The Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13)

Introduction

· Please turn to Matthew 17, and a story known as the “Transfiguration.”

· Life is full of mostly ordinary, routine days. But every so often, a day comes along that is life-changing. Days like that are seared into your memory like an image on film. You remember exactly where you were, what you were doing, maybe what you ate that day or what you were wearing. Certain sounds or smells may whisk you back to that place again. Many of you remember the day you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ as though it were yesterday. Or the day you met your spouse. Or the day you held your first child in your arms.

· Here in our passage this morning, three of Jesus’ disciples have an experience they will never forget. It is seared instantly on their minds and consciences. Though for a while, they are not allowed to tell anyone one about it.

· Read Matthew 17:1-13

· After such a vision, it is unmistakable that Jesus is the Messiah. Peter had confessed such in 16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And now they had seen with their own eyes the majesty of this king. But one thing still didn’t make sense. Didn’t Malachi 4:5-6 that “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD.” Jesus explains that John the Baptist did act “in the spirit and power of Elijah” as we saw last week, and thus he fulfilled the prophecy. All the signs of the coming of the Messiah have now come to pass.

· These verses give us a sneak peek at Christ’s coming kingdom and what we can expect when Christ returns.

The Splendor of Christ

· “He was transfigured” (2) – Gk. metamorpheo. I’m sure that sounds familiar. We get our word, “metamorphosis” from it. It means a change in form. Not just a superficial change, but something of deeper substance.

· His face shone like the sun – the sun right over there. Jesus’ face because was brilliant and blinding as the sun.

· And his clothes became white as light. Mk. 9:3 says “his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”

· During the Renaissance, artists would often depict Jesus with a golden halo above Jesus’ head, whether he was a baby, or a grown man hanging on the cross.

· But if you saw Jesus standing in a crowd, there would be no glowing halo. You would not likely be able to pick him out in a crowd at all, unless he was speaking, or performing a miracle, when everyone’s attention was pointed toward him.

· Isaiah 53:2 … he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

· Christ looked this way because he voluntarily emptied himself of his divine glory.

· Philippians 2:6–7 …though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

· We call this the doctrine of the kenosis, from the Greek word kenoo, to empty. In some mysterious way, when God took on flesh, he emptied himself of his divine glory. He never gave up his deity. But he chose not to display it or to exercise his divine rights. He was like a king who set down his scepter, took off his royal robe, and put on the clothes of a peasant, then left his palace to go live among them.

· But here at the transfiguration, this is the one place in the gospels that we see Christ in all of his splendor. This is much more what Christ looks like today. When the Apostle John sees Jesus in Revelation, he says, “his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.”

· >>This is the Jesus of the Bible. And he deserves our awe, our worship, and our praise. He is coming again in glory, and he will judge the world. Are you ready? But Jesus is not alone there on the mountain. Something else remarkable happens…

The Servants of Christ

· Adding to the splendor of Christ, two men appear in glory at his side– Moses and Elijah.

· Moses was the mediator of the old covenant. He received the law on Sinai, wrote it down, and came to represent the Law. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man dies, and as he suffers in hell, he cries out for a tiny droplet of water to cool his tongue. Then he begs to be allowed to go back to warn his brothers while there is still time. But Abraham responds, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Lk. 16:31).

· As Moses came to represent the Law, Elijah came to represent all of the Prophets. There had even been Jewish legends over the centuries that Moses and Elijah would both re-appear on the earth.

· These two men lived parallel lives in many ways, and embodied the message of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. [They both performed great miracles. They both acted as God’s spokesmen. They both spent time in the wilderness. They both encountered the Lord on Mt. Sinai. They both had unusual departures from earth.]

· Now here they are standing by Jesus, the Greatest Prophet. Moses and Elijah had spoken the word of God. But Jesus WAS the Word of God incarnate. Hebrews 1:1–2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

· What are the prophets doing here? v. 3 “talking with him.” Lk. 9:31 elaborates, “they spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” In other words, they are discussing his crucifixion.

· Jesus had just recently announced this.

· Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

· Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

· And again he will say in Matthew 17:12 …o the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”

· By this point, Jesus is speaking openly about his death. The cross is now dead center in his sights. And he shudders at the thought of it. Here we have another Gethsemane experience. The Son of Glory braces for the curse of hanging on a tree. He goes up a mountain, with three of his disciples, who soon fall asleep. He prays, and then the Father comforts Him -- on this occasion, through the presence of Moses and Elijah.

· Peter responds somewhat awkwardly, “Lord, it is good…” and proposes that they hang out for a while and set up camp. He probably has in mind the Festival of Booths that was about to begin.

· But while he is still mid-sentence, God the Father interrupts from heaven… “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” That is precisely what Peter had not done recently. When Jesus had announced his departure, Peter had rebuked him. But God says, “No, Peter. My Son knows what he is doing. It is your responsibility to be silent, to listen, and to allow him to carry out his mission.”

· Jesus shining like the sun, the two ancient prophets suddenly appear in glory, a voice booms from heaven. What a terrifying experience this must have been. Jesus now turns his attention to the disciples and comforts them. They are told not to tell anyone ... for now.

Conclusion

· Two of these apostles would go on to write about this life-changing event.

· Peter - 2 Peter 1:16 … we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 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,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, ….

· John - John 1:14 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.

· Two Closing Applications for you: Fear…and Fear Not.

· First of all, Fear. There is a kind of fear that you should have. You should have an awe, a holy reverence, at this image of Christ we have seen today. It is impossible to read this passage, and not to tremble at the thought of standing before a God like this. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. This story is a sneak peek at the coming kingdom of Christ. Matthew 16:27–28 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” The transfiguration should evoke a sense of fear and awe and dread in the hearts of all who walk this earth.

· But secondly, Fear Not. That is what Jesus says in v. 7. If you have trusted in Christ, then he is on your side, and you have no reason to fear. Don’t fear the wrath of God. Don’t fear the anger of man. Don’t fear the attacks of Satan. Don’t fear the coronavirus. Don’t fear the November election. Fear not, my friend. There is nothing in all the world that can thwart the plans of King Jesus. The transfiguration should melt our fears and build our faith in a strong and mighty God.

Benediction

Now may the Lord cause your manner of life to be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. Amen. (Phil. 1:27-28)