Sermon Tone Analysis

Title: Jesus As He Is

Thesis: When we get a glimpse of Jesus as He is, we’ll never want anything else.

Intro:

We’re going to unpack that statement, as well as the text this morning as we go, but before we dive into the text I want you to make sure you notice something powerful here: There are many allusions within this text to that of Moses receiving the Torah on Mt.

Sinai.

The timing - after 6 days Exodus 24:16 “The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days.”

The witnesses - others present as in Exodus 24:1 “Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.”

The Heavenly signs like the clouds Exodus 24:16 “The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it...

and the Divine Voice - Exodus 24:16 “And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”

The fact there’s a transformation in someone’s appearance - Exodus 34:30 “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.”

Which also mentions the fearful reaction of those who saw it.

When Jesus speaks of the Old Testament testifying or giving witness about Him, this is the kind of stuff He’s talking about.

The Old Testament speaks of Jesus, or leads us to Him, over and over and over again.

See, the prophets and the Patriarchs, the Psalmists, the Scribes, the Judges, the Rulers and the righteous all were looking toward the day of Christ, they all wished they could just get a glimpse of Him.

Peter, James and John do.

They get what those men and women, in faith, what they lived for, these 3 fishermen get to see.

And their lives will never be the same.

Because of what they witness, they will preach like no one else will ever preach, they’ll never want anything else but to see the glory of Christ as they saw Him on that mountain.

The same is true for us - when we get just a glimpse of His glory, we’ll never truly want anything else ever again, ever as much.

Because...

Jesus as He is will surprise us.

We are not told which mountain this is, just the fact that it is a high mountain.

There’s speculation, of course, as to which mountain it is - based on the timing, the fact Mark calls it a high mountain, etc.

But, as some theologians point out, some mountains are only referred to as “high mountains” sometimes is only considered a tall mountain because of its theological significance.

We see this specifically in Isaiah 2:2 “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,”

It’s not necessarily that the mountain grows, but it’s significance increases.

That’s not to say God can’t make a mountain grow, or become greater, but we just don’t want to read something into the text that’s not there.

The point Mark makes is that six days later (after the disciples confess who Jesus is), He gets alone with the core of his core group of disciples, 3 of the 12, and they go up a mountain together to get away.

Now, Matthew and Mark - in their accounts, make sure the reader understands it was 6 days, but Luke tells us it was 8 days after His famous discussion with the disciples.

So which is it?

Well, the answer could be as simple as, “Who cares?”

The point isn’t the timing - other than the fact both make it clear Jesus likely wasn’t travelling too much on a Sabbath - the 7th day.

The point is Jesus went up a mountain with Peter, James, and John.

It could be, Mark getting his information from Peter was told 6 days, it could be Matthew remembered it as 6 days, and it could be by the time Luke interviewed other people about it, they all said “No, it was around 8 days”, so that’s why he differs.

It could be that Mark and Matthew are making a theological point, rather than a chronological one.

Six days is the period of preparation for receiving revelation and witnessing a vision of divine glory - or a “theophany” in the Old Testament.

For example, we see this in Exodus 24:16 “The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days.

And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”

We really should remember exact dates and timing of events - especially in Jewish literature of the day - did not matter nearly as much as the theme for which the person was writing.

That’s why some events seem so jumbled between Matthew, Mark and Luke - their emphasis on things would vary depending on what they were trying to convey to their exact audience.

What’s most likely, is Luke is not concerned with the exact timing, or he is counting the 8th day as the day they come down the mountain - in fact he is the only one who notes it is on the next day after the transfiguration the disciples come down the mountain.

So likely, Luke it saying these events happened over a course of a couple of days - making the full event 8 days later, while Matthew and Mark are saying, “This whole thing started after 6 days.”

Why go into all that, Pastor Jeff?

Why try to explain it?

Because a pastor should.

Plain and simple.

The Scripture is infallible, inerrant, the very breath of God, Paul tells us.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17).

God doesn’t make mistakes.

So when things don’t seem to add up, we need to ask why and spend some time trying to figure it all out.

Don’t give up on study, look deeper.

I believe a pastor should approach Scripture like a detective examining evidence, or a doctor prescribing medicine - you wouldn’t want a doctor to prescribe you medicine without having a good knowledge of what it does and all its side-effects, right?

Wouldn’t want to prosecute someone without having all the information, all the facts, as best one can gather them, either.

Ultimately, though, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up this “high mountain”, by themselves, And He was “transfigured” before them.

Now, Luke’s Gospel specifically tells us the purpose for going up this mountain together was to pray (Luke 9:28).

But this happened as He was praying - yeah, your best friend and teaching being transfigured while you pray, that may surprise you!

Transfigured in the Greek is “metamorpho” - μετεμορφωθη - it means “changed in form”; it’s where we get our English word, “metamorphisis”.

Most translations call this the “transfiguration”.

Luke does not use this word, instead he describes what it looked like:

He doesn’t say “transfigured,” but still makes it clear his appearance changes.

Transfigure: It’s a word that is used only here, in Matthew’s account (Matthew 17:2) of the transfiguration, but the apostle Paul will use it twice.

Once when he writes to the church of Rome

Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

And once more when writing to the church of Corinth,

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

The point Paul is making in his use of the word is that we are also to have a metamorphosis in our lives - if our Christian life looks like our life before Christ, we do not belong to Christ.

Christ died to free us from our sins, not died to make us free to continue to sin.

And He is that anchor point for our metamorphisis - He changes us, that glimpse of His glory begins the transformation.

But back on track to the Transfiguration of Christ, Mark continues by describing His clothing:

So His physical features change, his clothing changes… What they are witnessing is Jesus the Christ as He is.

This is the same man, the same God, who ate with Abraham (Genesis 18:8).

This is the same man, the same God, who wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 31 (22-32).

This is the same man, the same God, who led Israel through the wilderness in Exodus 23 (20).

This is the same man, the same God, who would speak to Moses face to face in the tent of meeting in Exodus 33 (11).

This is the same man, the same God, who met with Joshua before the battle of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-14).

This is the same man, the same God, who watched Gideon beat out wheat in a winepress (Judges 6:11)

This is the same man, the same God, who promised a child to Manoah and his wife in Judges 13 (2-3)

This is Jesus as He is in eternity, the veil has been removed, His majesty is revealed, and these 3 men get to see what all men, all women, and all children will someday look upon - the face of the King.

His clothes, radiant and intensely white, only Mark says, “Whiter than anyone could bleach them.”

They are supernaturally white.

Some translations say they “dazzled”.

The white was unearthly, it was as though His garments became the garments of Heaven.

Clothes promised to those who overcome - as in Revelation he promises the church of Sardis

John wrote that, by the way, the same John who witnessed Jesus in such robes, who had, not long before the transfiguration hear Him promise

Mark 8:38 “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.””

If we confess Him, He will confess our name before the Father.

If we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us before the Father.

You understand, the disciples are not just getting a glimpse of Jesus as He is, they’re getting a preview of the eternity we are promised - not only will we be given similar robes, not only will we be transformed, we will get to be in the presence of His majesty, of His glory, as they were that day, for all days, forever and ever.

Hallelujah!

We could stop the message right there and just worship Him this morning.

Praise God.

The beauty that awaits those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ.

And the crown of that beauty is Jesus as He is.

But Jesus doesn’t stand alone.

Mark says there are visitors now.

People that haven’t set foot on planet earth for a long, long time.

There appeared to them Elijah with Moses (Mark is the only one who puts them in that order, and he reverses it a couple verses later).

“and they were talking to Jesus.”