OK, we're going to be looking
into our Bibles tonight and our text in Matthew chapter 17. But
I want to begin, if you would, with our handout. And we'll be
in our handout most of the night. It's 10 pages. But I've got a
lot of scripture in there. So that's why I like to use a
handout for that reason. It saves us the time from flipping
back and forth in the scriptures. Paragraph 1 of page 1, we read,
beginning tonight with these words the Apostle Paul wrote
under divine inspiration to the saints in Colossae. He said,
giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him
were all things created that are in heaven and that are in
earth, invisible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers all things were created by him and
for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things
consist. And he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence for it pleased
the Father that in him shall all fullness dwell." Taking that
verse, taking those verses that he might have the preeminence,
is the key to that phrase that I just read, all those words.
Consider John 3 verse 14, and as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. This is exactly what our text
tonight is all about. Join me in your Bibles, if you
would, Matthew chapter 17, and we'll read the first eight verses. Matthew 17, beginning at verse
one, and after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John,
his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain. and
was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the
sun, and his remnant was white as the light. And behold, there
appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter and said
unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt,
let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the
cloud which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. And
Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their
eyes, They saw no man save Jesus only. Now the title for tonight,
we're going to go back to our handout, and we'll be spending
the rest of our time there. The title tonight is They Saw
No Man Save Jesus. And if you take that last statement
that the Lord inspired Matthew to write here in verse 8 of chapter
17. You'll see how that goes right
along with what I read for you already. Oh, you know what? I
didn't put the, I know it was in Colossians. I think it's Colossians
1. What Paul had wrote to the Colossians
there, that he might have preeminence, and then if you take that along
with John 3.14 where it says Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
you can clearly see And there's a lot here. There's a lot here
in these verses. But you can clearly see the point
is made right there in verse 8. And when they lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. Now, second from the last
paragraph on page 1, there's much that we'll see in these
verses. But as it is in all of Holy Scripture, Christ Jesus
will have the preeminence. The word comes from another word,
Protos, which means foremost, in time, place, order, or importance,
before, beginning, best, chiefest, first of all. The God of all
creation is the God of all glory. He will not share it with another,
especially with his creation. Brother Don Fortner wrote this.
He says, can we not be thankful that the Lord does not tell us
which mountain they went up to? He says, I'm sure if he had,
someone would have made it a shrine and called it a holy place or
something. Page 2. The Lord had just taught
his disciples, recorded in chapter 16, to beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and he reproved their unbelief.
That was in Matthew 16, 8 through 12. We also saw where Peter had
made his great confession of Christ in Matthew 16, 13 through
20. Our Lord gave words of instructions
about his sufferings and his death and his resurrection in
Matthew 16, 21. Peter rebuked the Son of God
and was rebuked by him in Matthew 16, 22 through 23. And our Lord spoke of the cost
of following him in Matthew 16, 24 through 26. And he spoke of
his coming glory in verses 27 of Matthew 16. Our Lord says
in chapter 17 verse 1, after six days. Now isn't that strange? Very few places in the Bible
does the Lord give us a timeline. But here, he says, after six
days, could it possibly be to make the point that these brothers
had time to dwell on those things, time to consider them? He had
told them about his sufferings to come. Now he would show them
something of his glory and why he had to suffer. The hearts
which had been saddened by those plain statements regarding his
sufferings and his death needed to be comforted. needed to be
gladdened, and what a comfort the Lord will give by a glimpse
of his reward and his glory. Luke records for us that they
came up into this high mountain to pray, and what a prayer meeting
it was. Did you notice that Peter's still
in the favored circle? Remember, he turned to the Lord. We talked about this last, I
think it was last week or the week before, I get confused a
little bit sometimes, but we talked about this, how Peter
came to the Lord and rebuked him. Back in chapter 16, he rebuked
the Lord. He rebuked the Lord. No, Lord,
that's not so. That's our nature, folks. Peter
was acting out of his carnal nature rather than thinking of
things spiritually. He didn't understand what the
Lord was saying, that he had to go up to Jerusalem and die
and be killed and be risen the third day. But notice here that
the Lord, after calling him Get thee behind me, Satan, a statement
that he's not made about anyone else in scriptures, any of his
other people in scriptures. Here he's in favor again. Six days earlier, he had greatly
sinned and was abusing his master, but Christ did not remember it.
He did not bear the offense in the mind. He freely forgave Peter's
sin. as he freely forgives all for
whom he suffered and died and arose on the third day for. He
loved Peter. How thankful we ought to be for
such a Savior. He will not impute sin to his
own. That's what he tells us in Romans
4 verse 8. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. In 1 Timothy 3.16, we read these
words, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. We're studying that on Sunday
morning's Bible study, by the way. We're studying the mysteries
of godliness. There is much in these verses.
which is blanketed with mystery. But we'll leave it there. Robert
Hawker wrote this in regards to that. He says, we know that
the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, as we read in John
114. And we know also that in him, that is in Christ, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. All that we can possibly
frame to ourselves of this transfiguration, therefore, is that the God that
the Godhead shown forth in the manhood is more than the ordinary
manner. The Son of God was pleased to
manifest himself in this double-natured glory more than in the usual
appearances of Christ in the days of his flesh. It was a moment
of peculiar manifestation of the glories of his person. It
was the personal glory of the God-man as the God-man. We have before us a wonderful
demonstration of the glory in which Christ and his people will
appear when he comes the second time. The transfiguration was
a revelation of our Lord's true deity. Here, the corner of the
veil was lifted to show us a glimpse, to show Peter and James and John
the glory which awaited Christ as a reward of his agony upon
the cross. Listen to 2 Peter 1, verse 16
through 18. For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the
Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. And this voice which came from
the heaven we heard, writes Peter, when we were with him in the
holy mount. It is also a picture of the glory
which awaits every believer. J.C. Ryle said it best, he said,
there is laid up for Jesus and all that believe on Him such
glory as the heart of man never conceived. And he refers to 1
John 3, verses 1 through 2. Behold, grasp, behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is. These verses also show us a clear
demonstration of life after death and of the resurrection of the
body. Moses has been dead for 1,500
years. Elijah went up by a whirlwind
into the heaven 900 years before this, yet here they stood on
the mount talking to the Lord Jesus. Page four. Peter, James,
and John saw them and heard them, and they knew immediately who
they were, though they had never seen them or even had a picture
of them. That fact clearly demonstrates
the universal teaching of Holy Scripture that there is life
after death, and that there is a coming day of resurrection.
I personally think we may safely understand this, that God's elect
will know one another in resurrection. And I thought about this as I
was putting this together today. I can't help but think I'll know
my dad, Calvin Samuel Ellis, when I see him in heaven. I can't
help but think how I'll know my brother Bill Silva when I
see him heaven, and so many more. And I just know by this statement
that God gives us here in this Mount Transfiguration with Moses
and Elijah is that we'll know each other as we are when we
get to heaven. This is second paragraph, page
four. When the Lord Jesus was transfigured
before Peter and James and John, his face shined like the sun,
and his garments as wide as the light. Peter later tells us that
they were eyewitnesses of his majesty, as we just read in 2
Peter 1 16, and heard God's voice from the excellent glory, as
it said in verse 17 of 2 Peter 1. But there is something far better
than that. Peter tells us that the written
word of God is a more sure and dependable revelation than his
experience upon the mountain of transfiguration. That's what
he wrote in 2 Peter 1 verse 19. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. Don't you just love the way God
uses Peter to show the weaknesses of men? It says, Then answered
Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here,
if thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee,
and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. That's in verse four.
Peter must have been simply overwhelmed. Who can blame him? making this
proposal that three tabernacles should be made. Who can blame
him for that? After seeing and hearing the
things that he saw and heard upon the Mount of Transfiguration,
and after hearing such a testimony from the excellent glory, and
after having made such a great confession of faith regarding
the Lord Jesus Christ back in verses 15 and 19 through 19 of
chapter 16, who would ever have imagined that Peter would later
deny his God and our Savior? Yet he did, didn't he? He did,
and we will look deeper into that when we get to Matthew 26,
verse 69 through 75. And there's not a more blessed
example in all the Word of God of that which he was later inspired
to write, we are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation, 1 Peter 1, verse 5. Who could write those words with
more force and gratitude than Peter? He knew by blessed experience
that the safety and security of God's elect is altogether
at all times and in all circumstances a matter of pure, free grace. Page five. This event is recorded
to show us by divine testimony that the Lord Jesus Christ is
infinitely superior to all who are born of women. Matthew 17,
4 through 5 show us what weak men will do if left to themselves. Peter, overwhelmed by the heavenly
vision, suggested that three tabernacles ought to be built,
one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Christ. In his confusion,
Peter seems to have placed the lawgiver and the prophet side
by side with Christ, as though they were equal to him. And immediately,
Moses and Elijah were engulfed in a cloud, and a voice came
from the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, in whom I am
well pleased. Hear ye him. That voice was meant
to teach Peter and us that Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God,
the Savior of men, and the one in whom and by whom God is well
pleased. Again, I quote from Brother Don
Fortner, he says, as the rising of the sun eclipses every star
and causes them to fade away, even so the rising of Christ,
the son of righteousness in the earth, eclipses all who ever
came before him. Once Christ has come, Moses,
the law, has nothing more to say. He met the law's demands,
and the prophets represented by Elijah are no longer to be
pried into as mysterious secrets. Christ fulfilled all that the
prophets spoke of. The Lord said, this is my beloved
son. God the Father publicly owned
and identified himself with Jesus, the son of Mary, as his own dearly
beloved son. the babe of Bethlehem, the man
of Nazareth, the suffering one of Calvary as himself, God over
all, blessed and forever. Christ is the only begotten Son
of God. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son. That's in John 3.16. He is the
eternally begotten Son of God. Listen to Proverbs 8.22-23. The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up
from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. He is the eternal begotten son
of God. And he is the son co-equal with
his father. Therefore, the Jews sought more
to kill him because he had not only had broken the Sabbath,
but he saith also that God was his father, making himself equal
with God. That's why they got so angry.
They knew exactly what he was saying. That's in John 5, verse
18. Turn to page 6, please. In John 10.33, we read these words. The Jews
answered him, saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for
blasphemy, and because thou, that thou, being a man, makest
thou self God. And what about these words? 1
John 5 verse 7, For there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are
one. And not the least of Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us
the Father, and it suffitheth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me, he doeth the works. Believe me, that I am the, believe
me, that I am in the Father and the Father in me. And then of
course we see, we know the words so familiar to us in John 10
30, I and my Father are one. Christ is so essentially one
with the Father that without Christ there'd be no God. Is
that not what we read in John 1 verses 1 through 3? In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. We who believe are the sons of
God by adoption and grace, but Christ is the Son of God by nature
and essence. He is the Son as no other can
be. This voice from heaven announced
the fulfillment of the prophecies which foretold the coming of
one who would be both God and man in one person. Listen to
these prophecies. Isaiah 7, verse 14. Isaiah 7,
verse 14. Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive. and bear a son, and shall call
his name Immanuel. And then we see in the New Testament
that Immanuel, that word interpreted means God with us. Or how about
Isaiah 9, verse 6? For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace." This is Jesus Christ. This is the prophecy
of the very one who is God in the flesh. Page 7. Listen to
these words from Micah 5, verse 2. But thou, Bethlehem, Ephrathah,
Thou, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is, to be ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. And then in Zechariah 13, 7,
a Waco sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my
fellow. Say it, the Lord of hosts. Smite
the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the beloved Son of God. Particularly, this is spoken
to show us that the Father loves and delights in the Son because
of his obedience. as the mediator and substitute
for sinners. Listen to John 3, verse 35. The father loveth the son and
hath given all things into his hand. And this is John 10, 17. Therefore doth my father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the embodiment, the revelation, the medium of
divine love. God loves sinners in Christ and
because of Christ. Listen to John 17, verse 23 through
24. I in them and thou in me. This is the Lord Jesus praying
his priestly prayer to God the Father in John 17. I in them
and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one. and that the world may know that
thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me father
i will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where
i am that they may behold my glory which thou has given me
for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world or how
about these words romans 5a but god commendeth his love toward
us and that while we were yet sinners christ died for us John,
1st John 3.16, hereby perceive we the love of God because he
laid down his life for us. Last paragraph, page 7, this
is the first essential thing to be learned. Jesus Christ,
our Savior, is himself God, the eternal Son, well beloved by
his Father It is His Godhead that gives infinite merit and
efficacy to all that He does. He who is God is an all-sufficient
effectual substitute for sinners. Page 8. God the Father says,
this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. God the Father
speaks from heaven to Peter, James, and John, and by them
to us, declaring that he is well pleased with his dear son, and
only with his son. Again, I quote from Brother Don
Fortner. He says, Moses was there, but God was not pleased with
him. Elijah was there, but God was not pleased with him. Peter
was there, but God was not pleased with him. James was there, but
God was not pleased with him. And John was there, but God was
not pleased with him. God never has been and never
can be pleased with any sinful flesh. But God always has been
and always will be pleased with his dear son, the God-man. Now,
it goes without saying that God the Father is essentially well
pleased with his son as his son. But here, God the Father says,
this is my beloved son in whom? I am well pleased." In other
words, he says, in whom Christ is in his deeds and what he represents. Folks, the Lord Jesus is the
mediator of all those for whom the Father has given him. He
is our perfect high priest who will enter into the holiest of
holies, representing the people of God. And that includes all
of those that I just listed that God was not pleased with. He
was pleased with his son, but he was pleased with all of his
people in his son. And we'll see that in a deeper
sense here in the next few pages. He is going to the holiest of
holies. at this time, representing the
people of God with his own righteous blood. Listen to Isaiah 42, 21. The Lord is well pleased for
his righteousness sake. There's no righteousness in any
of us. Our only righteousness is Christ
who dwells in us. He is well pleased, honored by,
and delights in the representative life of his son, by which he
brought in everlasting righteousness for us. Listen to these words
that we read back in Matthew 3, verse 13 through 17. Then
cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized
of him. But John forbade him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee. And comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto
him, suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. Then he suffered him, and Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straight away out of the water.
And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And, lo,
of voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. God is well pleased with the
substitutionary sin atoning death of his son by which he both satisfied
divine justice and put away the sins of his people. Page nine. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. The Lord is pleased with his
son. Surely his salvation, as it says
in Psalm 85, verse 9 through 11, is nigh to them that fear
him. That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are
met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the
earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven. He is
well pleased. with the heavenly intercession
of His Son as our advocate and our high priest. Listen to 1
John 2, verse 1 through 2. My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And
He is the propitiation of our sins. God is well pleased with
the providential rule of his Son as the sovereign King of
the universe. Listen to these words from Isaiah
42, 1-4, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom
my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he hath set judgment in the earth, and the isle shall
wait for his law. As our Savior said in His earthly
life, He might say in His heavenly rule, I do always those things
that please Him. That's in John 8, 29. And God
shall be well pleased with the results of His Son's covenant
engagements and His mediatorial rule. It says, then come at the
end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom of God, even the
Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority
and all power. For he must reign till he hath
put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under
his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it
is the manifest that he is expected, which did put all, page 10, all
things under him. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all. 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 24 through
28. But the voice that was heard
from heaven did not say, this is my beloved son with whom I
am well pleased. But it said this, this is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God was well pleased
with everything his son had did. But the words this evening tell
us this, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." God
is well pleased with His people in His Son. Imagine that! The holy, righteous, just, and
true God, Lord of heaven and earth, delights in and is well
pleased with us in His Son. In our natural condition, we
are an abomination to God. That is our miserable state by
nature, but our God is well pleased with us for Christ's sake, because
He is in Christ. Listen to these words again from
the priestly prayer in John chapter 17. Neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their
word." Now that's speaking of those who will go out and preach
the word of God. There's many that God will bring
under the preaching of his word, and he is praying for them as
well. That they all may be one as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us. See how the God the Father is
pleased in us and his Son? Going on, that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me and the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one
I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them as Thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the
world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these
have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto
them thy name, and will declare it that the love wherewith thou
hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." If we are in
Christ, if Christ is in us, God the Father loves us as He loves
His Son, and He is well pleased. Hear ye Him. Lord willing, we'll continue
this study next week with part B of They Saw No Man Save Jesus
Only. That's what we just read there.
May they behold my glory, which thou has given me. That's what
Peter, James, and John got to see on that night, or on that
Mount of Transfiguration. And that's exactly what we see
by God's grace through God-given faith in His Word as we read
about that.