Pastor Slaughter
2-14-2021
Transfiguration Sunday
Text: Mark 9:2-9
Come to the mountain
- See Christ’s Glory
- Receive His Encouragement
Life is full of highs and lows isn’t? One moment you feel like you are on top of the World and the next you feel like the world is crashing down around you. One moment you feel like you can handle whatever life may throw at you, and the next you feel like only one little thing will push you off the edge.
What do you do when you feel down and out, for those low points in your life? Do you find compassion from a close friend? Do you turn to a family member with an attentive ear? Do you seek escape through your hobbies and activities? All these are great ways to cope with stress and the lows that life brings. But how many of us first turn to Christ to find our encouragement? How many of us, when we feel down, first go to God’s Word and see what it has to say on our given situation. The devil tries to make it difficult to turn to Christ. He would like us to find comfort or encouragement in every other way except through God’s Word, except through Christ. He will tempt us to turn away from Christ, when we are down and out. Is there something we can do now to be prepared for Satan’s temptations during the low points of life? Is there something we can do while we feel like we are on top of the world? There is! Let’s Come to the Mountain, and See Christ’s Glory and Receive His Encouragement!
In the Gospel for today, Peter, James, and John quite literally had one of those mountaintop experiences. Jesus took these three disciples up on top of a mountain to see his glory so that they would receive his encouragement. Understanding the events surrounding is important to understand the benefit that they received and the encouragement for the upcoming days.
Right before our lesson begins, Jesus had some tough things to say. He told his disciples about what was going to happen, that he was going to suffer, die, and be raised again. Can you imagine how that made the disciples feel? They were with Christ night and day, watching what he did, learning from him and now he tells them that he is going to suffer and die. It would be like someone you love telling you that they have a terminal disease. I imagine this was a low point in the disciples lives. Remember Peter’s reaction? He was in denial and Jesus had to rebuke him. Peter, like any person, did not want his friend to suffer, and he did not want to suffer as well. But Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach them and us and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The disciples did not only need encouragement for what they were feeling at that moment but also for what was to come as Jesus made that journey to cross.
It’s human nature to want to avoid pain and suffering at all cost. You touch a hot stove you naturally pull your hand back. We want to avoid pain and suffering in our lives. But all of us have felt down and out before, haven’t we? We feel the sorrow of loneness when friends or family die. We feel depressed when things don’t go our way. We feel the stresses of this world at home and at work. We feel the pain that persecution brings. And all these things are a result of sin. Like the disciples we need encouragement for the trials we face, the things we will endure.
Jesus takes with him Peter, James and John, the disciples, who were witnesses of the raising of Jairus’ daughter, who would stand watch at the Garden of Gethsemane, on top of high mountain and there they saw something that they would never forget. Mark describes it by saying, “There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” They had an opportunity that few ever had. They were able to see Christ’s glory. Mark just heaps up one description after another trying to describe what they saw. His cloths were whiter then white. In Matthew’s account, he describes how his face shone like the sun. Here we see a revelation of his divine nature, we see his glory.
Peter, James, and John were terrified at what they saw. They saw two Israelite heroes of the past standing before them, Moses the great law giver and Elijah the great prophet! Not only that but Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. Even though they were terrified, they wanted to stay! Peter pipes up and says, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Who could blame them for wanting to stay on that mountaintop! It seems like the problems of yesterday just disappeared. They would not have worry about Jesus saying he was going to suffer and die. They would not have to worry about toils and troubles that life brings. They would not have to worry about suffering. They were in the presence of Jesus. Not only were they in the presence of Jesus, but they were able to visibly see his divine glory. Not only did they visibly see his divine glory, but they heard voice of God the Father giving his stamp of approval on his Son saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
You and I see and hear this glory. It may not be on a mountain top like Peter, James, and John. But we see Christ’s glory every time we gather together and worship in his name. We hear what that glory means for us, that he came to save sinners. We hear about his love, his forgiveness, his grace each time we open up our Bibles.
But that divine glory that was so clearly seen on the mountain was forgotten as the disciples fled when he was arrested. That glory that was so clearly seen on the mountain was forgotten as Peter denied Jesus in the courtyard. That divine glory that was so clearly seen on the mountain was hidden as Jesus was beaten, tried, and nailed to the cross.
Do you see what Satan does when we are at low points in our lives? He tries to hide Christ’s glory. He tries to get us to forget who he is. When he succeeds, we fall into sin. Look at Peter for just a moment. He saw Christ’s glory on the mountaintop but during one of the most trying times in life, when he was feeling the sadness of Jesus being arrested, the confusion of what to do next, he forgot what he saw, He forgot Christ’s glory. To avoid persecution, he would face because he is one of Jesus’ disciples, he denied his relation to Jesus. Like taking hand off a hot stove, he instinctively avoided the persecution and he fell into sin and despair.
Satan’s goal would be for us to forget Christ’s glory, especially in times of difficulty in our lives. We can become so focused on the current situation that we simply forget Christ. We become so wrapped up in the emotions and struggles of hardships that Christ’s glory becomes hidden. When his glory is hidden, we can seek comfort and solace in all the wrong areas. When we are depressed, we may find temporary happiness in buying something new, but that happiness quickly fades. Other people use addictive things drugs or alcohol, pornography to forget their troubles, but that just leads them wanting more and are left with guilt and shame. Some try to forget life’s troubles by filling their time with work but the problem with that is we can work Christ out of lives. When we feel like the world is crashing down around us, when we forget and take Jesus out of the equation, it is like putting a bandage on a gushing would, it provides a temporary fix but it is not what we need.
But we need the encouragement that only comes from Christ. On that mountain, they saw Christ’s glory shining before them and they Heard God’s voice saying, “This is my Son, Whom I love, Listen to him.” This is my Son, whom I love, with these words God is telling us that Jesus has his approval for what he did, and for what he was going to do. Christ lived that sinless life for us. Jesus had the weight of our sins upon himself and died for them. God approved of his sons sacrifice and we receive the benefits from it the forgiveness of sins.
You and I receive God’s encouragement to listen to his Son. And how do we do that? We turn his Word where we see his glory, where we hear what he has done, we hear his precious promises, and he strengthens our faith. When we are feeling down and out, turn to the one who loves you and saves you. See his forgiveness, his love, his glory! God does not promise us that our lives will be a bed of roses, it fact he tells us to expect suffering for his sake. The devil will point to God and say, “you are the cause for all of my problems in my life” But we know that is not true. The problem is sin. God did something about that sin by nailing it to a cross. We have his encouragement that our sins are forgiven, we have the encouragement that when this life is over, he will take us home to be with him for all eternity. Where we will see that glory firsthand and never worry about suffering again.
My family in Christ, I asked the question at the introduction, “Is there something we can do now to be prepared for Satan’s temptations during the low points of life?” The answer is yes. We listen to God! We spend time in his word. We see his glory, we hear his promises, we worship him, we hold on to the truths of Scripture. Amen.