Luke 9.27-36

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Now, in that context, let’s read verse 27.

Luke 9:27 ESV

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Theories

stress the “some standing here” in other words - a few of you. ((talk about near prophecy validating long future prophecy))

Resurrection

Pentecost and Samaritan, and gentile

Acts 2:1–4 ESV

1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Samaritan pentecost

Acts 8:14–17 ESV

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Gentile pentecost

Acts 10:44–45 ESV

44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

4. A.D. 70 ((temple curtain torn in two… revisits in judgment…))

So, which one is it?

I really don’t know.

All of these are reasonable to me - and all of them are manifestations of the kingdom.

Remember Jesus’ sermon back in chapter 4?

Luke 4:17–20 ESV

17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Jesus was there, standing in front of them and speaking to them - they were seeing the king of the kingdom right there.

If we go with theory 1, where Jesus was saying, “some standing here will not taste death” he may have been referring to what we are about to read.

but...

Whether or not that’s what he was referring to...

We really need to see and understand this foretaste of the kingdom to come.

Luke 9:28–36 ESV

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

We need to understand the glorified Jesus as best we can in order to better appreciate the fact that he is gentle and lowly.

That is how Jesus described himself...

Matthew 11:29 ESV

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

It is one thing to be gentle and lowly because you are powerless - it is something else altogether to be gentle and lowly when you are God.

The Old Testament Saints Testified of Jesus

Luke 9:30–31 ESV

30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Dead saints don’t have bodies until the resurrection

but...

these two either got them for a day or got them early.

These guys are extraordinary.

Elijah got to skip the dying part of going to heaven - pretty cool huh?

Moses died, but was buried by God himself.

Moses and Elijah were actually there, but they are great representatives for the OT saints.

The Jews referred to the OT as the law and the prophets.

These two represent the law and the prophets - the OT and the OT saints.

What did Moses say about Jesus in the OT?

Deuteronomy 18:15–19 ESV

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Moses prophesied about Jesus, but in this scene Moses doesn’t just know about Jesus, he gets to be with him.

Moses had a remarkably intimate relationship with God, but it is even more intimate now.

The New Testament Saints Testified of Jesus

Luke 9:36 ESV

36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

They didn’t tell anybody what they had seen because Jesus told them not to until after the resurrection.

We learn that from Matthew and Mark

Mark 9:9–10 ESV

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.

Of course they told people afterward or we would not have this account.

James was martyred early on and did not leave any biblical writings.

((This James is the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, not to be confused with the author of the book of James, who was Jesus’ half brother.))

Peter wrote about this event in...

2 Peter 1:16–18 ESV

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The OT saints testified of Jesus.

The NT saints testified of Jesus.

but

then we get the most important testimony about Jesus.

God the Father Testified of Jesus

Luke 9:34–35 ESV

34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

For people who deny the trinity, I guess this is Jesus doing special effects or something.

This is not the first time that the Father has spoken on behalf of the Son.

You will remember He did the same thing at Jesus’ baptism.

You’ve gotta love Peter.

He was sleeping...

Then when he wakes, he starts to advise Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on what should happen.

Luke 9:32–33 ESV

32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

God the Father sort of interrupts Peter, and says...

Luke 9:35 ESV

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

Peter needed to just listen.

We need to be careful to whom we listen...

not everyone who talks about God actually knows Him.

but...

We absolutely should listen to God.

How do we listen to Him?

We read His word.

It is great to listen to Bible teachers that have proven to be trustworthy, but listen with discernment.

We get a glimpse here of how Jesus will appear when he returns.

Last week, and again this morning we read Jesus say that he would...

Luke 9:26 ESV

26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

When he returns in glory he will look like this description...

Luke 9:29 ESV

29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

Jesus did not get some new glory, some of his inherent glory was allowed to show through for a few moments.

This Jesus, who is God incarnate, is the one who described himself as gentle and lowly in heart

and...

the one God the Father has appointed to judge the world.

He is gentle and lowly, but He is also perfectly just and holy.

That is why there are two extremes we see in the judgment.

Forgiven, declared righteous, adopted as sons and daughters of God...

Condemned, rejected, destined to eternal suffering

Combine this knowledge with Jesus’ requirements for discipleship that we heard last week.

Do you see that your greatest need is to find refuge from God’s judgment in his son Jesus?

Do you see why I say that is your neighbor’s greatest need as well?

Jesus gave a prophecy of a future event that was quite distant at the time he gave it.

That was his second coming which would not take place for at least another two thousand years.

Prophesies that take so long to come true can cause folks to doubt.

((it hasn’t happened yet - so maybe it never will....))

Let me remind you of some things that I hope will give you confidence in the second coming of Jesus.

1. The OT saints, the NT saints, and (most importantly) God the Father should give you confidence in Jesus’ promise to return.

2. Jesus’ resurrection should give you confidence. ((Another vindication of the Father.))

3. Jesus’ first appearance took a while too.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

I don’t know how much time passed between this promise and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, but it was a lot longer than we have waited for His second coming.

We don’t know when Jesus will return, but we do know what He said about how we are supposed to wait.

Matthew 24:42–51 ESV

42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These folks who will be cut in pieces and put with the hypocrites in the place with weeping and gnashing of teeth are lost people.

Don’t be one of those.

Now, if you were listening last week you know that there is a cost to following Jesus.

The cost is… everything.

You become His slave.

That may not sound good, but let me assure you that it is.

You will either be a slave to sin or a slave to Jesus.

Jesus is a wonderful Master who makes you a son or daughter of the kingdom, and his joint heir.

He is the most wonderful master you can imagine.

Jesus is coming back.

That means, for those who are not in Christ...

dread and shame

eternal punishment

guilt exposed before the Holy God

life is short and pointless - all the joy you will ever have, you will have in this life.

for those who are in Christ...

hope for the future

confidence that perfect justice will be done

there is life after death

you have a high and holy calling

suffering in this life is temporary, and will be overshadowed and forgotten in eternity

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.