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| The Transfiguration - Giovanni Bellini, c. 1490 |
Sermon
Now may the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
"TRANSFIGURATION: WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHY?"
Wouldn’t it be great if you knew why God does the things he does, especially when it comes down to what is going on in your own life? If your loved one had to be rushed to the emergency room, I would think it would be so much more comforting to know Why God allowed such a trial to take place in the first place. At least it would provide comfort and be a reminder that God is in control. However, this is reality! Most of the time you and I know what God is doing in our life, but we usually don‘t understand why He is doing it. You know, for example, that God is the Lord of life and death. So when someone in your family dies, you know that God somehow had a hand in that. But why God lets some people die at a young age, or why God let’s death at times come in such a tragic way, that is not always easy to figure out. When Jesus was here on earth, most of us understand from the Bible what was going on, and why. Why Jesus came to earth, why he let himself be crucified—we understand, he did that to earn salvation for us.
Today we have before us the Transfiguration of Jesus. What actually happened there that day? And more importantly why? How does that tie in with you and me, with our faith today? What can we learn today that will draw us even closer to our Lord?
God spells out pretty clearly what happened that day up on the mountain but not so much why it happened. We read in our text, it says, “He (Jesus) took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.” Jesus prayed a lot. Particularly at special times in his life, Jesus would go off somewhere and pray. The next verse reads, “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning”, keep in mind that Jesus is both True God and True man. Jesus did not give up his being God when became human. Rather, much of the time he simply didn’t use his godly powers. He did not show himself as God. But for this one day, he does. He shows himself there as God. This is why his body, even his clothes, become intensely bright, “Like a flash of lightning”, it says. That’s his holiness shining through. Most of the time Jesus looked just like anyone else. If he were sitting in a pew here this morning, you wouldn’t even know it was Jesus, not from his appearance, anyway. However, if he were sitting here in his transfigured form, I think you’d know immediately that Jesus was in attendance. He would be hard to miss.
So Scripture gives us information on what happened, but I believe it is good to know also why the Transfiguration happened, don’t you? Aren’t you curious? Don’t you wonder just why he chose that moment to show his Divine nature? I believe that after you hear about all the why’s, you will not only understand Jesus better but also you will yet again be able to see his love for you through the transfiguration.
Why did Jesus become transfigured at this particular time in his ministry? Would you believe that, for one reason, (1) it was to strengthen Jesus in his resolve to go through with his mission? You would think that the Son of God did not need strengthening but remember he lived in the flesh. He got tired. He got hungry. He suffered as you and I might suffer. He also had to deal with doubts, uncertainties of every kind, and we know that he even asked that his mission be taken from him at one time, when he said, “let this cup be taken from me.”
When Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, Jesus had thoughts of his death on his mind. It would be not too far ahead when Jesus would suffer and die in our place. And although Jesus was God, the flesh that he wore made it difficult to go ahead with his task. At the very least there was unease. You can be assured that one of the why’s of the transfiguration dealt with the strengthening of Jesus because of what Moses and Elijah had to say. Scripture says, “they spoke about (Jesus’) departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Moses and Elijah talk with Jesus about his up-coming crucifixion, and most likely what it is going to accomplish for us all. Therefore it is clear that God the father helped God the Son become strengthened when the glory of the Lord renewed Christ’s strength. It helped Jesus as a man say with newfound strength later on, “Not my will but your will be done!”
For Peter, James and John, seeing Jesus that day in his glory as God, that must have been a faith-strengthening experience for them. These three know now, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus is the promised Messiah, he is going to bring about salvation for all mankind. This certainty surely helped them as they might have wondered why Jesus was taking over the world right here, right now. They might have wondered what Jesus was doing, and why he was not doing it quick enough for their taste. Surely they wondered how he was going to do what he came here to do. Later when Jesus is arrested, and put on trial and subsequently crucified, those things are going to put tremendous fear and doubts into the hearts of the disciples. It will almost wipe out their faith. But the transfiguration of Jesus will still be in their memories. If Satan was convincing them, after Jesus’ death, that he was only a man, they can remember what they saw on the mountain that day when Jesus showed himself as God. They can remember the words of the Father saying, ‘This is my Son.” So if someone asks, “Why did Jesus transfigure himself before the three disciples”,(2) we can know that it was intended to give them strength for what would soon take place. We can also know that those disciples would remember and share with their brothers what they saw, so that even during their doubts they might have that light of hope yet again.
So we have heard why the Transfiguration happened for Jesus and the disciples, but is there an answer as to why it happened for us? Sure there is! As we get closer to the season of Lent, we begin to remember why Jesus died on the cross. We focus more on the suffering of Jesus in Lent more so than any other time in the year. We see Jesus as a man betrayed by one of his own disciples, on trial for his life, mocked and ridiculed, finally nailed to a cross to die. And it wasn’t just happening by accident, it was according to plan, God’s plan. That was God’s way of dealing with our sin. It was God’s way of making forgiveness possible for you and me. So just like with Peter, James and John, (3) the transfiguration is meant to strengthen in us our faith in Jesus, as our Savior and Lord.
And there is more… As you look at Jesus, as he was that day on the mountain in shining glory, and you look with the eyes of faith, you can get a glimpse of yourself. Think about it, you get an opportunity here to see what you are going to look like in eternity. God tells us in Philippians 3, “He will transform our lowly body so that (it) will be like his glorious body”, like the glorified body of Jesus. So in the transfiguration of Jesus you get a glimpse of the transformation that’s going to take place in you, when God takes you to heaven. This is a great help to us now, especially when our joints are aching with arthritis, or we find ourselves without the energy we once had, because one day we will have a transformed body, that will be like Christ’s body, holy and blameless and without ache.
When we go back to our text, remember we do not just see Jesus, we also see Moses and Elijah, and they too appeared, “In glorious splendor”; this gives us the certainty that such a transformation was not owned by Jesus alone. When the holiness of God surrounds us and penetrates us and transforms us after we perish, we will be glorious too. The comfort that comes from such a truth, helps us when we suffer and hurt now, because we are assured that such pain is only temporary.
I remember special moments in my life that I wish never would have ended. I am sure you have similar memories of moments that you just wanted to remain in forever. Like a vacation in Colorado when the weather is perfect, or a family gathering that brought so much closeness and bonding that tears would come when you all had to go your separate ways. Peter shows us how human in spirit he was, when he said, “it is good for us to be here”. He knew what a special blessing he was viewing at the time and he wanted it to last, thus he offered to put up shelter for the three men before him. But alas the moment was only temporary, and after God himself spoke saying this is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased, listen to him. It was all over, and only Jesus remained, back to the way they were used to seeing him. But for Peter, James, John and ourselves, it is not really over. The moment of transformation into holiness will one day last forever, and it will be a moment that will only bring joy, not fear as it did for the disciples. There will be no fear on that day because Jesus has wiped away all our sin, and all that will remain is the holiness that he has given to us all.
The transfiguration of our Lord gives us at least some of the answers as to why God does what He does. Take special note that God was not only thinking of his Son on that special day, but you and I as well. When you can’t figure out why God does what he does in other areas of your life, remember at least that he has given you the answer to at least some of your questions, here today, as we look upon in faith, the Transfiguration of our Lord.
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