Matthew 17. The chapter begins with these
words, after six days. After six days. It was six days after our Lord's
important conversation with his disciples. Caesarea Philippi. Six days after our Lord dealt
with four major issues in the lives of these men. Let's go
back and look just briefly at them. Matthew 16. Six days since
this took place. Verse 13, Matthew 16. When Jesus
came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men, the people of religion, the people of the
cities, the people of the villages, whom do these people say that
I, the Son of Man, am? And the disciples replied, Well,
some say you're John the Baptist, risen from the grave. John had
been killed by Herod. Some say Elijah, because Malachi
said before the Messiah comes, Elijah will come. Others say
Jeremiah is one of the prophets. But he said to them, now listen
carefully, Whom do you say, whom do you
believe and say that I am? You believe this, you're confident
of this, you confess this, it's subtle once and for all. Who
am I? Who am I? Whom do you say that
I am? And Simon Peter answered for
all of them, and he said, Thou art the Christ. Thou art the
Messiah. Like the one of whom the scriptures
are written and for whom we look, our Messiah, the Son of David,
the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to
him, Blessed art thou, ye are blessed. Simon, son of Jonah,
flesh and blood hath not revealed this truth, this glorious truth essential understanding of who
I am. My Father revealed this to you.
This is in your heart, in your soul, revealed to you by the
Father. You've been taught of God. And
I say unto thee that thou art a stone, a rock. His name was
Samson Bar-Jonah, son of Jonah. Christ changed his name. Peter,
a stone. Upon this rock I'll build my
church, not on Peter, of course not. Christ is the chief cornerstone,
the foundation of his church. This confession, this understanding,
this revelation, this confession that by the Christ, the Son of
the living God, that's what everybody, every living stone in the true
church believes, understands, and knows. He's the Christ. On this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell, death and hell, shall never prevail
against this church. Never bend it, or move a stone
from it, or move it. This is the confession. I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I give you the keys to
the Kingdom of Heaven. What are the keys to the Kingdom
of Heaven? How do you get into the kingdom of heaven? The gospel. What's the key? I
have a key to this door over in Austin. Bless me. I have the
keys to the kingdom of heaven. The gospel of Christ. That's
right, the gospel of Christ. And I won't give it to you, Peter,
I'll give it to other disciples. I'll give it to you. Preach.
Preach this gospel. Preach this gospel. I'll give
you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. The way that a man enters
the kingdom of heaven. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. That's the case of
the gospel. And whatsoever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven. Whatever is bound by the gospel.
Whoever is brought into Christ, redeemed by Christ, baptized
into Christ, bound in heaven. Whatever the gospel, whomever
the gospel calls out here, it's called out there. Whomever the
gospel says here, he's saying that. Whoever's name is in the
church here, the true church, his name is in the Lamb's Book
of Life. And whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Whatever that gospel looses, divides, some believe, some don't
believe, will be loosed in heaven, no place for them. Then Christ,
he is the disciple. They shouldn't tell no man he's
Jesus the Christ. All right, that's settled. That's
the first critical issue. That's settled. Here's the second,
verse 21. And from that time forth, when
he told them who he is, when that's settled, when that's revealed
and understood, there's no question about it, no debate about it,
he's the Christ, the Son of God. All right. What's the Christ
going to do? All right. From that time forth, he began
to show him to his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem
and suffer. The Christ didn't come to set
up a Jewish kingdom. He didn't come to set up a millennial
reign on this earth. He didn't come to make things,
conditions, better on this earth. He came to redeem a people. He
came to establish His kingdom, the kingdom of His Son, the kingdom
of heaven, the kingdom of God, to call out a people for His
name. And to do that, He has to suffer. The Messiah, the Christ,
has got to give these people a righteousness. He's got to
be born a woman and live on this earth and perfectly obey God's
law, and he's got to bow the cross. Without the shedding of
blood, there's no remission. Christ has got to redeem these
people. He's got to honor the law and satisfy the justice of
God. He began to show them how he
must go into Jerusalem. That's where he's going to accomplish
this purpose, in Jerusalem, outside the city walls, on a cross. of the elders, of religion, the
chief priests, the scribes, he came in his own, his own received
him not, and be killed, be crucified, and be raised again the third
day. He established, from this time forward, you know, they
wanted a kingdom. They said, Lord, are you going
down to stir the kingdom of Israel? Well, I said, well, let me and
my brother sit on your right hand and your left hand, and
you tell them your kingdom. He said, my kingdom is not of this world.
My kingdom was not meat and drink. My kingdom was righteousness
and peace and joy. My kingdom was a holy kingdom.
A people redeemed by my blood. Well, Peter took him, took him
aside. Took him aside and began to rebuke
him. Then began to rebuke him. Began
to discourage him from the cross, from death. and say to him, Be
it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. Let's have salvation some other
way. Let's have a kingdom some other way. Not your death, not
your suffering, not your rejection, not your crucifixion, not your
burial. Let's have it some other way.
Let's have it some other way. But our Lord turned and said
to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Get thee behind me, Satan. Any suggestion, listen to me
carefully, any suggestion of salvation in your life, but by
the cross, is of Satan. Write that down. Any suggestion. Peter, our Lord laid this pipe
down. The Son, surely He has decided
for you more. The sun must be lifted up. I must suffer. Peter said, let's do it another
way. And any other way, other than the cross, the blood of
Christ, no matter if it's suggested by a disciple, an apostle, an
angel from heaven, or church organization, it's fantastic.
Get thee behind me, Satan! Thou savour'st not." You know
what the word savour is here? Your sentiment, your thoughts, your opinion is not of God. Thou savour'st not the things
that be of God. You don't think like God thinks.
Your sentiment is not on God's side. your thoughts are not God's
thoughts. That's what our Lord said in
Isaiah 55, your thoughts are not my thoughts. There's a way
that seems right to me, but the way is not the way to heaven,
it's the way of destruction. And Peter is a man, and he's
talking like a man, he's acting like a man, he's thinking as
a man, not as God. His sentiments, his opinion,
the things that he thinks and savors, is not of God. It's a meaning. Now that said, the Son of Man
must suffer. That's the only way God can be
just and justify. That's the only way the law can
be. Satisfied justice can be honored for Christ to suffer
for our sins. He suffered the just for the
unjust to bring us to God. Opinion, the idea of suggestion
of salvation. Any other way, believe me, satanic. Antichrist, get thee behind me,
Satan. If anybody's in here, in this
congregation, anybody involved, go and do your math. There's
got to be another way besides the blood, besides Jesus Christ,
satanic. That's awful to think about,
but it's subtle. And he said that to his chief disciple. Who
else on this earth could he have said it to if the great child
of Pharaoh had just confessed that he's the Christ? He picks
out the top, the key, the leader, and says, even if you think it,
you've said that. Now here's another issue. They
said Jesus to his disciples, we're not playing a game here.
If any man comes after me, follows me, believes on me, then he'll
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Rousseff
shall save his life, he wants to preserve his life from trouble,
trouble brought on by the gospel, persecution brought on by identification
with this gospel, reproach for believing this gospel, unpopularity,
for the preaching of this gospel don't cost him his soul. Any
man who will deliver his life from suffering and reproach and
persecution will lose it. But whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake, willing for my sake to bear the cross, to
believe the gospel, to take a stand, a firm stand, he'll find his
life. But I want to ask you, what is
the profit of man if he gains the whole world, and loses his
soul? You see, our Lord's commitment,
hold your hand there just a minute, turn to John 12. Where are we
going to be tonight? John 12, verse 23. John 12, 23, Jesus answered them,
saying, The hours come when the Son of Man shall be glorified.
Glorified. But before he's glorified, something's
got to happen. Then I say unto you, except the
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it'll bite us alone. But if it dies, it'll be glorified.
It'll bring forth much fruit. The Son of Man is going to be
glorified. But first, he's going to the
cross. He's going to deny himself. He's
going to give himself. He's going to suffer himself,
going into the ground, into the grave. And then he's going to
be glorified. And I say he that loveth his
life, this goes for his disciples. He that preserveth his life or
loveth his life more than Christ, he's going to lose it. But he
that hateth this world, his life in this world, his connections,
his relationships, his covetousness, his desires. He's willing to
be, for it to be, for his own. He'll be glorified. He'll keep
it till I repent. And that's what he's saying to
his disciples here. You may come after me. You go
through the same process our Lord went through. It's a denial
of self. It's a commitment. He said, I
came not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And
that was a commitment on his part to the will of his Father,
to the cross, to whatever it cost. And he glorified it. And verse 27, For the Son
of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels,
and then shall he reward every man according to his works. Now
I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not
taste of death, but shall see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom." What is he saying here? There be some standing here which
shall live to see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Well,
he's not talking about his second coming. I know because these
fellows, that's been 2,000 years and these fellows are all gone. They're all dead. They were standing
there. not just the twelve, but all the Hispanic disciples. He's
not talking about his second coming. Some of the disciples
thought John, the beloved John, would live until Christ came,
but he said, well, if I will for him, too, that's none of
your business. But they didn't. He's not talking about his second
coming. He's not talking about his transfiguration,
as we're going to look at in the next chapter, when he was
glorified before his disciples, his deity manifested. You know
what he's talking about here? Here's what he's talking about.
He's talking about the kingdom of our Lord. We've been translated
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of our Lord.
Where the Spirit of God is poured out on his church. Where the
gospel is preached all over the world. Where the gospel is confirmed
by signs and wonders and power. The glorious kingdom of Christ. That's what he's talking about.
The prosperity and success of the gospel. And these disciples
saw it. When our Lord died on the cross,
all men forsook him. In fact, everybody stood with
him. He died alone. He walked the winepress of God's
wrath alone. The disciples were scattered,
but they came back together. The Spirit of God came down upon
them. They preached the gospel. Five
thousand people were converted. They went to other cities and
towns. Three thousand people were converted. The Spirit of
God fell upon people. People were saved. Church spread
all over this world, the gospel was preached all over the world,
and these men lived to see the magnificent kingdom of the Church
of our Lord Jesus Christ right before their eyes. They saw people
slain in the Lord, resurrected from the grave, made new creatures
in Christ. That's what he's talking about. There will be some standing
here, and boy, I'm telling you, it was dark days then. Even the disciple Peter said,
I don't know the man. The disciples rang him. Christ
died and was buried. The Pharisee said to this fool
of him, the name of Jesus Christ will never be remembered. But
they saw it happen. His glorious kingdom. What is
the kingdom of God? It's people. It's church. What
is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ? It's not a city. of stones and gold. It's people. This is the kingdom of God. This
is the church of God. People. They're being people.
Well, he said all these things. Now it's the Christ. He must die. He must suffer.
Don't suggest anything else. Son of God must suffer. Weary
to cross. Christ is our life. You don't
cry Jesus. You receive him. You marry him. For eternity. You don't stifle
him. You commit him. Lock, stock,
and barrel. Heart, soul, and spirit. My beloved
is mine and I'm his. That's the way it is. They're not going to fail either.
He's not going to fail, and they're not going to fail. They're not
going to fail. That's the only God who always
causes us to triumph in Christ. Then listen to what he did. After
six days he took Peter, James, and John, his brother, and brought
them up to a high mountain, a pike. He took these three men. He's shown them He's the Christ. He's shown them He must suffer,
die. He's shown them what a commitment
is. Now He's going to show them He's
God. He's going to show these men before their very eyes that
He is God Almighty in human flesh. And He took two or three of them.
The Bible says let every word be established by the mouth of
two or three witnesses. He took them to a high mountain,
Apollo, from everybody up, Christ and his three men. And he, those
two, was transfigured before them. And his face did shine
as the summer in rain that was quite as light. Now, the substance
and shape of his body didn't change. He's a man. The body of a man was not changed,
but he appeared before them in that body in the majesty of God. His deity, his divine glory itself
became visible to their human eyes. They saw him transfigured
before them. His face shined as the sun, still
a human face, still the face they know and love. He had on
the same clothes his raiment was the same. I don't know what color it was,
but his robe, his raiment was the same. But those same clothes,
the rays of glory from his person in those clothes, made those
as white as the night. What color were they? I don't
know. But Mark, when he told us, gave this story of this experience,
he said his clothes were exceedingly white as snow. All these years on earth, they
had seen him. He appeared as a man, nothing
but a man. They watched him as a carpenter. They heard him preach on their
man. They believed he was the son of God, but they've never
seen him. But here his deity, his divine
majesty, is seen by natural eyes, as all are going to see him someday.
Every eye shall see him, and every face shall behold him when
he comes in his glory. And mourn for him as they mourn
for an only son. Glory of God. These disciples
saw him. God in human flesh. Think about that. His face did
shine as the sun, his raiment as white as the snow, bright
as the light, deity. Firstly, and behold, there appeared
unto them, unto them, they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, Elijah
talking with him. Moses had been dead 1,500 years. 1,500 years Moses had been dead. Elijah
had been caught up in the heavens 900 years ago. And yet, here
they were. How did they appear? in glorified
bodies. Turn to Luke 9. See, Luke, Matthew,
Mark, Luke all give the account of this. In Luke 9, verse 30 and 31, verse 29, And as he prayed,
the fashion of his countenance was altered, his raiment was
white and blistered. And, behold, there fell with
him two which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory. They appeared in glory. They
appeared in glorified bodies. Elijah didn't die. You know Elijah
was translated as Elisha washed in a chariot of angels of fire
and swooped down and took him to glory. But here was Moses
who did die. Here's Elijah, he didn't die,
but both of them changed. And that's how we shall be. Some
of us will die. Some are going to be living when
Christ comes, but they'll both be changed. Caught up together
with him in the cross. So here's Moses and Elijah, been
dead 1,500 years and gone 900 years. Here they are in a body,
a glorified body, the same identity. When somebody mentions Reincarnation
to you is just lies. This is stupid. It's foolish.
Here's Moses 1500 years ago. He's back on earth. Moses, look
at him, still. Elijah is back on earth. He didn't
die. He's translated. He's changed.
He's Elijah. Why Moses and Elijah? Why not
Abraham? Why not David? Why not Abraham,
I pray? Why did God choose Moses and
Elijah to come down here and talk with Christ in the sight
and eyes before his disciples to be witnesses? I'll tell you
why. Moses is the law. Elijah is the
prophet. The law and the prophets. The
law and the prophets. The law came by Moses, through
Moses. The prophets. Elijah was the prophet. When
you don't know a prophet, you don't know Elijah. He's the daddy
of the prophets. Let's turn over to Luke again
and see what they talked about. In Luke 9, verse 31, they appear
in glory and speak of his decease, his decease which he should accomplish
at Jerusalem. His decease. What does that mean, his death?
Moses and Elijah appeared to our Lord to talk about his death.
What he'd been telling the disciples back here, the disciples heard
this conversation, they saw Moses and Elijah appear with Christ,
talking about his sin. And so he told them, the Son
of Man must die, must go to Jerusalem, the castle of Elisha, be denied,
rejected, spit upon, and slain, and buried, and rise again. This
is what they talked about. You see, that's the message of
the Law of the Prophets, is Christ and his death. That's what the
Law and the Prophets is all about. The righteousness of Christ,
the death of Christ. And Christ is the end of the
Law and the Prophets. That's the end of the Law, as
a covenant. And Christ, God speaks to our
fathers, but the prophets in these last days spoken to us
by his Son. Moses has served his purpose in his day, and Elijah
served his. Christ is the prophet. And this
full agreement between the law and the prophets and Christ about
the death of Christ. And he said over here and there,
they talked about his deceit, his death. When Peter talked
later about his death, he called it his deceit. The Lord told
me about my deceit and how I would die. But they talked about his death.
But I want you to notice a word here in Luke 9.31. Moses and Elijah appeared in
glory and spake of his death, he should accomplish. Accomplish
his death, his salvation, his substitution. He accomplished
it. His victory. His victory. The redemption of his people. The accomplishment. When he delivered
them from sin, from Satan's bondage and the bondage of the law, from
the fear of death, from the grave, from all condemnation, that was
accomplished at Jerusalem in the death of the Son of God.
It's finished. That's what he said when he died.
It's finished. It's accomplished. I finished the work he gave me
to do. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets appeared
with him. That's what we've been preaching
all these years. telling people about your death. Now they're
talking it over. Let's look at the next verse,
Peter 4. Then answered Peter, and he said,
Lord, it's good for us to be here. You know, Luke said Peter spoke
not knowing what he was saying. He didn't know what he was saying. Mark talked about it. He said
Peter spoke and he did not know what to say. But his words are recorded. I'll
tell you why. To reveal just how far from divine
thoughts and divine ways our words are sometimes. Peter said,
Lord, it's good to be here. If you will, let us make three
tabernacles, three temples. One for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah. Let me tell you how bad it is. First, he put these two servants
on the same plane with the Lord. Let's build a temple for Moses,
Elijah and for you. Make them all the same. Our Lord
is worthy of greater glory in Moses than the one who built
the house above the house. You'll see that in a moment.
He wanted to build earthly houses and tabernacles for heavenly
beings. Now, what on earth? God doesn't dwell in temples
made with hands. Moses in Elijah and the Son of
God wouldn't dwell in temples made with hands. Why don't we
quit erecting these monuments to heavenly beings? It's so foolish. And thirdly, he said, did you
notice the word he used? Let's build here. We like it
here on earth. We've got so many connections
and so many relationships. We just kind of like it here.
So let's just build this kingdom right here on earth. Peter still
had in mind that Jewish kingdom, and built it right here. Later
on he had a little better sense and wrote, We look for new heaven
and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The old heaven,
old earth shall pass away. But while he was yet speaking,
there's time, behold, another voice was heard. Thank God for
the voice of our Lord, our God. While he yet spake, behold, a
bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice out of the cloud
which said, This is my beloved son. This is not a servant like
Moses and Elijah. This is my beloved son. This is not a son as the angels
are by creation. This is my only begotten son. This is not a son as men are
by adoption. This is essentially, in essence and truth, God Almighty's son. This is my son, beloved and begotten,
in whom I am well pleased. Well pleased with him as the
only mediator between God and man. Well pleased with the righteousness
he perfected. Well pleased with the sacrifice
he'll offer as a sweet smelling favor that satisfies my justice. Well pleased in all that he does
and will do and pleased with the people I put in his hands. I'll accept them in him. my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased." The message from heaven, God's
message, hear it. Hear it. Hear ye him. Don't you know Moses discussed
the campaign with joy in hearing those words? Moses wrote over
there in Deuteronomy, 1,500 years before the Lord God will raise
up from the midst of you a prophet Give him his words and to him
You have to listen to him Moses wrote that and here he stands
there and the father says This is my beloved son Hear him Give
his words I'm the way the truth and the life No man cometh to
the Father without me. Hear him. Hear his doctrines. For the sheep I have, which are
not of this foal, them I must bring. I lay down my life for
my sheep. They shall be one foal and one shepherd. My Father gave
them to me. My Father is greater than all,
and no man can pluck them out of his hand. I am the Father
of one. Listen to his doctrines. False doctrine leads to worship
of a false God. True doctrine leads to the worship
of a true God. Listen to His ordinances. He
that believeth in his best shall be saved. This is my body broken
for you. This is my blood shed for you.
This do in remembrance of me. Here is it. Here is words. Here is doctrine. Here is ordinances. And here is command. Come to
me. All ye that labour in a heavy
laden, come to me. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you. Learn of me. You'll find rest
unto yourself. I hear him. He didn't tell you to hear me.
Hear him. I'll tell you what he says. I'll study it and read
it and pass along to you what he says. You hear him. The argument's not with me. I
hear people arguing religion. There is no argument. Arguing
doctrine. There is no argument. When you
hear him, you just hear him. That's true. And when they saw
it, when they heard it, verse 6, they fell on their face. That's what happens when men
have a revelation of God's glory. They don't jump in the air and
yell and scream and get a cry and stick a microphone in all
their mouths. I don't care about your foolishness, flesh, exhibitionism. It's all on their faces. John,
the beloved disciple, heard his voice and fell like a dead man.
Job said, I've heard of you by the ear I see you now. I put
my hand over my mouth. I've been talking about things
much too wonderful for me. I'm not going to talk anymore.
It's all on their faces. Fear gripped their hearts. But
I'm glad the Lord didn't leave them there in stark fear. But sudden, Jesus came over to
where they were and he touched them. Slain by the glory of God and
raised by the hand of Christ. That's salvation. Slain, the
slain of God. Stripped, humbled, broken, smitten. Fallen at his feet. On your face
in the dust. Nobody can speak peace. Nobody
can say fear not. A preacher can't say he better
not say it. Oh, man, he's so weird. He's
so disturbed and troubled. Speak peace to him. No, God will
speak peace to him. I can't speak peace. Christ will
touch you. Christ will speak peace. Christ
will say arise and be not afraid. Arise and be not afraid. He touched
them. He raised them. God smote them
with his power. Glory! Majesty! Their sinfulness broke them. Christ healed them. Don't be
afraid. And when they lifted up their
eyes, when they hit the ground, they hit the ground in presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ, Moses, Elijah, and a voice from heaven.
And when they stood up and opened their eyes, They saw no man. They didn't see Moses anymore.
They didn't see Elijah, Lord and the Prophet. They saw Christ.
They didn't hear Boris anymore. Peter said, you heard that Boris?
But I've got a more sure revelation. Word of God. Word of Christ.
This is the end. They saw no man but Jesus only.
That's it, only Christ. Only Savior, Mediator, Redeemer,
Prophet, Priest, and King. The Lord Jesus. Taken up with
Him, sold out to Him, not ashamed of Him. He's my Lord. Preaching. Saw no man. Not afraid of anybody. Not trying to impress anybody.
Not trying to please anybody. After you've seen Him.