When God Shows Himself
Notes
Transcript
1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching Spiritual Nourishment
William Temple once said:
Worship is the nourishment of the mind upon God’s truth. Worship is the quickening of the conscience by God’s holiness. Worship is the cleansing of the imagination by God’s beauty. Worship is the response of my life to God’s plan for my life.
Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Reading Mark’s Gospel, this event takes place six days after Peter has declared Jesus to be “the Christ” (Mark 8:27-29). Jesus then “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Mark tells of Peter’s rejection of this teaching and of Jesus’ stinging rebuke in response. Jesus then teaches both the disciples and the crowd that followed them that joining Jesus on His journey would require that they trust Him enough to follow Him even into those places that seemed dark and dangerous.g This teaching culminates in the enigmatic words that begin Chapter 9:
1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
This is the apex (literally) of the season that celebrates the epiphany of Christ – the manifestation of Him to His own. What almost goes unnoticed is that Jesus does not actively seek publicity; He is passive with regard to that, focused on His mission, His responsibilities. Everything else, not only in this lesson, but throughout the season, is in the hands of the Father and of the Spirit.
This does not mean that Jesus is “flying blind.” The Father directs, the Spirit empowers, and the Son acts. It is the will of the Father that Peter, John, and James are with Jesus on this mountain.
5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
What Peter first says as Jesus’ transfiguration takes place is correct. It is good that they are there. Everything that the Lord does is good by virtue of the fact that God is good.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
Even in situations that are beyond our understanding, beyond our ability to bear, God is good! We like to acknowledge that when “the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places.” we say, “God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.”
At this moment, however, Peter is afraid. He knows that he is in a situation that is above his pay grade. He can neither control, nor even explain, what is taking place before him. This is clearly a situation in the realm of the Spirit. Jesus is glorified, and Moses and Elijah are standing there talking with Him. To “build three tabernacles” would seem to be the proper act of reverence to someone who knows that the historic response to the manifestation of God is to build a place for Him. At least this will show that Peter appreciates what he is seeing. Mark Peterson translates it this way in The Message:
5 Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” 6 He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing.
We read passages like this, and one of the things that we do is situate ourselves in the situation. We try to picture what we would do in the place of Peter, John, and James. It can be helpful to meditate upon God’s Word and apply it to our lives, to put it into practice. Hebrews 4:12 declares that “the Word of God is living and active;” it engages us, not only to admire it historically, but be engaged by it now.
Some people, confronted by silent tension, are compelled to fill the silence, while others tend to reticence. John and James seem to be more of the quiet types. they didn’t seek to sit at Jesus’ side in His Kingdom - their mother asked that for them. Peter was the talker. I guess there is room for both in the presence of the Lord, since both were there by the will of the Lord. The best thing to be, when God shows Himself, is yourself. Not who you think you should be, that is, if it is not done by faith in what God says concerning you. Do not “fake it until you make it.” Far better, that you should “confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you might be healed.”
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Dr. Luther counseled his friend and fellow worker Philip Melanchthon regarding his sensitivity to feelings of guilt that threatened to make him freeze into immobility, “sin boldly, and repent still more boldly.” The presence of Christ heals us of both fragility and brokenness. It directs us when we feel that we are flailing about blindly, and it calms us when we we are caught up in the grip of threats within and without. As David wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rods and your staff - they comfort me.”
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
As the cloud came into this scene, enveloping them and drawing attention to itself, God the Father gave clarity and direction to them. “This One is My Son, the Beloved One. Listen to Him!” Identification and command are in these words. The living Word of God shows its sharpness in their hearts and minds. There is no room for confusion. Not Moses, not Elijah, “but Jesus only.” Neither the Law nor the prophets as we understand them are to define who we are before God or become the basis of who we are with our neighbor, “but Jesus only,” for He is the one who “exegetes God to us.” He is the One through whom, “in these last days, God has spoken to us.”
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.
Faith in Christ directs us. It bids us to follow where He leads. As when the LORD told Abram to “go to the place where I will show you,” and Abram departed, leading his wife and nephew on a journey of faith, trusting in God’s promise, we are also called by God to join Him on a journey to a Kingdom not made with hands, whose builder and maker is God. God commissions His servants to teach regarding the path we will travel with Him that we are safe as we travel with Him, even when we do not understand what He is doing in with and through us:
8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
Those who would walk contrary to the Holy One cannot walk on this way; they cannot put their feet there. But those who walk on the way, even in ignorance walk safely, for the Good Shepherd is with them. As Paul teaches us in his Epistle to the Ephesians:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We have boldness, not to rebel against the Lord, but to walk humbly with Him, stumbling as we go, but knowing that He orders our steps. As Paul also teaches us in his letter to the Philippians:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We won’t always win the praise of men, we won’t always meet the metrics of the world.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
God chose us, as we are. God shows Himself as the One who loves us everlastingly, powerfully, and boldly. We can walk in His way because He leads us; He shepherds us. He bids us to boldly go, not where no man has gone before, but where the Church is always going, to the City whose builder and maker is God.
So let the peace of God, that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.