Happy Transfiguration Sunday. I am excited to
be here with you and specifically to get to be
here on the day of a calendar celebration like
Transfiguration. This specifically, I checked
my records and I forgot to preach for you last
year on Transfiguration as well. So I don't know
if it's becoming like a gig. that every year
in transfiguration I have to come back with a
completely different sermon, which is easy to
do with any passage because there's so much to
say about it. And a transfiguration is a passage
that, as an event, shows up in four passages
in scripture, three of them in the synoptic gospels,
and also in 2 Peter 1. Peter, who was one of
the witnesses, the first disciple also speaks
about it with authority. We hear in the passage
of the Transfiguration that the disciples are
told to listen to the Son of God, and Peter uses
it as a witness. That event told us that we have
the witness of God confirmed more sure. so we
should listen to his authority. And we'll look
at that briefly at the end. But as the passages,
in any event that shows up across multiple passages,
across multiple books, from the recollection
of different authors and their research into
things, different aspects get emphasized. I think
I was talking with somebody about, I was looking
at what I had said last time, and I think I was
discussing how the various different titles of
the Messiah get used in the different passage,
different synoptic gospels. And there's so much
to say, but there's one aspect that really grabbed
me this time through looking at Matthew 17. As
with all of them having their various emphases,
Matthew has emphases of some things that I want
to point out that are not said in the other versions
of the transfiguration, in the other accounts.
Matthew 17 has a couple of phrases that are not
used, the first of which is in Matthew 17 verse
5. knew there was something that I had forgotten
to do, and it was opening to my main passage.
Looking for it with my mind a few minutes ago.
What's the thing I'm trying to get done? Having
Matthew 17 open. Here it is in verse 5. He was
still speaking when, Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is
my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
Listen to him. That phrase, with whom I am well
pleased, is not in the Luke and Mark versions.
A second thing that is also used in this passage
that is not in the others comes down in verse
7. But Jesus came and touched them saying, rise
and have no fear. In all of the passages it makes
clear that the disciples were afraid. In Mark
and Luke you actually get the emphasis that the
fear starts with the shining of Jesus' face.
In Matthew it later says that when the voice
of God spoke to them that they fell to the ground
in terror. But all of the passages agree that
the experience was terrifying. You know, if you
just read it through, you hear Peter saying,
well, we should make three tenths, one for you,
one for Moses, one for Elijah. The other passages
emphasize the fact that he only said this because
he was so afraid he didn't know what he was saying.
So there's a point at which the Bible itself
is saying Peter was babbling because he was scared.
You know how you blurt stuff out when you're
afraid. And it says in this passage that in the
middle of him saying, making his suggestion born
from fear, that God starts speaking and they
fall to the ground. So he gets afraid and he
gets more afraid. And what I want to point out
from Matthew 17 verse 7 is that Jesus, it says,
comes to them, touches them, and says, do not
be afraid. There are two distinct moments in
this passage the moment in which Jesus is gloriously
revealed and all the disciples are in terror
and the moment in which Afterwards he is explaining
to them What their mission is what their responsibility
is with this witness that they they need to hold
off and not talk about this until after the resurrection
How do we get from the point in which He is terrifying
them to the point in which He is commissioning
them to work? And it is that He has to go to
them and relieve them of their fears. And this
is not two different Jesuses. You know, it was,
I think, an old thing in liberal scholarship
in the last century to say that the Old Testament
was One kind of God in the New Testament was
another and in this People may even find that
kind of an emphasis here and say well Why is
there sometimes a scary Jesus and sometimes a
comforting Jesus and what I want to point out
is that? This is not two different Jesus's there
is not a judgmental Scary Jesus and then also
a lenient pleasant Jesus There is only one Jesus
and the fact of the Transfiguration revealing
His glory is intended to show us that the everyday
Jesus that they walked around and talked with
and ate with and slept near was God all along.
In fact, one of the points of the Transfiguration
is to clarify the fact that they are walking
around with the scary God all the time. And yet,
his presentation to them is one of comfort and
of peace. You see this in, when you read the
lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, the revelation
that Aslan is, the friendly lion, is not to be
dealt lightly with. He is safe, but he is scary.
it is the same God whose character and law bring
us up short and his law condemns our sin that
same God also compassionately makes a way for
us to be saved and he also comes to us and he
comforts us that we can be saved and we hear
that in Matthew 17 7 I think as a puzzle piece
that helps fill this out, I believe we can talk
about the puzzle piece as God's goodness and
say this. Based on the transfiguration passage,
it is the goodness of God and Jesus that both
causes people to cower in fear, and that same
goodness is also the goodness that raised them
up, gave them forgiveness, gives them peace,
and then calls them to joyful fellowship permanently
with them and commissions them to that work.
They not only are afraid of His goodness, but
they are saved by His goodness. And then they
are allowed to enjoy His goodness. And that's
a pattern for us as well. There's nobody who
comes to the Lord that doesn't get revealed to
them that we are sinners. As the Bible says,
we all stumble in many ways. We say we are without
sin, we are lying. And yet the goodness that
convicts us made a way for us through the cross,
gives that goodness to us in our resurrection,
and enables us to permanently enjoy that goodness.
The same thing that causes Peter to cower in
terror also relieves his fear and restores him
to fellowship with God. We see this kind of an
event several times in the Bible, and it gives
us a pattern to look at. And I want to look at
two specific events that mirror this exact kind
of experience. One of them is the call of Peter
into ministry, and the other is the call of Isaiah
into ministry. In the Gospel of Luke, we read
that Peter, who was called Simon before Jesus
called him Peter, Simon was fishing. They had
been out all night fishing. They were failing
to catch fish. And here comes Jesus, a non -fisherman,
to give him advice about how to fish. And he
says, well, we've been at this all night. But
just to humor you, I'll go ahead and do what
you're saying. And the surprise is that Jesus
not only knew what he was talking about, but
he seems to be revealed to somehow be in charge
of all nature in that moment. He's in control
of the fish, he's in control of the waters. We
see this over and over throughout the Gospel,
he's in charge of the wind, he's in charge of
the waves. And when you come into an encounter
with someone who is in control of nature, it's
startling. And Peter is shocked by what he has
been revealed. And it says in Luke 5 verse 8
when Peter's when Simon Peter saw it he fell
down at Jesus knees saying Depart from me for
I am a sinful man. Oh Lord And a few verses later
we notice that Jesus says to him do not be afraid
For from now on you will be catching men and
when they had brought their boats to land they
left everything and they followed him. You see
how he gets from terror to an issuance of forgiveness
and now all of a sudden he wants to be with Jesus.
A minute ago he didn't want Jesus near him, now
he wants to be with him. I'm just going to leave
my livelihood to follow after you. So the goodness
that scares him comes to him and forgives him.
gives him that goodness and draws him into a
permanent relationship where he can experience
that goodness from now on. But when Peter experiences,
when he saw the goodness of Jesus and his power
and his control, he didn't say to him, let me
be with you. You're so, you're so capable, so
powerful. I want to be near that. He said, get
away from me. And we hear a similar story in
Isaiah 6. In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne. This is
Isaiah speaking. High and lifted up. And the
train of his robe filled the temple. Above him
stood the Seraphim, each had six wings, with
two he covered his face, with two he covered
his feet, and with two he flew. And one called
to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord. hosts the whole earth is full of his glory
and the foundations of the thresholds shook at
the voice of him who called and the house was
filled with smoke and I said woe is me for I
am lost for I am a man of unclean lips and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips
for my eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts
Isaiah sees the glory of God, the pre -incarnate
Christ sitting on the throne, full of majesty,
full of royal perfection. And we hear the Seraphim
specifically tell us that the holiness and the
glory of God are being glorified in this moment.
And Isaiah's reaction is it to react to the holiness
of God by praising his holiness or praising his
glory? Is it to kneel at his royalty? No, Isaiah
says not. You are so holy, but rather I am so
unholy. When you are next to large things, you
feel how small you are. And that comparison is
being made clear to them. When I was in middle
school or high school, my family took vacations
to the Grand Canyon, a couple of them. One time
we went to the South Rim and one time we went
to the North Rim. My father was a photographer
and he really admired the photographic works
of Ansel Adams and other other photographers
who documented the glory of the American Southwest.
And he really wanted to see these things that
he had been looking at in in photography books
and working to imitate himself. So we had a family
desire to go out there. And we had planned together.
We had saved. We had daydreamed about this vacation
for a long time. My dad would always get out
maps and would have us measure the mile marker
distances between the places. It was a big interactive
planning for us. And so it was very exciting,
this plan about what we were going to get to
see. And on the way into the Grand Canyon National
Park, there are scenic turnouts, overlooks into
smaller gorges and canyons. I remember one that
I think was called Wolf Gorge. And we had stopped,
because if there was a scenic turn, if they decided,
this is something that somebody would want to
see, then we want to stop, and we want to see
it, because we don't want to miss anything in
this experience. And we were so tickled looking
at how awesome it was. It was big, and it was
beautiful. We couldn't believe how deep this
gorge was, and it seemed powerful, and it was
interesting. And we were just saying to each
other, this is so amazing. I can't believe we're
getting to see this. But then we proceeded toward
El Tavar and the southern rim of the actual Grand
Canyon. And I remember that as we got out of
our car to walk toward the rail to get our first
look at the actual Grand Canyon, that our excitement
turned into utter disbelief. It wasn't big. It
was enormous. It was utterly immense. It was
unfathomably large. I remember that my father
immediately, I mean, I want to say here that
when you look at it in photographs, it looks
big. And then when you look at it in person,
it doesn't look like the same thing. You cannot
capture in a photograph what you experience.
in the depth and the distance of the Grand Canyon.
And the fact that the distance recedes so far,
it looks unreal. I remember my father immediately
broke down crying and had to turn around and
stop looking at it. He said, I wasn't prepared
for this. It isn't big. It's scary. And this
giant river bed is just a little cut in the whole
of the Earth's crust. And our whole Earth is
tiny compared to Jupiter or compared to the Sun.
Do you know the volume of the Earth would fit
into the volume of the Sun 1 .3 million times?
And the sun is a relatively small star. We know
of stars that we think are 1 ,000 to 2 ,000 times
larger than the sun. The Milky Way, our galaxy,
is measured at 1 ,000 to 200 ,000 light years
across. Now, 1 ,000 to 200 ,000, that kind of
sounds small after hearing millions of Earths
in the sun. But the distance of what 1 to 200
,000 light years actually is, even this is actually
with a measurement of 105 ,000 light years. If
you were to try to fly from one side of the Milky
Way to the other, and if you could get in a vehicle
that traveled at a million miles per hour, it
would take you 71 million years. to fly across
the Milky Way. And this is just one of two trillion
galaxies. And I want to point this out because
that universe stands or falls at the command
of the Lord who was sitting on the throne when
Isaiah saw him. And when Isaiah beheld the king
of the universe, he didn't say, you're so holy,
hallelujah. He said, I am so unholy. Woe is me.
I am cut off. I am a man of unclean lips. Isaiah
saw God's glory and he felt destroyed. He saw
God's perfection and he felt condemned with guilt.
And you notice God did not threaten Isaiah. He
did not accuse him. God did not rail at him.
He did not rebuke him. He did not point out Isaiah's
faults. He didn't have to. He merely revealed
who he actually is. And when you stand next to
something big, you feel really small. And when
you stand next to perfect goodness, sinful humans
feel evil and corrupt. Because we are. We don't
feel it all the time. We're used to ourselves.
but we're not used to looking into God's perfection.
In fact, I don't know that we could function
if we had to. This side of our resurrection,
we couldn't function that way. I've often heard
it said that God cannot bear to be in the presence
of evil. I mean, I've heard it so many times.
I actually don't think that that's anywhere in
the Bible and it doesn't actually make sense
because all the evil ever committed has always
been committed in the presence of God. And even
when God judges evil, he is the one present judging
it. The psalmist says, where can I flee from
your presence? If I make my bed in the depths,
you are there. But it is crystal clear in scripture
that sinful humans cannot bear to be in the presence
of the revealed glory of God. It hurts. So what
are we to do? The goal of the Gospel is that
you're going to be with God forever. How can
you stand it? Well the key is that God's goodness
that judges us is the thing you need. You need
His goodness to come get you. You need it to
save you and you need His goodness transferred
to you in order for you to get to experience
God's goodness without pain forever. So let's
focus on that. That's one thing I want to focus
on. It's God's willingness to rescue us. God
is willing to save us. What would motivate a
holy God to take on our sin at the cross and
to save us? It surely is a facet of His goodness,
His compassion. He could merely have been stern
and formal with us, and just given us rules,
and told us where to stand, and okay, this is
what salvation is. But he didn't. The Bible says
he is close to each one of us. It says he cares
for us. Cast all of your anxieties upon him,
for he cares for you. We might say with Psalm
8, what is man that you are mindful of him? He
is mindful of us. We hear, I guess the Lord took
that one out of my head. I had it a second ago,
but I'll take my direction there. I forgot what
it was. God's goodness not only makes him willing
to save us, but it gives us the mechanism for
salvation. And it's not discussed in the Matthew
17 passage, but we know what it is from the rest
of the Bible. The mechanism of our salvation
that Jesus as God died on the cross for our sins
and that God raised him from the dead for our
life. That is his goodness at work, his willingness
to die in our place, to give his goodness to
us. and it is explained in Matthew 17 .5 at this
level remember I said what was said in this passage
that wasn't said in the others this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased we know that that's
how salvation works is that God is pleased with
Jesus God is pleased with Jesus and when he was
made to be sin he who knew no sin was made to
be sin he who did so that we might become the
righteousness of God in Christ. He was pleased
with Jesus, and now He is pleased with me. That
is even, He is able to give that to me because
of His, because He is good. Because Jesus is
good, God the Father can give Jesus' goodness
to me. This passage not only tells us that Jesus
is the Son who is pleasing to the Father, It
also tells us that the Son of Man will be raised
from the dead. Don't tell about this vision that
you've seen until after the Son of Man is raised
from the dead. Raised from the dead, why is he
dead? Because he was on the cross. So this passage
mentions the cross and it mentions the goodness
of Jesus. So you've got some neat little points
wrapping up the explanation of the Gospel there.
And it clearly, the Bible tells us, if you confess
with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. I want to point out that God's
goodness transforms the disciples. When Jesus
touches people, it is transformative. You remember
legally that lepers who are unclean legally,
if they come in contact with other people, the
other people become legally unclean. It transfers
to other people. But Jesus freely touches lepers.
And when he did touch lepers, he didn't become
unclean, they became clean. When he touched them,
he healed them. So it was not he that was affected
by the touch, it was the leper. When Jesus touches,
the power of God goes out from him. and the one
who is touched is restored. In fact, he touches
the eyes of the blind, and they can see. He uses
his touch to stake his claim. He grabs, takes
children from their parents that they hand to
him, and he holds them and sets them on his lap
and says, my kingdom belongs to one like these.
When Jesus touches someone, it is a blessing
and a claim on them. Here Jesus touches those
who are made afraid by their own fault by their
own guilt by their own sin and Yet he touches
them unafraid that their sin will contaminate
him rather. He will remove their sin He come
to he touches he comforts and he says rise up
and do not be afraid You remember the story of
Lazarus, even though Lazarus was dead when Jesus
said, rise up. Lazarus rose up. He's speaking
to Jairus' daughter. He says, little girl, arise,
and she arises. So the same thing about Jesus
touching someone also goes for the words, rise
up. They are spoken to those who are lame, but
are being healed. When Jesus decides to tell
somebody to rise up, He's speaking to those who
are dead who need new life. Jesus goodness is
capable of giving us restoration and new life.
If you don't hear anything else this morning,
hear that Jesus offers new life. Even if you
are a sinner, of course because we all are. Even
if your sin says to you, you should cringe before
the good and holy God. Jesus comes to you and
touches you and says, do not be afraid. He's
not saying this because your sin doesn't matter.
If your sin didn't matter you wouldn't cower
in fear. But he's saying this because he is bigger
than the problem. His work is bigger than the
guilt. When our hearts condemn us, God is bigger
than our hearts. Verse John tells us. You notice
that Peter, when he was called, he was made afraid.
He said, I'm a sinner, depart from me. And five
minutes later, Peter has been called to be an
evangelist. He says, Peter, you're going to be
fishing for men for me. And then Peter drops
everything and goes with him. Isaiah says, I'm
a man of unclean lips. And five minutes later,
after the coal has touched his lips, after God's
work of cleansing him, Isaiah is asked, here's
the question, who will go for us and who will
send out our message? And Isaiah says, look at
me, me. Now, this is the same guy that couldn't
be looked at a minute ago. And now is saying,
directing God's attention to him. This is the
audacity, I think, and this. As a positive thing,
it's prescribed for us in the Lord's table. You
know that the day of the Lord, Sunday is called
the day of the Lord in the Bible. And the day
of the Lord up to that point had been a reference
to God's judgment. It's the day of judgment.
You come to the Lord's table, you're calling
down His, look at me and judge me. But when you
see me, you see the blood applied to me as in
the Passover, Passover me. It is so consequential
that Jesus did his work. It is not a trick. You
don't have to worry about it failing. It worked.
You are forgiven. Not something that he says,
calm down a minute. We'll talk about this later.
We'll work out the details later. When he says,
rise up, do not be afraid, he means it's done.
Your sin is gone. I have forgiven you. You get
to actually come with me. I'm actually recruiting
some guys. I want you to come with me. And you
don't have to say, well, but I was shown to be
a sinner. He says, I knew that when I came and
told you I forgave you. God demonstrates his
own love for us in this, that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. It wasn't a surprise
to him that we were sinners. He forgave us. Do
you have to believe that? Here's the question.
Do you have to believe that? Well, what's the
consequence of the transfiguration? This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Listen
to him. Peter says later in one of his letters,
2nd Peter, he says, for we did not follow cleverly
devised myths when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were
eyewitnesses to his majesty. For when he received
honor and glory from God the Father, and the
voice was born to him by the majestic glory,
this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased,
we ourselves heard this very voice born from
heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Here's the point of what I'm saying. Peter's
repeating the experience here in his letter.
He's saying, I saw this with my own eyes. This
happened. And that listen to him is what he's
focusing on. Here's the next verse. And we have
the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which
you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp
shining in a dark place until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts. This mirrors
the listen to him. We saw his glory on the mountain.
When Moses saw God's glory on the mountain it
was to tell the people Listen to the law of God
when Peter saw Jesus glory on the mountain it
was to say Jesus gets to tell you what to believe
Jesus is the author of scripture listen to him
And I'm emphasizing that because this you are
going to have a tendency to forget that you are
forgetting It is really really hard to remember
that your corruption is not the main thing. It's
real. It's a problem. But it is not the powerful
agent in the story. The powerful agent is the
goodness of God. When our hearts condemn us,
God is bigger than our hearts. Therefore, there
is no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. We don't have to downplay the seriousness
of God's law in order to live at peace. You do
have to care what God's Word is. And it is His
Word that matters. Jesus, in fact, is the Son
that God is pleased with, so listen to Him. Remember
now that you have been cleansed, that you were
called into His companionship. He wants you to
go with Him. And you get to be in that state
forever. And remember that the cleansing comes
from Jesus as something that is complete. You
don't have to shrink back saying, depart from
me. You can say, here I am. Look at me, Lord.
You don't have to say, leave me because I'm a
sinner. You are free to boldly praise Him and
say, you are so holy. You are so good. you have
been so good to me let's pray father we read
earlier in your in the songs today from Psalm
34 I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered
me from all my fears those who look to him are
radiant and their faith that shall never be ashamed
thank you for transferring your goodness your
glory to us as you forgive us our sins and call
us to permanent new life. I pray that we would
be able by your power to believe you that we
would listen to you and know the truth of our
forgiveness and your goodness. In Jesus name
I pray. Amen.