"And Jesus was saying to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so glad that you could be here with us today, whether it's your first time or you are a faithful member of our family in Christ. It is truly amazing to witness our Lord accomplish such awe-inspiring things in our midst. As we continue to proclaim the Gospel to others, let us not forget the profound impact that Christ has had on our own lives, trusting Him to make a difference in the lives of many. If God is using this ministry to impact your life, please write and let us know, we'd love to hear from you.
Heaven Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word, how grateful we are for this revelation that suffering must come before glory. Lord, we confess, that like the disciples, we don’t always fully understand Your plans, grant us a better understand the glorious message that it reveals. Help us to make a fresh commitment to honor You with our lives in every way we can, so that others would be attracted to Christ. Father, we pray that You would open the hearts of those who have never opened their hearts to Christ, that they would understand it's not just a fascinating story, but a spiritual reality. Work in their hearts that they would repent and believe unto salvation. In Christ's name we ask and pray these things that He may be exalted and You would be glorified.This comes on the heels of Peter's great confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," with the anticipation that the kingdom would come immediately. They were committed to following Jesus to the glory, they were looking forward to the kingdom and the Messiah’s promised reign, but didn't understand the humiliation of the cross. In fact, Peter found it so offensive that he rejected the plan and began to rebuke Jesus. Then Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan, for you’re not setting your mind on God’s interests but man’s."
Obviously, the disciples are not going to live until the Second Coming,
but they did live to see the eyewitness account of His transfiguration, that's the promise Jesus is
talking about here, a glorious preview of the Second Coming. These men needed this glorious visible revelation to anchor their confidence that Jesus is the Christ, not just by faith but by sight, preparing them for His imminent departure. There was a plethora of evidence that Jesus was God by the many miracles He did, but there was nothing that could be seen by looking at Him, until now! Never before has God revealed Himself so magnificently as when His glory shines through Christ in this passage.
In fact, this so gripped Peter’s memory that he couldn’t stop talking about it and he wrote about it more than 30 years! I can't begin to imagine my reaction if I had physically been there to witness this amazing event, seeing Jesus supernaturally transformed with my own eyes. Every passage in the New Testament has been written on purpose, for a purpose, so that those who have not seen may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That's why I believe expository preaching is so important, because the promise of His coming can be very hard to believe in the present, but we can be sure it He will come, because our Lord has promised He will come!
How strong is your faith? One's faith can be measured is by the unwavering trust and confidence they have, even in the face of adversity and doubt. When faced with challenges, does your faith become an anchor that provides a sense of purpose and hope, enabling you to navigate through life's difficult trials with confidence?
Verses 2-3, " Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them." It’s interesting that Mark mentions the passing of six days, I believe Jesus is drawing a connection to Exodus 24:15-16 when Moses went up on a mountain and the glory of God covered it for six days before he was called "out of the midst of the cloud" on the seventh day. These six days served as a time of preparation for revelation from God.
In Luke's account, he says about eight days, I believe that he may be
including the day the promise was given and the day it was fulfilled,
which would add the two days. While Matthew may be writing only about
the days in between the promise and the fulfillment. People have often asked why Jesus chose Peter, James and John, I believe it's because their relationship with Him was more intimate than the others, they were the closest to Him. And, in keeping with what Deuteronomy 19 says that truth is confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses, He needed these trustworthy witnesses to confirm the truth of His power, majesty, honor and glory. Do you realize that we’re as close to Christ as we want to be? Are you close enough to catch a glimpse of the glory of Jesus Christ? I assure you, that will motivate you like never before! Believe it or not, there was a time when my own spiritual confidence would be reduced to rubble during a time of great despair. How quickly I realized that my faith was not nearly as strong as I previously thought.
Six days later, He fulfilled His promise that "some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power," by taking Peter, James, and John with Him and was transfigured before them. Notice that this was not just Peter’s perspective, Mark says He was transfigured before "them." And, in 2 Peter 1:16-18, Peter emphasizes the phrase "we." "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain." Luke 9 tells us it happened "while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming." Matthew 17 says "His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light." Marks says as no launderer on earth can whiten them. This same Jesus they had seen every day was suddenly dazzling, glowing with all the brilliance of the sun, the very essence of the Shekinah of God.
The term transfigure, is the Greek verb "metamorphóō," from which we get the English word "metamorphosis." It is derived from two words, metá, meaning to change after being with and morphóō, which means changing form in keeping with inner reality. Notice that nothing changed on the inside, only His outward appearance was changed! This is the single greatest testimony as to who Jesus Christ is in the entire Bible. By the way, Shekinah never descends below, always from above.
Where were Peter, James and John while this magnificent transfiguration began to take place? They were doing exactly what they did in Gethsemane when Jesus went to pray, sleeping. When your heart is broken and deep depression sets in, it's not uncommon for people seek solace, sleeping to escape the sadness that engulfs them. It is important to mention, sleep is only a temporary relief not a permanent solution. Luke adds Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.
If you know anything about the Old Testament, God historically has manifested Himself in blazing light, pillars of fire, a brilliant cloud. In every case made Himself visible, it is to strengthen the faith of the viewer. Surely, being Jewish they would have known that when God shows up, He shows up in blazing glory, shining like a brilliant diamond in the sun. When He comes again, His glory will be fully revealed and people are going to cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them, to hide them from the presence of Him.
Remember Exodus 33, when Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" And God said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you." But You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live! So God put Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand until He have passed by so he could see His back.
In verse 4 Mark says "Elijah
appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus."
Allow me to note, this was not a vision or a dream, this is a real
physical experience for them. The Lord provided them a visible form for this unique occasion. How do I know, because Luke 9
gives us that information, "And behold, two men were talking with Him;
and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking
of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." What exactly was He about to accomplish at Jerusalem? His death and resurrection, who is more trustworthy to affirm the fact that the Messiah needs to die than Moses and Elijah, the lawgiver and the prophet of the Old Testament?
Verse 5, "Peter *said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew says he called Him Lord. Luke says he called Him Master, I personally tend to believe all of them are true; Peter was probably trying to be as respectful as possible after being rebuked by Jesus the last time he blurted something out. You've really got to love Peter, he just can't seem to keep his mouth shut. I mean right in the middle of all this glory and majesty and splendor, he brings us right back to reality as only Peter can. Peter knew that God’s glory could only be contained in a tabernacle. I believe being dumbfounded by the experience, he just said the first thing that came out of his mouth. He obviously didn’t understand that this was only a preview of the coming glory, he ready to package this up and launch the kingdom now. There's two kinds of people, those who have something to say and those who just have to say something!
Verse 6, "For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified." Luke adds Peter did not realizing what he was saying. Have you ever heard the old expression, "If you don’t know what to say, it's best not to say anything." What comes to your mind when you think about the majesty and the glory of Christ? If you're not in complete and utter awe, your vision of God is much smaller than the God of the Bible. I fear the church today has a very inadequate view of the Almighty, which has severely impacted the church's inability to worship Him properly for Who He is, ultimately hindering our understanding of His divine character and attributes, as well as His expectations of us to positively impact the world around us. His love is only one aspect of God's divine character, we must not neglect the fact that God is just and fair, His divine justice ensures that every unrighteous deed has consequences and every righteous deed is rewarded. Matthew 16:27, "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds."
Verse 7, "Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" Matthew says this happened while he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, this is no ordinary cloud, it's symbolizing the Lord’s presence. I have to wonder if by God interrupting him it was His way of saying, "Shhh Peter, just stop while you're ahead! This isn't the time for your suggestions, so be quiet and listen to Him!" I believe it was more of a Psalm 46:10 moment: "Be still, and know that I am God." Apparently Peter didn't realize that the Shekinah glory, the splendor of heaven was already living in the body of Jesus Christ, and he was putting Jesus, Elijah and Moses on the same level which is what Islam does. But the Father corrected him saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!" Mark it, the emphasis is on "listening" to Him is a present tense imperative, meaning that obedience is to be ongoing. Let me remind you Jesus is not just a man, or a prophet. Jesus is God the Son!
John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Luke tells us Moses and Elijah entered the cloud, they are engulfed in the Lord’s presence. Keep in mind, this is a glimpse of the glory that is yet to come, Jesus still had to suffer and die on the cross. Now God the Father Himself is saying listen to what He says about His death. Matthew adds "when the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified." Can you imagine God audibly forcefully speaking directly to you saying "Shut up and listen!" I'd be terrified too, and fall face first. I love what Matthew says "And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." Isn't that just like our loving, compassionate Savior to tenderly touch us to bring relief.
That brings us to verse 8, "All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone." Moses and Elijah are gone, and the only one left is Jesus because there is salvation in no one else, only Jesus can bridge between a holy God and sinful people. Christianity is the only religion in which God left heaven in order to bring us up to himself, because He knew we could never get to Him any other way! Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Not Mohammed or Buddha or the Pope, Mary or anyone else. Jesus alone!
In Closing..
There's no doubt this was an experience they would never forget, as long as they lived. You can almost hear Peter saying, "Just wait till Andrew hears this!" I'm sure they had questions about seeing Elijah on the mountain, it's ok not to have to have everything figured out when you put your faith in Christ and become a devoted follower. When God assumes His rightful place in our lives, an array of profound questions are answered at once. The impact of His divine presence is transformative, our life becomes a more meaningful and purposeful existence that extends well beyond our individual lives.
God loves to fill His people with hope to overcome obstacles and challenges because following Jesus is not a walk in the park, it requires commitment and dedication. I'm grateful for this marvelous glimpses of glory to hang my hope on to endure suffering for the sake of the Gospel. As we witness the intricate workings of a divine plan unfolding in our lives, our doubts and fears begin to dissipate. I'm in awe that someday, I'll share I too will receive a body like unto His glorious body, and so will you. What an incredible that day will be!
1 John 3:2-3 reminds us, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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