The Fullness of God
Epiphany: The Revealing of Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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· 12 viewsThe last Sunday in the Epiphany season is the revealing of Christ’s glory to the disciples at the Transfiguration. This event showed Peter, James, and John the full divinity of Christ. He was more than a prophet. He was God in the flesh. This great revealing of Jesus helps us to understand his nature as fully human and fully divine. This union between the two natures is important for us to explore as we enter into Lent.
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28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event that many of us are confused about. What exactly happened on the mountain? We know that it was a significant event to the point that Peter even writes about it in his second letter
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 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,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Peter, along with James and John, were eyewitnesses to what took place on the mountain. This event is important in all three synoptic gospels as the departure point for Jesus’ journey toward the cross. It ends the Galilean ministry of Jesus and turns him toward Jerusalem. As Luke says in 9:51,
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
(We will come back to this later.)
It is this moment when the disciples see the fullness of God present in Jesus that changes the trajectory of what happens next.
Today, we are going to learn the importance of the Transfiguration and how the fullness of God is revealed to us as it was to the disciples on the mountain.
1. The nature of Jesus is revealed in prayer. (vs. 28-29)
1. The nature of Jesus is revealed in prayer. (vs. 28-29)
Jesus was constantly in prayer during his earthly ministry. When he would teach and do miracles, the preparation was done in prayer. Jesus invites Peter, James, and John on the mountain to pray with him. It seems that as they prayed with Jesus they fell asleep. This will happen again in the garden of Gethsemane before Jesus is crucified. We find examples of Jesus going to pray throughout Luke’s gospel.
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Each of these were places where Jesus had recently taught or displayed miracles and needed time to focus on the ministry ahead. But the reference from 9:18 is particularly important for our text today. This is in the scenes just prior to the Transfiguration when Jesus is with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, and Peter makes his confession of Jesus as the Christ of God. These two accounts are closely linked by only occuring about a week later. In both instances, there is a revealing of who Jesus is. Peter confesses Jesus to the Christ, and at the Transfiguration they see that fact before their eyes. The greater importance of the Transfiguration is signaled by the fact that only Peter, James, and John are present to witness it. They also accompanied Jesus in Luke 8:51 at the healing of Jarius’ daughter.
51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
It is in the time that they spend in prayer that they witness this incredible event take place.
Why is prayer important to witnessing the nature of Jesus? It is in prayer that we truly encounter Jesus and the power of God.
Look at Acts 1:13-14
13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
All of those who were with Jesus came together in prayer. What happened next?
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
When we are seeking God in prayer, what is revealed to us is the fullness of God and his power is displayed before our eyes. For far too long, the church has not trusted and believed in the power of prayer. We have failed to trust in the power of God to heal and to prophesy to us. We have forgotten what it means to have God’s presence in our midst because we get too busy looking at our watches to make sure we beat the Baptists to the restaurants. It’s high time that Methodists remember who we are as those who are praying to seek the power of God and devote ourselves to his presence in a time when the darkness wants to enclose around us. We have the light and power of God in our midst.
2. At the Transfiguration, the glory of God was revealed in Jesus. (vs. 30-32)
2. At the Transfiguration, the glory of God was revealed in Jesus. (vs. 30-32)
Now we are going to get into some really good stuff. As followers of Jesus and people who pray and seek God, we will witness God’s glory. When the disciples were on the mountain with Jesus, they saw for themselves the full display of his divinity before their eyes. They saw the fullness of God’s glory. They were terrified when they saw it. That’s why Peter stumbles all over himself when he gets his wits about him.
But the Jewish ready of this encounter would know what is behind it - Moses at Mt. Sinai.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Luke is specific here unlike the other synoptics. He says that Jesus’ face was altered. Not only that but when Moses and Elijah appeared in the glory with him, they were speaking to him about his departure, which in Greek is the same word as exodus. That’s where it relates to Luke 9:51. They were talking to him about what he was going to accomplish on the cross in Jerusalem.
But it is the same glory that was on display in front of the disciples that was on display before the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. Where Moses was reflecting God’s glory, Jesus was the source of the glory. The Triune God was present with Moses on the mountain in all his glory.
This is important because it is the glory of God that John mentions in John 1:14
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.
In a previous sermon, I spoke about God’s glory being reflected in the life of the believer. We see this in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17:22
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
The disciples see Jesus’ appearance change, and they see his glory. In seeing that glory, they see his clothing become dazzling white. Now compare this to what we find in Genesis 3:21
21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
See the difference in the clothing that God makes for Adam and Eve? God makes the first sacrifice to cover the nakedness and sin of Adam and Eve. Now as Jesus is preparing to the cross, the fullness of the glory of God is on display in the new Adam, and we are given new garments to wear because we are in Christ, and we are reflections of his glory.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
It is only after they have fully awakened that they see the fullness of God in Jesus.
3. Jesus alone deserves our worship and praise. (vs. 33-36)
3. Jesus alone deserves our worship and praise. (vs. 33-36)
The disciples experience the Transfiguration but do not fully understand it. That is why Peter’s call to have tents made so that they could stay on the mountain is ridiculous. But he does not know what to say.
It is not until the voice comes from the cloud that it is revealed to the disciples what has happened - “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” They are to listen to him because he is the prophet that Moses spoke about in Deuteronomy 18:15
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
He is the One who is to come as the Chosen One of God from Isaiah 42:1
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
The cloud that appears on the mountain here is the same cloud that appeared on Mt Sinai in the wilderness. The disciples understand this experience because they have read the Torah and heard the stories over the years of what took place.
Now is when the disciples realize what Paul says Colossians 1:19-20,
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Salvation has come through Jesus only because he is God in the flesh. The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him. Therefore, he alone is worthy of our worship and praise.
There is no other in heaven or on earth who deserves our worship. Yet, we spend our lives worshiping almost everything else but him. We worship the things of this world in jobs, money, homes - things that can be taken away in an instant. But that which is eternal and deserves our full devotion is Jesus Christ. There is no other person or thing that is worthy of our praise.