A PREVIEW OF JESUS' GLORY
"No human, peasant or king was
the head of Christ's Church, but Christ alone!" These were the words of
the last Sunday sermon preached by a young and brave Scottish Presbyterian
Pastor, named Hugh McKail. A month after that, he was tried with other
prisoners and sentenced to be hanged on December 18, 1666. During the next four
days, he spent preparing an eloquent farewell message. He asked his father the
night before the hanging, "I desire it of you, to go to your chamber and
pray earnestly to the Lord to be with me on that scaffold; for hot carry there is
my care, even that I be strengthened to endure to the end."
At the gallows, McKail begged his audience to
listen as he spoke at some length. "And now I leave off to speak any more to
creatures and turn my speech to thee. O Lord! And now I begin my relationship
with God, which will never be broken off. Farewell, father and mother, friends
and relations; farewell the world and all delights; farewell meat and drink;
farewell sun, moon, and stars. Welcome God and Father; Welcome sweet Lord
Jesus, the Mediator of the New covenant; Welcome blessed Spirit of grace, and
God of all consolation; welcome glory; welcome eternal life; welcome death.
Then Hugh climbed the ladder to the waiting rope and prayed for some more time
before the executioner released him to the gravity and heaven."[1]
What a powerful end-of-the-day testimony of a
Martyr for Jesus? The cloud of witnesses who have gone before us lived their
fleeting lives with purpose and a longing anticipation of seeing the glorified
Jesus and of being with Him forever. Though they lived in the world, their eyes
were always focused on their heavenly dwelling place. How are we living our
fleeting lives? Are we only focusing on earthly things and never considering
what it would look like to be in Jesus' glorious presence? Today, we will have a
Preview of Jesus' Glory! Matthew 17:1-13.
I. A Preview Of Jesus' Glory (Matthew 17:1-2)
Matthew 17:1-2, "After
six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and
led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before
them. His face shone like the Sun, and his clothes became as white as the
light." Six days before this spectacular mountain-top event, Jesus had to
put Simon Peter in place.
When Jesus asked the disciples what they
thought of Him, Peter replied, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living
God!" Jesus praised him, saying, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of
Jonah." But when he talked about how he was going to suffer and be put to
death and be raised on the third day. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him,
saying, Never, Lord, this shall never happen to you." Then Jesus rebuked
Peter. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not
have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." Matt 16:23
Jesus had to open the eyes of the physical to
the spiritual realities. So He gave Peter, John, and his brother James a
dazzling experience called "The Transfiguration." Jesus'
appearance changed right before their eyes. Jesus was giving them a Preview of
His Glory. How can we define and quantify the word glory? The Hebrew word Kabod,
translated as glory, honor, awesome, weight, and majesty, is often applied
to God's awesome presence.
You can only imagine how it feels to have a
glimpse of God's presence. It is like looking at the midday Sun in its
brightness. Who could stand in his presence without being humbled? Isaiah
2:10-11 "Crawl into caves in the rocks. Hide in the dust from the terror
of the Lord and the glory of his majesty. Human pride will be brought down, and
human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of
judgment." NLT. In the OT, God's glory was accompanied by fire, thick
clouds, and a great quaking of the earth. Ps 84:11 "For the Lord God is a sun and
shield." Habk 3:4: "His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed
from his hand."
On the Lord's Day, John described his
experience of seeing the glorified Jesus in heaven, Rev 1:16-17, "In his
right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp,
double-edged sword. His face was like the Sun shining in all its brilliance."
17, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead." How will we
respond when we see Jesus in all his brilliance in heaven? For now, let's see how
Peter, John, and James responded when they saw Jesus' glory.
II. In Jesus, the Law and the Prophets Were
Fulfilled ( Matthew 17:3-4)
Matt 17:3-4, "Suddenly, Moses and Elijah
appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, "Lord, it's
wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I'll make three shelters as memorials
(Tabernacles), one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." NLT
We find a few more details in Luke 9:30-31, "Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began
talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And
they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be
fulfilled in Jerusalem." NLT. What is the significance of this sudden
appearance of the old-time, highly respected people?
Moses was known as
someone who led the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt toward the promised
land and also as the one who introduced the Law. On the other hand, Elijah was
a ferocious prophet who confronted the 400 false prophets of Baal and killed
them. Why did Moses and Elijah appear on
the mountain? Two possible reasons: One, as Luke said, is to discuss Jesus'
departure plans. Second, to confirm Jesus's Mission.
Matthew 5:17, "Don't
misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or
the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose."
Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. Peter gathered the courage
and said, Lord, it is so good to be here. If you want,
I'll make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
NLT. Peter liked the experience so much that he wanted to remain only on the
Mountain top.
III. What is the Significance of the
Transfiguration? (Matthew 17:5-8)
Matt 17:5-8, "While he was still
speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This
is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" When
the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But
Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be
afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus."
How does this unique yet spectacular event
help our discipleship in the 21st Century? I suggest the following:
First, the preview of Jesus' glory to His inner circle has revealed to them what
his resurrected and glorified body would look like. Until that time, they had
only seen Jesus operating in His human body. It helps us also understand that
we, too, will have glorified bodies.
Philippians 3:20-21, "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." NLT Secondly, what happened on the mountain top was intentional. The disciples who had witnessed that event never forgot it and shared it with countless people, and even today, we read about it. John wrote, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son." John 1:14. Peter also wrote, "For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain." II Peter 1:16-18 NLT.
Thirdly, the transfiguration event moves the followers of Christ from fear to faith, from disobedience to obedience, from a merely earthly perspective to a heavenly perspective, and from a lack of purpose to intentional living.
