Glimpsing What We Shall Yet Be

Young Bobby went with Preacher went on his circuit. On the way into the 1st church, Preacher dropped a coin in the offering box. Few members came. Those who did weren’t too excited. Afterwards, Preacher & Bobby walked back & emptied the box. Out fell one coin. Young Bobby said, “Dad, if you’d put more in, you’d have gotten more out!” When it comes to Jesus, we’re all like Preacher. Want to see Jesus more? Better? Put more time in with Him? The more time we spend with Him, the better we’ll see Him. Let’s turn to our verses. About a week earlier, Peter confessed Christ as Lord. Then, Jesus talked to His disciples about the cross. When He finished, in Mt 16:28 He said something mysterious. 28“I tell you the truth, some standing here won’t taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” 3 disciples will glimpse Jesus in the glory He always had! 1aAbout a week later, Jesus took with him Peter, James & John, James’ brother. Jesus’ inner circle, Peter & the sons of Thunder. 1bHe led them up a high mountain by themselves. Why? Lk 9:28-29. Jesus went to pray. He often did. (If He needed to, don’t we?) Why now? It’s nearly time for Jesus to return to the Father. And there’s still the cross. Torture. Jesus needs encouragement. All too soon, His disciples will need encouragement, too. So do we. For most of a long day, Jesus, Peter, James, & John hiked up that mountain. At the top, the light fades as Jesus starts to pray. The skies darken. Weary disciples start dozing. Jesus keeps praying. Suddenly, His appearance begins to change. 2aHe’s transfigured. His face shone like the sun. Brilliant, white light streams out in every direction. The light comes from inside Him. It’s so bright, 2cHis clothes get as white as the light. From that mountain top, brilliant rays of light go in every direction. From a far away, the mountain looks like a bright candle. Light startles the sleepy disciples into wakefulness. 3aJust then Moses & Elijah appear. Moses, the greatest Lawgiver. Elijah, the greatest prophet. Together, they stand for the Jewish Scripture. Why them? Jesus will soon fulfill & supersede Scripture. 3aMoses & Elijah are talking with Jesus. Who knows how Peter, James, & John knew Jesus is talking with? But they’re in awe. It’s a time for silence & reverence, but Peter will speak. He finds a gloriously wrong thing to say. 4a“Lord, it’s good for us to keep on being here. Peter wants to stay on the mountain top. Linger in the experience. Never God’s plan. We dwell in the valley. Mountaintops are for encouragement. Peter starts wrong. 4bIf you wish, I’ll put up 3 shelters—1 for you, 1 for Moses & 1 for Elijah.” That’s even worse. Peter is putting Jesus on the same level as Moses & Elijah. The Father won’t allow that. Ever. 5aWhile Peter’s still speaking, a bright cloud envelops them. Peter, James, & John are stunned. Every Jew knows about God’s shekinah glory. The bright cloud that led them in the wilderness. Until Ezekiel’s vision (Ezk 9:3, 10:18), God’s glory had been over the mercy seat in the Jerusalem temple. That bright cloud, God’s glory, descends on & envelops Jesus, Peter, James, & John! Peter is stunned into silence. 5bA voice from the cloud spoke. 5c“This is my Son, whom I love. With him I’m well pleased. In Mk 1:9-11, that’s what the Father said at Jesus’ baptism. The Father was pleased then. Jesus is now steeling Himself for the ordeal that saves us all. The Father is still well pleased. 5dListen to him!” The disciples recognize these words, too. It’s what the Father said in Dt 18:18, 15. Jesus is the prophet Moses prophesied. Fully human, He’s raised up from among His brothers. Yet He speaks God’s very word. Jesus is God’s Word incarnate, in the flesh. He’s the one we must listen to. Not Moses. Not the Law. The Law points to Jesus. Not the prophets. They too point to Jesus. All Scripture points to Jesus. Only through Him can we understand what the Law & Prophets really meant. Only through Jesus can we understand. He’s the Way & the Truth. Only His Spirit can open the Scriptures to us. 6aThe disciples hear God’s voice. His voice can shake the earth or comfort a broken heart. His voice silences all self-talk. All talk. Instantly silenced. They hear that voice. Around them. Over them. In them. THAT voice. 6bThey fell facedown to the ground. Wouldn’t we? Just imagine. Shekinah glory-cloud all around. Surrounded by a mist of brilliant white light. No wonder they’re 6cterrified! The scene is other-worldly! 7aJesus came & touched them. Just as He touches us all. In His touch is life. Healing. Comfort. Peace. Belonging. And it’s the human touch they need. That we need. 7b“Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” At Jesus’ voice & touch, 8athey begin to look up. Slowly. As they stand. 8bThey saw no one except Jesus. That’s a lesson. Don’t look to the Law. Don’t look to experience. Don’t look to our works, no matter how good we think they are. Look to Jesus. Listen to Him. Jesus alone. He’s what we need. In Him we’ll find the encouragement we need. Or the correction. Or the rebuke. Or the power. Whatever we need, we’ll find it in Jesus. Listen to Him! How? He’s the Word. Dwell in His written word, & you’ll encounter the Living Word. Keep dwelling, & He’ll speak His love to you. In every situation, look for what He’s doing. Seek His face. Keep gazing. We’ll want to dwell on the mountaintop, whenever He gives us one of those experiences. That isn’t His plan. 9aThey came down the mountain. That’s another lesson. We weren’t meant to dwell on spiritual mountaintops. They encourage us, yes. But where do we dwell? In the demon-possessed valley below. That’s where we live. And as we keep gazing at Jesus, it’s where we’ll minister to others. 9bAs they came down, Jesus instructed them. “Don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Why? There are at least 2 reasons. Until His resurrection, no way can these disciples understand. In Mt 18:1 = Lk 9:46, they’ll prove it. They’ll argue. “Who’s greatest in Jesus’ Kingdom?” Since only Jesus’ inner circle got to see, this is just fuel for that fire until He’s resurrected. There’s a 2nd reason. What if this story gets to the authorities before the Passover? Before Jesus is ready to be crucified? Powerful story. But do you wonder? What’s it got to do with us? Look what John says in 1 Jn 3:2. 2We’re God’s children. What we’ll be hasn’t yet been made known. But we know this. When he appears, we’ll be like him, because we’ll see him as he is. To see Jesus as He is, we have to be like Him! To see Him, we have to be glorified, too! Look what Paul says 2 Cor 3:18. 18We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory. We’re being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory. Our transformation into His likeness will span the rest of our lives. And at the end of our life, it’ll be complete. Jesus is the 1stfruits of the resurrection. His body shows us what ours will be like. It’s hidden in us from the moment we receive Him inside us. It’s just waiting to be revealed. It’s the same glory Jesus has had from the beginning. The point? Our sharing of His glory is part of the inheritance in heaven that Jesus is guarding for us. That’s why Paul writes in Eph 6:17 that our hope of salvation is the helmet of salvation! It’s part of our spiritual armor. Our hope of salvation guards our thought life. How? We fix on the sure hope of future glory. Hope of salvation helps us withstand every enemy assault, today. What these disciples saw in Jesus’ transfiguration is a glimpse of what we’ll yet be! We think that Jesus being God means He’s completely different. But He took our flesh. And we’re made in God’s image—a fit vessel for His Spirit. Both Paul & John are saying we’ll share Jesus’ glory! As we gaze into Jesus’ face, we’ll be transformed more & more into His likeness. More & more often, our efforts to follow Jesus will be steps instead of stumbles. For now, I may look like a fool. But I’m going to keep gazing into His face. And I know who I’ll be in this old story. A man was walking down the street wearing a placard on his chest & back. On the front the sign read, “I’m a fool for Christ.” On the back it read, “Whose fool are you?”