Transfiguration Sunday Luke 9:28-36

Pastor Waldschmidt
2-14-2010
Luke 9:28-36
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
34While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." 36When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
A Glimpse Of Glory
I. It Shows Us Jesus’ Power.
II. It Shows Us His Upcoming Death.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Amen
In the name of Jesus who shows us things as they really are, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
Did you know that there is a spot on earth in Venezuala where there is a lightning storm on almost half of the nights of the year? Those cloud to cloud lightning storms over the mouth of the Catatumbo River last for more than 10 hours and flash over 280 times per hour. More ozone is created there than anywhere else on the planet. Apparently there are air currents that collide just right there over a swamp where there is plenty of methane gas and it causes the light show. It’s another way we can see the awesome power of the Creator. Though its flash is over in the blink of an eye, lightning can be a little scary, especially if it flashes anywhere near you. Imagine a bolt of lightning where there is a solid flash for say 10 or 15 minutes. That would be very un-nerving. That’s what it was like for Peter and the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus clothes became as bright as a bolt of lightning. Peter, James and John were a little un-nerved. In this event which must have startled and scared and amazed those disciples Jesus had some comfort for them. Jesus gave them A Glimpse Of Glory. I. It showed them Jesus’ power and II. It showed them His upcoming suffering and death.
Athletes and Olympic Committees having been working for years preparing for the Winter Olympic games we’ll be watching over the next two weeks in Vancouver. Now it’s time for the Olympics to begin. In God’s Word today, Jesus was preparing His disciples because the time God had been preparing for a long time was about to take place. The Savior was getting ready to go to the cross. Jesus is about two thirds of the way through His 3 year public ministry. It had been almost nonstop action for Jesus and His disciples during Jesus’ ministry. There had been thrilling times like Jesus feeding the 5000 with only a few scraps of food. There had also been moments of disappointment. John the Baptist, who had been especially close to some of Jesus’ disciples had been viciously killed. At first many people welcomed Jesus but now the Pharisees had convinced many people that Jesus could not be the long awaited Savior. Soon Jesus would go to Jerusalem and suffer and die. There were busy times in the past and busy times ahead so Jesus takes some time out with His disciples to pray.
“About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” In this time of rest and prayer Jesus gave His disciples a glimpse of glory that would show his disciples His power. Jesus let his disciples see His power. This wasn’t a mask or a costume Jesus put on. Instead Jesus pulled back the veil so that his disciples could see the power that was His as true God. For that moment the disciples could glimpse what Moses saw there on the mountain. For that moment the disciples get a glimpse of the glory of the one who said in the beginning, “let there be light and there was light.”
Why would that glimpse of the Savior’s power and glory be so important for the disciples? Well even though Jesus had been talking about his upcoming suffering and death, judging from their actions when Jesus was arrested those disciples clearly didn’t know what was coming. In the days ahead, the fact that Jesus was true God was going to be very easy for the disciples to forget about in the coming days. Within a few months, Jesus’ disciples would see Jesus seized in Gethsemane. They would see His slapped in the face again and again by soldiers. People were going to spit upon Him and insult Him. A crown of thorns would be jammed into his forehead. They would see Jesus stagger under the weight of the cross. Blood would stream out of His nail wounds. The breath of life would even leave Jesus’ body. In advance of all of that, Jesus shows His disciples His power.
With His transfiguration, Jesus makes it clear that one whose voice tears the mountains apart was the same one whose voice would cry out “It is finished.” Jesus made clear that the one who designed and built human hands and feet would be the same one who would walk up a little hill outside Jerusalem and let his hands and feet be nailed to a cross. Jesus, the architect and builder of the streets of gold in heaven left all of that to come here so that we could live there with him. The miracles Jesus had done were not the work of a charlatan deceiving people with a magician’s tricks. No Jesus was indeed who He said He was, the Son of God. As Peter later wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."
At this time when people are losing their jobs, their life savings and homes, we might be tempted to doubt whether or not Jesus is really in control of things. In the gleaming light of the transfiguration Jesus shows His power. No matter what forces may threaten us, Jesus is still the king to whom all princes and presidents will someday bow the knee whether willingly or by force. On that day of Judgment everyone will see Jesus’ power and glory.
My sister could always get the basketball to twirl on the end of her finger. When I tried it knocked over mom’s lamp. It was sort of a neat trick that she could do but I’ve never seen the ball twirled on the end of a finger during a real game. In other words, it’s a cool trick but not worth too much in a real game. Jesus was not showing off a neat trick He could do when He was transfigured. He showed His disciples His power in order to strengthen them for the times ahead. At the same time Jesus went on to show His disciples why He had come to earth in the first place. He didn’t just come to earth to show off what neat things He could do but He came to save you and me. That’s the second thing we see in this glimpse of glory. Jesus shows his disciples His upcoming suffering and death.
30Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. Moses and Elijah were regarded as two of the greatest prophets, who served the Lord at critical times in Israel’s history. Here God used their appearance as part of a carefully planned event to show His disciples His purpose for coming. God used the appearance of these two leaders to impress on the disciples that Jesus was the One that Moses and Elijah and all the prophets had been talking about.
In all that bright light did you hear what they were talking about? They were talking about Jesus’ upcoming suffering and death! In the midst of His sparkling power the suffering and death of Jesus come to the front of the stage.
It seems like the disciples may have been napping there on vacation and awoke to Jesus shining as bright as lightning."32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. “ So it is clear this wasn’t a dream. “33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.) Peter apparently hadn’t thought through his plan but that never seemed to stop him from blurting it out. Just like a child who doesn’t want to leave the county fair because he is having such a great time, Peter wants to build three shelters so that he can stay there permanently and never leave this great place and moment in time.
“While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." Why would that have been so important for Peter to hear? Remember Peter didn’t always want to hear what Jesus said. He “shussed” Jesus when Jesus talked about his suffering and death before. That’s the this Jesus had said when our text began. Peter told Him, "Lord don’t talk like that!" Jesus had to sharply rebuke him and tell him that he did not have in mind the things of God. With His words, God the Father assured the disciples that the sufferings and death Jesus was talking about was all part of God’s plan.
The bright cloud and the voice of God the Father were almost more than the disciples as sinful human beings could bear and they fell to the ground frightened out of their wits. As Jesus always does when His followers need help, He comes to the aid of His disciples. He calms their fears. With His power as true God once again under the veil of His humanity, Jesus and His disciples leave the mountain to carry on His journey which would end on a cross in Jerusalem. There on the cross Jesus would fulfill His purpose by paying for my sins and your sins and the sins of the whole world.
When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen." Jesus had told them not to say anything. Many people were seeing the glimpses of Jesus’ glory and got the wrong idea about Jesus. They wanted a king who would fill up their bellies. Others only wanted Him because they thought He would get rid of the Romans. Jesus did not want this incident to add fuel to the fire of people coming to Him for the wrong reason. In the midst of this confusion about Jesus, Jesus shows us things as they really are. That He was the Son of God who came into this world to save sinners- to die on a cross so that we might live in heaven.
Those lightning bolts over the Catatumba River were often used by sailors to navigate. They can be seen for up to 100 miles out to sea. During the upcoming Lenten season, let’s let the light of the transfiguration light our way. Yes, we will see the Savior nailed to the cross. If we didn’t know better we might be tempted to think that Jesus was weak and helpless. When our view of Jesus is obscured by our doubts or worries, let's remember the glimpse of glory on the mountain. When we think that God could never forgive us for our sins, let's remember the Mt. of Transfiguration where God made clear that Jesus was His Son whom he sent to take away the sin of the world. When you are faced with troubles and everything around you seems to be against you, remember the power Jesus, showed on the mountain. Remember how he loves you. He left that mountain and went to a cross for you. Amen.