THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS Luke 9:28-36Key Verse: 9:29 "As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." In the last passage Peter made a very important confession when asked by Jesus: “Who do you say I am?” He said: “The Christ of God.” In other words Peter believed Jesus to be the Savior God had promise to send to rescue his people. Jesus would not be a political or military savior. He would be mankind’s savior from sin. After Jesus confirmed that his disciples believed he was the Christ, Jesus began his second semester of discipleship training. He started it with the life giving teaching that all who would come after him must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow him. This teaching always sounds too hard when we hear it. But those who listen to Jesus and put it into practice discover it holds the secret to life and glory. In today's passage Jesus is transfigured on a mountain into the majesty and glory he possesses in the Kingdom of God. While in his transfigured state he has an important meeting with two prophets, Moses and Elijah. These men had lived hundreds of years before Jesus’ earthly messianic ministry. Not withstanding because they served God faithfully in their day, God raised them up to live in glorious splendor for all eternity in the kingdom of God. Let us now follow Jesus, Peter, James and John up that sacred mountain that we too may in a little way see Jesus transfigured into his heavenly glory. Part I. Jesus' prayer on the mountain (28-32)
Look at verse 28: “After Jesus had said this he took Peter, John and James and went up onto a mountain to pray.” The words, “After Jesus had said this” refer back to verse 27 where he told his disciples: “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God.” As we have studied again and again the message of the Kingdom of God was at the heart of all Jesus taught. One problem Jesus’ disciples had was their unwillingness to accept how Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God connected with his message about the need to take up his cross. Therefore, Jesus planned to give what we would call a kind of audio-visual demonstration how the two messages connect.
One point I notice here is that even though this audio-visual demonstration is important, Jesus nonetheless only picked three of the twelve to accompany him up the mountain. This means the others would just have to listen and believe what the three would later have to share. Doesn’t this in a way describe how we must come to believe in the majesty and glory of Jesus and the Kingdom of God? Generally the only way we can see the majesty of Jesus and the Kingdom of God before we taste death is through the eyes of our heart as we study passages like this from the Bible.
Let us look at verse 28 again. Jesus began his trip up that mountain eight days after he mentioned that some of them would see the Kingdom of God before they would taste death. Jesus may have waited eight days as a way to reduce the sense of competition among the disciples. When he did begin the trip he did it with very little fan fare. Maybe he did it like this: “Listen, disciples, I’m going up that mountain to pray. No big deal. Hey, Peter, John and James, why don’t you accompany me? The rest of you disciples, why don’t you watch, pray and just chill out for a little while? See you a little.” Off they went.
Some time later as they came to the top of the mountain Jesus found a good stopping point. Verse 28 tells us he began to pray. It is always instructive see how often Jesus would pray. At Jesus’ command he could calm hurricanes, raise the dead and drive a legion of demons from people. Nevertheless in the Bible we see he prayed and prayed. This shows the intensity of his love and dependence on God his Heavenly Father. It also shows he raised up his disciples not only by teaching and training them. He did all these under the foundation of prayers he would pray for them. Later in Luke’s gospel he will share the spiritual invisible battle he could see waging over his disciples. Satan asked God if he could sift Peter like wheat. Jesus in turn prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail. How many bible students or our own children’s faith has failed because there wasn’t someone there to pray and ask God that their faith would not fail? Our wisdom and strength is nothing but a paper tiger compared to the wisdom and strength of the devil. Prayer and faith in Jesus Christ is the only source of power God has given us to overcome the devil.
Look at verse 29. “As he was praying the appearance of his face changed and his cloths became as bright as a flash of lighting.” One moment Jesus was humbly praying, his appearance had nothing that would call attention to him. Then in a twinkling of an eye we are told his face changed. In what way did Jesus face change? Matthew 17:2 tells us his face shone like the sun. The eyewitness account did not say his face shone like a bright furnace but like the sun which is the most brilliant light even now known to man kind. Additionally his clothes were as bright as a flash of lighting. Again the adjective is one of the brightest examples known to man. In complete darkness where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face, a flash of lighting can be seen dozens and dozens of miles through this darkness. John, one of the apostles, who witnessed Jesus transfiguration found great spiritual power when he focused on this majestic, brilliant and bright glorified Jesus. He shared in 1 John 3:2, 3: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” To John Jesus’ brilliance and brightness for one thing indicates his purity. What is more John taught Jesus purity is what can purify us when we hope in Jesus’ glorious return and hope we will be like him in all his brilliance and brightness. The fact is this world we live in can make us very impure. There is no medicine we can take to get rid of our spiritual impurity. Only hope and faith in this Jesus who lives in heaven with brilliance as bright as the sun and whose clothes are as bright as lighting can purify us.
Let us read verses 30 and 31. “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” According to a bible history timeline found in my Bible Moses served God about 1476 years before this meeting with Jesus. Elijah served God 905 years earlier. Both men served God faithfully throughout their lives. Moses died when God wanted him to die. Elijah never died. God took him up into heaven. Now we see these same men again hundreds and hundreds of years later after God took them from the land of the living. They are not ghost. We see they appeared in glorious splendor with Jesus Christ.
What do we do we learn from this? We see Moses did not make a mistake when he gave up the palace of Pharaoh with all its perishable pleasures to suffer with God’s people. What is left of Pharaoh? Maybe a smelly, ugly, inglorious mummy. According to the Bible also a judgment to come. In contrast, look at Moses standing in glorious splendor with Jesus Christ the Son of God. Look also at Elijah. He lived as a prophet of God under the worst Queen in Bible history, Jezebel. This wicked Queen through all her influence as a queen labored with all her might to kill God’s prophets and especially she worked hard to try to kill Elijah. But Elijah never compromised with Jezebel. He suffered more than death itself under her. As a result God spared him death and took him directly into the Kingdom of God. Now both these men of God are talking with Jesus about his departure he will bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem. Maybe they shared with Jesus how they suffered but how God helped them and now glorified them. They encouraged Jesus to go to Jerusalem and take up his cross. They encouraged Jesus to take up his cross in Jerusalem in order to full fill all of God’s long salvation history. They encouraged Jesus to take up his cross because when he does he will depart to eternal glory with his heavenly Father in the Kingdom of God.
These men also encourage us. They encourage us to be faithful to God even to the point of death. Their glorious splendor hundreds even a thousand years after they die shows us all suffering for God will soon be forgotten once we have been faithful to God to the point of death.
Part II. Listen to Him (33-36)
Jesus was hoping his three top disciples could have witnessed his transfiguration along with Moses and Elijah in their heavenly splendor. Instead it seems they may have missed much of this majestic event because they were sleepy. Look at verse 32: “Peter and his companions were very sleepy but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.” In my own life I have found being sleepy can be costly. Once I was sleepy and dozing a little driving home from work. As a result I ran into the concrete curb on the side of the road. The curb destroyed both my front and rear right tires. It was costly and embarrassing. One bystander walked by and asked me: “Man, what have you been drinking?” As I sat there waiting for the tow truck I thought how easily I could have accidentally run over someone because I was sleepy. Then my sleepiness would have cost me something I could never have paid back.”
The question now we should try to answer is “what causes people to be sleepy at times when they should not be?” I believe one answer is people do not want to suffer. For example I know from experience when I am pleasure-seeking, I am wide awake. I hardly need any sleep at all. On the other hand the moment I must suffer a little to carry a cross given me I become sleepy. Therefore the best way to overcome sleepiness is to somehow learn to love the cross of suffering we are given to carry. When we enjoy the cross of suffering Jesus has given us as much or even more than pleasure seeking then we will not be overcome with spiritual or physical sleepiness.
Once the disciples were fully awake the meeting between transfigured Jesus and Moses and Elijah had come to an end. Peter realized he had just missed something really big so he suggested in verse 33, “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.” Actually this was a very bad idea because it could take Jesus’ mind off his cross and departure he must fulfill in Jerusalem. We learn here when we air our ideas without first praying over them they can be very bad ideas.
Look at verse 34: “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.” When we read Peter’s writings later we find this event where God speaks to him from a cloud is what Peter most remembers from that majestic day on that sacred mountain. Of all that happened that day why is it he remembers these words of God to him? It’s because he is now wide awake and the words he hears are words coming directly from the God of ages. Moreover they are words of God that cut right to his main problem; he was a disciple that had a difficult time in listening to Jesus.
Peter recounted these words in 2 Peter 1:16-19 He 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. For he received honor and glory from the God the father when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” In recounting this majestic experience I notice Peter did not mention the final three words Luke records in his recounting of it. Does anyone know what they are? “Listen to him”. Though we cannot find them in 2 Peter God’s words, “Listen to him” I believe carry the main point God was trying to get across to these three young disciples. These disciples had their own reasons why they found it difficult to listen to Jesus. Like all people they didn’t like to suffer so they didn’t want to listen to Jesus’ words that he must suffer and they too must deny themselves and take up their cross daily. I was told one young man refused to listen to his father that he must deny himself of playing video games and take up his cross of doing his homework. As a result he couldn’t graduate college.
Another reason these three disciples found it difficult to listen to Jesus is because they were hardheaded. I heard one mother told her hard headed son who would not listen to her: “Son, a hard head leads to a soft butt.” The Almighty God is an expert at softening up hardheaded men for the purpose of helping them to listen to Jesus. Usually this means going through many humbling times. Recently I noticed not all young men are hardheaded and have a difficult time to listen to Jesus. I was thinking why out of all young men in the world did Jesus allow Missionary Tunde from Nigeria marry one of Washington UBF best shepherdesses. I was told it was because he listened to his shepherd Missionary Abraham in Nigeria. Once you meet Missionary Tunde you quickly discover he is not a macho man but he is a man that can listen very well. Therefore my new advice to any shepherd who wants to marry a beautiful woman of God is that they should start humbling themselves and listen to Jesus. The Majestic God said to these three key apostles: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”
Actually we have many young men here in Washington UBF who show that they can listen to Jesus. Missionary Caleb a master Tae Kwon Do instructor noticed when Jonathan, Mitchell and James were asked to help fill up the dumpster last Sunday they listened and worked hard till the dumpster was filled to the brim. Simply put when men listen, work is accomplished. Especially when men and women listen to Jesus, the work of God is accomplished and many people are blessed for it.
Today we studied how Jesus was transfigured into the majesty and glory he possesses in the Kingdom of God. This is the image of Jesus we must focus on and have faith in. As we write our testimonies on this passage this week let us think how we can personally apply God’s words: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”