The Transfiguration. Matthew 17:1-9. 2014

Transfiguration Sunday, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 10 AM Central Time 

The Hymn #495               From Greenland’s Icy Mountains            3:23
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual             2 Peter 1:16-21
The Gospel           Matthew 17:1-9
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #135            Tis Good              3:81

Transfigured – God In the Flesh

The Hymn #307   Draw Nigh                3:72

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #283   God’s Word                           3:90

KJV 2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

KJV Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Sixth Sunday After Epiphany

O merciful and everlasting God, heavenly Father: We thank Thee that Thou hast revealed unto us the glory of Thy Son, and let the light of Thy gospel shine upon us: We pray Thee, guide us by this light that we may walk diligently as Christians in all good works, ever be strengthened by Thy grace, and conduct our lives in all godliness; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

God in the Flesh

KJV Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Jesus did not always reveal His divinity. This has fueled two kinds of heretics. In ancient times, some refused to accept His human nature, so they dismissed anything relating to this. One response was to make Mary supernatural, living her entire life without actual sin, because a perfect Savior could not be born of someone who was 100% human.

Others denied that He suffered on the cross, and so forth. All these things came from teaching only one Nature - the divine nature. Since this is not faithful to the Scriptures, it promotes many additional errors.

Today the rationalists jump on the many examples where the human nature of Christ is emphasized, or where the disciples only related to His human nature, not comprehending His divinity. Like the other error, this completely distorts the atoning death of Christ.

I could go on about how the philosophers mangle this even more. Paul Tillich is one example, and he was only repeating in the 20th century what the 19th century rationalists said. Almost all modern Christian theology today belongs to this camp, and that includes the superstars of Roman Catholicism - men like Rahner. Such "teachers" easily spot those who disagree and despise them as believers. This is the great era of Faith Without Belief, the Age of Apostasy predicted by the pastoral epistles.

The Text

The text was written by the Holy Spirit, through human hands, giving us the precise message of God about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - with special emphasis upon the Father and Son.

Therefore, it does not matter what various experts have claimed, since the one and only true Professor of Theology is the Holy Spirit, who has published only one book, a best-seller called the Bible. This book judges all books and is judged by none. More importantly, this Book does not merely informs us. The Word plants faith in our hearts, sustains that faith, and moves us to good works in thanksgiving for that justification, forgiveness, we receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus took His disciples to a special place and event so they would see, as clearly as possible at that time, that He was the eternal Son of God.

This narrative summarizes the public ministry of Christ in one sense. The disciples believed, yet they were always growing in understanding and faith. They enjoyed the fellowship of being with Jesus and yet they did not constantly see His miraculous divine nature. Sometimes faith came in second to doubts, and there had to be correction and new understanding.

We have the same experience. From time to time we are reminded of God working miracles in our lives. We have no doubts about that. But then over a period of time we are less aware, although the miracles continue, and we are more easily shaken by bad news and difficult times.

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 

This word is very important, because Jesus was completely changed before them.

Even the scientists who deny Creation use that term from the Greek text - metamorphosis. 

A monarch butterfly begins its life as a humble caterpillar. There is no visual connection or even a functional connection, between the early stage and the last stage. The caterpillars are found on milkweed plants and easily kept inside during the final stages.

The golden nails are just plain showing off, in my opinion.

Butterfly ready to emerge.

The caterpillars get fatter on the leaves inside, then hang themselves on a twig and create a jade coffin with golden nails. Most people would say, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..." The jade coffin later turns translucent and the coloring of the monarch shows through. What emerges is nothing like that weed-eating worm before. It flies away to reproduce.

Jesus was completely changed in appearance. Human language is impoverished to describe what the disciples saw.

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

Moses and Elijah were figures of the Scriptures (no "Old" Testament then, only the Scriptures). They also represented eternal life to believing Jews. That Jesus appeared with them meant He belonged to a different realm, as the apostles taught. He came down from above, was born of the Virgin, and lived among us full of grace and truth.

Impulsive Peter always had something to say, and it was often the wrong thing, but he said it. Notice the Epistle is from Peter and recounts this episode in majestic language. Peter is the prime example of someone's weaknesses being on full display, yet grace being triumphant in his repentance and forgiveness.

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

This is the second time that a voice from heaven spoke. The first time was at the baptism of Jesus, and people heard a sound like thunder. The disciples heard a clear declaration, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him."

This is a clear affirmation of the role Jesus would have as the Savior, dying on the cross (human nature) without sin (divine nature) to pay for the sins of the world. The message of the Gospel would be, "Jesus died on the cross for your sins. The price has been paid. Believe in the Savior and receive this forgiveness."

This is so powerful, as I have mentioned many times before, that prisoners wept and confessed their sinful nature. All I did was recount in a quiet voice what the Word says about all of us being sinful and having Jesus as our Savior. In one case, it changed a young man's life. He gave up drugs, went back to his former pals to tell them to repent, and left to go back home to start a new life.

7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

These disciples got to see the risen Lord in advance, in all His glory. This was part of God's plan, to build up the disciples so they could endure the crucifixion and still remain believers, shaken and afraid, but still united around Jesus' leadership. That was enough to keep them together until they saw Him, heard Him teach them again, and saw Him ascend into heaven.

The value of the historic lessons is in building us up so that we know one set of Scriptures increasingly well. There is always something new to learn. Whatever we face, it is with the knowledge of the Transfiguration, the empty grace, and the Ascension.

Modern clergy do not know or confess the divine nature of Jesus. So they do not believe in the empty grave or the Ascension. Therefore, the crucifixion has no meaning for them. As a result, they teach social agitation and Left-wing fads, until they find a new fad to dwell upon. The entertainment clowns are no different. They rejoice in the crowds they get by feeding them popcorn and soda, but they have no message. Notice that the big crowd Evangelicals are all joining the gay agenda bandwagon, one after another. Andy Stanley, trainer of WELS clergy, came out first. Others are following his standard.

The Gospel itself is always irrelevant for those who love wolf-preaching, just as it is dangerous to the wolves. But when there is nothing else to cling to, the Gospel is the only message, the only truth.

God blesses believers with a Transfiguration in their own lives. They see the risen Savior long before the full revelation is theirs in eternal life. Like Stephen the Martyr, they see Him from afar and trust in Him alone.