Matthew 17:1-9
In the name of our glorious Savior, who gives us every reason to say with Peter, “It is good for us to be here,” dear friends gathered to hear the Word of our Lord,
In many aspects of life, people get caught up in finding the next “real thing.” In politics, we’re lured by promises from many a candidate, trying to get us to believe that he or she is the next real thing. In sports we become captivated when a rookie puts up amazing numbers, making us wonder if he could be the next real thing. Even in the business world, the up-and-coming young prodigy offers so much promise of making millions for the company that many hope they’ve stumbled upon the next real thing. All that’s left is for the anointed “real thing” is to back up the press clippings and fulfill the unlimited potential and promise that lies ahead.
Jesus came into this world with unlimited potential. The Old Testament press clippings, along with the Holy Spirit himself at his baptism, had anointed him to be the One everyone was waiting for, the One who would fulfill all those promises made by the prophets, the One who would be the Savior of the world.
The Epiphany season is all about Jesus giving proof that his proclaimed potential was more than just a pious pipedream. He was everything he was proclaimed to be. On this the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, we ponder the awesome event known as the transfiguration, an event that truly proclaims:
“Jesus Is the Real Thing”
I. His glorious divinity
II. His heavenly connections
III. His ultimate goal
What we have before us this morning is a spiritual “pit stop” for Jesus before the final lap of his race here on this earth (v 1), “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” It was time for Jesus to get away from his active routine of preaching and teaching, healing and counseling. Now he takes advantage of the opportunity to retreat to a place where three of his closest friends – Peter, James, and John – would face no distractions as they were about to see something beyond human comprehension. What a fine example for us today, reminding us of the importance to take time out from our busy schedules to recharge and to be enlightened by our Lord with the wonderful message of his Word.
What these disciples saw on that mountaintop might best be described as a glorious metamorphosis (v 2), “There [Jesus] was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” I used the word “metamorphosis” because that’s the actual Greek word used to describe what took place. In a glorious manner, the form of Jesus as the disciples knew it was altered. We may marvel at a caterpillar turning into a butterfly or a tadpole changing into a frog, but neither compares to the brilliance and majesty on display as the divinity of Jesus shone through his humanity up on that mountain of transfiguration. “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” That’s how Matthew describes the change that took place. The other Gospel writers offer their own descriptions. Mark puts it this way (9:3), “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” Luke says that “his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (9:29). To be sure even all these human descriptions fall short of portraying the glorious divinity on display during our Lord’s transfiguration.
As difficult as it may be to describe, we still know what was taking place: Jesus was allowing some of the splendor of his divine nature to shine through his human nature. Martin Luther once said that just as the worm covers the fishing hook and hides the hook from the fish’s eye, so the humanity of Christ covered his deity and hid it from the people’s eyes. Now the disciples received a glimpse of that glorious divinity. Even though they had been told by Jesus that he was truly the Son of God, and even though this fact was clearly demonstrated time after time through his miracles, this was different. There would be no denying that Jesus was who he proclaimed to be. He was not only true man. Along with the humanity came the divinity. The transfiguration declared that Jesus was the real thing – he was true God!
But why now? Why make this undeniable display of his deity at this time? Imagine what this did for the three disciples privileged to witness this event. It was approximately nine months before Jesus would enter the depths of his humility, when he would be arrested, tortured, cruelly executed, and buried in a tomb. The disciples needed to know that this was not just some ordinary man whose cause was lost in defeat, another self-proclaimed Savior who couldn’t deliver on what was promised. No, the transfiguration backed up what Jesus was claiming all along, and later the disciples would write about the certainty that this event gave to them. We heard Peter proclaim earlier this morning (2 Pe 1:16), “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.” In his Gospel John writes (Jn 1:14), “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The transfiguration of our Lord proved to the disciples – and to us – that Jesus was indeed the divine Savior of the world. He is the real thing!
Need more proof? Check out the heavenly connections who visited our Lord that day.
If the sight of Jesus’ glorious divinity wasn’t enough to bedazzle the disciples, what happened next did the trick (v 3), “Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” This was no dream or illusion. Here was Moses, the great leader of Israel, and Elijah, the great prophet of Israel, the Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle of the Old Testament, standing and talking with Jesus! Luke tells us what they were talking about (Lk 9:31), “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Call it a spiritual “pep talk,” words of encouragement for Jesus as he would soon make his way to Jerusalem for the last time. These two great warriors of old were there to remind Jesus that his heavenly Father was indeed fulfilling his plan of salvation through him.
This experience was so overwhelming for the disciples, they didn’t want it to end. Serving in his usual role as the self-appointed spokesman for the group, Peter had a suggestion (v 4), “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” “Let’s stay here, Lord! This is all too wonderful! We don’t want it to end! Let’s just live up here for a while and enjoy this little bit of heaven on earth!” Who among us hasn’t had moments that we wish would never end! But then the party’s over, the vacation wraps up, and Monday morning comes again. So don’t laugh too much at Peter’s suggestion. If anything, he was just a bit anxious to get to that heavenly state where joys and wonderful experiences never end.
If the appearance of these two Old Testament icons wasn’t enough to convince the disciples of Jesus’ divinity, there was more (v 5), “While [Peter] was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” A bright (Greek = “radiant”) cloud signified what we call a “theophany” – a visible appearance of God to man. For 40 years the Israelites had experienced such a theophany while traveling through the wilderness as God guided them in the form of a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. Not only was God’s presence made known by the cloud, but his words echoed the approval he had first given his Son at his baptism. Here we find God talking about God – a concept beyond our human understanding, and yet so very true! God the Father was giving his approval to the work of salvation being fulfilled by God the Son. He states that he was “well pleased” with his Son, actually saying that he “approved of” his work, that he “took delight in” what he was doing. Jesus was fulfilling his role as the world’s Messiah. He was the real thing, as evidenced by his heavenly connections on the mount of transfiguration.
And yet this mountaintop experience had to end – and for a very good reason! Jesus had work to do. His ultimate goal had yet to be fulfilled.
The disciples exhibited the normal reaction when sinners stand in the presence of the holy God (vv 6-8), “When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” The Greek says that the disciples were frightened “out of their wits” by the voice coming from the cloud. But Jesus lends his comforting touch, and when the disciples opened their eyes, they saw Jesus back in his earthly state, once again cloaking his divinity with his humanity.
It was time to head back down the mountain. But as they made their descent, Jesus wanted this event to be kept a private matter, at least for the time being (v 9), “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’” This experience had been for the disciples’ benefit and for now wasn’t to be shared with others. Jesus didn’t want to fuel any “superman” ideas among the people but instead wanted the disciples to store away what they had seen until a time came when all the pieces of the puzzle would fit together. Perhaps this is why he so often refers to himself as “the Son of Man” instead of as “the Messiah” or “the Son of God.” His actions would speak for themselves in proving his deity. For now he wanted to remain focused on his ultimate goal of saving the world from sin, and he didn’t want others to be distracted by misunderstanding his mission. After his resurrection it would all make sense. Then the disciples would have a story to tell!
That’s why, even against the wishes of Peter and the other two disciples, Jesus had to do down from the mountain. His ultimate goal had yet to be accomplished. Scripture proclaims (1 Jn 3:8), “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work,” and Jesus was determined to do just that. He had a mission to accomplish, and nothing would sway him from it. The disciples also couldn’t remain mountain men, for they also would have work to do. There would be other “mountains” yet to come. They would see Jesus agonizing in prayer on the Mount of Olives and suffering in agony on Mount Calvary. For now they were to take to heart what they had seen, being fully convinced that Jesus was indeed the Son of God sent from heaven. He was truly the real thing!
Whenever we assemble here in God’s house we’re privileged to have our own little “mountaintop experience.” Jesus gives us a glimpse of his glorious divinity and introduces us to his heavenly connections through the pages of his Word. We’re reminded of how he fulfilled his ultimate goal in those very same Scriptures. It’s not hard for us to share the same enthusiasm as Peter and proclaim, “Lord, it is good for us to be here” – especially if it’s a potluck Sunday, right?!
But we have to head down the mountain as well, because we too have work to do. But the vision of our glorious Savior learned from his Word goes with us, and it’s that light-giving vision that we share with a world shrouded in darkness. To bottle up what we experience in our hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit is to deprive others of getting to know Jesus, the real thing — the only thing — when it comes to our hope for this life and the life yet to come. The joy that we have in our hearts is just a snapshot of the eternal joy awaiting us in heaven. And there’s enough of it to go around. That’s why we can’t stay on the mountain top. That’s why we climb back down into a world that needs to know there’s hope for the future, hope found only in Jesus.
He’s the real thing. Politicians can show so much promise while campaigning but often end up being such a disappointment when elected to office. Many a promising rookie athlete fails to live up to the hype and to the press clippings predicting greatness. And in the business world so-called “prodigies” often lose their edge and fall back to the “9-5″ pack. They prove to be anything but the real thing.
But not so with Jesus! He delivered on all of his and his Father’s promises. That’s what the season of Lent, which begins this Wednesday evening, is all about. Join us and let us once again show you that Jesus was no impostor, no pretender. When it comes to being true God and our Savior, he was and always will be the real thing!
Amen
–Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff