A Glimpse of Glory

Q: What does the Bible say about the Transfiguration?

The Transfiguration of Jesus reveals His glorious nature and confirms His identity as the Son of God. The Transfiguration, recorded in Luke 9:28-36, reveals a pivotal moment in Jesus' ministry where He is transfigured before Peter, James, and John. This event showcases His divine glory, providing a preview of His second coming when He will return in the fullness of His glory. During the transfiguration, His face shone like the sun, and His garments became dazzling white, highlighting His divine nature as the God-man mediator. The presence of Moses and Elijah during this event signifies the law and the prophets, pointing to the fulfillment of the Scriptures in Christ. The voice of God the Father from the cloud affirms Jesus' status as His beloved Son, urging the disciples to listen to Him, emphasizing the importance of His redemptive work.

Q: Why is the Transfiguration important for Christians?

The Transfiguration is crucial as it reassures believers of Christ's divine authority and His fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. The Transfiguration is vital for Christians because it serves as a profound revelation of Jesus' divine identity and His mission. In this moment, the veil of His humanity is lifted, allowing His disciples to glimpse His true glory. This event prepares them for the suffering ahead, reinforcing their faith in His ultimate purpose. The appearance of Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, confirms that Jesus is the culmination of God’s revelation to humanity. God's voice from the cloud affirms that Jesus is His beloved Son, and this divine endorsement provides believers with certainty that Christ fulfills all righteousness and redemptive purposes. The Transfiguration encourages believers to focus on Jesus, who embodies the hope of glory that awaits all who are united with Him by faith.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

Jesus' identity as the Son of God is confirmed through His transfiguration and the voice of God declaring Him as such. The divinity of Jesus as the Son of God is affirmed through multiple scriptural passages, but the transfiguration is a pivotal moment that vividly confirms His identity. During this event, recorded in Luke 9, Jesus is transformed in front of His closest disciples, revealing His divine glory and foretelling His exaltation. The appearance of Moses and Elijah symbolizes the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets through Him. Furthermore, the voice from the cloud stating, 'This is my beloved Son, hear Him,' clearly designates Jesus as the unique Son of God who came to accomplish redemption. The consistent testimony of the Scriptures, alongside the witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, serves as a profound assurance of Christ’s divine sonship and the authority of His teachings.

Q: What can Christians learn from Jesus' example of prayer during the Transfiguration?

Christians learn the importance of prayer and dependence on God, as demonstrated by Jesus before His transfiguration. The example of Jesus praying before His transfiguration highlights the significance of prayer in the life of a Christian. In Luke 9:29, it is noted that as He prayed, His appearance changed, revealing His divine glory. This teaches believers that prayer is not just a ritual but an essential means of seeking communion with God. Jesus, though without sin, consistently sought the Father in prayer, demonstrating His dependence on God and setting an example for all believers. Through prayer, Jesus aligned Himself with God's will, a practice that all Christians are encouraged to cultivate. Thus, regular, heartfelt prayer strengthens our relationship with God, transforms us, and prepares us to fulfill His purposes in our lives.

Let's turn together to Luke chapter
9. Luke chapter 9 verse 28. Now that which is revealed to
us in this passage of scripture is given to us in pretty much
great detail by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. we commonly refer to
this event as the Transfiguration. It is one of the most remarkable
events recorded in Scripture, one of the most remarkable events
recorded in the life of our Lord during his earthly pilgrimage
here. In this passage, the Holy Spirit,
as it were, lifts the veil, giving us a glimpse of glory, allowing
us to peek behind the veil and see something of the glory that
awaits us as we behold our Savior transfigured before Peter, James,
and John. When the angel appeared to John,
he said, come up hither. He was about to see things he
had never seen, about to enter into things he had never experienced. And John saw as it were a door
standing open in heaven And the angel called him up to a near
knowledge, understanding, and experience of God such as he
had never had before. And that's where we're standing
here. It is as though the Holy Spirit was standing in heaven
saying, come up hither. The doors open and you're going
to see some things you haven't seen before. And you're going
to hear some things you haven't seen before. I pray that as we
read this passage, and seek by God's Spirit to understand what
is taught in this passage, we might, with these three disciples,
go with them up on the Holy Mount, as Peter calls it, and observe
wondrous things out of God's Word. It's true, eye has not seen,
ear has not heard, It has not entered into the heart of man
the great and good things God has for his saints even here,
much less in the life to come. But he's given us a glimpse.
He's given us a little understanding to inspire our hearts. Now let
me give you the context. Look at verse 28. And it came to pass about eight days
after these things. When you read something like
that in a historic narrative, there's a reason for it. Our
Lord Jesus had been discoursing with his disciples about his
second coming, his kingdom and his glory. And describing those
things, when he would come, now remember, he just told them,
I'm going to Jerusalem, I'm going to suffer many things that the
elders and the priests and I'm going to die in Jerusalem. And
then he told him, when the son of man comes in his kingdom and
in his glory, when he comes in the glory of his father and comes
in his own glory with all his holy angels, just imagine if
you were standing there listening to that. He's going to Jerusalem,
going to suffer and die like a common male factor at the hands
of the elders and priests being delivered over to the Romans.
And then he tells him, but now wait a minute, I'm coming in
my Father's glory, and I'm coming in my own glory, and I'm coming
in my kingdom for you. Sometimes when we think about
the glory that's promised us, let me give you an example. Our
Lord said, Father, restore to me the glory which I had with
you before the world was. That's talking about the covenant
glory that's his as our mediator. He didn't get any glory from
God as God. The father didn't give him any
glory as the son of God. That's glory given to him as
our mediator, our covenant surety, our representative. And then
he said, down in verse 20, John 17, you just read it. The glory
which you gave me, I've given them. I think about, I know it's so.
But I think about that and I think, well, that's just nightmare impossible.
And I can picture these disciples, they're standing there and in
their weakness, like in my weakness. Our Lord looked at them as if
to say, now I recognize you're thinking that just can't be. And he said, now, I'll tell you
what, there's some of you standing right here. Look at verse 27.
I tell you the truth, there'll be some standing right here.
which shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.
And it came to pass after these things. So what we have here
is the coming of our Lord Jesus in his kingdom before he came
into his kingdom. What we have here is the revelation
of our Lord's exaltation before he was exalted. What we have
here is a display of our Lord's glory as the God-man mediator,
and that glory which he is coming with and he is bringing to us
when he comes again. All right now, we read on. And
it came to pass, about an eight days after these things, he took
Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray.
All three accounts tell us that our Lord Jesus took these three
disciples, these to whom he was referring, some of you standing
here, these three and these three alone up into this mountain.
Now there have been lots of things made about that that are just
utterly erroneous. When John refers to himself as
that disciple whom Jesus loved, people often look at that and
say, well John, you know, he was, the Lord loves all his people,
but he loved John a little more. Boy, that's nonsense. That's
like Paul saying he loved me and gave himself to me. It's
special to me. But his love for me, special
to me, same love he has for James Gould. Same love he had for John
the Apostle, and that same love he had for John the Baptist,
and that same love he had for Abraham, our father, the love
he has for us. There's no variation in our master's
love. We don't, by our personality
and by our character and by our works, get him to love us more. And many have the idea that these
three men were somehow just a step or two above the rest of us.
That's not the case at all. But why did he choose these three
and only these three? Let me give you a few reasons.
One, our Lord would have us to always recognize that he is sovereign
in all things, and he exercises his sovereignty at all times
in all things. In absolute sovereignty, he chose
us. A fellow called me today, talking
to men. He said, but why would he love me or love you? Because he wanted to. But no, that's just the way it
is. He said, I love them freely.
He chose us because he chose us. He loved us because he loved
us. He made us his because he made
us his. That's all. There is absolutely
no reason to be found within us why he chose us. The reason's all together in
him, in his absolute sovereign prerogative. Our Lord exercises
his sovereignty in the redemption of our souls. The Lord Jesus
Christ died in the womb instead of God's elect to redeem God's
elect and has satisfied the justice of God for God's elect. In sovereignty,
he calls whom he will. The gospel is preached. I preach
the gospel to you and God almighty speaks the song. Oh, ask me not,
O gentle soul, Hear my humble cry, while on others thou art
calling, do not pass me by. Oh God, speak to me, speak to
me. He will, if he will. That's just it. He grants life
and faith to some and not to others. And he grants his special
manifestations according to his sovereignty. He comes, makes
himself known in a special way, reveals himself in a special
way at different times to his own. He comes and brings reviving
and refreshing to his church and to individuals within his
church at the dispensation of his own sovereignty. We have
absolutely no control over God. He said, well, preachers, does
that mean we just fold our hands and just say, well, what will
be will be? Absolutely not. If you're thirsty,
you're going to seek water. If you're hungry, you're going
to seek food. If you want him, you're going to seek him. But
he comes according to the discretion of his sovereign will. He took
these three, three rather than one, because it is written in
the law, in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word
shall be established. He didn't take just Peter. He
didn't take just Peter and James. He took Peter, James, and John. So that when this testimony was
given of this magnificent event. Now again, pause and try to consider
first time anybody heard Peter, James, and John talk about this. Now wait a minute. You saw what? You heard who? Where were you? What were you on? But Peter, James, and John did
exactly the same record. And thus, in the mouth of two
or three faithful witnesses, eyewitnesses, every word given
here was faithfully established. And it took these three in particular,
because these three men were also ordained of him to see something
else. In just a little while, they'll
be with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. And they'll see our
Lord Jesus in his great agony, in his utter humiliation, at
his lowest point except when he was made to be sin for us.
And their faith might be made to tremble as they watched him
in the garden, had they not seen him in the mount. And so by preparing,
by giving them this special manifestation now, he prepares them to strengthen
their faith in a time to come when it was most needed. Oh,
thank God for his wisdom. He knows how to give us what
we need, when we need it, according to his goodness and mercy. And
then we're told he went up into a mountain to pray. But isn't this the Son of God? Isn't this man the Holy One of
Israel? He had no corruption to acknowledge. He had no sin to confess. He
had no guilt for which he must seek pardon. And yet we read
in the scriptures that our Lord Jesus often rose early to pray.
He went aside to pray. He sought a solitary place to
pray. At least once he spent all night
in prayer. And thus he left us an example
to follow. In the days of his flesh, you
can read this later if you want to, in Hebrews chapter 5 verse
7, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears. He didn't just present a model
prayer with which we ought to follow an example and repeat
it after him. Bob with strong, passionate crying and tears. He offered up supplications and
prayers to God, to him that was able to save him from death. And was heard in that he said,
if our Savior, our God, our Redeemer, this God-man mediator, offered
up prayers and supplications to God, crying out from the passion
of his soul, from the depth of his being, that which was of
concern to him as he sought the will of God, and the honor of
God, and the glory of God, and the salvation of his people.
How much more ought we, if we would serve the interest of God's
glory, if we would walk according to God's will, if we would be
of service to the souls of men, God teaches us to pray, teaches something about prayer. God teach me something in my heart of crying out to you and casting my care on you. subjecting my will and my ways,
my thoughts and my desires to your will and your glory for
the good of the people. He prayed. He went into a mountain
to pray. It seems that our Lord, whenever
he was to undertake any work for God's glory, every time it's
revealed in the scripture that he specifically undertakes some
Great deed. He begins the deed with prayer.
Luke tells us when he was baptized, when he went into the river Jordan
to fulfill all righteousness symbolically. That's what he
did. He said, God's supper to be sold now to fulfill all righteousness.
Not that being immersed in water does anything make a man righteous.
That's nonsense. But by this symbol, righteousness
is fulfilled. This is how righteousness is
done, by the life and death and sacrifice of God the Son. Luke
says he would pray. When our Lord Jesus was about
to go out into the wilderness of temptation to meet the devil,
he fasted 40 days and prayed. When our Savior was transfigured,
as a pledge of his exaltation and glory, he prayed. when he
was about to go to Calvary and die as our substitute, he prayed. On both occasions, when God the
Father spoke from heaven and on him as his son, he was engaged
in prayer. All right, look at verse 29.
And as he prayed, as he prayed, that's not written for nothing. Here's the result of his praying.
The effectual The perfect prayer of a righteous man is not just
the making of a lot of words. It avails much. Folks say, well, prayer changes
God. No, no, no. But it sure changes
us. And God uses prayer to accomplish
great changes in us. Look at this. The fashion of his countenance
was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening, shining,
brilliant. Let me just say this and I'll
move on. We want, and I know this is the want of
every child of God here, I don't have any question We want a God-likeness. We want to be like God our Savior. We want to be conformed to him. If we would have our souls transformed
and conformed to the will and character of God, We must spend some time with
them. Did you ever notice when somebody
moves away out of the area where they're raised? It doesn't happen
with us Southerners much, but other folks, you know, they move
down here and they go back up yonder and folks say, well, you're
talking funny. They've been down here for a
little while. They start saying y'all, and you all, and such
as that, and they kind of drag the words out. You're talking,
what's happened to you? Well, they've just been in good
company. That's all. They've just, they've been in
different culture, in a different atmosphere, in different company. You got the point? Would you
be like him? Walk with him. Would you be like
him? spend time with him. Would you
be conformed to him? Spend much time calling on him.
Now there's an obvious emphasis here upon the fact that our Lord
was transfigured as he was praying. You remember this happened to
somebody else. There was a fellow by the name of Moses who went
up into the mountains to receive the law of God and God spoke
to him. Then when Moses came down out
of the mountain, his face shone like the sun. So much so that
Israel said, Moses, put a veil over your face, we can't look
on you. And after that happened, Moses said, the Lord God, you
can read it in Deuteronomy 18, the Lord God is going to raise
up a prophet like me out of you. And he'll put his words in his
mouth And Him you will hear. And the Lord Jesus is here upon
the Mount of Transfiguration, calling upon the Lord God as
He prays, as I substitute, as the Mediator such as Moses was,
but indescribably, infinitely greater than Moses was. His face
was altered. His appearance was altered. His
being was altered. He was transfigured. if to make
us understand. Not only is this that prophet
of whom Moses spoke, this prophet is the prophet who is God's prophet,
whom you must hear. Not only did his face shine like
the sun, but his clothes were white and blistering, white and
dazzling bright shining. All right, look at verse 30. that talked with him two men,
which were, not which we're supposed to be, Moses and Elijah, not
which we really think, now this is Moses and Elijah, that talked
with him two men, not two angels, not two forms of being, not two
ghosts, two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory
and spoke of his decease. which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. What a sight that must have been.
A sight. Stop thinking about it now. Here,
here Peter, James, and John, little old boys just like me
and you. They were just like us. Made out of the same stuff
we're made out of. Here they are, in this mountain,
and As they're standing before the master, his face begins to
glow with the brightness of the sun. And his clothes, his very
garments become dazzling bright and white. And suddenly, there
stands two men. Moses had been dead for 1,500
years. Elijah had been taken up to glory
in a whirlwind in a chariot of fire 900 years before. Nobody
had ever seen Moses' body since he was buried. Nobody had ever
seen Elijah since he was translated. And there they stood on the mount
in glory with the master, their glorified redeemer, just like
him. And Peter, James, and John immediately
knew who they were. All right, let me show you these
three things from these two verses. First, of course, their descent. The fact that these two men stood
physically with our Lord on the mount and spoke audibly to them
gives us several words of instruction. First is this, our departed brethren
are indeed alive and well. Moses and Elijah had been long
time in glory. Long time. So where is that? I don't know. Really don't even
care. Doesn't even matter. What kind
of state is that? Good. Just good. That's all I know. And what else
is there to know? Second, Moses and Elijah specifically
represent the law and the prophets so that Moses, that man through
whom, that mediator through whom the law had been given, and Elijah,
that prophet who delivered Israel from the worship of Baal, that
mighty prophet of God, stands here representing these two divisions
of the Old Testament writers, telling us that this is the one
about whom we wrote and taught, this is he, of whom all the law
and prophets spoke. Third, Moses and Elijah represent
all who shall appear with Christ in his glory. Moses represents
all God's saints who have died and their bodies been laid in
the grave and they, the Lord Jesus, will bring with him at
his coming. Enoch said, behold, he comes with 10,000 saints.
He's coming with all his saints. Elijah represents those who haven't
died. Maybe, maybe, maybe. He will appear right now. That represents us. Those who
are alive and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in
the air and come with him in his glory. Blessed be God, there
is a world above. All is not over when we've drawn
our last breath here. We will live beyond the grave.
There is a resurrection day coming. Until that day, our departed
friends are safe with the Savior. They're in good keeping. Christ
is taking care of them. They're in good company. They're
with him. They're not lost, they've just
gone before us. And the Lord Jesus will bring
them with him when he comes in glory. We shall not precede them,
but when he comes, the graves will be opened. I can't imagine it. I tried to,
though. I tried to. Somehow, like the
graves were opened in the city of Jerusalem and the saints,
many of them, walked the streets the night the Lord Jesus cried,
It is finished. When the veil in the temple was
raised and the way was made open to God, folks observed it. When
Christ comes, the dead in Christ will rise first and then we will
be changed just like that and rise to meet him in the air.
The fourth thing that's obvious from this descent of Moses and
Elijah is the fact that these men were
immediately recognized by all three, Peter, James, and John,
though they had never seen them, though they'd never seen a picture
of them, never even saw an artist's sketch of them, not one who saw
them. How'd they know each other? I
don't know. I don't know. But they did. Intuitively. By special revelation. Soon as
they saw him, they knew him. Soon as they heard the voice,
they knew who was talking. And they knew Moses from Elijah. They knew Elijah from Moses.
They knew them both from the Lord. In other words, sometimes folks say, well, we
know each other in glory. Well, of course we will. Of course
we will. Intuitively. Intuitively. When we sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, nobody will have to introduce us. We'll know
one another by special revelation and know much about one another.
And there's something else here. The fact that Moses and Elijah
spoke with our Lord Jesus about his decease which he should accomplish
at Jerusalem makes it obvious that God's saints in heaven are
keenly aware of and take great interest in everything going
on down here with his church and kingdom. Don't have any question,
I was talking to Larry this week earlier about his dad, he's been
with the Lord a long time. He is among that great cloud
of witnesses, described in Hebrews chapter 11 and 12, who are, as it were, urging us
to run the race. Come on. Keenly aware of and
much interested in what's going on down here. Moses and Elijah
stood with the Lord Jesus and spoke with him about his deceit,
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. All right, now look
at their dress. They appeared in glory. Here they stand, right beside
the Master, who stands on the mountain in glory, and they appeared
in the same glory. They stood before the Master,
their Redeemer and Savior, not in a glory they had earned, not
in a glory they had merited, but in the glory that was earned
and merited by the mediator. And we too, when we stand before
God, will stand before him in the glory which the Father gave
the mediator as he obeyed the law and satisfied justice for
us. There are no degrees of rewards
in heaven, no degrees of glory, no future state of purgatory
in which we're going to have to pay for our sins. But when
we stand before God, we will stand before God made exactly
like the God-man mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at
the discourse. They spoke of his decease. Let me give you another word
you can write in the margin of your Bible. The word literally
is exodus. When he came into the world,
In Acts chapter 13, we read that he entered into the world. That
was his entrance. When he came into the world to redeem and
save his people, that was his entrance. This is his exodus. Some years ago, I was involved
in a course of study in a seminary. One of the textbooks was The
Unfolding Drama of Redemption. That's the title of it. The book
wasn't much count, but the title was great. What's God doing on
this earth? while he's accomplishing redemption. The Lord Jesus entered here to
accomplish the redemption of his people and he made his exodus
from here by his death, which he accomplished, fulfilled at
Jerusalem. What language this is? Moses
and Elijah spoke to the Lord Jesus about his death at Jerusalem
as his triumphant exodus, that which he would accomplish. No
other man's death has ever been spoken of in such a language,
unless it was spoken of by somebody long time after he died. Here
are two men who speak of his death, his decease, that which
he would accomplish as he makes his exodus, his grand, glorious,
triumphant exodus out of this world, accomplishing, fulfilling
what God purposed for him before the world was, fulfilling all
that he came here to do. Fulfilling all God's law and
justice. Fulfilling all the types and
shadows of the prophets. Fulfilling all the promises.
Fulfilling all His mission. Fulfilling all our redemption.
The saints in glory speak much about that disease. And if we understood it like
they do, we would too. I keep praying God will keep
me from ever allowing any other subject to roll off my lips and
tongue as I stand before you to preach except this. This is
the glory of God. This is our only hope. This is
our only salvation. This is our only righteousness.
This is our only atonement. This is our only peace. This
is our only joy. Christ's decease, which he accomplished
at Jerusalem, that's what this book's all about. That's what
it's all about. Those in glory understand what depended upon his decease.
They understand perfectly everything accomplished by it. They understand
they're there because of it. Only because of it. The same is true of us, Rex. That's it. That's it. If they
speak so much about it, how much more are we here to speak about
it? The appearance of Moses and Elijah with Christ in glory,
the transfiguration that these men observed, the conversation
they heard, then had an overwhelming effect upon them. Look at verse
32. But Peter and they that were
with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were awake, they
saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. Now I'm afraid I have to confess
I've given Peter, James, and John much unjust criticism here. I saw something here that just
didn't help me a lot. We commonly, matter of fact,
about everything I've ever read on this transfiguration, this
event, has spoken Peter, James, and John sort of like they were
in the Garden of Gethsemane when they heard the Lord praying They
were tired and fell asleep and the Lord came and woke them up
and they were tired and fell asleep and the Lord came again and said,
well, y'all go ahead and sleep. That's not what happened here.
Turn to Daniel chapter nine, I'll show you. The sleep spoken of here is not
the kind of sleep that a man takes when he's so tired he just
can't hold his eyes open anymore, but rather it is a sleep that
is almost a state of unconsciousness. The sleep of one who is utterly
overwhelmed, shocked, dumbfounded, so that he's almost beside himself
because of something that he sees and hears standing before
him. The cross-reference in your marginal,
or in the marginal cross-reference of your Bible, you'll see that
the reference is back to Daniel, I said Daniel 9, back to Daniel
chapter 8. When the angel Gabriel appeared to him and spoke to
him of Christ. And then in chapter 10, when
the Lord Jesus himself in a pre-incarnate manifestation appeared to Daniel. Let me read it to you. Let's
begin in chapter 8, verse, you can read the context later. Let's
get down to verse 17. Gabriel came near where I stood.
And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said
to me, understand, O son of man, for at the time of the end. Now,
wait a minute. I think that's got something
to do with time. We've been reading that right here in Luke chapter
nine. At the time of the end shall
be the vision. Now, as he was speaking with
me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground. But
it touched me and set me upright, and said, Behold, I will make
thee to know what shall be in the last end of the indignation.
For at the time appointed, the end shall come." Look in chapter
10. Again, you can read the context.
Look at verse 7. The Lord Jesus himself comes
and appears to Daniel. I know that's who it is because
the way he's described here is the same way he's described in
Revelation. I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. Other fellows
standing around, but they couldn't see. For the men that were with
me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them, so that
they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone and
saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, for
my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained
no strength. Oh, God give us such a vision
of our Savior. Yet I heard the voice of his
words. And when I heard the voice of
his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face. And my face
was toward the ground. That's what I'm talking about
here with Peter, James, and John. Merle, I saw him in his glory. And they were dumbfounded. They
were just dumbfounded. and were overcome by the glory
of Christ's garments, the glistering of his body, the glory in which
Moses and Elijah appeared before them. overcome, overwhelmed by
the things they heard. How that Moses and Elijah spoke
to him of his great exodus, which he would accomplish at Jerusalem
by his death upon that cursed tree. And like the Queen of Sheba,
when she saw Solomon in all his glory, there was just no life
left. It's too much. It's too much. But they quickly recovered. like
Daniel did. And when they awoke, when they
were awake, when they recovered their strength, when God put
strength into them, as the angel put strength into Daniel, they
saw his glory. And the two men that stood with
him, they'd seen it, now they saw it. They'd seen it, they
were overwhelmed by it, now they saw it. All right, verse 33.
And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said
to Jesus, Master, it's good for us to be here. Let's make three
tabernacles. One for you, one for Moses, one
for Elijah. And it is well added, not knowing
what he said. Oh, Brother Peter. He's always the first to speak.
And he doesn't always speak real smart. But let's not beat him up too
bad. When he cried, Master, it's good
for us to be here. What do you reckon you'd have
done? Man, I'd like to stay right here.
Oh, I'd like to stay right here. In your company, in this glorious
condition, He had been high on the mountain drinking the sweet
wine of Christ's kingdom and glory, and he was a little dizzy.
He couldn't take it, and he had to say something. Still, though he spoke not knowing
what he spoke, there was something in this that revealed the manly
honesty and integrity of this man, Peter. And if you search
out Peter's statements, Even when he spoke most rashly, he
spoke most wrongfully. There was always something about
that which he spoke which revealed his manly honesty, integrity,
and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter knew very well
that the glory of the Lord had come into the tabernacle. He
knew that when the temple was built in Jerusalem, the glory
of the Lord filled the house. And here he stands on the mountain
with the Lord and the glory of the Lord filled that place. He
said, let's stay right here. Let's stay right here. Let's
build three tabernacles, erect one for our Lord Jesus and one
for Moses, one for Elijah. When Peter saw the Lord in his
glory, surrounded by such companions, remembering what he just said,
I'm going to Jerusalem. want to suffer and die. He said,
Lord, let's stay here. Let's stay right here. Oh, how good it is for us to
be here. And difficult as it may be When the time comes to kiss my
wife and daughter and children goodbye, and kiss you goodbye,
and bid farewell for a season, when I've taken that last breath, I'll say it's good for us to
be here. Oh, Lord, it's good to be here. with you in your glory. I'll write with you verse 34.
And while he spoke there came a cloud and overshadowed
them and they feared as they entered into the cloud. Matthew adds that it was a bright
cloud not a dark cloud like one on Mount Sinai, because the kingdom
which Christ had brought, his gospel kingdom, is a bright dispensation
of grace, not a dark, shadowy dispensation of law. This cloud
was like the veil that was thrown over Moses' face and prepared
them for the voice that they were soon to hear coming from
heaven itself. Matthew also tells us that they
feared as they entered the cloud. They were sore afraid. You see,
since the fall of our father Adam, there is such a guilt in man,
such a consciousness of sin in man, such a consciousness of
deserved wrath. I know there We all quit looking at ourselves
and look to Christ, but there is such a consciousness of guilt
and sin that we just cannot enter into
a cloud without fear, even though the Lord himself is there. But how quickly the fears are
dispelled. How soon the tumult of their
minds was ended. How soon their hearts were calmed
and their souls were cheered with this sweet reviving voice.
Look at verse 35. And there came a voice out of
the cloud. Oh, thank God for that cloud,
wherein he still speaks to my soul, saying, this is my beloved
son, hear him. Matthew adds, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. God the Father hereby gives a
solid discharge to Moses and Elijah. Boys, your work's over. Come
on back up here. It's over now! Christ is the
end of the world and the fulfilling of the prophets. This is the
world I've been talking about. is my beloved son. This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. That's the reason why
Moses and Elijah stand glorious before God. They're in him. That's the reason why you and
I stand accepted before God. We're in him. He didn't say that
my beloved son by whom. He said in whom I'm well pleased.
If I'm in him, I'll be well pleased in thee. That's what it's all
about.

A Glimpse of Glory

What does the Bible say about the Transfiguration?

Why is the Transfiguration important for Christians?

How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

What can Christians learn from Jesus' example of prayer during the Transfiguration?

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A Glimpse of Glory

What does the Bible say about the Transfiguration?

Why is the Transfiguration important for Christians?

How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?

What can Christians learn from Jesus' example of prayer during the Transfiguration?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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