We are in week 3 of this series called 5 Moments. This series focuses on 5 Moments in Jesus’ life that changed everything.

The first 4 weeks deal with specific moments that all point to THE moment in history, the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That 5th moment we’ll celebrate on Easter Weekend.

The first week we talked about Jesus’ baptism, how he was being purified for his purpose, and how we, as a part of our daily confession, can ask the Holy Spirit to search us, purify us, prepare us for what he has for us.

Last week we hit the Sermon on the Mount, about how Jesus was doing more than speaking to behavioral changes, but that he was teaching us how to be alive, not just to live. Jesus was revealing the Kingdom through absolute truth and culture shifts. He invites us to reject the culture and embrace the truth of the Kingdom of God.

This week, we are spending time on the Transfiguration.

The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event described in the New Testament, where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain.

Thomas Aquinas considered the transfiguration, ”The greatest miracle, in that it complemented baptism and showed the perfection of life in Heaven.”

I find Aquinas’ statement fascinating based on the fact that the two events we’ve hit so far have covered the baptism of Jesus and the explanation of and invitation to real life, life as Jesus sees it.

Let’s read the account of the Transfiguration from the synoptic Gospels and then I have a really big question for you.

Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

Luke adds in Luke 9:28
they were praying, and as they prayed…

Matthew 17:2 He (Jesus) was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Mark adds in Mark 9:3:
and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

Luke adds in Luke 9: 29
And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.

Matthew 17:3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

Luke adds in Luke 9:30-32
30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

So now we have context of the conversation: Jesus departure. And Peter can’t stay away whenever he prays.

Matthew 17:4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

Mark adds in Mark 9:6
For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

Matthew 17:5 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.”

Luke adds in Luke 9:34-35
and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
The voice calls Jesus “my Chosen One,” not just his son.

Matthew 17:6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Here’s my big question: WHY?
What is the point of this moment? Why is it such a big deal? Why does a Bible expert like Aquinas call it the greatest miracle?

Let’s talk about a few scenarios then that might explain the why, and I believe in this process, we’ll see some things that are going to change us.

1. The Imagery.
Why was the Transfiguration so important?
There are some legitimate concrete answers to this question, especially in terms of imagery.

Remember, a huge part of what Jesus had to do was to show the people who he really was. Right before this moment on the mount, Jesus has a very famous conversation with the disciples.

Matthew 16:13-20
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus goes on to explain to them what is really about to happen.

Matthew 16:21-28
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 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.”

Jesus was trying to explain in human terms what God was doing in the earth, and it wasn’t the Roman conquering Messiah they’d hoped for. Jesus was doing something different in a way they didn’t expect, and that made the task of convincing the people, the disciples included, that he really was the Messiah. So if you take the notion of imagery and place the Transfiguration into this context, what do we really see?

Moses and Elijah.
Let me draw out some things about these two that really explain the imagery answer.

Moses represented the Law. Elijah represented the prophets.
I have never read a biblical scholar who didn’t agree that the presence of Moses and Elijah was direct imagery to the fact that the fulfillment of both the Law and Prophets was the person of Jesus Christ. Everything we see in the unpacking of the sacrificial system from the sacrifices themselves to the color of the thread of the tabernacle to the specific embossing of the Temple all points to the person of Jesus Christ.

Remember from the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5:17-18
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Accomplished. Didn’t we see that exact word a few moments ago?
Luke 9:30-32
30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

This was one of Jesus’ main beefs with the religious leaders. They knew every iota but could not recognize the fulfillment.

Church, be careful that you know the rules and regulations, the dos and don’ts, but you fail to have a relationship with the one they all point to.

But even beyond that, be careful that you are not in the midst of trials and tribulations and you fail to recognize the very hand of God in your life in that moment.

I realize these moments can seem so bleak and dim, just like the notion of a new Kingdom when they were under the iron fist of the Roman government, but this is why you lean into your relationship with Jesus, why you consume Scripture, why you engage with the local church.

If you don’t you just might miss what God is doing.

Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

I know it wold be easier if it were a different scenario, but that new thing God is doing in you most often comes in the desert, not in the lush valley.

We don’t have enough time to talk about all the commonalities there are between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but we can clearly see that, at least in part, the Transfiguration was about the imagery of who Jesus was so that the three disciples would be convinced.

The Transfiguration was a moment where Jesus was definitively showing that he was the fulfillment. This had to remove any level of doubt in Peter, James, and John.

They’s had their “You are the Christ” moment, but now it was a whole new level that God was showing them. Jesus was doing more than telling them who he was. Jesus was showing them who he was.

So why the Transfiguration?
First the imagery pointing to who Jesus was.
But second…

2. To prepare the disciples for what was to come.
Peter, who chronically has his foot in his mouth, utters some nonsense.
“Let us build a Tabernacle for each of you.”

Even still Peter could not comprehend the truth:
They didn’t need three Tabernacles. They didn’t need one Tabernacle. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law, and because he was the fulfillment, there would be a need going forward for a Temple or mercy seat.

Hebrews 10:1-4, 12-14
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

We can’t judge Peter’s ignorance because if we were there, we would have said something silly, too.

But speaking of those in attendance…where were the other disciples? Why were only 3 of the 12 present? Could be a variety of things, but consider the roles these three men would assume in the Kingdom.

- Peter was given the Keys to the Kingdom and because the de facto leader of Christianity after Christ ascended.
- James became the pastor of the church of Jerusalem from which every other church in history sprang from.
- John was the Revelator left to share the power (and terror) of what will come when Jesus returns.

These are three massive roles in the Kingdom. One could easily argue that Peter, James, and John needed to see the glory and power and majesty and might of Jesus in that moment. They’d already confessed it with their mouths, but now they got to experience it first hand.

The same level of glory that Moses and Elijah experienced, Peter, James, and John got to experience, and even more. We can see the same thing happen with Saul when Jesus appeared. It was such a powerful moment that even his name was affected as he became Paul and went on to plant churches and write 2/3 of the New Testament.

What I am getting at is that maybe the others didn’t need to see Jesus glorified. Maybe Peter, James, and John needed to see Jesus for who he really was because Jesus knew what was coming down the pipeline. Maybe they needed that moment to prepare them for what was to come.

You might say, well, Peter denied Jesus after that, right? He denied knowing him, but he never denied his deity again.

There’s no way they left that mountain confused about who Jesus was. They’d read and learned with their whole lives in the Torah. They recognized the imagery of the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. Now they’d seen Jesus in all his glory.

Question:
Have you seen who Jesus really is?

I know you know the facts and data. I know you know who he says he is. But have you encountered the glory of the Lord to the extent that it prepares you for what God has for you in the Kingdom?

When Jesus met Moses on that mountain to receive the 10 Commandments, the Bible says his face was so bright with glory the people couldn’t look upon him. Maybe sometimes you feel like those people. You want to see Jesus for who he really is, but it just seems blinding and you can never get a glimpse.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18
12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

You don’t have to have a veil over your face anymore. You can literally gaze into the face of Jesus your savior, and, beyond the rules and regulations and dos and don’ts, you can have a legitimate friendship with the Lord, like Moses did, and even better now that the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

Peter, James, and John got a glimpse of Jesus that changed them profoundly and prepared them for the task God had for them.

Have you gotten that glimpse of Jesus yet?
You might ask how can I do that? No three disciples chased after Jesus as hard as Peter, James, and John. The more time you spend with him the more glory you see.

Why the Transfiguration?
The imagery that pointed to who Jesus was
To prepare the disciples for what was to come
And lastly, one I never saw until this week

3. To encourage Jesus
I spent the whole week wracking my brain on why the Transfiguration. I understood the first two points, but I still was not satisfied with the why.

I get the other two, but the Bible says that they were talking about Jesus’ departure. Why did Jesus need to have a talk about his departure? Wasn’t he slain before the foundation of the world?!?!

1 Peter 1:18-20
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.

The Bible has this same language in 3 other places, too.

Why would the God that knew the plan before the world was created need to talk to Moses and Elijah about it? Isn’t he God Almighty?!?!?!!?

You see, I always see Jesus as the powerful, God that he is. He has no faults, no lack, no needs. He has infinite knowledge and he exists outside of time. Omniscient. Omnipotent. He is God. So when I read about the Transfiguration, or any other text for that matter, all I see is God.

Luke 22:43-44
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Why did Jesus ask if there was another way? It is almost like it was a dumb question. He is God. Didn’t he know there was no other way already? It was YOUR plan, God!

But at one point this week, the Holy Spirit dropped a phrase into my mind that really challenged me and made me see this from an angle I’d never considered.

Sometimes we get so focused on his godhood that we forget his humanity.

There are those who believe that Jesus was not fully God and fully man, but that he set aside his divinity, but then you run into some issues like how he know what people were thinking, how he forgave sin, etc. He was fully God and fully man.

Philippians 2:6-8
who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

To omit his humanity is just as egregious as omitting his diety.
To say he wasn’t human is just as wrong as saying he wasn’t God.

We have to be careful that we don’t assume that Jesus had no needs.
He needed nothing as God, but Jesus purposely did not separate himself from humanity. He came in the form of godliness but did not count it as something you should want to take on, but submitted himself in human form becoming like us. In his deity he needed nothing, but in his humanity, he was like us.

So whenever God has told you to do something and you’re terrified, you don’t know if you can handle it, you don’t know if you can do it, you don’t know if you have it in you, are we too assume that Jesus never had any of those thoughts, feelings, or emotions?

If we say he didn’t then he wasn’t tempted in every way like we are.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

That has to mean that Jesus himself experienced the fear of the unknown just like we do. Yet where we sin in it, Jesus didn’t.

All of this to say…
What if Jesus needed that conversation with Elijah and Moses to prepare him for what was to come just like Peter James and John needed to see the Transfiguration to prepare them for what was to come?

At the end of Moses’ life, he ascends Mt Tabor and Jesus meets him there and shows him the entirety of the Promised Land and reminds Moses of the covenant with Abraham. But then…

Deuteronomy 34:5-6
5 Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.

So Jesus meets with Moses, not just throughout his life, but specifically now as Moses is about to depart this Earth.

Now Elijah
Elijah had the calling the fire of the Lord down from the Heavens moment.
He had the earthquake and mountain splitting still small voice moment with the Lord. But now it was time for his departure and the Lord was calling Elijah to come, first to Bethel, Jericho, then the Jordan where he was taken just opposite of Jericho.

2 Kings 2:11
And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

My point is simply this:
We know that Jesus in his deity didn’t need the encouragement, but it is easy to understand how Jesus in his humanity did.

Yes, in this moment of the Transfiguration, Jesus was completely consumed in glory and power, obviously in the depths of his godliness. And yes, I am sure we needed to see the Law and Prophets being fulfilled. And yes, I am sure Peter, James, and John needed to see Jesus in his glory.

But I am convinced that the same Jesus who wept at Lazurus’ death, who was moved with compassion at the crowds’ lostness, who was broken hearted at Peter’s betrayal, and sweat drops of blood in anguish, needed some encouragement, too.

I can imagine Jesus and Moses on that mountain as Moses breathed his last. “It’s going to be ok, Moses. I am watching over them.”

Or Jesus with Elijah in that moment in the whirlwind. whispering in that still, small voice, “I’ve got you.”

I sometimes wonder if Moses and Elijah showed up just to give some encouragement to a human who needed it.

Are you a human that just needs some encouragement today?

Maybe the Transfiguration was just a moment to see the Law and Prophets fulfilled. Maybe like the disciples you need a glimpse of Jesus in his might and power so you can have the confidence to trust him and to step into what he called you to. Maybe you just need someone to say, “I know the road is tough and it would be easy to give in, but you got this. I believe in you. You can do it and I am going to help you.”

In each scenario of the Transfiguration, there was at least one thing in common. The same happened at the burning bush and the giving of the 10 commandments. The same happened at Carmel when Elijah called down fire and with the whirlwind that took him away.

The glory of the Lord not only appeared, but they entered it, and they obeyed.

Let’s take a moment and ask the glory of the Lord to surround us now.
I know you want to feel his presence and see his glory, but are you willing to obey the voice that says, “Listen to Jesus?”

Are you like the disciples today and need to see Jesus in his glory? Ask him now.

Are you like Jesus may have been and simply need him to encourage you in this moment? Ask him now.

Let’s pray

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?