In the Gospel of Luke chapter
9, if you want to follow along with me, Luke chapter 9 is the
story of three apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ beholding His
glory, seeing Christ's true person, and hearing of His accomplished
redemption. And this is the same glory which
all of God's chosen people will see. I'm reading from Luke chapter
9 beginning with verse 28. Came to pass, about eight days
after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James and
went up into a mountain to pray. He chose these three disciples
to go with Him to the top of a mountain and to behold His
glory. In another place, the Lord Himself
said, Many are called, but few are chosen. Just as He chose
these three to behold His true person, His true glory, even
so, though many hear the word of God, many hear the gospel,
yet Only if God chooses us to reveal unto us His glory, to
reveal His Son to us, only then will we see Him as He is. And I read, he prayed in verse
29, As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,
and his raiment was white and glycerine. His countenance was
altered. He was not changed, but rather
His flesh was drawn back as a veil so that they might behold Him
as He truly was. This is God Almighty in human
flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. God, whom Scripture says, dwells
in light which no man can approach unto. The God, whom Scripture
says, is a consuming fire. He was manifest in the flesh,
veiled in flesh, made in the likeness of sinful flesh. But
man did not truly see Him as He is because of His flesh. They said things like this, Is
not this Joseph's son? Why, this is the carpenter. They
said things like this, You are just a man and you make yourself
to be God. No, they had it all wrong. He
was God. and made himself to be a man. Paul said in Hebrews 2, we see
Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. That is, human beings saw a man
named Jesus made lower than the angels, that is, confined to
a body. And He did so. He was made so
for the suffering of death. But Paul went on to say there
in Hebrews 2, But now we see him crowned with glory and honor. Peter said we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty when God crowned him with honor and glory. John
said we beheld his glory. as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. And so must you and I. We must
behold His glory. This is salvation, to hear, to
see, to believe, to bow to the glory of the true Christ. Not everyone has. Not many have
in this day and age. Many have down through time,
but verse 29, he goes on to say, as he prayed his countenance
was changed, or that his countenance was altered, his raiment was
white and glycerine. His raiment became so white,
as Scripture says, no fuller could wipe them, no cleaner could
wipe them, and glycerine, that is, flashing brilliance. In verse 30, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elias, or Elijah. Two men were speaking with him.
Moses. Now Moses was, as you know, chosen
by God to write the Law, the first five books of God's Word,
the Pentateuch, the Law. Moses was the Law writer, the
Law giver. And Elijah was arguably the greatest
of all the Old Testament prophets. Well, Moses and Elijah were speaking
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said of Moses, he said,
Moses wrote of me. Moses, his subject was Christ,
even though it was the law. Yet, Moses wrote of Christ. And concerning the prophets,
it says, to him, that is to Christ, give all the prophets witness. And in Romans 3.21, this is all
summed up by the apostle when he said, the righteousness of
God is now being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Scriptures are not a book of
Old Testament laws and rules and regulations and Jewish history
or prophecy. But the testimony of Jesus, Scripture
says, is a spirit of prophecy. The Old Testament, the Scriptures,
are a book concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, His person and
His work. The salvation accomplished by
Jesus Christ. And Moses and Elijah who represent
all of the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, came to
speak to the Lord Jesus Christ on this day. In verse 30 it says,
"...there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah,
who also appeared in glory." What were they speaking of? What
was the subject they conversed on? Well, they were speaking
of the subject of all subjects, the subject of all Scripture,
the sum and the substance of all of God's Word. And it's the
subject of the saints in glory even now, and the saints in earth. In verse 31 it says, "...they
spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."
They spake of his decease which he should accomplish. That is,
the finished, complete, effectual accomplishment of Christ crucified. Now this is a strange statement
to most. That is, strange to those who
are strangers to the covenant, strangers to the truth. It says,
they spake of the death which he should accomplish. Death accomplished. Now our death, our death is never
spoken of as an accomplishment. But rather, when we die, when
someone dies, Most folks think of it as the end of things they
had hoped to accomplish. We never say someone accomplished
death or accomplished anything by their death. But scripture
here says Christ's death was an accomplishment and Moses and
Elijah came to speak with him of it. Death itself was an accomplishment
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Not by us. Death is our due. Death is something that happens
to us. It is something we have no control
over. It is appointed unto man, wants
to die. The soul that sinneth must surely
die. Job says our bounds are set. We cannot pass. God says, I kill
and I make alive. So death is something that happens
to us, not something we accomplish. But now, and the reason we die,
in Romans 3 it says, "...death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned." Death is the result of sin. That's Romans
5. Romans 5. But Christ had no sin, and therefore
he could not die. Death happens to us by disease,
calamities, and so forth. Nevertheless, it's the Lord who
ultimately kills. He said that. I kill. I make a lie. Deuteronomy 32,
39. But Christ now had no sin. Christ said, No man taketh my
life from me. Sin cannot take his life. Did not take his life. Death,
disease, which are the results of sin, could not take his life. Christ said, I lay it down of
myself. I have this power to lay it down
or take it up again. And when it was written, as it
is written, when he was hanging on the cross, he said, it is
finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. He bowed his head solemnly in
full control of his faculty and gave up the ghost, left his body. Death itself was an accomplishment. But hear what they were speaking
of, Moses and Elijah. It says they were speaking of
the death he should accomplish at Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus
Christ's death was an accomplishment. He accomplished through his death
the eternal salvation of all of God's chosen people. This
book, God's Word, knows nothing of an attempt by Christ to save. Nowhere in this book does it
say Christ made an attempt to save. That Christ did all He
could do and then the rest is left up to man. That's a lie. That's blasphemy. This book knows
nothing of a plan to save. It doesn't use that language.
It speaks of a purpose of God. The will of God. Not a plan. plan is something you write down
and hope that it works out later on. No, God works all things
after the counsel, that is, the predetermined will of Himself. The purpose. This book knows
nothing of an offer of salvation which men must accept. A down payment. No, this book
speaks of the accomplished salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His work, was full, final, and
accomplished for the salvation of His people. Scripture says
things like this. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down. Purged! He didn't try to. Purged! Scripture says he made
an end of transgression. Scripture says he obtained eternal
redemption. Scripture says he put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself. His death, the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ, was an accomplishment of salvation for his people.
His death was a resounding success. It was the eternal salvation
of all of God's chosen people. His death was the death of death
for His people. A glorious accomplishment. Now
that is good news to the helpless, hopeless, and sinful. Good news
to the blind, halt, and lame. Good news to God's people. And
they receive it. Repentance, faith, is a result
of that accomplished redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, not
the means. In verse 32 it says, But Peter
and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. When they awoke,
they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. Peter and the disciples were
asleep, and so is everyone until God Almighty awakens them by
His Holy Spirit to behold Christ's glory. And it says, they beheld
His glory, they saw His glory, and the two men with Him. If
you're ever awakened by God, by His Spirit, to see the glory
of Christ, His person and Word, you will see that like Moses
and Elijah stood with Christ that day, you will see that all
of the Scriptures speak of Him, speak of Christ. In verse 33
it says, it came to pass, the two men, Moses and Elijah, departed
from Christ, and Peter said unto him, Master, it is good for us
to be here. Let us make three tabernacles,
one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah, not knowing what
he said. And neither does anyone know
what they are saying when they think anyone or anything is equal
to and should be put on an equal par with the Lord Jesus Christ,
or any kind of tabernacle or monument or whatever should be
erected in order to worship. No, God is spirit. It must be
worshipped in spirit and truth, and Christ is the truth. In verse 34 it says, "...while
He thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they
feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice
out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear Him."
When they When the voice was passed, Christ was found alone. And in another gospel it says,
when they awoke, when they raised their heads, they saw no man
but the Lord Jesus Christ only. So it will be with you if you
see the accomplished redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
behold His glorious person as He is. You will look to no one
and nothing else but Him and Him alone. that Christ accomplished
redemption, and that is His glory. And you'll see salvation in Him
and Him alone. I pray it is so, or will be so
with you. Amen. And that's it. Thank you.