The Transfiguration of Our Lord – January 25, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

When Peter, James, and John were up in the mountain, what did they see?

They saw that Jesus' face was bright as light.

They saw as bright as the sun. They saw that his clothes were as bright as light.

They saw the glory of God the Son.

And they also saw Moses and Elijah. When Peter, James, and John were up on the

mountain, what did they hear?

They heard Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.

Peter later wrote about it in his epistle lesson. He says, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

And the apostle John also wrote in his gospel, We have seen his glory,

the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace.

And they heard Moses and Elijah talking about Jesus' exodus.

In other words, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension.

Peter, James, and John also heard, they heard the voice of God the Father saying

of Jesus, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him. To whom are they to listen? They are to listen to Jesus.

Again, Peter writes in the second apostle saying, We ourselves heard,

we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Well, eventually Jesus came down the Mount of Transfiguration and he headed

toward the Mount of Calvary.

And there Jesus died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

And he rose on the third day. On the day of the resurrection,

Jesus appeared before his disciples behind locked doors. What did they see?

They saw his pierced side and his pierced hands. They saw the resurrected Christ.

What did they hear? They heard words of peace and forgiveness.

He said to them, peace be with you. Whoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them.

The disciples and many others were eyewitnesses of Christ's resurrection.

They wrote about his death and his resurrection in the four Gospels,

and Paul even wrote about it in his epistles.

What do we hear today? We hear the words of the Old and New Testaments.

We hear God's word taught and preached.

What is the Bible? Critics claim that the Bible is a collection of myths and

fables, but nothing is farther from the truth.

The eyewitnesses of Jesus recorded

what they saw and heard before Gospels record what Jesus said and did.

They speak of his death and his resurrection, the Bible contains historical

events that took place at specific times and specific locations.

They record historical people.

What is the Bible? Critics claim that the Bible is full of errors or contradictions,

but nothing is farther from the truth.

Nowhere does Scripture contradict itself. God's word is true.

God does not lie. His word is truth.

What is the Bible? Others claim that the Bible is merely a collection of oral

traditions passed down from generation to generation,

or that it is simply man's thoughts about God.

But again, nothing is farther from the truth.

Peter says in our Epistle lesson today, quote, Knowing this first of all,

that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God

as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

In other words, God is the author behind the human authors.

What God spoke was written down. Therefore, Scripture is the very words of God,

not merely from men only.

What is the Bible's message? The Bible is about Jesus, the Son of God.

John writes, these things are written, the scriptures are written,

so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

That's the purpose of the scriptures, so that we may have faith in Christ.

The Old Testament talks about the coming Christ, And both Moses and Elijah spoke

about the Savior who was to come.

And the New Testament talks about Jesus who fulfilled these prophecies.

He fulfilled the Old Testament and everything in the scripture from Genesis

to Revelation points to Jesus who is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the whole world.

So Jesus is the heart and the center of scripture.

He is the key to its true meaning. Jesus himself said that the scriptures bear witness about me.

Take Jesus out of the Bible and you do not understand it.

Misunderstand who Jesus is and you misunderstand the scriptures.

There was a span of about 1,500 years between Moses writing Genesis and John

writing the book of Revelation.

And during this time, God chose over 40 people to record his word in a collection of 66 books.

And every one of these books presents Jesus as the heart and the center of Scripture.

All the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus and are recorded in the New Testament.

Jesus is the red thread, if you will, between all of Scripture.

No mere human could put something like this together.

No mere human could put something like this together. Scripture is God's Word.

Therefore, the Bible is our only reliable source of truth.

We can rely on what it says.

The Old Testament reveals God as Creator.

It tells us of Adam and Eve and their fall into sin in the Garden of Eden,

explaining why we have a sinful nature.

It also proclaims the promise of a coming Savior.

Jesus fulfilled this promise. He is true God and true man.

He fulfilled the law in our place. He died on the cross in our place,

and he rose from the dead.

On Mount Sinai, the law was given through Moses, but on Mount Calvary,

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Moses delivered Israel from the slavery of Egypt, but Jesus delivered you from

the slavery of sin and death.

Elijah defeated the prophets on Mount Carmel, but Jesus defeated Satan for you

and me there on Mount Calvary.

When Peter, James, and John heard the Father's voice from the cloud,

they fell on their faces and were terrified.

But then Jesus came and touched them, and he said, Rise and have no fear.

And when they looked up with their eyes, whom did they see?

They saw Jesus. They saw only Jesus.

Only Jesus is the Father's beloved Son. Only Jesus bore our sins on the tree of the cross.

Only Jesus rose bodily from the dead, and he lives forevermore.

Only Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father.

Salvation is found in Jesus alone. Jesus is the only way to the Father.

He is the only source of salvation. as Peter declares in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

that there is no other name, there is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Salvation is through faith in Christ alone.

May we fix our eyes on Jesus alone.

St. Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 3 that Holy Scripture, quote,

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ.

And it goes on to say that all Scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable

for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

In other words, the Bible teaches us what is true and what is false,

what is right and what is wrong, what is healthy and safe.

God's word reveals his will for life, marriage, family, church,

government, and society.

Through the Holy Spirit, God's word works repentant in our hearts,

a sorrow over sin, and also faith in the forgiveness of sins.

Scripture rebukes us when we've done wrong, and it corrects us when we have gone astray.

It teaches us about Christ's righteousness, and equips us and teaches us on

how to love and show mercy toward others. Thank you.

Therefore, the Bible is the only reliable and trustworthy source of truth.

Truth is not determined by our subjective feelings or by culture.

We don't find truth from the Koran or the Book of Mormon.

You can trust the Bible as your only source of truth.

You can trust in God's promise that he loves you and that he is with you always.

You can trust that God has given you a purpose for living.

In our epistle reading, St. Peter calls God's word a light that shines in a dark place.

The world is dark and is hostile to God and all what is good,

but God's work breaks through this darkness and points us to Christ.

As the psalmist says, your word, your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

God's word leads you to Christ, who is your light and your salvation.

God the Father said, listen to him.

What are we to do? We are to hear the words of Jesus.

Jesus said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. We have ears and we need to hear God's word.

Jesus also said, my sheep hear my voice.

They hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal

life and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. And Peter once confessed of

Jesus that he has words of eternal life, words that we hear and believe and trust in.

Does God speak today? Yes.

He speaks through his written word.

He speaks to you as you read your Bible. He speaks as you hear it faithfully taught and preached.

He speaks his word in baptism. He speaks his word of forgiveness and absolution.

He speaks his word over bread and wine.

Therefore, read your Bible, attend a Bible study, listen to God's word preached.

If you want your faith in Jesus to be strengthened,

if you want God's light to shine upon you,

if you want confidence in the forgiveness of sins, if you want to know the truth

of matters regarding life and death, then listen to God's word being preached.

It provides for you comfort and peace.

We are here this morning. What do we see?

Well, when there is a baptism, we see water being applied to the baptized. What do we hear?

We hear Jesus's words, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

You were baptized into Christ's death and his resurrection and you are now clothed

with his righteousness.

We are here this morning and what do we see? We see a man standing in a pulpit. What do we hear?

We hear words of sin and of God's grace.

We hear words of law which convicts us of our sin and we hear words of gospel

and the forgiveness of sins.

We also hear how we are to live our lives showing love and mercy to others.

Were spiritually blind, but now you see Christ with the eyes of faith.

You were spiritually deaf, but you now hear God's word with faith in Christ.

You are a poor, miserable sinner, but now the gospel is preached to you,

giving you life and salvation.

We are here this morning. What do we see? We see bread and wine.

What do we hear? We hear Christ's words. This is my body. This is my blood.

On the last day, the day of the resurrection of the body, it will be our day of transfiguration.

What will we see? We will see Jesus sitting on the throne. We will see our bodies

transformed, immortal, and incorruptible.

As Philippians chapter 3 says,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

that he will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.

On that day, we will shine like the sun.

What will we hear on that day? we will hear Jesus' words spoken to us.

Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom of God prepared for you

from the foundation of the world.

Then we will be with Jesus forever in the new heaven and in the newer.

But until that day comes, may we hold God's word sacred and may we gladly hear and learn it.

Amen. at least.