Have
you ever had an experience that was so powerful that it changed your life? I
have-that’s why I’m able to stand before you today and preach the good news. Jesus
had several powerful experiences, including his Transfiguration, which we heard
about in Mark 9:2-9.
Transfiguration
is a believer’s spiritual transformation into the image of Christ. Mark’s
version of the transfiguration story offers a glimpse of Jesus’ divine nature
and his radiant, divine glory. He radiates light from the inside. In the future
kingdom, Jesus’ glory will not be veiled. It will shine like a thousand sons.
No one will be able to mistake it.
Moses
represented the Old Testament law, Elijah represented the prophets. Together
they represented the Old Covenant. In Old Testament scenes where God revealed
himself, human audiences were often at a loss for words. Peter was also at a
loss for words, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. Mark argued
that Peter spoke out of great fear. He was scared by what he saw.
Holy
moments can do that to us. Words can bring healing, and the right words at the right
time can bear holiness, light and life, but words said quickly and too easily
can distract us and allow us to avoid whatever it is we might feel in the words
that were not said. In cases like this we have the ingredients we need for
Christ’s glory to be seen and transfigure the time. Then we can see Christ’s
glory in our ordinary time. As long as we continue to do ordinary things,
Christ will be present. As long as birth, deaths, hope, despair, courage, fear
and faith are with us, Christ will be with us.
There
was an expectation among the Israelites that Elijah would appear just before
God sent the Messiah and restored the reign of the Lord in Israel. Moses
promised the people before he died that God would send a prophet like him at a
time in the future. That moment happened during the transfiguration, and the
disciples were scared as they saw Jesus for who he really was. Their physical
sight gave them the gift of spiritual reality, and it was too much for them.
Something very powerful and life-changing was happening before their eyes.
Jesus’
glorification is like dessert that is served as part of a meal. It has to come
at the end. Jesus glorification needs to
come after his suffering and death. If we start with the desserts, we may never
get to salvation events. If we focus our attention only on the desserts, we
will find a lot of people who are pretending to be Christians, not really
believing in or serving Jesus, not really willing to deny themselves and carry
their crosses, but seeking an escape from their problems.
The
cloud confirmed that Jesus’ transfiguration was a re-enactment of the Covenant
given to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 24. Moses and Elijah conveyed the law,
but Jesus was the law. Peter would
remember this event years later because it revealed to the disciples that Jesus
is the son of God. This experience is not meant to diminish the importance of
the law and the prophets. They work together and with the revelation of Jesus
as the son of God. Moses and Elijah were important, but they are not as important
as Jesus.
Jesus
sought help from the scriptures for understanding his life and mission. He knew
how to listen to them and how to interpret them in relation to what they said.
For him they were not merely sources in the present. They spoke of God as our
creator, sustainer and redeemer, the loving giver of bread and forgiveness and
protection from evil; the one who calls us into relationships of love to him,
our neighbours and ourselves.
At
the transfiguration, Jesus had a visionary moment in his life where he knew
that his life had a meaning. There are times when we can have the same type of
moments in our lives. We might not be able to pinpoint the exact time of that
moment, but we know that our lives have a meaning and a goal. We know that God
has a purpose in our lives, a destiny in this world, and we have surrendered
ourselves to a purpose that is larger than us. This vision allows us to see
beyond any obstacles.
When
Jesus came to earth, he did not give up his deity. He shrouded his glory and
laid aside the privileges of his deity. Why? So that he could serve us and save
us. He modeled what it was like to be a servant. We are to follow his example.
If he could lay aside his divine privileges, then we can lay aside our own
needs to put the needs of others first.
Jesus
told his disciples not to reveal what they had seen until after his
resurrection. They would not be able to understand what had happened during his
transfiguration until after his death and resurrection. They might have even
tried to bring on the kingdom prematurely themselves. When Jesus was
transfigured, the disciples saw the glory of Christ as God’s son. Christ’s
death and resurrection put his transfiguration in its proper context. Jesus and
his disciples will endure suffering and
death, but their final destination will be glory. This story offers hope. Jesus
struggle doesn’t diminish the confidence of his promises, including the promise
of a future with him. He promises to be with us during the difficult times in
our lives.
Anyone
who rejects the Messiah rejects God because God sent the Messiah. Peter, James
and John saw Jesus’ glory and his greatness over Moses and Elijah. They also
hear God authenticate Jesus as his son. Jesus alone will walk the path of
suffering for our redemption. This knowledge was reserved for Peter, James and
John. They needed to prepare for Christ’s death and resurrection. They were
overwhelmed by the prophecies of Christ’s suffering, and they needed to see
what Christ meant by his power and glory if they wanted to break the world’s
hold over their lives. They could not endure the cross or hate the shame that
awaited them as well unless they shared Christ’s vision of joy. They saw the glory
of his sinlessness, his sonship and his suffering. They learned that every word
Jesus spoke carried the glory of the truth of the Gospel.
Peter
had a problem with this. His confusion was the reason why he offered to build
the three shelters. Peter was scared, and most of us would probably also be
scared if Jesus had taken us up to the mountaintop. God had to reassure them by
telling them to believe Jesus. He reassures us today by telling us the same
message-believe Jesus. He makes our lives simpler. He helps us avoid mistakes.
He helps us to inherit a heavenly treasure. He helps us experience joy. The
only way we can experience this is to study his world. We can listed to CDs and
great preachers and read books, but they can’t take the place of reading the
Bible.
Mark’s
Gospel is all about the cross and suffering along with the glory of Jesus. The
vision of Christ in his glory in the transfiguration is an encouragement both
to Mark’s audience and to us. Only after Christ’s death and resurrection can we
understand that the Jesus at the transfiguration is the same Jesus who was
crucified---and that’s the beginning of a wonderful story. Mark’s version of
the transfiguration is a transition from the season of Epiphany with its
emphasis on the power and presence of the good news of salvation through Jesus
to Lent, with its emphasis on Jesus’ journey to suffering and the cross.
The
transfiguration had several purposes:
1.
To see God’s
kingdom coming into power.
2.
To connect and
contrast Jesus with the law and the prophets.
3.
To point to Jesus
as the one whom the prophets expected.
4.
To connect Jesus
with “mountaintop experiences” at down times.
5.
To show Jesus as
a divine being.
6.
To show Jesus’
coming martyrdom.
7.
To show the
disciples their blindness.
8.
To allow the
disciples to hear God’s declaration that Jesus is his son.
9.
To usher in a new
commandment from God-that is, to listen to Jesus.
10. To remind us that there is a time for us to speak and
a time for us to listen.
We
want an encounter with God, but we often fear him at the same time because we
are afraid of being changed or transformed. Standing in God’s presence gives
rise to a feeling of reverence that is similar to fear. We are small in the
face of God’s ministry. The God who struck fear in the heart of Peter is the
same God who heals the sick, frees the oppressed and forgives sinners.
We
are called on to create an environment in which God’s glory can be revealed and
celebrated, and in which our understanding and experience of Jesus can be
deepened. We have to get people to see that the only God that is important in
their lives cares deeply for them and for us and allows his Son to take our
place of punishment that we know we deserve, to die for us and rise again to
give us life.
What
keeps God from getting through to us? Are we so certain that we know the end of
the story? Are we so busy that no one can get through to us-not even God?
Stories like the story of the Transfiguration bring us closer to God and draw
us farther away from the world. We need to figure out how to listen for God’s
voice among the noise of our worldly lives. We need to listen as Jesus tells us
to get back to reality and do the work he has given us to do. Only then can we
move forward in our Christian lives.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2013)
2.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
3.
McKenna, D.L.
& Ogilvie, L.J. : The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)
11.
Walter Harms,
“If I Could Only.” Retrieved from http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archive~81060226-5e.html
12.
The Rev.
Edward Markquart, “Visions on a Mountaintop.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com
13.
The Rev.
Edward Markquart, “Mountains, Valleys and Plains.” Retrieved from www.sermonsfromseattle.com.
15.
John van de Laar, “Brainstorming for Worship:
Transfiguration”. Retrieved from http://sacradise.com/blog/?p=1746
16.
Pastor Dave
Risendal, “The Transfiguration of our Lord, Year B (2/15/1015). Retrieved from donotreply@wordpress.com
17.
Lectionary
Homiletics, Feb./March 2015 (St. Paul, MN: Luther Seminary, pp 16-22)
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