Dear saints, it has been six days since St. Peter correctly answered the most important question asked of him. Six days since Peter took offense at Jesus telling them that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and raised on the third day. Six days since Jesus told his disciples, “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” and, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
As Christians living some 2,000 years after this occurred, we know that the coming of the kingdom is set in motion at the Incarnation and has its final chapter begin at the Triumphal Entry. We know that all the things Jesus suffers are a sort of inauguration. We know that Jesus takes his throne as King of kings when He is lifted up on the cross. But how would the disciples know that? How could they look at Jesus nailed to a cross and think, “Here is the Son of Man in his kingdom. In his glory.”? How would they know that Peter is right to say, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God?”
In our lesson this morning, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John and leads them up a mountain. St. Luke adds that they go up the mountain to pray. While they are there, by themselves, Jesus is transfigured. A lot is going on in this text. There are a lot of moving parts. Unexpected participants, an unexpected voice. But the point of the Transfiguration was to comfort the disciples because The Glory of the Transfiguration Is a Preface to the Glory of the Cross.
When Jesus is transfigured, we read that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. St. Mark describes this whiteness as being, “radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” Just try to imagine a white cleaner, whiter, and brighter than a completely covered field in a fresh blanket of snow on a bright, sunny day.
This alone would leave most in stunned silence, but then something more incredible happens: Moses and Elijah show up! They appear; are made visible. And more? Peter, James, and John, men who are not old men, recognize them. They know who they are because they are all part of the communion of saints. And they get to listen in on what Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are talking about: the upcoming exodus of Jesus.
And what was this upcoming exodus? The upcoming crucifixion of Christ. The soon to come liberation of man from their sins on account of the death of Jesus the Christ. This is what Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah converse about.
But the disciples do not understand all this yet. And so, instead of listening and learning from the conversation, Peter opens his mouth: “Lord, it is good to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Peter has good intentions, but he is wrong to suggest this. The suggestion puts Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Indeed, Moses is the great lawgiver and the man who met face to face with God on Mt. Sinai. He is the one who had to wear a veil because his face reflected the glory of the Lord – the same glory Jesus now radiates. And Elijah is the great prophet. He boldly spoke the word of the Lord to God’s people and her kings. He was the instrument who closed and, after three and a half years, opened the skies.
But these men, as the great and faithful saints that they are, are not God. What they did was testify what God was doing and saying. They pointed toward the coming Christ. Moses said a prophet like him would be raised up from the people. Elijah reminds us of how God’s reign, his kingdom, has already manifested itself with the coming of Jesus. On the mountain, Jesus alone shines in glory. His predecessor in Moses and forerunner in Elijah do not. And so, to build a tent, or more precisely, a tabernacle for all three would be seeing Jesus as less than what he is. To see him as less than the Son of God.
This is probably why Peter is interrupted. He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” In the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt, the Glory of the Lord came upon the mountain in the same way. But here the glory overshadows them all, in effect creating a single tent. And the voice of the Father comes to the disciples and tells them what those at the baptism of Jesus heard: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. But this time, he adds something: Listen to him.
Again, there is a lot to this narrative. But today, we shall focus the rest of our time on this: Listen to him. The Transfiguration of our Lord is a turning point. It is as if Jesus turns His face to Jerusalem. The disciples have seen a lot while following Jesus. Authoritative teaching. Healings. The casting out of demons. Opposition from Jewish leaders.
And six days ago, they heard Jesus say that He must die. Of all the difficult things they heard Jesus say and do, this is by far the hardest to hear. Now on the mountain, Jesus brings Peter, James, and John with him to comfort them. He brings them up on the mountain and they hear the conversation between Moses, Elijah, and himself. A conversation concerning his coming death. The cloud comes and the voice of the Father tells them to listen and believe what Jesus tells them.
They are to listen not only to what he has said, but what he has yet to say. The disciples are still to learn that to be great, you must become the least. A teaching that is as hard to hear today as it was then. They hear that sin kills the soul and that it is better to lose a member than to sin with it. That your Father sends his shepherds into the wilderness to recover his lost and wayward sheep. They hear Jesus interpret the Passover and learn that it was always pointing towards his own sacrifice as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. They hear that his body and blood are given for them on the cross and in the Holy Supper for the forgiveness of sins.
Crucifixion was offensive. It was reserved for the worst of criminals. And six days ago, Jesus told the disciples that they would have to take up their own crosses to follow him. It infers that Jesus would have his own cross. It means that, even if you do not personally face death, there will be a cost to being the disciple of Christ.
And so, Jesus is transfigured, Moses and Elijah are made visible and the disciples hear Jesus talk to them about His upcoming death, and the voice of the Father speaks to them and to you to remove the offense of the cross. It is to prevent your faith from being disturbed by it. By the humility of your Christ’s voluntary Passion. This is done by revealing his hidden dignity and glory. This is why I said earlier that The Glory of the Transfiguration Is a Preface to the Glory of the Cross.
The glory of God is expressed in the cross of Christ for the redemption of the world. The totality of the Law and the Prophets point forward and are fulfilled in this cross. You are connected to this cross as you are baptized into his death and raised to a new life in Christ. You are adopted as sons and brought into the tent of your Father. And you sit at His table, fed and nourished by the Lamb. All this is wrapped together on the mountain.
Though the disciples feared greatly, Jesus touches them, raises them up, and exhorts them not to be afraid. It is a fearful thing to be in the presence of God. Just ask Isaiah. Indeed, the unbridled glory of God without the cross is frightening. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but that is just the beginning. That is just the first part of repentance. You and I, like the disciples, need more than just the glory of Jesus to be saved. For this glory with no cross only leaves us in a fearful state.
Our Lord’s glory with no cross does us no good because we have too much sin. Too much wasted time. Too much gossip or wandering eyes or disdain for our neighbor or disrespect for our governing authorities or whatever is coming into your mind and causing you to feel shame right about now. Even when we try to do good, we fall on our faces. This is a reason to fall also on our face before a holy God.
Yet Jesus lifts up the three. He leads them down the mountain. They now travel toward Jerusalem and the cross. The glory is once again hidden and the humble Jesus they have known for three years is again before them. It is hidden until that appointed day where it will be revealed again on the cross. In his death and resurrection.
Because of this, we now look forward to sharing in Christ’s glory, for his great love shown on the cross has purified us from all the sin that terrorizes us. Forgiven is the sloth, false witness, lust, hate….
It might be tempting to think of the transfiguration as the “high point” of Jesus’ ministry. But it is only a vantage point from which Jesus can see clearly where he is going. From the height of the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus sees Jerusalem. From the glory of the Transfiguration, Jesus sees the humiliation of His death on the cross. From the splendor of the Transfiguration, Jesus sees the sorrow to come, and amid that sorrow, He sees you, your forgiveness, and your salvation. Let us, then, begin our own preparations to follow him to Jerusalem. To His cross and the place our salvation is won for us by Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
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