Sermon Tone Analysis

A GLIMPSE INTO ETERNITY

Introduction

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There’s a spiritual world out there.

A world that is invisible to the eyes, but nevertheless, is very real and it exists.

I tend to forget that.

I also tend to forget that I’m living for eternity, because I often become bogged down in time.

With all of the pressures in life, with all of the deadlines it seems as if we just wonder if we can make it through one more day.

And we don’t have time to back up and see the big picture and to remember where it’s all going.

Recently in one of our staff meetings we were discussing someone who had a severe trial that has lasted eight years and continues to go on.

And one of the staff members made an interesting point.

He said, “Well, it isn’t too long when you consider that he’s preparing for eternity.”

That’s true.

!! we are preparing for eternity

That’s true if you remember that you are preparing for eternity.

We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.

The disciples during the time of Jesus, were going through a convulsion of spirit, and I’ll tell you why.

Here is Jesus, the Son of God, and Peter says, “Thou art the Christ.

The Son of the living God.”

And Jesus says, “Peter, you’re right.

And flesh and blood hasn’t revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven showed you that important, theological, truth.”

So far, so good.

And then Jesus turns around and says to the disciples, “I want you to know that I’m going to go to Jerusalem, and I’m going to suffer many things, and I’m going to be put to death by the chief priests and the scribes.”

And the disciples are saying “That - does - not - compute.

It doesn’t add up.

The Son of God crucified???!!” \\ Well I want you to take your Bibles and turn to the ninth chapter of Luke, this is the story of what is called the transfiguration.

Jesus is up near Mount Hermon.

Peter has confessed that He is the Christ.

And Christ is speaking to the disciples and challenging them in verse 27 of Luke 9.

“But I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.

And some eight days after these sayings, it came about that He took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray.

And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.

And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Eljah, who appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

I’ll simply stop there for a moment.

We’ll pick it up at verse 32 in just a little bit.

!!! Transfiguration

Here is what we call the transfiguration.

Why this rather remarkable, incredible event in Jesus Christ’s life and ministry?

He goes to the top of a mountain, Mount Hermon, He’s standing there and suddenly the Matthew account says “...His face became as bright as the sun....” and His garments were glistening.

What an experience!

Why the transfiguration?

Let me give you a couple of reasons.

* First of all because it substantiated Peter’s confession.

Peter says “Thou art the Christ.”

In the Luke account you’ll notice it is in verse 20.

Jesus says “Who do you say that I am?

And Peter answers and says the Christ of God.”

And Jesus says “Peter you’re right, and to prove that I am the Christ, I am going to have this metamorphous, (which is the word transfiguration).

I’m going to be changed so that you are going to be able to see Me in all My pre-Bethlehem glory.

And so it substantiated the fact that Jesus is, indeed the Christ.

* There is a second reason, and that is it is a preview of Christ’s coming glory.

You see, before He left heaven and came to earth in Bethlehem, He had all the glory of God.

When He was here on the earth He had the glory of God as well, but it was veiled.

At Christmas we sing “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,” because we couldn’t look upon Christ.

Nobody could look upon Christ in His dazzling beauty with a face that is as bright as the sun.

But that’s the way He’s going to be in glory in the future and in the coming Kingdom.

That’s the way in which He can be now if He desires.

And that’s the way we someday shall see Him when our bodies are transformed and we are given new eyes and a new sense of identity.

Remember what John said?

He said “And the Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory.”

Possibly John is referring to this very experience because John is one of the apostles who gets to go to the mountain and to see it for himself—Peter, James, and John—we beheld His glory.

There’s a phrase in the book of Hebrews that I used to read and be puzzled by because it talked about worship and then it speaks about the veil of the temple being Christ’s flesh.

And I’d read that and I’d say “I don’t get it.

What could the writer possibly mean?”

Now I think I understand.

Remember in the Old Testament the veil separated you from the Shekinah glory of the Holy Place?

You came into the Holy Place, and then there was the veil that separated you from the Holy of Holies where God dwelt and where the glory of God descended upon the cherubim at the Mercy Seat.

The veil apparently was about six inches thick.

A huge bolt of cloth.

The veil prevented you from seeing the Shekinah glory.

Christ’s flesh prevented His disciples (during His earthly ministry) to see His glory.

It was veiled.

Nobody could see the divine nature.

That was impossible.

And so Christ traveled incognito.

He had a divine nature, but He looked like a man.

And He became tired and hungry, just like a man because He was a man.

He was 100% man joined to a divine nature making Him also 100% God.

So here’s what happens in the transfiguration: For one brief moment the veil is lifted and the flesh which has veiled the glory of Christ is taken away so that Peter, James, and John can see Jesus as He really is.

And of course that’s a preview of how He is going to be in glory.

All of His splendor, and all of His dynamism.

The coming Kingdom—that’s what they began to see.

So there’s the second reason.

The first is to confirm the words of Peter; the second is to give them a preview of glory.

* And thirdly, to demonstrate and to prove to the disciples that it is compatible... the fact is that Christ’s power and His death are compatible.

You can understand the dizziness of the disciples.

“Here You are the Christ, the Son of God.

You are the King.

You are the Messiah.”

They knew all of the prophecies in the Old Testament that talked about Jesus Christ’s Kingship.

“And yet You are going to suffer?

And You are going to die?

And You’re going to be humiliated?”

No wonder Peter began to rebuke Christ and say “No!

Not You! - Don’t!!”

And Jesus said to Peter, “Satan, get behind me because you’re thinking like a man, and you’re not thinking with the wisdom of God.”

What Christ is trying to say to the disciples is this: “When you see Me hanging on the cross in shame; when you see Me being ridiculed and I will appear so incredibly helpless” (and didn’t Jesus appear helpless on the cross?) “I want you to know that beneath that body that is being nailed to those rough-hewn pieces of wood, beneath this body is the glory and the might and the shimmering beauty of God.

Remember that, disciples!

Don’t be deceived by appearances.

Don’t be deceived.”

You know, when you stop to think about it, the Greek word for “transfiguration” is “metamorphous”.