and Jesus. Moses puts a veil over his face because the glory he’s received is fading, and it is temporary. He did not want the Israelites to watch as the glory got lesser and lesser. In fact, says this… But here’s the difference, Jesus transforms back to normal at the end of the story not because his glory is temporary, but because his glory is permanent. Not to give a picture of what had happened, but to give a picture of what was to come.

The Resurrection: You see, the Transfiguration is just a glimpse into the glory of hte resurrection. There will be a day when Christ will return in his resurrected glory. When he is as bright as the sun. When we will see him face to face, and his glory will become our glory. And Jesus gives the disciples a glimpse of this at the transfiguration. And he gives it to us through his Word.

Our glory: One day, when we see him face to face, we will be resurrected. We will see glory. says this… His resurrection leads to our resurrection. His glory leads to our glory. Listen, this life is hard. There is death all around us. We are always picking up our cross and dying to ourselves. We get old and die. We see tragedy and trauma. We struggle and wrestle. But the glory we have waiting for us is not the temporary, fading glory of Moses. No, as 2 Corinthians says, we have a bold hope, because the glory Christ will give is the permanent, ever-bright glory of Christ. And that is worth enduring all the sufferings of this world for.

We can be confident that

But if you can believe it, there is yet more assurances for the people of God. Because not only does Moses give us reason for hope, but so does Elijah.

The Witness of Elijah: So we see Elijah at the transfiguration with Jesus. Now, Elijah is an interesting figure in the Bible. He is known for his boldness and his faith. he is a man of intense zeal. But he is a man with somewhat misguided dreams.

Elijah and unmet expectations: So if you know the story of Elijah in the Bible, you know he’s a complex guy. There is this great story about how Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a show-off. And so the deal is, whichever God sends fire from heaven to burn up a sacrifice, that’s the real God. So the 400 prophets of Baal wail around their sacrifice and they cut themselves and they dance. They do everything they can to conjure up Baal. But nothing works. Then Elijah goes and he douses his sacrifice with water. And he prays a simple prayer, and fire comes down and swallows up the sacrifice and the water and everythign involved. So Elijah commands the people to kill all teh false prophets, which they do. But the pagan queen is not pleased, so Elijah runs off into the desert. And he goes to Mt. Sinai, and he sits in a cave on Mt. Sinai, and there is an earthquake and a windstorm and a great fire. And there is no voice from God. But then there is a still small voice. And Elijah goes out, and God says, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” And Elijah says, “Hey God, nobody is left except for me.” But God says, Elijah, there’s 6,000 prophets still loyal to me. And by the way, it’s time to go and appoint your successor. You see, Elijah had all these great expectations and hopes for hte kingdoms. He wanted to bring all this salvation. He thought he was going to be the next Moses, but instead of being this great new prophet, he was this great big letdown. He was the greatest of the later prophets had to offer. But he couldn’t accomplish what he had set out to do.

Elijah will restore all things: Now, here is what the significance of Elijah is in this story. Later on the disciples ask Christ why Elijah should come first. ANd here’s where it gets a little complicated. Because in some ways, John the Baptist is part of Elijah’s ministry, he is the “voice calling in the wilderness.” But in anohter, greater way, Christ fulfills Elijah’s ministry. He says, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.” And what he’s trying to say there, is that this great revival that Elijah had prayed for and sought, this great turning of the nation back to God, this great repentance and return of God’s people, Christ will fulfil. You see, the ministry of Christ is the ministry of restoration. He has come to restore all things, to accomplish what Elijah could not, to finish the job, to complete the world. This is what says...

The Hope of Restoration: Here is the great thing about the assurance that God gives. There is a hope that all things will be made new. What is wrong with our families will be made right on that day. The difficulty of our work is restful in that time. We endure today, because we will rest tomorrow. There is a day coming where every war will end. Where every wrong will be righted. Where everything broken will be made whole. What is it that is broken in your life right now? Is it your marriage? Is it your work? We endure today because we are anxious tomorrow. THe hope of restoration, the hope that this broken messed up world will be made whole inspires us to press forward.

The Witness of John: The third witness we have is the witness of John. Now the witness of John

The Witness of the Father: Now, there is one more way that this story offers us hope. Because the most important witness to Jesus was not Moses and it was not Elijah. It was actually the Father.

The booths: Now Peter, no surprise here, doesnm’t really get it. So he says, “Alright Lord here’s what I will do. Let me make three booths one for you and one for Moses and Elijah.” Now, what is Peter doing? Peter actually thinks he’s honoring Jesus because he is putting him on the same level as Moses and Elijah. He is saying, you clearly are a holy prophet like them, let me make you a tent so you can talk with them for awhile. Now Peter thinks he’s doing a good thing. But he’s actually doing a dishonor to Jesus. Because Jesus is not hte same as Moses and Elijah. Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah. And so the Father speaks.

This my beloved son in whom I am well pleased: Now The Father speaks here and he says a phrase we’ve actually already seen. He repeats almost verbatim what he said at Jesus’ baptism. The Father thunders these same words. He is reminding the disciples of the identity of Jesus. Jesus is like Moses, he is like Elijah, but he is greater. He is the Son of God. The Father is testifying before all Creation, this is my child, this is my Son, in him I am well pleased.

Freedom from fear: now what happens next is truly extraordinary. Because the disciples cower in fear and fall teo the ground. They are petrified and terrifie,d they fall in their face. You can imagine how freaked out they were. But they aren’t smitten for Peter’s terrible arrogance. Instead what does Christ come and do, he reaches out and touches them. He says “rise and do not fear.” The story implies, that those who the Son brings to the Father do not need to fear the Father.

Matthew and adoption: This is what Christian thinkers have called the hope of adoption. That the way that we become children of God is sometimes called adopted. We were far, we were oprhans, we were in spiritual foster care. And the Father, out of his graciousness sends the Son to adopt us. ANd he signs his names on teh papers of our hearts so that we are his and he is ours. And we are Sons and daughters of God because he has taken us into his family. In fact, of hte four gospels, the gospel of Matthew emphasizes that believes are the Sons of God far more than any of the others. Whereas the book of Mark refers to the “heavenly father” twice, and Luke five times, and John six times, Matthew refers to the heavenly Father sixteen times. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, what does he say? “Our Father who art in heaven...” He says this in . He also says . The Father sends the Son so that we might become children of God. .

We endure because we will see our heavenly Father: So here is the ultimate reason that we endure. We endure because when we were condemned and convicted, the Son reaches out just like he does for Peter and says, “Rise, do not fear.” You see, if you think that eternal life is primarily about going to heaven, or getting a slamming bod when you die, you’re not wrong, but the hope of the gospel is so much deeper and truer. The hoep of the gospel is that in the final estimation, we will get God. He will be ours and we will be his. And we will stand in the presence of our Father and older brother Jesus for all eternity. And so we can pick up our cross and follow Christ today because we know what tomorrow holds.

Big Idea Reveal: We endure the costs of discipleship with hope because we have a glimpse of the glory to come. A glimpse of the resurrection, a glimpse of the restoration, and a glimpse of the adoption.

Application

So how do we apply this text? How does this text matter for us? Let me just say this, no matter what tomorrow brings, our hope is firm. No matter how life hard gets, we have hope in teh life to come. No matter what happens in your family, we are the children of God. No matter what teh doctor says, what your boss says, what your friends say, what your familiy says, no matter what happens there is hope. No matter if the ground gives way, if the skies fall down, if the mountains crumble we have a hope. No matter how much that cross hurts to bear, you have a hope. Let’s pray.

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