The light shines in the darkness

Now, the scripture reading this morning, which covers that episode that we were just hearing about, is Matthew 17, verses 1-13.

Matthew 17:1–13

If you're like me, retention is enhanced if the eye gate is engaged, as well as the ear gate, so I hope you'll read along with me.

Matthew 17, verses 1-13.

Matthew 17:1–13

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here.

If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said,

This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise and have no fear.

And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them,

Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.

And the disciples asked him, Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?

He answered, Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.

But I tell you that Elijah has already come.

And they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased.

So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.

Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

This is the word of the Lord.

Amen.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Dave.

I'm one of the pastors, if I haven't met you before.

A kind of cold, but hopefully warm welcome to you.

Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?

Let's pray.

Lord, coming out of another week, or going into another one as well,

I'm assuming that we're all coming from different places,

from living in a broken world.

Lord, some of us will just be weighed down with a sense of guilt and failure.

Others will just be overwhelmed, not sure what's going on.

Lord, others will be just so in love with something in this world

that even as we come to your word, not expecting to get anything out of it.

Lord, some of us, our sight of Jesus has grown cold.

For some of us, we're just feeling shame.

Lord, please speak to each one of us.

Send your Holy Spirit to speak through your word

so that we might see the Lord Jesus as our life.

In his name I pray.

Amen.

Well, a friend once asked me what my favourite song about heaven was.

And the song that came to my mind was I Know by King's Kaleidoscope.

I don't know if you know it.

I'll read a bit of the lyrics.

I won't sing it to you.

I've been given a taste for something that nothing in this world can satisfy.

But I know that a time is coming when I will be in glorious delight.

I know I will run through heaven's streets of gold shouting hallelujah, Christ alone.

I know I will dance and sing and bow before the throne.

This, yeah, this I know.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

But how do I know?

How can you know?

Especially when life is just not working out how you hoped for,

which I'm assuming that's all of us in this room.

How can you know when the anxious thoughts aren't taken away,

no matter how much you pray?

How can you know you're going to be in glorious delight one day?

When you gradually lose all things in your older years,

how can you know when you're surrounded by that kind of sense of darkness,

when you commit the same sin this week as you did last week?

How can we know when others who don't follow Jesus seem happier and healthier,

when you try and speak Jesus' truth out of love into people's heart,

but then the ones you love distance themselves from you because you're trying to do that.

It seems far from glorious.

How can we know that one day we're going to be dancing and singing

and bowing before the throne?

I think this passage we're coming to, what we call the transfiguration,

is just one gracious, God-given reason to help us know.

Someone described this passage as like the whole gospel in a microcosm,

so I feel a bit intimidated by that.

We can't unpack everything here.

There's just so much in here.

But amidst the darkness of living in a sinful world,

we are given this glimpse into heaven.

I think first, we can have no doubt about who Jesus is.

And second, we see that we can know that suffering is God's appointed pathway to glory.

We can have no doubt about who Jesus is.

And we can know that this is the pathway to glory.

So let's get into the story.

It's really uncommon in the Gospels to find a specific time reference.

So six days later in verse 1.

So six days after he has been confessed to be the Christ,

after he has made plain his plan to suffer and die,

and after he has called all who would follow him to die to self and die to the world,

we're given this six days later.

These are dark days.

There's been wonderful things that have happened in the past three years of his ministry,

all the healing and everything that has happened.

But he's now talking about his death.

He's now saying you need to die to self and the world.

There's a lot of gloom.

These are the last few weeks of his life.

But for a brief moment, we get to look into his nature before he entered this world.

For a brief moment, we get to see what Jesus is like this very moment in heaven.

For a brief moment, we get a glimpse of what all people are going to see one day when he returns,

when every knee will bow when they see him like this.

They will confess he is Lord.

We get this glimpse.

You don't need to wait for a dream or a vision by the Holy Spirit to see into heaven

if you realise that this is recorded for you.

This is recorded for our sake.

So Jesus takes with him Peter, James and John up a high mountain.

These three were something of the inner circle of the twelve,

but I first wondered why only three?

Why not the rest of the disciples?

But I think a better question is, why did he take anyone with him at all?

There's other really significant events that happened to Jesus that no one was with him for,

and the Holy Spirit records it for us, like his temptation in the wilderness,

or him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane when the disciples are asleep.

Why did he take three with him?

I think he took three.

The fact that he takes three of the disciples with him suggests that what happens here isn't primarily for his sake.

He didn't need confirmation.

It's primarily for their sake and for our sake, reading the Gospel today.

There are plenty of people who claim to have had visions of heaven,

but the problem with that is Scripture tells us the adversary, Satan can appear as an angel of light.

Can you really trust that, what one person says?

Can you even trust your own experience?

You've got to test it with a grain of salt, according to Scripture.

But here we have three witnesses.

This isn't happening in their minds.

Three witnesses are saying,

this is what happened.

This phenomenon happened.

The word vision is used in verse 9,

but that doesn't mean that this was some out-of-body experience.

That word vision can just mean what they saw with their eyes.

Here we can have three eyewitnesses saying,

this happened.

You can have confidence in this.

He was transfigured before them,

and his face shone like the sun,

and his clothes became white as light.

How are you going to make sense of that?

Where does that fit in your categories of reality?

When we say a lady is,

a girl is glowing and radiant,

we are not meaning that we're scared

that if we keep looking,

our retinas are going to be burnt.

We're not meaning that.

But they are.

I just had a go.

Preparing this week,

I just had a go.

I'm not encouraging this,

especially children,

but I had a go at staring at the sun for a second.

One second, I was like,

no, I'm out.

I don't want to go blind.

His face shone like the sun.

What is that?

Where are you going to fit that in your category of Jesus,

of reality?

I think there could be two barriers to knowing what to do with this.

I think one barrier is to make a joke of it,

like the memes,

and people say,

like, oh, who does his laundry?

That's a pretty poor joke.

Thanks, Matt.

But why make a joke about this?

I wonder if it's very similar to why we call the top student in our class a nerd.

Like, oh, we try and make fun of them.

I think because they're a threat.

Because their brilliance shines on our inadequacy,

and they're a threat.

So I think if you make a joke about this,

really,

it's just you're trying to avoid the threat of what is going on here.

Can I encourage you?

Don't do that.

Just take a look.

Take a long, hard look.

The second barrier may be simply we don't know the Old Testament imagery

that is just packed into this passage.

And maybe we don't want to know,

because it is threatening,

but maybe we just don't know.

That could be another barrier.

Because when the Israelites were set free from Egypt,

the Lord travelled with them in a bright cloud,

the glory cloud,

that looked like a cloud by day,

but fire by night.

And this cloud destroyed Egypt's army.

When they arrived at Mount Sinai,

when this cloud descended on the mountain,

it turned into like a volcano,

and it was shaking,

and no one was to go up that mountain.

If they did,

God would break out against them.

Even Moses said,

let me have a look.

And God says,

no,

you will die.

He only saw the back of God,

and he came back glowing,

his face glowing,

which dimmed over time.

Something like the moon reflecting the light.

Then we've also got the prophet Elijah.

In 1 Kings 19,

he had an encounter with God up on Mount Horeb.

He heard powerful phenomena,

and heard his voice,

and here we are going up a high mountain again

with these two men who encountered God.

Here we have the bright cloud,

the glory cloud,

that produces terror when you hear his voice.

But what's different?

What's different here to Moses and Elijah's day?

The divine splendour

is now radiating out of a person.

The Apostle Paul met this same blinding light

during the middle of the day.

He was blinded by it when Jesus showed himself.

Psalm 104 says,

you are clothed with splendour and majesty,

covering yourself with light

as with a garment.

This guy bursts any category of angel.

He bursts any category of prophet.

What we see here is what Hebrews 1

puts in a statement form.

He is the radiance of the glory of God.

The exact imprint of his nature.

He is not like a Moses and Elijah

who point to ultimate reality.

He is ultimate reality.

I found what historian N.T. Wright said,

I found it helpful.

How can you live with the terrifying thought

that the hurricane has become human,

that fire has become flesh,

that life, capital L, life itself,

became life and walked in our midst?

Christianity either means that

or it means nothing.

It is either the most devastating disclosure

of the deepest reality of the world

or it is a sham, a nonsense,

a bit of deceitful play acting.

Most of us, unable to cope with saying

either of those things,

condemn ourselves to live in the shadow world

in between.

How are you going to make sense of this Jesus?

Why is it so threatening?

I think it's threatening because it displaces self

or anything else from the centre of your world,

of my world.

To know him, to live for him

is what life is all about.

He's a threat because he displaces self and the world.

I think he's also a threat because

it exposes any impurity in us.

And Peter, true to form,

puts his foot in his mouth

just to demonstrate for us.

But verse 4,

he offers to build three tents,

three tabernacles can be the word.

One for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

And he might be thinking of the Jewish Feast of Booths,

which was to remember the wilderness period

before getting to the Promised Land.

And so that was,

to live in tents was to look forward

to the kingdom coming.

So his offer to build tents was actually,

it wasn't a bad one.

It's not what he said

in terms of building tents

that he was rebuked for.

Mark's Gospel adds an interesting detail.

Peter said this because he did not know what to say

for they were terrified.

They were terrified of the glory

that they saw in this Jesus.

And do you remember what the tabernacle was for?

What was the temple for?

It was so that God could live with his people,

but not too close.

You had to keep distance from this holy God.

Otherwise, he will break out and consume sinful people.

Now, that might sound a bit yuck and offensive

that God would,

that such brilliance would kill sinful people,

but just like staring into the sun.

Like, my physical eyes just can't cope

with the brilliance of that.

So too spiritually,

we were made to be in God's presence.

We were made for that,

to be able to handle it.

But because of our sinful nature,

because of our sin,

we just can't cope.

The good news is that Jesus has come

so that we can cope again,

to restore us.

So Peter's saying,

let's build three tents,

three tabernacles.

I think what he's saying is,

we want to stay and enjoy this,

but we need protection.

We need a bit of a barrier here.

There's too much glory for us to handle.

And if they felt unworthy

seeing Jesus' face shine like the sun,

they must have been terrified

when that cloud came towards them.

Like, they're with Moses and Elijah.

They would know what,

I assume they knew who was coming.

And then they hear God's voice

and they fell on their faces,

filled with terror.

Stop speaking, Peter.

You think you're being respectful,

but you're uttering blasphemy

to put Jesus alongside Moses and Elijah.

This is my beloved son,

with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

And then they only saw Jesus.

His error was to try and reduce Jesus

to lawgiver or prophet.

No.

They were servants.

He is the son of God.

They experienced the glory of God.

He is the glory of God.

So how did these finite,

sinful disciples survive this encounter with God?

I think we get a little glimpse of it

with Jesus coming and touching

and restoring them

and offering them a word of peace.

I think the opening to John's gospel

helps us understand

from his fullness

we have all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses,

but grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

A better mediator than Moses is here.

A better mediator.

One who in his own being

combines God and man.

A better mediator than the law.

Because when the law comes close to you,

it exposes all the ways

that I've broken the law.

It condemns.

But this mediator,

when he comes close,

we're terrified of him getting close.

But what we find,

if we let him,

is he says,

have no fear.

Rise,

have no fear.

You're in the presence of God.

Have no fear.

How is that possible?

You are accepted.

It's possible because of what his mission is.

The father's soul delights in his son

and that includes his son's mission

so that you and I can have no fear

in the presence of God.

And that brings us to

verses 9 to 13,

which

I'm not sure I fully understand it.

I'm going to admit that.

I don't know.

I think overall,

we can understand what's going on.

But they're complex verses.

These disciples have no doubt

of who Jesus is.

But what is clear,

they can't comprehend yet

how God's pathway to glory

includes suffering.

So on the way back down the mountain,

the lights have gone off,

so to speak.

They're entering the gloom again.

Jesus again talks about his death.

Now how much they understood about Elijah,

I'm not sure.

But

Jesus answers the deeper question.

Even if they weren't asking the deep question,

he answers the question,

at least they should have been asking.

Because the last thing we read

in the Old Testament

is a promise that Elijah will come

and restore all things.

He will turn the hearts back.

Whereas the first Elijah

who was sent,

even though he was

an awesome prophet,

Israel didn't turn

from idolatry

to serve God again.

Now there was some,

there was a remnant who did,

but overall

it was a failure.

But the last promise we get

in the Old Testament is

when Elijah comes,

he will restore all things.

So the question is,

how,

if all Israel

are restored back to God,

how could then

people

cause God's king

to suffer?

If they're worshipping God,

how could they reject his king?

I think,

stepping back,

they're kind of asking,

how can success

and suffering

go together?

They seem mutually exclusive.

So,

trying to paraphrase

Jesus' answer,

yes,

Elijah comes first,

John the Baptist.

And yes,

his mission

was a success.

People did repent.

But,

just like the prophets

of old,

God's will

was for his mission

not to

avoid

suffering and rejection,

his mission

was accomplished

in the midst of,

even because of

suffering and rejection.

So you should think

of my mission.

Don't think success

and suffering

can't go together.

It is God's

appointed pathway

to glory.

If we compare

how people

in this world

see suffering

to success

to what

God does,

we have totally

different two

points of view.

In the play,

Jesus Christ Superstar,

apparently,

I haven't seen it,

but I've heard

this is the case.

I watched the little

clip on YouTube

for this scene

and when Jesus

comes to Pilate,

Pilate says

these words,

who is this

broken man

cluttering up

my hallways.

So this is

Jesus Christ.

I'm really

quite surprised.

You look so small.

Not a king at all.

It's powerful.

You look so small.

You're not a king at all.

I've got the power

to crucify.

That's how the world

sees suffering

and success.

But when the

father looks at

his son

choosing to go

to the cross,

he is pleased

with his son.

It's not in spite

of suffering.

It's because

he chose to suffer

that his mission

is his success.

I think the big

point we should

take away from this

is we can be

sure that God's

appointed pathway

to glory

is through

suffering.

It's always

been the case

for the prophets

before.

Our life depends

on the fact

that Jesus

died for us

and his call

for us to follow

him and take up

our cross,

we should be

sure it really

is the pathway

to glory.

So how

should we

respond to

what we've

seen in this

event?

I'm going to

suggest three

ways.

First,

we should

marvel at his

self-humiliation

for your sake.

Like for a

brief moment,

we see

who he is,

like his

nature,

his face

shone like

the sun.

Not only

does he

become an

ordinary human

being,

not only

does he

associate with

nobodies and

sinful people,

he became so

small,

not a king

at all.

The light

was extinguished

for our

sake,

so that he

could say to

us,

rise and have

no fear.

I've dealt

with your

sin,

I've dealt

with your

impurity.

You don't

have to be

afraid of

God.

You can

have full

access to

him and

have joy

in his

presence,

no fear,

all because

this blazing

sun emptied

himself.

even though

we once

loved the

darkness,

this

son of

God

gave it

all up

so that

he could

unite us

to himself.

This is

something I've

been blown

away with.

We're told

elsewhere in

scripture,

we're united

to Jesus

closer than

marriage,

closer than

one body.

this is the

Jesus we're

united to.

I can't

quite get my

head around

that.

He lost

it all to

bring us

that far

into glory.

He's already

told us in

Matthew 13,

the parable

of the

wheat and

the chaff,

is it?

That sounds

right.

The end of

that parable

is when the

kingdom comes,

the righteous

will shine

like the

sun.

That's

incredible.

We're going

to share

in this

glory.

So the

first thing

is we

need to

marvel at

his self

humiliation

for our

sake.

And if

we marvel

at him,

if we see

that he is

ultimate

reality,

he is

life,

capital

L

life,

then we

must listen

to him

to find

life,

to obey

him.

Listen

also means

obey.

To obey

him is

always

choosing

life.

You

never have

to choose

between

life and

following

Jesus.

They're the

same choice.

In

comparison

to his

light,

everything

else is

just like

tinsel in

Christmas.

We think

it's gold.

It's not.

Look at

his light.

Now,

it doesn't

feel that

way,

does it?

It doesn't

feel that

way when

we just

don't want

to let

go of

what we

know Jesus

is calling

us to.

It doesn't

feel like

that.

But looking

at him,

we should

trust that

choosing to

listen to

him is

always

choosing

life.

And so

I suggest

invite him

in.

Where don't

you want

him to

speak

into?

Where's

the last

place you

would want

him to

speak

into?

Why don't

you go

command me?

Because I

know what

you say is

life.

So we

should marvel

at his

self-humiliation.

We should

listen to him

because it's

always choosing

the path to

glory.

It's always

choosing life.

And finally,

I think we

ought to

trust that

when we

follow him,

no matter

how dark

it is,

glory is

at work.

Not giving

up the

struggle with

our sins,

even with

sickness and

anxious thoughts

aren't taken

away.

When the

relational cost

of following

Jesus is

real and

high,

it will

feel very

dark.

work,

but we

can be

sure it's

the pathway

to glory.

Glory is

at work.

In us,

but also

more than

just in

us.

If he

is our

life,

if he is

our joy,

then we

want others

to see his

life through

us.

And some

of the best

opportunities to

do that is

when we're

in the

darkness.

And people

say,

what is

the hope

that you

have?

So amidst

the darkness,

here in this

passage, we've

been given

this glimpse

of heaven.

I've been

given a

taste for

something that

nothing in

this world

can satisfy.

But I

know,

I know

that a time

is coming

when I will

be in

glorious

delight.

let's

marvel at

his

self-humiliation.

Let's

listen to

him because

it's always

choosing life

and let's

trust him

that as

painful as

it is,

glory is at

work in

us and

through us

to bring

others into

the life of

knowing him.

Let's pray.

Lord, in

the splendour of

how you've

shown yourself

in your

word today,

I pray

particularly for

those who

are really

afraid that

their sin is

too great and

too constant

to really have

no fear in

your presence.

I pray that

your word

would pierce

through that

and reassure

that you

really have

paid it all

and that

we can

call on you

as father.

Lord, give

that deep

assurance so

that we

can let

go of

what we

cling to

so much

in this

world so

that others

might see

the light

that we

have through

us.

I pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.