Miracles - Nature - Nature of Christ

Who is This Christ?

We often talk about Jesus.

I’ve been preaching about Him for several weeks.

But when you think of Jesus, what comes to mind?

How do you view the nature of the Christ?

After walking with Jesus for the better part of three years, the disciples had seen and experienced many things.

But did they yet understand who Jesus was?

Not, did they recognize He was the Son of God, but what that meant?

Mark 9:2 NKJV

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

Jesus takes three of His disciples up the mountain alone.

And there, Jesus was transfigured.

Literally, transformed.

Mark 9:3–4 NKJV

His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

Jesus clothes shined whiter than earthly possible.

And Elijah and Moses, two of the most venerated men in Jewish history, appear to have a chat.

This must have been quite a sight.

Certainly something the disciples hadn’t seen before.

So what do they do?

Leave it to Peter to leap before he looks.

Mark 9:5–6 NKJV

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

People are afraid of the known.

And usually react one of three ways, fight, flight, or freeze.

Peter reacts the way many people do when confronted with something they do not understand.

“We must DO something!”

Peter didn’t know what to say so he fell back on tradition.

I know, we’ll make tabernacles (tents) for the three of you.

Was he thinking of the tabernacle of meeting, where Moses used to go to meet God?

Or was he thinking of the booths they used to setup for the feast of tabernacles?

We don’t know.

Only that the disciples were afraid, didn’t know what to do, so Peter spoke up with a suggestion.

Mark 9:7 NKJV

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

What does it mean to be the beloved Son of God?

The first thing I think we should realize is, as the Son of God, we could never possibly completely understand Him.

Imagine discussing physics with Albert Einstein, or art with Leonardo DaVinci?

Imagine trying to explain celestial and orbital mechanics with a toddler.

Childs play when compared with a created being trying to understand an eternal one.

Genesis 1:27 NKJV

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We are created in the image of God.

Now imagine trying to explain yourself to the image on your drivers license?

That does not mean that we cannot understand anything about Jesus,

Only that we can never understand everything.

We will understand a great deal more when we get to heaven,

But I doubt we are capable of understanding everything.

This image of Jesus,

The brilliant white clothing,

The talking with Elijah and Moses,

This was just a hint of who Messiah is,

And it terrified the disciples.

Mark 9:9–10 NKJV

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

Jesus told these three disciples to keep this secret until He had risen from the dead.

They knew the literal meaning of “risen from the dead”,

After all, they had seen Jesus raise people from the dead before,

But their understanding of Messiah did not include the possibility that He would die.

Even though Scripture said He would:

Isaiah 53:7–9 NKJV

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

We understand that Jesus had come to earth to die,

But hindsight is 20/20.

Yet our understanding of the nature of Christ is just as limited as these disciples.

Hidden From Sight

We think we know Jesus, and would recognize Him when He appears,

But is that what Scripture says?

Luke 24:13–16 NKJV

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

Two disciples, traveling down the road to a nearby town, talking about recent events.

They were trying to reason out what had just happened.

When this guy walks us pear them.

You know it was Jesus. I know it was Jesus.

But their eyes were restrained, they didn’t know it was Jesus.

Have you ever wondered how many times you may have met Jesus, but your eyes were restrained?