Valleys And Mountaintops
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Theme for this year on Sunday mornings has been “The Life Of Christ.”
We have been studying through God in the flesh’s life here on earth with the express desire to draw closer to him, hopefully, and help others want to do the same.
Through this study we have seen Jesus’ popularity grow exceedingly, to the point where he could not enter into cities from sometimes (Mark 1:45).
Not only that but after feeding the 5000 plus people the men tried to force him to be king (John 6:15).
Due to this and the leadership of the Jews consistent threat of trying to kill him we have found Jesus in a series of “withdrawals from Galilee” to the east side of the Sea of Galilee and also to the region of Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia (Matthew 15:21).
Each of these withdrawals had it’s high points such as the feeding of the 5000 and the walking on the water.
Lately, we have been looking at a series of events that all took place in about a week.
We began looking at this monumental week two Sunday’s ago with “The Great Confession.”
Here, we studied both Peter’s great confession “Jesus is the Christ” and Jesus’ great confession that he would build his church (Matthew 16:13-19).
This leads us to our lesson today titled, “Valleys & Mountaintops.”
This is both metaphorical and factual as we begin seeing Jesus and his disciples…
In The Valley
In The Valley
Jesus & His Disciples Were Encumbered.
Jesus & His Disciples Were Encumbered.
Because Jesus thought his disciples were ready to learn about the future, he had announced the establishment of the church.
Unfortunately, the disciples found this very hard to accept because of the reality that there could be no church without Jesus’ death.
The church of Christ, is that which is made up of those saved by way of Jesus’ blood.
Up to this point in time Jesus had taught about his impending death through veiled terms.
Matthew 9:15 (ESV)
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
However, we read that this week would be different.
Mark 8:31–32 (ESV)
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly…
Underline the word “must” in your bible and then in verse 32 the word plainly.
Jesus was no longer teaching them metaphorically but plainly that he was committed to going to Jerusalem where he knew he would die to the Sanhedrin.
Now, think for a moment about the impact that would have on you if you knew not only your time of death was near, but you also knew you would die in a most cruel way.
Jesus was indeed encumbered and talking about this plainly with his disciples would help.
However, for his disciples their “encumbering” was really just starting.
Now remember, Peter, James, John, and the rest of the apostles had been taught their whole life that the Messiah would be coming to set up an earthly and political kingdom.
Jesus, whom they had just confessed as the Messiah, was now saying he was going to die.
This led to a most interesting exchange between Peter and Jesus.
Peter, who made that great confession, not only was confessing Jesus as the Messiah, but in his mind as his soon to be earthly king and now he is being told that will not happen as he had been taught his whole life.
Anyone who was raise in religious error can understand Peter’s confusion here.
Peter, not wishing to embarrass the Master in front of the other apostles took Jesus aside and rebuked him.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
The audaciousness of Peter here is almost unfathomable until you realize that most in the realm of “Christendom” also think they know more than the Lord knows.
Jesus’ response was the most harsh he had ever delivered to Peter or any other of his disciples.
Matthew 16:23 (ESV)
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
A short time before this Jesus was calling Peter “his dependable rock” and now “Satan” his demonic adversary.
Now you and I know Jesus was simply trying to get Peter to understand he was being Satan’s tool.
But what a burdened response that would have put on Peter, Jesus’ friend.
But in this “valley” Jesus took this opportunity and made it into a “teaching moment.”
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Now of course this is powerful and once again plain and to the point and if Jesus had left it here that would have been a very powerful moment, but Jesus continued.
38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Now remember Peter had just rebuked Jesus because he was ashamed at what he was teaching regarding his death.
First, to be called the “Messiah’s adversary i.e., Satan, then to be pointed out that you were “ashamed of your Messiah.”
Summary
Summary
The valley Jesus was in emotionally with all that awaited and his disciples lack of understanding must have been staggering.
But the emotionally encumbered apostles was astounding as well.
The gospel accounts do not tell us what happened over the next few days.
We can only imagine the growing tension as the disciples struggled to reconcile Jesus’ words with what they had always thought and likely taught their whole lives.
At the end of the week Jesus and his apostles were ready to be…
On The Mountaintop
On The Mountaintop
The Transfiguration.
The Transfiguration.
We read in Matthew 17:1-3…
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.
Luke records what Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were talking about in Luke 9:31.
31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
With Jesus disciples struggling with his death, these Old Testament heroes understood how essential his death truly was for the faithful in all ages.
Emotionally drained and being overwhelmed with what they had just witnessed Peter blurted out…
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.”
Now before Peter could even finish his statement this we read this in Matthew 17:5…
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.”
With everything that had just taken place the apostles were perplexed about something.
They had just witnessed Elijah at what Jesus was saying was the end of his ministry not the beginning so they asked…
10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”
Of course Jesus goes on to explain that the prophecy in question, Malachi 4:5-6, was about John the Baptist.
Summary
Summary
Both Jesus and his disciples needed this mountaintop both literally and figuratively.
Things were only going to be more intense as the pending fate of our Lord and Savior on earth drew near.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The reality is we will all go through “the valley of the shadow of death” from time to time.
We have those moments when everything seems that it’s at it darkest.
But this is when God, in our lives, will shine the brightest if we let him.
Because, he will never leave us nor forsake, and give us a way of escaping these valleys.
The best part about going through those valleys is that when you reach that mountain top everything seems all the more beautiful.
We can see more clearly what seems to hidden and the comfort of God that led us through is all the more there.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.