Transfiguration of our Lord
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2 or Psalm 99
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Imagine what it must have been like at the foot of the mountain when Moses went to talk with God. Though the God on that mountain was the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Hebrews did not know Him very well. They had spent four hundred years in Egypt. They had lost touch with their God. They knew the foreign gods and recognized that the signs of nature could be interpreted as communication from the divine. It must have been frightening to see that cloud descend down the mountain as Moses was climbing up. Was it a bad sign? Was Moses going to be safe? What did the fire mean? Would this God really save them from their suffering?
Forty days and forty nights are a long time. We begin to worry if someone is out of our presence for even a day or two. How could Moses survive up there? For Moses it was an extraordinary experience. For forty days and nights he was in the presence of God, learning how to lead God’s people. He learned about the tabernacle, the laws, the worship. He received the tablets of stone. When he came off the mountain, he retained some of the glory of God. It shone in his own face. By then, however, the people had forgotten and they were worshipping an idol, running from that which frightened them by trying to placate the gods in a way that they knew. In less than forty days they forgot the one who had delivered them out of bondage and returned to the ways they had known for four hundred years.
The psalmist asks why the nations want to revolt against the Lord God Almighty. The question is not a cry of arrogance against the other nations, but a question of surprise. When we sit down with a person with a different point of view about politics, we often think to ourselves, “I just don’t understand how he or she can think like that.” However, we don’t do that because we are so certain that we think they are wrong, we do it because we see the world from an entirely different perspective. The psalmist knows the loving grace of God and simply can’t understand a perspective that can’t see that grace. The psalmist is amazed by this point of view because he or she knows that any revolt against the LORD is fruitless.
Yet, the Hebrews and later the Jews revolted against God over and over again. Their revolt was not an open rebellion as it was at the foot of Mount Sinai. They revolted by turning to the strength and power of men and nations for help. They revolted by going their own way instead of the way of God. They revolted by doing their own thing. That’s sin. We are all guilty of that sin. We all go our own way. We all think that we know better than God. We all think that our way is the way.
We can’t know. It is impossible for us to know better than God because our vision is so limited. We see the world through our own eyes and experiences. While some are more knowledgeable and have a broader scope of the world, there is no human mind that comes close to encompassing all that God is and all that God knows.
A.W. Tozer, in his book "The Knowledge of the Holy" wrote, "Neither the writer nor the reader of these words is qualified to appreciate the holiness of God. Quite literally a new channel must be cut through the desert of our minds to allow the sweet waters of truth that will heal our great sickness to flow in. We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire his wisdom, but his holiness he cannot even imagine."
About the life of Jesus, St. John wrote, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written.” Imagine what it would be like if everything about God could be written? I have a general idea of what is available in my library. If someone asked to borrow a book about grace, I know which ones would be good for them to read. If I'm looking for a poem or a certain person's perspective, I can certainly find it. However, I can't imagine every knowing everything that is available in those books. Magnify it by thousands and you have a public library. I just look at the law section and find the whole thing daunting. Can anyone ever really know everything in those books?
No one can know everything in every book ever written. It would be impossible for anyone to even read every book, let alone remember all the details. A librarian would have more knowledge than most people. At least she would know where to find a book on the subject. She might even be able to suggest the right book. The volumes found in a law library would be overwhelming to someone who has not studied law. Even the lawyers do not know everything found in those books. The best they can do is know where they might find the information we need.
The same is true when it comes to the holiness of God. We can study God, know the history of His people, learn and follow His law. We can try to live according to His wisdom and His love. However, there is no way we can possibly even imagine the holiness of God. His ways, His thoughts, His purposes are higher than human flesh can attain. The best we can do is to know Jesus Christ, and in Him we see the holiness in flesh and through Him we have a glimpse of what we will one day know in eternity.
Peter, James and John received a glimpse one day on the top of a mountain. They witnessed a miraculous event where Jesus was transfigured into a divinely shining being standing among the great men of their faith. Moses, the father of the Law and Elijah the father of the prophets, stood for everything on which their faith was built. Peter wanted to capture the moment, to build a temple on the spot to honor Jesus and hold on to the glory. While Peter was speaking, a cloud came over the scene and a voice commanded the disciples to listen to Jesus. Peter’s sense of assurance was overpowered by a sense of fear. All three fell on their faces when they heard the voice.
God is a loving God, and that is the trait we all prefer to embrace. However God in His fullness is something to fear. He has the power and might to bring down nations and kings. He has the strength and the wisdom to change the course of human events. He has the authority to bring judgment. Yet, those who know God do not fear Him as we would fear a volcano. We know that He does all things righteously with love and mercy. We fall on our faces not because we are terrified but out of a sense of wonder and awe. Our fear acknowledges God’s greatness and our humility before Him.
This scene is the beginning of the end for Jesus. After this moment of glory, Jesus resolutely set his feet toward Jerusalem and the cross. Peter and the others might have wanted to hold on to that glorious moment, to keep Jesus honored on the mountaintop, but that was not part of Jesus’ plan. He did not even want them to report the experience. He told them to keep it a secret. He told them to hide their experience away until the future day when “the Son of man be risen from the dead.”
Then Jesus went to the cross and there He died for our sake. The cross held the real glory. It was not beautiful. It was a horrible and horrifying experience not only for Jesus but also for those who loved Him. The transfiguration, as glorious as that moment must have been, was a false glory. It would stand as a contrast to what happened on the cross. It seems backwards to us. It seems upside down. Didn’t Jesus deserve to be honored on that mountaintop? Of course He did, but He knew the real glory would come on the cross, where the word and work of God would be complete. Peter, James and John would not know that until later. They would see the truth after the resurrection.
When they came down off the mountain, the disciples that had been left in the valley were having difficulty healing a young boy with a demon. The father had brought the child to the disciples, but they could not do anything. Jesus answered the man and the crowd, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him hither to me.” Moses must have thought a similar thing when he came down from the mountain with the Tablets of the Law.
Peter writes, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” And, “For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” So, how do we tell? How do we know which voices are right and which are false? What is the focus of the prophecy? Who is the subject of the ‘word’?
Thomas Aquinas lived in the thirteenth century. He was a teacher and a theologian. The thirteenth century was a time of philosophical rebirth. The work of Aristotle was making a renaissance, very popular among the educated in that day. Thomas Aquinas studied the works of Aristotle and found connections between his philosophy and that of the Christians. He believed that truth is known through both reason (natural revelation) and faith (supernatural revelation.) Natural revelation is available to all human beings as they use observe and experience the world in which they live. Supernatural revelation comes to men through the scriptures, the church and prophets.
Some prophetic utterances are worth our attention. God does still speak to His people. We are reminded, however, that we are to discern that which comes from God and that which comes out of the desires of men. Is that prophetic word confirmed by that which has been revealed to us already? Does it stand up to the light of Christ? Aquinas found the Gospel in the midst of that which was popular in his day and he taught the people how to balance faith with intellect. He didn’t change the Christian message to fit into the society of his day but developed a method of using philosophy to explain Christianity. The false prophets are those that change the message to fit their prophetic utterances.
On September 11, 2001, before the World Trade Center bombing, I happened to write A WORD FOR TODAY using our epistle lesson for this week. Even before I knew what would happen in the days and weeks following that disaster, I commented about how people interpret the signs in creation in relation to the coming of Christ. “Prophets and prophetic interpreters watch for things to happen and they try to decipher what they mean and how they relate to the biblical descriptions of the last days.” This was certainly true in the days following the bombings that day. Many people used the disaster as a launching point for their prophetic utterances. Grief and fear made people flock to religious centers, to gather for prayer and worship, to comfort one another and seek answers to the questions on their hearts. Many voices were willing to give answers, but so many of those voices did not agree.
What I have learned is that many of the prophetic voices of our day are speaking not from God’s power or Spirit, but from a sense that if they speak it loud enough or long enough, then it will happen. It is humorous to watch a prophet explain away his mistake, justifying his misinterpretation by reconciling it with actual events. Many prophets will wait to release a ‘word’ until after he or she can make it fit the circumstances of the day. “See, I received this word, but now I see it is true and reveal it to you.”
The voices we hear aren’t always looking at the future or talking about the end times. There are many popular preachers who teach a different gospel. They focus on the mountaintop experiences and avoid the suffering we experience. As a matter of fact, many claim that Christian faith guarantees that there will be no suffering. They have chosen the glory. They have decided to stay on the top of the mountain. They avoid the cross. In their own way, they have turned from God. They aren’t building altars of gold, but they are building altars of prosperity.
On the mountaintop, the voice of God told Peter, James and John to listen to Jesus. Jesus then invited the three to follow Him to the valley, to do the work of God. He did not tell the disciples to seek after the riches of the world or avoid suffering. He took them into the midst of poverty and pain. He taught them to take care of those who can not take care of themselves. He encouraged them to endure persecution. He died on the cross and invited all those who believe to follow Him. He experienced the glory on the mountain but left it behind for the true glory that comes with sacrifice. We might not understand. It is certainly easier to seek after the good things in life than to experience the bad. But God knows His plan and His purpose. He knows His grace. And He is faithful.
A WORD FOR TODAY
Back to Midweek Oasis Index Page