The Magnificence of Christ

as it were. The apostles had
been sent out on a grand, new kind of ministry. They had been
commissioned, equipped by the Lord, graced by Him, and sent
out two by two, as we saw, to proclaim the Gospel, to perform
healings, to cast out demons. They came back from that overwhelmed
at what had transpired. And they came back to another
kind of miracle. They came back to the feeding
of the 5,000, something that they hadn’t before seen. And
I believe that as we saw in that passage, I believe that Jesus
intimated that these men had that same power to effect such
a miracle. Yet, their faith was weak. Jesus turned to them, as you
remember, and said, you give them something to eat. They didn’t
have the faith to do that. That culminates with a very intimate
moment with the apostles, as we saw, where he begins to ask
them who the crowds think that he is and who do they, the apostles,
think that he is. And in a sense, there, Peter
verbally attests to his faith, his belief in Christ as he was,
And Jesus commends him for that, but really ultimately points
to the truth that God had revealed that to them. Then Jesus solemnly begins to
point them to a new kind of, a new understanding, as it were,
of His ministry. A ministry of self-denial, a
ministry of suffering and pain, and for Christ, ultimately death. Now, there’s no doubt that the
apostles were believing. We know that Judas, no doubt
even here, was struggling in his faith. But the apostles all were of
a believing mind. The apostles all were expressing
faith in Christ. But they had this misconception
of the ministry. Even still, they were expecting
a glorious Savior. Remember Peter, upon hearing
Jesus and His ideas of what was going to transpire, that He was
going to suffer and die. Peter said, forbid it, Lord.
No way. And Jesus rebuked him for it.
Peter was slow, as were the rest of the apostles, to receive this
truth. That it wasn’t going to be an
earthly kingdom. It wasn’t going to be this grand
takeover of the Roman elite, even of the Jewish leaders. It
wasn’t going to be that kind of a kingdom. And in a sense,
the apostles needed some encouragement. The apostles needed a sign. They
needed some proof. They had heard Jesus’ words.
They had seen His works. And still they fell short of
true, vibrant faith in all that God was going to do through Christ.
If you will, let’s pick up one of the most astounding passages
in Scripture. The passage that provides those
affirmations that the apostles were looking for. Beginning in
verse 28, where we see the glory of Christ. Some eight days after
these sayings, he took along Peter and John and James and
went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the
appearance of his face became different and his clothing became
white and gleaming. 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. Now 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. And as
these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is
good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles,
one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Not realizing
what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud
formed and began to overshadow them. And they were afraid as
they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the
cloud saying, this is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. And when the voice had spoken,
Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and reported
to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. The apostles had been with Christ
for many months now. They had heeded the call to follow
Him. They had seen Him work miracles. They had even seen Him work miracles
in their own lives, bringing them to faith. They had been
equipped by divine grace for an apostolic ministry, sent out
with God’s authority and the gifts of God. They had seen and
lived with Christ. They knew His character. They
knew His heart. And yet their faith was incomplete. They still had not seen the glory
of Christ, which was purely visible Had they only looked with spiritual
eyes? Had they only looked at Christ
as God looked at Christ? Had they only looked at Christ
as their own Scriptures testified? So, we come to this fantastic
passage. This overwhelming passage. about the magnificence of Christ.
And in it, I want to point out to you briefly this morning,
three divine affirmations. All of which were from God. Three
divine affirmations of the glory of the Lord Jesus that in the
end, leaves the apostles no doubt. No doubt as to the magnificence
of Christ. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
is seen, first of all, in His countenance. Look again at verse
28. Where Luke records some eight
days after these sayings, he took along Peter and John and
James. We don’t know exactly why these
three. These were three of the foremost
apostles. One might argue these were the
three most important apostles, but he took along just three.
Just a select group. And he went up onto the mountain
to pray. We visited this passage before.
In all of those poignant moments of Christ’s ministry, he prayed. And while he was praying, Luke
almost casually, mildly records the appearance of his face became
different. simply records that almost bland
description. He became different. Luke uses
a completely different word in this passage than do Matthew
and Mark. Matthew and Mark use that deep
word, metamorphosed, changed, altered. Luke, on the other hand,
was writing, as we’ve talked about in the past, for Greek
readers. those who were steeped in the pagan culture. And that
word metamorphosed was used throughout their literature, in their myths
of their so-called gods that would metamorphose into all kinds
of strange creatures. And so Luke downplays it, as
it were, and uses a completely different word. He just says Jesus’ face was
different. He goes on and says that His
clothing became white and gleaming. In a sense, Christ’s body became
so luminescent, shining, that it shone right through His clothes. We don’t know the exact nature
of what changed, but we know it was different. And we know
also that it was God-like. This same image is spoken of
God on numerous occasions. Psalm 104.2, which is one of
the few that I’ve had the privilege to preach. Psalm 104.2 speaks
of God as covering yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching
out heaven like a tent curtain. Habakkuk 3.4 speaks of God and
His radiance like the sunlight. That’s the image that these apostles
were privileged to see of Christ manifesting divine glory. What a proof that must have been
for these apostles. Literally, Jesus’ fashion, His
form was somehow changed. That’s the word that’s used there.
That little word is used only six times in the New Testament.
And in every other place, it’s translated in these kinds of
words, shape, or sight, or appearance. John 5.37 uses it. The Father
who sent me has testified of me. You’ve neither heard His
voice at any time, nor seen His form. 1 Thessalonians 5.22 uses a similar
word. Abstain from every form of evil. Essentially, this shining was
the change, this glittering that the other apostles point to.
This word here is used a lot of times of the gleam of a polished
surface, a metal surface. A lot of times, swords, arms
of some kind, horses that were arrayed for battle were said
to glisten or shine. Water when it’s in motion, the
twinkling of the stars, lightning is said to shine. As I indicated, Matthew and Mark
use a completely different word. They use the word transfigured,
metamorphosed. Meta is the first part of that
compound. It just denotes change. And morph
is the word for form, as we’ve already seen. It denotes this
form as regarded as the distinct nature and character of the object
as one person deeply defined it. Jesus was somehow in some
incredible divine way changed and presented before those who
he was observing. Jesus was there on display for
the apostles and they were there beholding this change in form
of some way. Literally, one described it this
way, he was changed into another form. It denotes a visible change
of the outward form. It was the glorification of the
physical body. This was the body that he had
taken in humbling himself. And now it takes on a glorified
state. what one called the divine crowning
of his perfect humanity. What an illustration, what a
testimony it must have been to the apostles, even if that’s
all they had to see Christ glorified in this way must have been overwhelming
and an overwhelming proof. Some have quibbled over this
word transfiguration metamorphosed, but I think it’s a good word
to retain. Because it doesn’t tell us everything that took
place. It doesn’t even describe it. We don’t know exactly what
happened. But this word at least brings
forth the truth that Jesus underwent some kind of a unique and beautiful
and divine transformation right before the apostles eyes. As
I spoke a moment ago, Luke just says that Jesus’ face became
different. Mark doesn’t even mention His
face, but Matthew, get this. Matthew says that His face shone
like the sun. What an incredible sight this
must have been. Regarding his clothes, Mark adds
that his garments became radiant and exceedingly white as no launderer
on earth can whiten them. What Mark does is use a simple
illustration of the laundry basket. And if perhaps if he were speaking
today, he would say brighter than tide, brighter than biz,
brighter than bleach, like no launderer can get them. What was the purpose of this
transfiguration? The purpose of it was to fill
the apostles’ souls with the proof of Christ. To undergird
their faith in the glory of Christ. In the magnificence of Christ. The goal was to strengthen their
faith. They had heard these horrible
things that were about to take place. Perhaps they had deep
doubts, deep concerns. What was this program that they
were getting themselves involved in? This was meant to encourage
the disciples. To give them a glimpse of what
was to come. To calm their minds. As one described
it, So many times there were those pages on pages and pages
in these commentaries trying to describe and paint in human
terms what was almost indescribable even to those who were witnesses. One writer rightly said this,
it’s wiser to seek for the meaning of the event rather than to frame
guesses as to the manner of it. We weren’t there. If those who
were there could hardly describe it, how can we? He goes on and says to the disciples
who had been so amazed at the doctrine that the Messiah must
suffer and die, it would have been a great consolation. The
transfiguration taught all three that the passion of the Messiah
did not mean that the glory of the kingdom would be lost. But
the glory would be not of earth, but of heaven. God here was giving
them a sign that this is the kingdom of God. It’s just not
the kingdom they expected. The kingdom is not of this earth.
It’s not an earthly reign. But perhaps also, perhaps also this had a purpose
for Christ Himself. Christ loved to commune with
His Father. Christ often went in prayer to
His Father. Remember, even in the Garden
of Gethsemane, He was going there for comfort. Jesus went up on the mountain
to commune with God, to be strengthened to face and bear the cross. What
Jesus was going to, no one had ever done before. No one could. It had value for Christ. It encouraged
Him and assured Him. It gave Him the divine approval,
not that He needed, but it was an encouragement nonetheless
to Christ. But the apostles, even upon seeing
Christ glorified in this manner, had proof enough right there.
And yet there was more, more to come. I said that there were
three divine affirmations of Christ’s glory. The glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ was seen not only in his countenance,
but in his company. In his company, look at verse
30. Behold, two men were walking with him. Luke doesn’t go any
further than there. He doesn’t even name them at
first. It’s almost as if Luke downplays them, too. He just says two men were with
him and they were Moses and Elijah. These two figures who had taken
on, he goes on to say, appearing in glory, who had taken on this
similar form, this glory undefined, they were
standing there with Christ. what more appropriate figures
to come from heaven to commune with Christ there, not to instruct
Christ as one tried to suggest, not to impart anything to Christ,
but really to learn of Christ, to be encouraged by Christ in
His fortitude as He looked to the cross. Moses and Elijah,
what better representatives from the Old Testament? powerful servants
of God. Both of them, interestingly enough,
had a privileged end. They died like nobody else. They
were taken by God like nobody else. Remember, Elijah in his
ascension was preserved from physical death and taken right
out of life. There was something equally mysterious
in the death of Moses. Turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy
34. Deuteronomy, in the clean part
of your Bibles, chapter 34, the death of Moses. Listen to this. Moses went up from the plains
of Moab to Mount Nebo at the top of Pisgah, which is opposite
Jericho. And the Lord showed to him all
the land, Gilead as far as Dan, and from all Naphtali, and the
land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, as
far as the western sea, and the Negev, and the plain of the valley
of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, This
is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying,
I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your
eyes, but you shall not go over there. So Moses, the servant
of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the
word of the Lord. And he, that is God, buried him
in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor. And no man knows his burial place
to this day. Moses had a privileged end, just
like Elijah. Elijah was picked up in a chariot.
Moses was picked up and buried by God Himself. It’s appropriate
that these two Old Testament saints profound figures, the
great lawgiver, Moses, and the great prophet, Elijah, were selected
as to be representatives of this transition to Christ. Christ had come to fulfill the
law and the prophets. What better representatives,
in a sense, in passing the torch to Christ? Malachi 3.1 predicted
that Elijah was going to come. I’m going to send my messenger.
He will clear the way before me. They expected Elijah to come. Malachi 4.5, behold, I’m going
to send you Elijah the prophet. We’ve looked at it over and over
again in the context of John, John the Baptist. They expected Elijah. They didn’t
expect Moses. They didn’t expect this kind
of kingdom. They didn’t expect this transition. But there they were. Luke records
simply that they were there appearing in glory and they were talking
with Christ. And only Luke out of all three
of the Gospels records, if you can imagine this, what they were
talking about. Look back again, if you would,
at verse 31. They were there appearing in
glory, speaking of His departure. Speaking of His departure, which
He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. This is interesting,
even strange language. Even to our English ears, this
translation is a difficult one. And it’s hard to make the jump
A departure is not something that we typically accomplish
unless we’re catching a plane. My wife has never missed one.
She’s there two and a half hours early. She accomplishes her departures. But that’s not what he’s talking
about. It’s not something typically that we understand as something
we accomplish. This word departure here being
used is a very unusual word to be used in this context for death,
but not just death. What better word, though, when
you begin to look at it? No word could have more accurately
represented what Christ was about to undertake. Because this too
is a compound word. Ex- meaning out of, and hodos,
which is literally a journey or a path taken from the root
word, a path, a walkway. And if you listened carefully,
ex-hodos is the Greek word from where we get exodus. A departure. We know it as Exodus, pointing
back to the great book and really the book that talks about the
the exodus of the people of God from Egypt. But here it’s being
used of Christ’s exodus, Christ’s departure, his journey out of
the way. And in that sense, it’s profound.
It’s a weighty word, said one, involving His passion, His cross,
His death, His resurrection, His ascension. They’re having
a meeting on this mountain in a glorified state and the subject
at hand is Christ’s departure, Christ’s suffering, Christ’s
ascension ultimately. Even here on this mountain, The
Mount of Transfiguration, what Christ is accomplishing in His
messianic sufferings, His sufferings as the Christ of God, that was
the main topic of conversation. What a glorious, glorious thing
that these apostles were privileged to witness. It was the same passion
that Peter, remember, had just objected to just moments earlier. And now he’s witnessing these
three figures in their glorified state all talking about that
very thing. It’s a sad commentary here. Many commentaries, many so-called
theologians imagine that Moses and Elijah came to instruct and
encourage Jesus. And unless you have, you would
have to imagine here that they’re on some kind of a equal footing
with Christ. Instead, it’s these two, as one
said, these two heavenly messengers who are learning from Jesus.
In view of the cross, which is about to be erected, Elijah learns
to know a glory superior. to that of being taken to heaven,
the glory of renouncing through love an ascension and a choosing
rather than a painful and ignominious death as so many experience. This is Christ instructing and
encouraging them, not the other way around. The narrative continues. Now,
Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep. This
is no doubt an indicator that it was night time and that makes
that bright, shining light all that much more dramatic. They
had been overcome with sleep. It had been a long week, a long
day. Ministry was exhausting to them.
But when they were fully awake, perhaps it was the light, perhaps
it was the conversation, We don’t know what woke them, but we know
that they woke out of a sound sleep and they saw His glory
and the two men standing with Him. They awoke and they saw the Savior
with these two heavenly messengers. And suddenly, almost as soon
as they awake, as soon as they begin to behold what is right
there before them, Moses and Elijah begin to leave. Look at
verse 33. And as these, that is Moses and
Elijah, were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, stop the
show. I have something to say. And
that’s as astounding as it would have been. Here is Peter and
James and John privileged to be on this mountain, to see this
fantastic sight for their own good. And Peter wants to take
control. Remember, as we talked about
several weeks ago, when Jesus was rebuked by Peter, maybe Peter
was beginning to assert that authority that he thought he
had as the holder of the keys of the kingdom. Maybe that’s
what he’s doing again here. Jesus, I got an idea. Master,
it’s good for us to be here. Let’s make three tabernacles,
one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. Let me tell you about
the tabernacles. You think it’s something fancy
and ornate, some brick building and fantastic structure that
was erected. Not necessarily so. The Jews
in their travels often would tear off branches and they would
erect a simple tent, a simple tent into which went the holies, the glory of God
would shine in that place. And here’s Peter suggesting that
in a moment’s time, he was going to erect three little crude tents
for Jesus, for Elijah, for Moses to camp out in. You see, no doubt
what Peter wanted to do is preserve this fantastic scene. He thought this was a great thing
and would be a great thing for others to see. Let’s preserve
this. You know what, Jesus, I’ve got
such a great idea. We’ll go send out flyers. We’ll
put out advertising. We’ll bring in people by the
thousands and then they’ll believe. It’s interesting here. Matthew and Mark both point to
the fact that Peter answered. He wasn’t spoken to, but he answered
anyway. And it’s so much like us. Where we should have been dumbstruck,
Peter speaks. Where he should have been quiet,
Peter speaks. And he impulsively stumbles into
this situation as if it demanded a response from him. And it didn’t. I love the way Elizabeth Elliot
says it. Never miss an opportunity to
keep your mouth shut. Peter, on the other hand, much
like us, replied to the occasion, let me get in my two cents worth,
Lord. And he spoke just as Moses and Elijah were about to depart.
And he wanted to prolong this scene, as we’ve talked about.
He wanted to keep them from going away. Let’s preserve this. Let’s keep this going. This is
what we want. This is the glorious kind of
kingdom that we want here on Earth. What great additions we
have to the party. Where did he come up with this
odd interjection? Luke tells us, Luke tells us
very graphically, not realizing what he was saying. And isn’t
this just like us? This is one of those classic
understatements of all of Scripture. One of the other famous understatements,
remember in the plague of the frogs and then the frogs died. You know what? I had a turtle
and I have vowed my children will never have a turtle because
I had a turtle. And when the turtle was alive,
it stank worse than anything I’ve ever known. But it says
of these frogs and the frogs died and the land stinketh. This
is a classic understatement of Scripture. This is another. Here’s
Peter blurting out this great plan of his to build these three
little crude tents to keep around Moses and Elijah and Jesus in
this glorified state. Not realizing what he was saying. He didn’t have a mind to speak. He just spoke. He didn’t think
about what he was going to say. Mark 9.6 gives us a little bit
of detail here. He says, he did not know what
to answer, for they had become terrified. He was scared to death. He didn’t know what to say. So
he just started talking. There are people who don’t like
silence, and Peter must have been one of them. They don’t
like silence, so they fill it with all kinds of anything to
talk about. Peter was so dazzled by this glory, said one, that
he neither knew what to say nor what he actually did say. Even
after it was out, where did that come from? He spoke foolishly. Peter may have
tried to come to some justification in his mind for his idea. Because
he was so full of these delightful things that he was seeing, he
was so overwhelmed by them that he wanted to fix it. He wanted
to stay there permanently. Set up shop. Set up a draw for
the audiences down in the village. One described it this way, Peter
seemed to place Moses and Elijah side by side with his divine
master as if the three were equal. God’s voice was meant to teach
Peter that there was one far greater than Moses. or Elijah. Moses was a faithful servant
of God. Elijah was a bold witness for
the truth. But Christ was far above either
one. He was the Savior to whom law
and the prophets were continually pointing. He was the true prophet
whom all were commanded to hear. In nature, in dignity, in office,
they were far below Christ. He was the sun. They were the
stars. He was the root. They were the
branches. He was the master. They were the servants. And so,
we come to the third. The third mark of Christ’s magnificence. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
is seen not only in His countenance and His company, but thirdly,
in His commendation. In His commendation. Look at
verse 34. While He was saying this, I mean,
many of you are probably not unlike me. I have a problem.
I am so proud that I think that in the midst of a conversation
so many times that what I have to say is so paramount that I
don’t think twice to interrupt whoever I’m speaking with. Maybe
I’m the only one that struggles with that, but if there’s anyone
who is justified in interrupting its God Himself. And here’s Peter
in the midst of this foolish idea, speaking, and it says,
even while he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow
them. And they were afraid as they
entered the cloud. You know what? Jesus doesn’t even dignify Peter’s
idea with a comment. Jesus is going to stand back
and let God speak on his behalf. That’s what this whole thing
is about, is a testimony to Christ’s magnificence. And God had already
done it. He had done it by changing Christ’s
physical appearance. He had done it with these two
heavenly visitors. And now He’s going to do it verbally. While Peter was yet speaking,
This cloud, what the Old Testament knew as the Shekinah glory of
God, began to overshadow them. It was a symbol always of the
divine presence. This was the glory cloud. The
presence of God that so often rested on the tabernacle. Listen
to how Scripture defines this same presence of God mentioned
by a cloud, often bright and white or luminous. Exodus 13.21,
I’m going to take you just on a brief tour. The Lord was going
before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way
and a pillar of fire by night. Exodus 16, 10, it came about
as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation, the sons of Israel. They looked
toward the wilderness and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared
in a cloud. Exodus 40, verse 35, Moses was
not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had
settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. It wasn’t just Moses. It didn’t
stop there. 1 Kings 8. It happened when the
priest came from the holy place. The cloud filled the house of
the Lord. This is the Shekinah glory of
God. The tabernacling of God in our
midst. So that the priest could not
stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the
Lord filled the house of the Lord. Psalm 78. Recounts the children of Israel
in the wilderness. He led them by a cloud by day
and all the night by light of fire. Ezekiel 1.4 As I looked,
behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud
with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it.
And it’s midst something like glowing metal in the midst of
the fire. It was a luminous cloud, bright,
almost indescribable. And it says that this luminous cloud was so overwhelming
that it was as if it shadowed them. It came over them. It blinded
them. And then a voice. And what a terrible scene this
must have been to Peter. Terribly overwhelming. Terribly
frightening. Then a voice came out of the
clouds saying, this is my son. My chosen one, listen to Him. God the Father begins to speak
and He isn’t speaking to Christ, He’s speaking to Peter and to
these two apostles who were with Him. Peter had merely done what
every one of us might have thought or proposed, given the same option. If we had been given the vote,
we would have voted on it. Yes, let’s build the tents. And that wasn’t the plan. That
wasn’t the Father’s plan. That wasn’t what Jesus had assented
to. The Father’s voice wasn’t addressed to Jesus, but to the
three disciples outside of this cloud. They realized that the
voice, when it said, listen to them, was a clear confirmation
of Jesus’ deity and His Messiahship, His Sonship. They knew He was
the one that God had proclaimed Him to be. Essentially, we are to place
ourselves to nestle ourselves under his teaching alone. That’s what he was saying to
the apostles. John Calvin said it this way. We are placed under his teaching
and his only and commanded from him alone to seek the doctrine
of salvation, to depend upon and listen to no one, to adhere
to no one in a word, to listen to one only. I began to study, looked at a
couple of different people who had preached through this passage.
Charles Spurgeon preached through this passage, I think, on eight
or ten occasions. On one occasion, he preached
on two words. Jesus only. Jesus only. Listen to him. We’re not supposed to, as one
person described it, not supposed to listen to the traditions of
the elders of the doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees. That’s
what Peter and the rest were being told. Not even the teachings
of Moses and Elias, of the law and of the prophets, but of the
words of the Son of Man were henceforth to command their allegiance
and to be the guide of their faith and of their lives. And
for them, it was only true that the Father was revealed fully
in them. Listen to him. Matthew adds an interesting point
here. The same point that he said at the baptism, this is
my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. It indicates that
approval, that stamp of approval, as it were, by God upon his own
son. Luke goes on to point out that
they were afraid. Afraid, they were terrified when they entered
this cloud. They began to see Moses and Elijah taken away from
them. They had no idea what was going
on. All they knew that this fantastic
scene was changing and possibly coming to an end. They didn’t
even know if their own lives were going to end now having
seen the glory of God. Matthew 17.6 says, when the disciples
heard this, when they heard this voice, they fell on their faces
and were much afraid. Falling on the face is really,
it’s not only characteristic of what took place, it’s the
only legitimate response when you come face to face with a
holy God. It was a sign of humility, a
sign of devotion. Remember what happened with Adam
when he sinned? He was in the garden and he hid himself. Gideon, Judges 6, says that when
Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord, he said, Alas, O
God, for now I’ve seen the angel of the Lord face to face. He
was troubled by it. Isaiah, we know the story of
Isaiah. Woe is me, Daniel, the prophet
Daniel. When he came near to where I
was standing and when he came, I was frightened and I fell on
my face. But he said to me, son of man, understand that the vision
pertains to the times of the end. God had to comfort Daniel,
the prophet. Daniel 10, verse 8, I was left
alone, yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned
to a different pallor, and I retained no strength. He was absolutely
coming apart. Habakkuk, I heard in my inward
parts tremble, that the sound of my lips quivered. Decay enters
my bones, and in my place I tremble, because I must wait quietly for
the day of distress. John the Apostle experienced
it as well. Revelations 1.17, When I saw
him, I fell at his feet like a dead man, as he placed his
right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid. He needed the
comfort of God. Coming face to face with this
holy being. You think also of Paul on the
road to Damascus, and then no wonder. No wonder Matthew adds
this little detail in Matthew 17. Jesus came to them and touched
them and said, arise, do not be afraid. What a gracious comforting of
God that is. This was for them. This scene,
this whole scene, this three point illustration was for them.
Stand up. Don’t be afraid. It says that
when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They looked up. Moses and Elijah
were gone. The cloud was gone. Jesus was
as they had seen him in the past. And it says they kept silent.
They did so because, as the other gospel writers record, they were
commanded by Christ not to tell anyone, not even the other apostles.
Tell no one. Jesus didn’t want all this false
stuff, even that Peter had tried to propose. But these three men
learned the lesson on the mountaintop that day. They knew Christ for
who He presented Himself to be from that point forward. They
took Him in faith for what He presented Him to be. They’d seen
the proof of God, the divine approval. Listen to James. James writing in his epistle
says, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. James had seen the glorious Lord
Jesus Christ. He knew what he was talking about.
John, the apostle. In his Gospel, it writes this
way, the Word became flesh and dwelt, literally, tabernacled
among us. And we saw His glory, glory as
if He only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. You wonder where John got the
motivation outside the Holy Spirit to write such things. This was
all prompted by the Holy Spirit. He was there. He lived it. Writing
in his epistle, 1 John, What was from the beginning, what
we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked
at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life.
And this life was manifested and we have seen and testify
and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was the thought which
the Father was manifested to us. He’s speaking of this scene. And what we have seen and heard,
we proclaim to you also, that you too may have fellowship with
us.” This is a man motivated by this mountaintop experience.
But finally, and in closing, 2 Peter. Peter learned the lesson. Peter was a changed man after
this. There’s no doubt that he’d fumble occasionally from time
to time, misspeak, even doubt Christ again. But in 2 Peter
1, turn if you would. 2 Peter 1. You remember in that first chapter of 2 Peter,
Peter is encouraging the faith. He’s even encouraging self-examination. Consider your callings, brethren,
to see whether you’re truly in the faith. And then he says,
I’m not going to hesitate to remind you. And here’s why. Look
at v. 12. Therefore, I will always
be ready to remind you of these things even though you already
know them and have been established in the truth which is present
with you. I consider it right as long as I’m in this earthly
dwelling…” He uses the same word. Tabernacle. Tent. “…as long as I’m in this
earthly dwelling to stir you up by way of reminder.” You know
what he had come to? He realized that Jesus didn’t
need a tent made out of sticks. He was the tabernacle. He goes on, knowing that the
laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent as our Lord Jesus
Christ has made clear to me. He too is going to have a departure,
just as Christ did. He uses the same word there too.
And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure,
you will be able to call these things to mind. How come? For we did not follow cleverly
devised tales when we made known to you the power and the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses. I’ve
been there. I saw it. We were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. For when he received honor and
glory from 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,
Peter knew. Peter took Christ now at full value. He had seen
God’s attestation. He’d seen it in the glory in
Christ’s face. He’d seen it in these two visitors.
And he heard it from God’s own voice. Peter was a changed man. Let’s examine our own hearts
before him. Gracious God, We no doubt have come to this
passage many times and know not what to do with it. Father, examine
our own hearts. We pray that our own hearts would
be touched by these proofs, these testimonies of Christ and His
glory, His magnificence. Father, may we esteem Him accurately,
the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. It’s in His name that we pray,
Amen.