Sermon for Lord's Day June 20, 2021 "The Transfiguration of Jesus"

Right before we started singing today, I stepped over to where April was, and I said, Let's sing. I bowed on my knees for special music. She looked back at me and said, Do you want me to sing it?

I said, No, I'll sing it.

Of course. It's certainly good to be in God's house with God's people. We're going to be in Luke's gospel once again. Chapter nine, beginning in verse twenty seven. But before we read the text in Isaiah, chapter six and verse one, Isaiah.

The Holiness of God in Isaiah 6

The vision of the Lord in the temple. The scripture says in the year the king is I had died. I saw the Lord sitting on the throne. I lifted up and the train of Israel 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. One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.

And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called. And the house was filled with smoke. And Isaiah responded by saying, Whoa, is me. For I am undone. For I am a man of unclean lips who dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

I can't remember which old preacher it was, but there was an old preacher that made reference to why the angels cried, Holy, holy, holy. We know of a certainty it's because God is thrice holy. It's worth repetition.

This old preacher described it in a manner something like this. He said, maybe the angels, when they looked up, they saw that he was holy. And when they looked unto him, they cried, holy. And they bowed their heads.

And when they lifted up their eyes again, all they could say was holy. And they bowed their heads and they lifted up as holy for the Lord is holy. Take for granted this great privilege and this great honor that we have to gather together in the name of our Lord to worship him in spirit and in truth as he has commanded us.

Before we read the text this morning, rather than pray like normally I do, I want to read another passage of scripture. I want to read the passage of scripture from the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12.

And I want to read verse 18 through 29. The writer of Hebrews makes this statement. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and a darkness and gloom and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them, for they could not endure the order that was given.

For speaking of Mount Sinai, even if a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. And indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you, this letter is written to the Christians.

He said, but you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels in festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.

And you come to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.

This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken. That is the things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

And thus, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Oh, friends, when the church gathers, it is a beautiful thing. It is a glorious thing to be a part of the church of the living God.

The Transfiguration of Jesus in Luke 9

Luke 9, beginning in verse 27, let's read the text. These are the words of the true and the living God. Jesus said, But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.

Now about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his clothing became dazzling white.

And behold, two men were with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what he had said.

As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him.

When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone, and they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. Lord, you know today that I am wholly inadequate to communicate acceptably and rightly your word.

And Lord, I ask you today to do what can't be done with eloquence, with good explanation, but that you, God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, would bring to life your word in the hearts and in the minds of your people today.

For it's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. The text that we are looking at, obviously, is concerning the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Now, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, being the synoptic Gospels, they agree together in unity concerning the things that went on.

The first thing that the skeptic might look at might say that Matthew and Mark say six days and Luke says eight days. And in reality, when you consider how they counted the days and the nights, it's not really an issue at all.

So we'll just move right beyond that. But I did want to mention that because Matthew, Mark does say six, Luke says eight. But Matthew, Henry said this, the purpose, the reason that Christ was transfigured before these disciples here was to encourage them in their suffering for him.

I'm reminded of what the Scriptures tell us in the book of Romans, that these things were written aforetime for our learning that we, through comfort and the patience of the Scriptures, might have hope.

As Greg stated to us in Sunday School, our hope is just not in the far off in the heaven that we're aiming toward, but our hope is here and now because of the Lord our God, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

But Matthew, Henry went on to say it was done to encourage them in suffering for him. He assures them that the kingdom of God would now shortly be set up, notwithstanding that there would be great opposition to it.

But Henry states this, though the second coming of the son of man is at a great distance, the kingdom of God shall come in its power in their present age. While some here, as Jesus said in verse 27, are still alive.

They saw the kingdom of God come when the spirit was poured out. They saw the kingdom of God come when the gospel was preached to the world and to the nations who were brought to Christ. They saw the kingdom of God triumph over the Gentile nations in their conversion, and they saw the kingdom of God come in the destruction of the Jewish nation in AD 70.

Now it is important for us at this juncture where we're at in Luke's gospel, and I know that the movement is slow. The movement is almost so slow that it seems like we're not getting anywhere in the book of Luke, but we are.

But at this point, it is important for us to set in our minds a marker that we must make a distinction between two statements, two sayings that we often conflate and run together. And that is the phrase, the second coming of Jesus Christ or the end of the world.

Let me say it this way. The end of the world and the end of the age. The end of the world and the end of the age. Now, we rightly can understand and know that the end of the world is when Jesus comes back.

But throughout the New Testament, the term is used. And in some translations, Aeon is translated as world. And because there's nobody digging into the text, there's confusion and doubt and wonder. But my friend, you can be certain if you go and you begin to dig into the text and you see that when that word Aeon is used, it's talking about a current period of time.

So the scriptures teach us clearly when Christ comes back the second time, that those that are dead in Christ will rise first, and that those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the Lord in the air, according to the word of God.

But verse 27 here, as we begin to enter into the text, verse 27 is not talking about his second coming, but rather it is talking about Jesus showing his glory to his disciples then and there, in that present time.

We need to futurize this text, for this text is written in present tense right there. So he's going to, as it were, maybe it's not the best choice of words, but he's going to show his glory to his disciples.

In other words, show them his full glory. For a full time now, they have seen the human, the human nature of Christ. But here in the transfiguration, as we see this great doctrine, this great thought, this great idea of the hypostatic union, that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man.

And it is in this text, by way of summary, that the curtain is drawn back and that the glory of God is revealed to these disciples. There's a song, a beautiful song. By the way, I'll put this in as a subliminal hint.

But April, let's get this song. Let's add this song to our list of songs that we sing. The king in all his beauty, the song goes, O lift your eyes to heaven, see the holy one eternal. Behold the Lord of majesty, exalted in his temple.

As symphonies of angels praise, now strain to sound his glory. Come, worship, fall before his grace, the king in all his beauty. Now see the king who wears a crown, one made of shame and splinters, the sacrifice for ruined man, the substitute for sinners.

As earth is stained with royal blood and quakes with love and fury, he breathes his last and bows his head, the king in all his beauty. Now see the savior lifted up, the lamb who reigns in splendor, the hope of every tribe and tongue, his kingdom is forever.

Bring praise and honor to his courts, bring wisdom, power and blessing. For endless ages, we will adore the king in all his beauty. The time indicator in this text is very clear. Jesus said, there are some standing here, right then and right there.

There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. Matthew and Mark say, until they see the kingdom of the Son of Man come in power. Until that happens. And again, the words are so important.

There are some standing here who will not taste death. That word taste in the Greek means to feel. It means to make a trial of. It means to experience. So Jesus was saying there, there are some standing here who will not experience death until they see the kingdom of God.

That word death itself in the Greek. The definition, the way that word is used there in the Greek, it means that separation, whether natural or violent, of the soul and of the body by which life on earth is ended.

Some of you standing here, Jesus says to these people, Jesus said, some of you standing here will not experience death, will not have your soul separated from your body, will not close your eyes in physical death until you see the kingdom of God come in power.

And I'm sure by their response here in just a moment as we move through the text, they really had no idea what he was saying until it happened up until the time. That's what until means up until up to the time.

And that word see in the Greek, of course, it means to see with the eyes, but it means to see with the mind. It means to understand. It means to know. It means to realize. It means to grasp a hold of.

It means to become acquainted with by experience. So they're not going to taste death until they see the kingdom of God come. That word kingdom in the Greek is the Greek word basileia. That word basileia is speaking of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah.

It is incredible. Now, I think we would all have to agree with this. It's not as though Jesus hasn't already demonstrated his power. We've already read thus far in Luke's gospel so much. We see how Jesus has demonstrated his authority and his power.

He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He fed 5 ,000 with loaves and fish. He's done all of these things. He sent out the twelve just previously. He sent out the twelve giving them power and authority to heal diseases and to preach and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God having come to earth.

He's done all this. But now he's fixing to show them his glory. I know that's probably, again, fixing to. You understand what I'm saying. He's getting ready to show them his glory. In the following passage, we're going to see the harmony of the law and the gospel put on display for them to see and for us to know and to have.

We hear a lot today. I hope you hear it. You should hear it regularly from your classrooms. You should hear it regularly from the pulpit concerning the law and the gospel. The law and the gospel go hand in hand.

It is necessary that when the gospel is proclaimed, that the law is preached as well. In the following verses, we're going to examine this account of Jesus as he's transfigured before Peter, James, and John.

Now, if you paid attention, you remember, you recognize, it seems like Peter, James, and John were made privy to some things that the other apostles and the other disciples weren't. Remember when Jairus' daughter was raised.

He called Peter, James, and John to go in with him to the room. When he raised the little girl from the dead, right? Now, there may be speculation as to why Peter, James, and John were made privy to this spectacle, but I'm just going to be clear here.

Making an uninformed inference isn't going to help us understand this passage. So where the scripture is silent, I'm going to be silent here as well. We don't have to have a spiritual reason why Jesus did what he did.

He does not owe us an explanation. Calvin went on to say, after having made a comment similar to what I just made there, he said, but this is so. I do not have any doubt whatever that Christ intended to show that he was not dragged unwillingly to death, but that he came forward of his own accord to offer to the Father the sacrifice of obedience.

And he went on to say, it would manifestly have been quite as easy for Christ to protect his body from death as it was for him to clothe himself in glory.

Right?

So know this, that Jesus Christ, holy God, and holy man became the propitiation for our sins. So let's notice the unity of the thought now throughout church history. Throughout church history concerning this text.

What faithful men of God throughout church history have said, Matthew Henry, John Calvin too, I'm going to quote right here. Calvin was, of course, in the 1500s. Matthew Henry was in the 1700s. But notice what Matthew Henry said.

Matthew Henry said, we are here told that Christ had this honor put upon him when he was praying. He went up into a mountain to pray, as he frequently did. And as he prayed, he was transfigured. When Christ humbled himself to pray, he was thus exalted.

He knew before that this was designed for him at this time, and therefore he seeks it by prayer. John Calvin said, and he was transfigured before them. Luke says that this happened while he was praying.

And from the circumstances of time and place, we may infer that he had prayed for what he now obtained. That in the brightness of an unusual form, his Godhead might become visible. And what they're saying there, and the statement that I'm making here is this.

It wasn't a surprise to Christ that he was transfigured before them. He knew who he was. He knew who he was. And knowing what we've heard previously just up until this point, we know he wasn't drag kicking and screaming unto death.

We know that he came willingly, submitting in sacrifice and obedience to the Father's will. We look at this epistle of James and Peter and of John's gospel and John's epistles, and we can rightly understand.

And again, remember, these are the same men that were there at the transfiguration. James writes, humble yourselves. Therefore, before the Lord, and he will exalt you. I wonder why he would have wrote something like that.

First Peter, Peter writes, humble yourselves. Therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. I wonder where he drew that inference. I wonder where he got that information.

We see that prayer and humility were set forth by our Lord. We're able to rightly infer that as it is written in John's gospel, that the glory of the Father that he shared with the Son was made manifest.

For in John chapter 17 verses 1 through 5, John chapter 17 verse 1, when Jesus had spoken these words in context, so you know what's going on here. This is the high priestly prayer that Christ prayed before going to the cross.

Jesus, when he had spoken these words, the scripture says he lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

And this is eternal life, that you may know, the only true God and Jesus Christ, who you have sent. Jesus said, I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

We have in this scripture, as Jesus was transfigured before them, and let's move through the text here, as he was transfigured before them, notice what the gospel writer says, how these terms are used, how these phrases are laid out before us.

As in verse 29, as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered that his clothes became dazzling white. The appearance of his face, the Greek word used there for appearance means the external or the outward appearance.

So what they were used to was seeing Jesus, recognizing what he looked like, right? But here, the scripture tells us that the appearance of his face was altered, that word altered in the Greek. Again, the definition of that means one not of the same nature, human nature and the God nature.

Jesus Christ, the man, Jesus Christ, fully God, one not of another kind, his appearance of his face was altered. The external or the outward appearance of his face was altered. Scripture says this, that his clothes became dazzling white.

I believe it is Matthew uses the word gleaming as well, but that word gleaming, it means to flash out like lightning. It means to shine. It means to be radiant. The word used there for dazzling or for white, leucos is the Greek word.

It means brilliant from whiteness. Dazzling white. When the tooth whiteners came about and began to take hold the last few years, that's what you see on TV. They'll show the models with the smile and their smile isn't so pretty.

Then they put the whitener on there and they show the little sparkle effects. That was nothing compared to the glory of God. For it shone out like lightning. It was pure light.

As a matter of fact,.

If you look at Matthew's text and you see the terms Matthew used, Luke doesn't use the word transfigured before them. Matthew does, and that word metamorpho, it means to be completely transformed, metamorpho.

It goes on in one of the key words, I think that really is important. When you look at Matthew's gospel, how Matthew describes that whiteness, Matthew describes the whiteness of the light, the brightness of the light as false.

That's the Greek word false. It's pure light. What do the scriptures teach us? God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, with his glory on display here in the text.

So Jesus is transfigured before them, and now there are two men seen to be talking with him. For the text says his face was altered, his clothing became dazzling white, and behold, two men were talking with him.

The gospel writers do not leave it to our imagination for us to wonder, I wonder who it was Jesus was talking to. I wonder who it was that was talking to Jesus. But the scripture is plain and the scripture is clear, and the scripture tells us it was Moses and Elijah.

Who was Moses?

Who was Elijah?

Well, Moses might be best known as when he was a baby, being sent down the river in a bulrush, or in a little basket, a little ark. Perhaps you may remember Moses as the man to whom God spoke to from the burning bush.

He was the man to whom God gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai too. And, you may or may not be aware of this, he might be the only man in the scriptures who it is ever to be said that he broke all Ten Commandments at the same time.

Yes, he did. Check the book of Exodus for the reference. He came down from the mountain. The children of Israel were having a party. They were worshiping the false idol. He threw the commandments down in anger and broke them.

Elijah, who was Elijah? Elijah was the prophet whom God used to call down fire from heaven and to consume the burnt offering. He was the man who was sent to a little town in Zarephath to a little widow woman who was about to make her last meal for her and her son because they only had a little oil and flour left.

But the Lord said to Elijah to say to the woman, you won't run out of any food until the rain comes. And what that little woman had, God made it last. Elijah was the one to raise the widow's son to life.

Elijah was the one who called for rain in the midst of a drought. Elijah was the man who called his associate Elisha to follow him and to follow in his footsteps. Elijah was the prophet of the Most High God.

John Gill said Moses and Elijah, the one Moses, he was the giver of the law from God to the people of Israel as well as the redeemer of them from Egyptian bondage. He was the one who led them through the wilderness to the borders of Canaan's land.

And the other, Elijah, was a prophet famous for his zeal for God and his worship and he was translated soul and body to heaven. These are the two men who appeared and talked with Christ on the mount, John Gill said.

So how did Moses and Elijah die? Moses died perfectly healthy at 120 years old. How can I say perfectly healthy? Because the scripture says his natural force was not abated, nor his eyes had not grown dim.

He didn't get to go into the promised land because of disobedience, but he got to see it. Nobody knew where they buried him. They buried him there. They don't know. Elijah. Elijah. How did Elijah die?

Well, Elijah was carried by a chariot of fire. In 2 Kings 2 you'll find this. Elijah was carried away by a chariot of fire. Soul and body translated out, carried out. Not tasting physical death. Every part of these men's life point us to Jesus Christ.

These are the tops and the shadows which prefigure our Lord's work of redemption. It is in the tops and the shadows of the law and the prophets that we see pointing us to Jesus Christ. And so because of that, there is no way to rightly preach the gospel unless we proclaim the law as well.

For a person to know their sin, we must preach the law of God. And for a person to know the Savior, we must preach the gospel. They go hand in hand. The apostle Paul writes to the Roman believers, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

To the Jew first and also to the Greek. Paul writes to the Galatian church in Galatians 3, 21 -29, and he says this, Is the law then contrary to the promises of God?

Certainly not.

For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, Paul says, we were held captive under the law. We were in prison until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our schoolmaster. The law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith.

But now, Paul writes, now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ had put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, and you are heirs according to the promise of God.

J .C. Ryle said, it's a grave mistake to suppose that holy men and women in the Old Testament knew nothing about the sacrifice which Christ was to offer for the sin of the world. Their light, no doubt, was far less clear than ours.

They saw things from a distance. They saw it indistinctly, whereas we see them now close at hand. For from the beginning of the world, Ryle said, there has never been but one foundation of hope and peace for sinners, and that is the death of an almighty mediator between God and man.

And Paul tells Timothy, that is the man Christ Jesus. The scripture tells us what they spoke about. They spoke about his decease. Verse 31, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure or his decease, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

This is what they spoke about. John Gill said, the word rendered here, decease, is exodus. Does that sound familiar to anybody? The exodus. Genesis, exodus. That's the second book of the holiest inspired scriptures.

That is representing when the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian bondage and slavery and were made the exodus from Egypt to the promised land. The word rendered here, decease, is exodus. And the name of the second book of Moses, which is so-called from the departure of the children of Israel, it gives an account of which departure is expressed by this word in Hebrews 11 .22.

To which the illusion here is death. Death is a departure out of this world, and it goes by this name. And so it here signifies Christ's death. For what did Christ tell them just a little while before?

The time is coming very soon where I'm going to be delivered over into the hands of wicked men. I'm going to be crucified, slain, and murdered. I will be put in the grave, but on the third day I will rise again.

The sufferings and the death of Christ were what Moses and the prophets had foretold, and which must serve to confirm what Christ a few days ago had shown his disciples. That was John Gill's commentary on that.

Now, concerning what the next statement says, we notice here in the next statement, they spoke about his decease, which he was going to be accomplishing. Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory, and they saw the two men who stood with him.

And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to him, Master, it is good for us to be here. And the scripture says that he said it not knowing what he said. Let's build a tabernacle. Let's build a tabernacle for you.

Let's build a tabernacle for Moses, and let's build a tabernacle for Elijah. What he was literally speaking of was a little tent for them to rest in, for a little tent for them to have covering in for that time being.

But notice what the scripture says. He said this, as he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid. And as they entered the cloud, a voice came from the cloud saying, This is my son in whom I am well pleased.

This is my chosen one. So notice very carefully, Raul said the voice that told Peter, no matter how great Moses and Elijah might be, the person that stood in front of them was much greater than they. Remember, for they were the types in the shadows.

Christ is the fulfillment. Raul said he said they were but servants. This is beautiful, but he was the king's son. They were but stars, and he was the sun. They were but witnesses, and he was the truth.

Moving to a close here, how do we make application of what we've read and what we've learned from the text today? How do we rightly apply this to our lives? And very first and very foremost, a right application of this text is a proper response to this text is for you today to believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of the living God.

That is the proper response. That is the proper and the right application. Believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord today. Call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved. And number two, and lastly, if you are a Christian, then today you have reason to rejoice.

For Christ has demonstrated fully that he is alone God's only begotten son and that he has given his life as the propitiation for our sins. Rejoice! Rejoice! Oh, Christian, the old song says the Heidelberg Catechism written in 1563, this catechism was written and intended as a tool for teaching young people.

It was a guide for preaching in the provincial churches, and it was written as a form of confessional unity among several Protestant factions of that day. But the very first two questions and answers to be read on Lord's Day 1 were these questions.

And I encourage you, if you've not ever looked up the Heidelberg Catechism,.

Look that up.

Spend some time reading through that catechism. It will encourage your heart. You might find yourself saying amen. And you might find yourself rejoicing greatly. But question 1 and 2 from Lord's Day 1 is this.

What is your only comfort in life and death? Yes, that's right, sir. But listen to how they word this. What is your only comfort in life and death? The answer is, my only comfort in life and death is this,.

That I am not my own,.