The Transfiguration
Notes
Transcript
The Transfiguration of Jesus
The Transfiguration of Jesus
Good morning my friends, how blessed we are to be able to come to church and worship together.
This time is truly the most pivotal time of the week. For it is here that we are renewed, strengthened and encouraged to live better as we seek to minister in the world we live.
Think of that… you have a whole week to help others, bless and encourage and yes, witness too for the cause of Christ.
Are you making the most of your days.... Don’t be a causal Christian. Live your best each day for Jesus!
Tomorrow begins a new month my friends, we need to use our time wisely.
Today we begin a new chapter in the Gospel of Matthew!
We come to chapter 17, here and with it one of the greatest events in the life of Jesus while here on earth, and three of the disciples were blessed to witness it.
The transfiguration of Jesus is a powerful look at the life of Jesus. Here is the Son of God, and for a moment He stands in the fullness of His glory, the glory He once shared with the Father before coming and being born in flesh.
So lets open the test from verses 1 to 13.
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
This story my friends is a foreshadow of the good things to come that is made possible through His life and yes death.
Remember, the time is drawing near, Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem and it is there we will fulfill His purpose, the will of the One who sent Him, the Father.
So with all this in mind, we beginning this morning with this first thought..
1. The Journey Up....
I use that word “journey” because that is truly what life is, each day we are traveling, moving - going somewhere. So life is ultimately a journey from birth to death.
In the midst of our journey, hopefully we will make the most of our life in Christ as well.
So remember verses 1 and 2....
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Now as we open the text the Scriptures tell us that 6 days have passed from the events of chapter 16 until this time… And the 6 days are important, The timing is a picture, a allusion of Moses going up on the mountain to receive instruction, literally the law from God the father in the Old Testament.
Now we do not know the exact mountain they went up on is not know for sure, but the most logical choice is Mt. Mer-on. This mountain was about 4K feet tall and was fairly isolated laying northwest of the sea of Galilee.
And it says at the time, Jesus took Peter, James the John with Him and led then up on a high mountain.
Now we know that Peter, James and John are those 3 men who are hold a different relationship with the Savior. Please don’t get me wrong, Jesus loved all 12, even Judas but these 3 seem to be the natural leaders that stand out from the 12.
So these 3 accompany Jesus up on the mountain.
And in the midst of being there, I am sure wondering what is going to happen while up there, maybe they thought He was taking them to a prayer retreat of sorts but instead something wonderful happens...
Jesus is transfigured before them...
Now that is a “WOW” moment… The glory of the Son is revealed before them my friends, and they are just standing there in amazement. They are blessed to witness this… but it wouldn’t have come if they were not walking with Jesus.
Listen my friends, so many times people are looking for these magical moments with Jesus, with their Savior, but here is the truth I want you to see my friends...
You cannot experience the fullness of the Savior if you are not His and if you are not walking with Him in both the valley and the mountain tops of life.
This day the disciples are experiencing a mountain top event, they are blessed.
Think for a moment, can you remember a mountain top event in your life?
Can you remember when you experienced God in such a way that you just went away thanking Him, praising Him and worshipping Him for his faithfulness?
Now do you remember the growth in your life and what it took to get there? I want you to know that while we all love these mountain top events, you went through a valley to get there.
We cannot forget to praise him for that...
And lets move forward and lets open this second thought...
2. His Glory Revealed....
As we have seen in the passage already, Jesus took three men with Him up upon the mountain side.
Jesus took with him Peter, James and John,; these three leading disciples, these three that seemed to walk much closer to the Lord. And this day they will see something amazing...
A. He is changed.... Go back to verses 2-3
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
Wow...
The scene is amazing… Jesus is transfigured, that word transfigured in the Greek is “metamorphoo”, it is from this word we get Metamorphosis and it gives us a better look as to what was happening…
When we think of metamorphosis, we tend to think of that lowly caterpillar who after spending time in that cocoon is changed into something that looks totally opposite that what started out as, it becomes a beautiful butterfly.
Here in this passage we see that Jesus, as He stood there on the mountain top was changed, He was filled with the radiant glory of the Father, that glory that He once bore before taking on this veil of flesh.
And look at the description of Jesus, the Scriptures tell us that His face shown like the sun and his garments became white as light.
Can you imagine this with me… just how bright, how brilliant the whole scene must have been.,.
We cannot even imagine it, yet John in the opening of the Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of His glory as He sees Jesus. Let me share that with you...
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
The brilliance of the Lord in their presence is overwhelming, it is breathtaking and they feel so, so blessed to be there in the presence of the Son of God.
There is a day coming when we will see Jesus and I honestly think we will be speechless, unable to say anything except - We worship you!
One day the world will see him and they who are prideful and boasting, arrogant the good and bad will kneel in His presence. He is the Lord.
And as they are taking it all in… another miraculous event takes place....
B. Two witnesses Appear....
As they are there taking it all in… two other men appear… Look at the text… Verse 3....
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
Moses and Elijah, and they are talking with Jesus....
Now one of the first questions that we tend to ask during these times is why them? Why Moses and Elijah?
These two were the key representatives of the law and prophets in the Old Testament. They represented all that God was doing in preparation for His Advent into the world. They were the forerunners to His coming and it was expected that they would appear at some time prior too or during His time on earth.
Now another reason they were expected to be present is that they were believed to have not died but just taken into the presence of God. Moses was taken up to the mountain (We hear nothing of where Moses died and nothing of his grave or body until the book of Jude,… and Elijah was carried up to heaven by a chariot of fire.)
And today they are there, and these 3 disciples are just soaking it all up. They are seeing the glory of God and are alive and now Moses and Elijah appear in their midst and talk with Jesus..
Now in the midst of this, Peter gets supper excited...
C. Peter’s Question..
Now please know, I understand Peter’s excitement, I cannot imagine the blessing they are experiencing and the joy that is in their hearts.
And listen to what Peter says to Jesus…Verse 4
4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
Peter kind of interrupts what is taking place here and says Lord, should be make three tabernacles or tents for each of you.
Peter is not asking the Lord if they should build three altars to worship, no the word tabernacle is indeed a tent like structure, like the portable tabernacle was in the OT while it rested at Shiloh.
Lord can we put up three dwelling places, so You, Moses and Elijah can stay longer.. Peter and I am sure the other 2 didn’t want this moment to end.
Listen, have you experienced God in such a way that you didn’t want it to end? The presence of God was so heavy, so full in your presence that you just wanted it to continue…
I think there are times like that… I remember years ago this old guy in our church, Mr. James just didn’t want that night to end, He didn’t even want to leave the church. He had experienced the presence of God that evening and He just wanted it to go on… I remember him saying , I don’t want to leave.
He wanted to remain at the church, the place he worshiped… and that night the Lord called him home. I think God visited him that evening !
Peter didn’t want that day to end...
Friends, there are times in our worship, times in our lives when we will experience God in such a great way that the glory of God falls and we are so blessed to witness it and be apart of it.
We must walk with the Lord daily, seeking His face and His presence every day.
Are you walking close to the Lord daily? If not, change that today and let this moment be the begging of a new time for you.
Now Just one last thought for today…
3. The Father’s Proclamation....
It is wonderful to witness the presence of God the Father in the Scriptures in a personal way.
And it happens right here.... God the Father shows up in their mist, like He has previously.
Lets look at the text...
5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Man, I cannot imagine what it would have been like for God to speak out of the cloud just like they had studied from the Old Testament.
So lets look at this, as Peter is still talking a bright cloud overshadowed them.. This is a different type of cloud, unlike the grey, almost black clouds we see in natural weather.
This cloud is one like the children of Israelites witnessed as God appeared to them in a cloud. Listen to the account of God in Exodus...
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Also in I Kings 8:10-13
10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
And it is here that we see God provide a public affirmation of His Son in the same way God did at Jesus baptism in Matthew 3.
Listen to what God says..
A. This is my Son… God publically enforces the Son… He is the Messiah, the One who the world has waited for..
Friends there is something special in our identity… We loved and are proud being the son and daughter of this person or that person, being identified as that child,
Jesus was blessed to have His Father share who He was… He is the Son of God.
Then God says this....
B. With Whom I Am Well Pleased. God provides an affirmation that he is pleased with the Son, but not just pleased with His life, but pleased with His purpose, His mission and He is heading to the cross to truly be the “lamb of God” to save the people from their sin.
Remember Jesus told his disciples his purpose and mission was to offer his life as a sacrifice for sin, redeeming the people from their sin. And upon hearing that message, Peter spoke up… no! You cannot do this..
God was pleased, God was blessed that His Son, would be obedient and be that suffer servant, the Messiah He established not what the world wanted..
And then finally… there is on more thought… God says for the disciples and and for the world to:
C. Listen to Him… Jesus knew the perfect plan of God, they would benefit by listening to the Son as He shared with them each day concerning His purpose to be the suffering servant. To understand who the Messiah really this… They needed to listen as Jesus taught them.
We need to listen to Jesus as well. I believe with all my heart that He will lead us, that He will teach us and guide us if we will just be still and listen.
My friends, Jesus took them up on the mountain to encourage them and teach them about his purpose and mission in this world. He was heading to the cross
And we know today He is coming back.. so just as Jesus was helping them get ready for his departure, He is teaching us today to get ready for HIs return.
Jesus is coming again, and we will see Him in all His glory.. We will see Him with the angels, and every knee will dow and every tongur confess that Jesus is Lord.
Are you ready for his return?
If Jesus came in the next minute, are you ready? Are you ready to see Him?
I hope so!
But if you’re not, you can be ready today.
The transfiguration teaches us just who Jesus is, about His glory and He’s coming again. Isn’t that excited!!!