The Transfiguration
February 22, 2004 (Sermon presented February 29, 2004, since a blizzard closed Halifax on the 22nd).
Luke 9:28-36.

^9:28About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. ³²Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
³³As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) ³⁴While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone.

The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen. (NIV).

Listen to Him!

  What would your reaction be if the government announced that it was dissolving Parliament, moving the government to the middle of the country, say somewhere in Manitoba, and was going to adopt a new constitution and form of government, say that of the United States? You might say, “It’s about time!” But I think it more likely that you would be shocked and somewhat bewildered. You would probably even be somewhat fearful because you wouldn’t know what such a change might entail. It might be good, but maybe not. And even if you were convinced that it was the best thing that ever happened, you could assume that there would be problems changing the way the whole country functions.

  Now that may seem a strange way to begin talking about the Transfiguration, but it’s about the best I can do to put into perspective what happened to Peter, John and James on that mountain that day. The best way I can put it is that they received the shocking news that Jesus was replacing Moses and the Prophets. Moses and Elijah were passing the baton to Jesus who would take over from there. In the presence of Moses and Elijah, God says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” I think that this was the most shocking day of their lives to that point. We, therefore, must grasp something of the profound and serious nature of this event for Peter, John and James in order to apply that same word to ourselves. “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

  Jews like Peter, James and John, were very resistant to change. The law of Moses set a permanent standard for their way of life and thinking. Their very identity as Jews was tied up with the Law and the Prophets. Everything in life had to conform to the Law of Moses and the Prophets: politics, law, dress, diet, sexuality. It was all covered. To change that in any way, took more than just a word from Jesus’ mouth.

  Understand that the disciples had already experienced some real puzzles with Jesus. He worked all manner of miracles, forgave sin and spoke with authority like no one before him. Their constant question was, “Who is this guy?” And now, he is to replace Moses? There had been many prophets since Moses but none of them ever superceded or supplanted him! So God arranges a special event to make his point.

  About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. Why a mountain? Because it signifies a place of divine revelation. Moses brought the people out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai to receive the covenant and the tabernacle. David built Jerusalem on a mountain and there Solomon built the Temple. The prophets referred to it as Mt. Zion, God’s holy mountain, the place where God revealed himself. It comes as no surprise then that Jesus often withdrew to a mountain to pray before significant events. He spent the night in prayer on a mountain before he chose the 12 disciples and he prayed on the Mount of Olives before beginning his passion. Naturally God chose a mountain for this revelation.

  As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. The Law of Moses required two witness to establish the validity of any testimony. So God calls upon Moses and Elijah. What witnesses! Moses was the lawgiver himself; Elijah never died, was perhaps the most revered prophet and was expected to return before the Messiah came. There could be no greater witnesses!

  While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Clouds almost always accompanied the presence of God in the Old Testament. There were clouds on Mt. Sinai when Moses received the Law. There was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night that led Israel in the wilderness. When the tabernacle and later the temple were dedicated, a cloud covered the ark in the most holy place. So the cloud was the sign for Peter, John and James that this was really the voice of God they heard. No wonder they were afraid!

  The revelation was really quite simple: there is a change of leader. Up to this point, everybody lived in the shadow of Moses. As we read in our Old Testament lesson, Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, . . . For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10, 12. NIV). How significant then when, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, God says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Clearly Moses and Elijah have not come to tell Jesus what to do, but to honour him and witness to the disciples that now, Jesus is the one whom they must follow. Our epistle lesson also picks up this theme. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honour than the house itself. . . . Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. (Hebrews 3:3-6. NIV).

  What does this change in leader mean? It will take the disciples a long time to understand. That day, the three disciples did not know! All they could think of was, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) The fact is, there will be many changes for the disciples. They will have to accept non-Jews into the church, forget about circumcision, clean and unclean foods, and all other such laws from Moses! They will have to give up the hope of a restoration of the kingdom of David in this age! We can’t begin to appreciate such things!

  But one major thing is mentioned here in our text: Jesus’ departure. Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about his departure, literally his Exodus. Think of it, most of the Old Testament looks back to the Exodus from Egypt as a reference point. It is the defining event for the people of God. It is the demonstration of God’s power. It is the event of salvation. But no longer was the exodus from Egypt to be the reference point for the people of God. Now it was to be Jesus’ exodus, that is his passion, his death, resurrection and ascension. Thus, when Jesus celebrated the Passover—the celebration of the Exodus—for the last time, he forever changed it to the Lord’s Supper, his body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.

  The event that was connected with the Exodus from Egypt was the giving of the law on Sinai. Up to this point, the Law of Moses had been the definitive word of God. Everything had to be judged against that word. Now, however, just as Moses cedes place to Jesus, so his instruction gives way to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over and over Jesus spoke with an authority that superceded that of Moses. The crowds often remarked with awe, “What is this new teaching?” while the Pharisees cried “Blasphemy!” Yet it is to this Gospel that God directs Peter, John and James. “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” It meant that henceforth, Jesus, his exodus and his instruction would be reference point for life. Not Moses, not Elijah, Jesus.

  We can’t imagine what this meant for these men! Again, the only thing to which I can think to compare this, for us, would be a change in constitution, form of government and charter of rights. We need to hear that one sentence from God with the same shock and awe as Peter, John and James. “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Jesus, his exodus and his instruction are to be the reference point for your life. If I can say it, Jesus is now the glasses through which you view the world. He makes a total claim on your life, for with his exodus he bought you, and through his word he directs your life.

  That’s right, through his exodus he bought you. That’s the most important point of Christian teaching there is! The very heart of the Gospel is the fact that Jesus died in your place, to save you, just like in the movie, The Passion of the Christ. There’s really very little to understand. You and I have willfully disobeyed our Creator and justly deserve the punishment of eternal death. But Jesus rescued us from the power of sin, death and the devil the way Moses rescued the Jews from Egypt. Joined to him through faith, his exodus from the grave will be ours.

  In addition, just as Moses brought the people from Egypt to Sinai to receive the word of God, so Jesus has given us his word. Yet his word is not a set of suggestions about how we might want to live, a possible lifestyle. His word is the word of life. Apart from his word, the world will deceive us and we will lose faith and die. So we enter into the struggle between the flesh and the spirit, between light and darkness, between truth and deception.

  For example, we can’t hold on to Moses and Jesus like Peter tried to do with his three shelters. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled! It wasn’t just discarded, it was fulfilled, or rather it fulfilled it’s purpose of bringing us to Christ as Paul says. So it is foolish when Christians try to start living like Old Testament Jews. We don’t do it often, but now and then it creeps up on us like when Christians celebrate the Passover or some other Jewish holiday. Such things served their purpose and then ceased when Jesus died and rose. Observing them now is like paying a bill you already paid once.

  Nor can we put other would-be teachers on a par with Jesus. “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” He didn’t say to listen to Mohammed the prophet of Islam, or Joseph Smith the prophet of Mormonism, or any of the pop prophets of our day who set the trends and values of the world around us. None of them have anything to do with Jesus or Moses.

  But most difficult of all is not these things we must not do. Rather it is the thing we must do: to love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves. That means to become like Jesus, to always ask the question, “How is Jesus directing me to live?” In other words, I start with Jesus and then decide what I will study in school, how I will eat and drink, how I will spend my leisure time, how I will vote in elections, how I will spend my money, how I will work, how I will live in my family, what I will do in the Church. I let Jesus lead me in every aspect of my life, not just include him when it’s convenient! “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

  My friends, the message of the Transfiguration is that Jesus is to us what Moses was to the Jews. In fact he’s more than Moses ever was because Moses pointed forward to Jesus. By his exodus he made us his people. Listen to him!