Food
for Thought:
A Promise Yet to Happen
February 3 , 2008
Dr. Mark Ruppert
Matthew 17:1-9; II Peter 1:16-21
J. R. R.
Tolkien, in his famous book The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3,
The Return of the King writes, “But when Aragorn arose all that
beheld him gazed in silence, for it seemed to them that he was
revealed to them now for the first time. Tall as the sea kings of
old, he stood above all that were near, ancient of days he seemed
and yet in the flower of manhood; and wisdom sat upon his brow, and
strength and healing were in his hands, and a light was about him.
And then Faramir cried, ‘Behold the King.’”
It had been
roughly two years since Jesus first began His ministry after going
into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. And since that
experience he had walked the beaten path from village to village
preaching and teaching, healing and going toe-to-toe with the
religious leaders who tested Him and tired to trick Him.
He had been
pouring His very life into the lives of His disciples- were they
taking it all in? Were they learning and “getting it?” And now
there was a break in the action from hearing Peter’s confession and
Jesus preaching on discipleship, which we read about in chapter 16.
Jesus takes three specially selected disciples, Peter and James and
John up on a mountain, it is believed to be Mount Hermon, near
Caesarea Philippi, since that is just where Peter has made the great
confession that Jesus is the Messiah. And here they are, up on
Mount Hermon, when Jesus is transfigured right before their very
eyes. Matthew says, “and his face shown like the sun, and his
clothes became dazzling white.”
Being a
visual person I have tried to imagine what this must have looked
like. It’s almost is if, “His form were outlined with lightning and
filled with the sun. His radiant brightness commanded such reality
that it made even the fresh, vivid mountain plateau seem like a
dull, cardboard image beside Him.” (Knowing Christ, S. Craig
Glickman, p. 61)
Some
theologians believe that this event occurred at night. We read in
Luke’s gospel of the account and he writes in Luke 9:32, “Now Peter
and his companions were weighed down with sleep…” So at whatever
time of the day or night this event occurred, something out of this
world happened.
Do you ever
wonder what lead Jesus up that mountain? And what’s all this with
Moses and Elijah appearing? And maybe you are asking what’s behind
Mark’s sermon title, “A Promise Yet To Happen?”
First,
what lead Jesus up that mountain? Earlier, I made reference to
Peter’s great confession in chapter 16 at Caesarea Philippi. Look
with me at Matthew 16:13 and following. “Now when Jesus came to the
district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do
people say that the Son of Man is?’
And they
said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still
others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, ‘But who
do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are
you, Simon son of Johan! For flesh and blood has not revealed this
to you, but my Father in heaven….’” You see here at Caesarea
Philippi we find Jesus facing one problem and dealing with one
question. Jesus leads into the big question with the set up
question- “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And then He
makes it personal, He brings it on home and He points to them
individually and asks, “But who do you say that I am?” You see
Jesus wants the disciples to tell Him who He is. He didn’t want
them to run home and ask their Moms and Dads, the Rabbis of the
synagogue they grew up in. He wanted to hear from them- no coaching,
just give me the scoop, tell me, Jesus says to them.
And Jesus
asks us the same question- Mark, Sally, Chuck, Ann, you put your
name in the blank- “Who do you say that I am?” Is Jesus a good man,
a guy who cares, a good preacher and teacher? Is He the Son of
God? Is He our Savior, our Lord and our King?
I think that
Jesus went up to the mountain to get affirmation.
Affirmation, from whom? First, from God. Let me
explain. Jesus had to be sure that what He was about was what God
wanted Him to do. He had to make sure it was God’s will that he go
to Jerusalem and to the cross. I somehow think Jesus went up to
that mountain to ask God- “God, am I doing your will by setting my
face to Jerusalem?” He needed to consult with God before He did
anything.
I wonder, how
do we do in consulting God? Do we bring God into the decisions we
make? Do we make God a part of the equation when we are making a
big purchase- a car, a house, whatever?
Do we go to
God and ask for guidance in a career move or a big decision that can
have long lasting implications and ramifications for us, and for
those around us? Or is the question usually, “What do I want to
do?” Jesus was always consulting God, for He had no will but the
will of God. As believers, our statement needs to be like the old
hymn- “Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the
potter I am the clay.” Jesus received the affirmation He needed that
day, for God said in the second part of verse 5, “This is my Son,
the Beloved; with him I am well pleased.” Words of affirmation.
Words, I believe, that we seek to hear from God. And yet even when
we mess up our God, who is full of kindness and grace, is there to
love and forgive and to make us whole, if we will but trust Him.
But there was
a second affirmation at the Transfiguration- the affirmation of
Moses and Elijah. Matthew tells us in verse 3
that they had a conversation with Jesus.
But turn to
Luke 9:31, for Luke gives us a glimpse of what they were discussing
for we read they, “were speaking of his departure, which he was
about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Moses and Elijah were two of the
greatest men in all of Jewish history. Moses the greatest of all
the lawgivers and Elijah the greatest of all the prophets. And
their appearance that day was as if they put a blessing on what
Jesus was about to do. They affirmed that He was on the right
course that took Him to Jerusalem and to the cross.
The first
affirmation came from Moses and Elijah, and the most important one
came ultimately from God. And don’t we want to be affirmed by God?
And we have, for at our baptism God puts His sign and seal on us
that we belong to Him. He affirms us in our baptism and He claims
us as His own. And nothing, Paul writes in Romans 8:39, nothing can
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing.
The second
point I want to make is that Jesus’ eyes are fixed on
Jerusalem. Have you ever had a spiritual experience where
you felt on top of the world? Maybe in a worship service, maybe at
a Christian conference, maybe just reading the Bible or during a
time of prayer? And you have been so caught up in that religious
experience that you don’t want to leave or come down from that high,
so to speak. Well, even Jesus had to come down from the mountain
even thought Peter wanted to stay. For Peter says in Matthew 17:4,
“Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three
dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Sometimes we want to stay on the mountaintop, we want to stay where
it is good, and comfortable and safe. But even Jesus needed to come
down to go about His Father’s work- to confront the issues of life,
the messiness of daily living. It is important for us to come down
and engage in the Lord’s work- where He has put us, the ministry He
has called us to and engage in life with its joys and it’s sorrows.
It is important to be about our Lord’s work with the poor and the
hopeless and those who are in need. And in reality, that is all of
us- for we all have our issues, our struggles our secrets, our
pressures of life. And just like Jesus, we need to focus our eyes
on what God would have us do, and what God would have us to be in
order to help build His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
The third
point I want to make is something that was a promise yet to happen.
It is a promise for the future. And this is where the
title of my sermon comes into play. For our passage from II Peter
1:16-21 speaks about, in verse 16 and following, “not following
clever devised myths when we made know to you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What Peter is speaking about is the
second coming of Jesus. He is saying to the readers of this letter,
“the Apostolic tradition is not a collection of myths but is based
upon the experience of eyewitnesses.” And the eyewitnesses are the
“we”- those who saw it, first hand. And it was this same Peter who
was up on Mount Hermon with Jesus and James and John, and oh, don’t
forget Moses and Elijah, who witnessed the event when God conferred
glory on His beloved Son, with whom God was well pleased. Obviously
there were those that Peter was writing to who thought Jesus’ return
was a clever myth and that prophecy was not secure. And those who
were saying Jesus’ second coming, His return in all His glory was a
clever myth, were actually challenging the honor of God Himself. So
what Peter does is first, speak out as to his right to speak on this
topic because he was there at the transfiguration. And it was the
transfiguration experience that Peter uses not as a foretaste of
Jesus’ resurrection, but as a foretaste of the triumphant glory of
the Second Coming. How is this determined?
Well, when
you read the transfiguration story in Matthew, Mark and Luke, in all
three gospels what immediately follows the transfiguration is Jesus
prophesying that there were those standing there who would not pass
from this world until they had seen the Son of Man coming in His
kingdom. And so there seems to indicate that the transfiguration
and the Second Coming were in some way tied together. What Peter is
saying is that, in a way, “the Christian is an eye-witness of the
sufferings of Christ. With the eye of faith [the Christian] sees
the Cross; in the experience of faith [the Christian] dies with
Christ to sin and rises to [new life]. [The Christian’s] faith has
made [him or her] one with Jesus Christ in death and in his risen
life and power.” (The Letters of James and Peter, William
Barclay, p. 311).
And so this
miraculous event, the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Hermon was a
foretaste of a promise that is yet to happen. Jesus will return one
day, in all His glory. And what a day that shall be. And so, as we
discussed during the Advent season, we wait, we live, we work to
build His kingdom with great anticipation for His return. Amen.
Key Points
Introduction:
J. R. R. Tolkien in his famous book The Lord of the Rings,
Vol. 3, “The Return of the King” writes,…
Prior to the
Transfiguration
The
Transfiguration
First, what lead Jesus up that mountain? Matt. 16:13f
He went up to the mountain to get ____________:
First, from _______ vs. 5
Second, from _______ and _______ vs. 3; Lk.
9:31
Second, Jesus’ eyes are fixed on _________
Sometimes we want to stay on the mountaintop
Third, there was a promise yet to happen, a promise for
the _________
The
Second Coming
Conclusion:
the Transfiguration was a foretaste of a promise yet to happen.
Jesus will return one day in all of His glory. And so we wait we
live, we work to build His kingdom with great anticipation of His
return.
Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.)
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