I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Matthew 16:28-17:8
Matthew 16:28-17:8 New International Version (NIV)
16:28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James
and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them
Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “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.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered
them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I
am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to
the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
-- there's
something about glimpsing the goal that makes a person come alive -- it reminds
them of what they are there for -- of what they are doing -- of what they are
striving for
-- let me
give you an example of what I’m talking about -- we’ve just entered a new season
in our squadron at Moody AFB -- as all of you know, the seasons of our lives
aren’t just limited to fall, winter, spring, and summer -- no, there are many
seasons in our lives that we pass through in this mortal plane
-- seasons
of life like getting married and figuring out how to live with another person
and learning what grace and forgiveness look like in the real world
-- seasons
of sickness where you or family members pass through extended times of sickness
or pain or suffering
-- seasons
of caretaking, where you spend your time caring for others -- looking after the
needs of children or seniors or others who need special care for a season
-- seasons
of mourning after the loss of a loved one
-- seasons
of struggle when the famine or locusts of modern-day life eat up all your money
before the end of the week or the struggles at work or school become so great
you just don’t know if you’re going to make it through
-- there
are many seasons in life and we are constantly moving from one season to
another
-- this
season that we have entered at Moody is a season of retirement -- a season when
many people in my office are ending their time in the workforce and are now
looking ahead to a new time in their life -- a new season -- a season of rest
-- a season of relaxation -- a season when they can enjoy the fruits of their
labors
-- we have
a lot of people in our office who are in this season of life right now -- it
seems like every week we are either attending a retirement ceremony or we are
hearing that so-and-so is retiring in the next few weeks -- and it’s interesting
to watch how these people prepare for this change in season
-- my boss
is in this season now -- he’s getting ready for his retirement in the next few
months -- he’s circled a date on the calendar, and he’s been getting ready to
go -- he’s making repairs to his home and finishing up little projects there
like making a new deck on the back and getting the landscaping in order so that
when he retires, there’s nothing else for him to do
-- he’s getting
his camper checked out and fixed up -- he’s just bought a vintage car and is
spending all his time getting it fixed and ready so that when he retires, he
and his wife can take long road trips in this vehicle
-- his plan
is to get everything ready and in perfect shape so that when he enters this
season, he has nothing to do but enjoy relaxing with his wife and family and
spending time doing what he wants to do
-- he’s gotten
a glimpse of the goal -- he has something that he’s looking forward to -- something
he’s striving for -- something he’s hoping for -- and it’s invigorated him --
it’s giving him new purpose and new meaning and he’s got a bounce in his steps
-- he’s excited for what the future holds and he’s doing whatever is necessary
to get ready for it
-- he’s a
perfect example of what I said when I opened this message -- there's something
about glimpsing the goal that makes a person come alive -- there’s something
about glimpsing the goal that excites us and propels us into the future -- it
reminds us of who we are and what we are living for
-- we all need
goals in our lives -- and that goes for our spiritual lives as well as our
secular lives -- but to avoid getting overcome by the cares and worries of this
world -- to avoid getting bogged down in doing life to the point that we forget
what we are striving for, we need to intentionally remember these goals so that
we can keep our goals in focus
-- we need
to see them -- we need to glimpse them -- to be reminded of them, so that we
might keep on pressing forward and be excited for what is to come
-- think
about what it was like when you first got saved -- when you first received
Jesus as your Lord and Savior
-- remember
how excited you were? -- how ready to tell others about Jesus?
-- when you
get saved and you get your first glimpse of your heavenly goal -- when you
realize what Jesus has in store for us at the end, you can't help but get
excited -- you're anxious to get there and you want to take everyone with you
-- you've
got a sense of purpose and urgency and you just want to love everyone into
heaven because it's such a wonderful place and because you want them to know
Jesus just like you do -- your goal is firmly in front of you and you’re pressing
towards it and you’re excited about it
-- but then
life happens -- and religion happens -- and clouds and shadows move in and
block your vision and you lose sight of your goal and things change
-- that
initial flush of energy and excitement you had about living for Jesus and
telling others about Him drains away and your relationship with Christ turns
into just another part of your daily routine
-- you
forget what used to excite you -- you forget what used to inspire you -- and
you lose the sense of purpose and urgency that you once had -- church just
becomes something we do on Sunday and not something that gives our life meaning
-- it’s all about the now and not about striving for the prize
-- and we
know it, don't we? -- why do you think churches are always scheduling revivals?
-- it's because they know that something's missing -- it's because they know
that they have lost the fire -- they've lost the desire -- they've lost their
first love -- and they want it back
-- but we
can schedule revivals until the cows come home, and nothing is ever going to
change -- there's just one thing that can truly revive our hearts and reignite
the passion within -- we have to get another glimpse of the goal
II. Scripture Lesson (Matthew 16:28-17:9)
-- that's
exactly what's going on here in this passage in Matthew that we call, "The
Transfiguration" -- Jesus is giving the leaders of the disciples a glimpse
of the goal -- a vision of the future -- to inspire them and revive them and to
give them hope and purpose so that they can inspire others and lead the church
to greatness
-- look
back at Matthew 16:28
16:28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
-- the
transfiguration occurs some time before Jesus' final entry into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday -- and it's a time of confusion for His disciples -- even though
they've been with Jesus for three years, they really don't understand who He is
-- Peter
has a little bit more understanding than the rest -- at least from time to time
-- if you remember, earlier in Chapter 16 Peter offers his great confession of
Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God -- but Peter's still thinking of
a Christ -- of a Messiah that would be an earthly King -- a Messiah like most
of the Jews had envisioned -- he didn’t understand the reason Jesus had come
-- that’s
why when Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to go to Jerusalem to
suffer and die at the hands of the chief priests, Peter exclaims, "Never,
Lord! This shall never happen to you" -- what Jesus was saying just didn't
fit with the image that Peter and the Jews had of who the Messiah was going to
be
-- so Jesus
is about to give Peter, James, and John a glimpse of the goal -- a glimpse of
the real Messiah -- of the Son of Man coming in his kingdom -- to correct their
misunderstandings of who He was and to prepare them to lead His church after
His death and resurrection
-- Chapter
17, verse 1
17:1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James
and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
-- some
people wonder why Jesus didn't carry all of the disciples with Him to the top
of the mountain to experience what Peter, James, and John did
-- we don't
know for sure -- the Bible doesn't tell us -- we do know that these three
became the leaders of the early church, and Jesus may have chosen them to
experience this special moment because they needed to see Him in His glory in
order to lead the church through the initial sufferings and persecutions that
they would face
-- I do
believe one reason He chose only them is that they were the only ones out of
the twelve who were ready to see Him as He was -- these were the three that
truly believed that He was the Son of God -- they may not have understood
completely, but they believed -- they were seeking the truth -- they were
looking for God in their midst -- and their faith was rewarded
-- the
question then for us is, "Are we truly seeking God as He is? -- Do we
desire to see His glory and His kingdom? -- Is our focus on Christ and His
glory or is our focus on the world around us?"
-- Chuck
Swindoll writes about vertical perception -- in order to see Christ -- in order
to envision who He is and to get a glimpse of the goal that He has set before
us, we have to look up -- we have to believe -- and we have to act on our
beliefs, just like Peter, James and John did
-- verse 2
2 There he was transfigured before them. His face
shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
-- Matthew
tells us here that Jesus was "transfigured" -- the Greek word that is
translated here literally means "metamorphosis" -- a change in form
-- while we
read that Jesus' face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light,
there's obviously a lot more going on here than Jesus just changing His clothes
-- what
happened on this mountain was that Jesus was transformed -- He took on another
form -- He changed from being just a man in appearance to appearing in His
glorified form
-- Peter,
James, and John witnessed this man that they knew becoming something else --
for the first time in their lives, they saw Him as He truly was -- in all His
heavenly glory
-- at that
moment, all that they thought they knew about Jesus was stripped bare -- no
longer was this just the Galilean carpenter and rabbi and teacher that they
knew -- no longer was this just a fellow first century Jew who might be the
Messiah who would become their earthly king -- no longer was this just the man
who shared their fire
--
everything about Him was changed -- His clothes -- His features -- His
appearance -- His very being -- they no longer looked at Jesus the man -- they
looked at Jesus the God
-- their
vision had been cleared and they would never look at Him the same way again --
they had been given a glimpse of Jesus as He truly was -- they had seen Him as
He exists in His kingdom -- and they knew that this was the goal -- their
reason for living and their purpose in life
-- verse 3
3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and
Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “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.”
-- Matthew
tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the mountain and that
Peter, James, and John saw them standing there talking with Him -- the question
is, "Why?" -- Isn't the real issue the fact that Jesus was now
standing before them in His transfigured, glorified form -- who cares about
Moses and Elijah?
-- they're
there for a reason -- Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the
prophets
-- for
Peter, James, and John, their former vision of the Messiah and of God was based
on these two things -- their idea of who God was and what God was supposed to
do and how God was supposed to act was based on the law of Moses and the
revelations revealed to God's prophets
-- over the
years, the true image of God revealed in the law and the prophets had gotten
blurred as life and experience and religion changed who the people saw
-- why do
you think the Pharisees missed seeing Jesus as Messiah when He was on earth?
-- because
the Jesus they saw was not the Messiah they were looking for -- they had made
up in their minds who the Messiah was and how He would look and what He would
do, and when Jesus showed up, He didn't fit their image -- He wasn't who the
Pharisees were looking for, and so they rejected Him
-- the
significance of Moses and Elijah appearing with Jesus at the Mount of
Transfiguration is to demonstrate to the disciples that who they are seeing now
-- this Jesus who is standing before them glorified as King of Kings and Lord
of Lords -- is the real Messiah -- the real Jesus -- the real God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob
-- verse 5
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered
them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I
am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to
the ground, terrified.
-- as if to
punctuate the lesson here for the disciples, God the Father descends upon the
mountain -- enveloping it in a cloud just like we see Him doing in the presence
of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament -- as the cloud descends, the very
voice of God proclaims to the three terrified disciples, "This is My
Son"
-- in other
words, the Father was making sure Peter, James, and John got the message --
this Jesus who was standing before them was the real Jesus -- the true Jesus --
the Jesus stripped of all worldly affectations
-- this was
the goal that they were supposed to keep in mind -- this was the goal that was
to inspire and invigorate their lives -- this was the goal they were to follow
-- this was what they were supposed to preach and proclaim to the world
-- this was
the Jesus that they were supposed to worship -- not the man they thought they
knew -- not the image of the Messiah they had been taught to look for
-- this was
the real deal -- and this was who they were to see when they looked on the face
of Jesus from now on
-- verse 7
7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
-- for us,
this morning, the heart of this passage comes at the end of verse 8 --
"they saw no one except Jesus"
-- all the
layers of life and religion and experience that had clouded their vision had
been removed -- their eyesight had been restored -- and they saw no one and
nothing other than the real Jesus
-- if you
know what you are seeking -- if you know what you are striving for -- then it
becomes real to you -- your life has meaning and purpose and direction
-- that is
what has happened to Peter, James and John -- they went up on that mountain
confused -- not knowing what was real -- not knowing where they were headed --
not understanding what Jesus was about to do
-- but they
came down that mountain with a vision of heaven and of Jesus glorified in His
kingdom -- it was that vision that led them to endure hardship and persecution
-- it was that vision that led them to build His church on earth -- it was that
vision that gave their lives meaning and purpose
III. Closing
-- there's
a hymn that you may be familiar with called, "Be Thou My Vision" --
it's an old Irish hymn that we sometimes sing in church
-- let me
share with you a couple of stanzas from that hymn:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my
heart;
Naught be all else to me, save
that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by
night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence
my light.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty
praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and
always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my
heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure
Thou art.
-- this
hymn speaks to what we have been looking at today in this passage of the
transfiguration -- when we know whom it is that we serve -- when we have a
vision of Christ in our hearts -- a glimpse of the goal before us -- then
nothing else matters
-- He is
our all in all -- our inheritance -- our goal -- our reason and purpose and
meaning -- our treasure that we seek
-- as we
close today, I want to encourage you to go to the mount of transfiguration this
week -- spend some time alone with Christ -- renew your heart -- refresh your
vision -- revive your life
-- spend some
time in the Psalms this week, reflecting on the passages that praise God in all
of His glory and splendor -- ask Jesus to show you His glory -- to give you a
vision of who He is and what He has in store for us -- so that you will persevere
and continue on until you reach the goal
-- let us
pray
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