They Saw His Glory

Alright, well we're continuing on with the story of Jesus in Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Last week we reflected on those challenging words of Jesus about what's required to be a true follower of His.

! Today we're going to hear about one of the most spectacular things that ever happened with Jesus.

I mean, if all we've already seen and heard already isn't spectacular enough, this one will top most of them.

But before we get to that, there's just this one verse that we didn't get to last week.

One thing that Jesus said as He was teaching the crowd that I just want to take a brief moment to look at together with you.

Luke 9 verse 27.

Luke 9:27

Jesus said,

Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

Many stumble over these words.

What Jesus seems to be saying is that there are some there in the crowd who will see the kingdom of God before they die.

But then as we heard a couple weeks ago, Jesus has told the twelve that the kingdom of God is going to unfold in a way that's contrary to the people's expectations.

They're looking for that political, earthly rule right now.

But Jesus has been telling His disciples that He must first suffer and be rejected and be killed.

And on the third day, rise again.

So there's this unexpected path to how God's Messiah will come to the throne of God's kingdom.

It's going to happen through suffering and rejection and death.

Rising from the dead.

Ascending to the throne of heaven.

And then returning to rule and to reign on an earthly throne.

And this is where we stumble over these words of Jesus.

Because based on these words, maybe like the people in Jesus' day,

we're either looking for the wrong kind of kingdom,

or we're looking for the fullness of God's kingdom in the lifetime of these people.

As the world might read these words,

they would look at this and maybe come to the conclusion that Jesus is a false prophet.

He was killed.

They would say He was rumored to have risen from the dead,

and rumored to have been seen by His followers,

and then He was never seen again.

There was no kingdom of Jesus.

And then not long after that,

the Jews in the land were wiped out or scattered.

That's how our world may look at these words.

As a prophecy of Jesus that never came true.

But it's because they were looking for the wrong kind of kingdom altogether.

If we take Jesus' words seriously and believe them to be true, as they are,

He must mean that the kingdom of God comes near

and begins with power during the lives of these very people that He's speaking to.

Not the full measure of the kingdom,

but a good measure of the kingdom.

Breaking into our world.

A significant demonstration of Christ's power in the lives of people.

And I think by the time we get to the end of Luke's gospel,

if we haven't already said yes, that's what we're seeing,

I think we'll see that yes, it is obvious.

It is visible.

God's kingdom has come with power.

Enough that we can look back at these words and say,

yes, we saw it.

It came in our life, in the lifetimes of these people.

Not the final fullness,

but the breaking in,

the first light,

the dawn of it.

And so we'll keep an eye out for that as we carry on with the story.

Let's now go on to verse 28.

After eight days,

sorry, about eight days after Jesus said this,

He took Peter, John, and James with Him

and went up onto a mountain to pray.

As he was praying,

the appearance of his face changed

and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

Two men,

Moses and Elijah,

appeared in glorious splendor,

talking with Jesus.

They spoke about his departure,

which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions were very sleepy,

but when they became fully awake,

they saw his glory

and the two men standing with him.

As the men were leaving Jesus,

Peter said to him,

Master, it is good for us to be here.

Let us put up three shelters,

one for you,

one for Moses,

and one for Elijah.

He did not know what he was saying.

So this next spectacular thing that we just read

happens about eight days after Jesus said what He did,

what we just heard in verse 27.

Jesus takes only three of the twelve disciples with Him,

Peter, James, and John,

and they hike up a mountain.

The purpose of this little trip, Luke tells us,

was to pray.

With the crowds always following Jesus around,

there were very few ways to get away from them

for time to talk with God.

One way was to get into a boat,

as we've seen already,

and another way was to start hiking up a mountain.

And Luke's the only gospel writer

who tells us that the purpose of this trip

is to pray.

And as we read this account,

there's a very subtle hint here, I think,

in the way Luke tells us.

None of the other gospel writers

have some of these details.

We notice, in verse 29,

that as Jesus was praying,

the appearance of His face changed,

and His clothes became

as bright as a flash of lightning.

And we'll talk about that transformation in a moment,

but notice that it's as Jesus was praying

that all this happened.

As He was praying.

Not as they were praying.

As He was praying.

And then we get this strange explanation

that comes kind of right in the middle

of this whole thing,

in verse 32.

Peter and his companions were very sleepy.

But when they became fully awake,

they saw His glory

and the two men standing with Him.

It seems as though He almost goes back

and tells a little bit more fully

of what was happening here.

It would be unlikely

that they would have fallen asleep

in the midst of all this,

as they saw Jesus

transform before their very eyes.

I think if we read it closely,

Luke says that

when they became fully awake,

they saw His glory.

The glory of Jesus.

So, I'm thinking probably

what's happened here,

which only Luke records,

is that

they became drowsy

and fell asleep

while Jesus was praying.

And that's actually not the first time.

Or I should say,

it's not the last time.

If you know the story of Jesus,

this is going to happen again.

They fall asleep,

probably while Jesus was praying,

and then they sort of awaken

from this

to this sight of Jesus

totally changed

in His appearance.

And whoa,

there's two other guys

with Him all of a sudden.

Imagine this

from their perspective.

It's another one of those

long prayers of Jesus.

Has anyone ever drifted to sleep

while someone else was praying?

I can see some of you nodding.

I'll be honest.

I have.

It happens to us.

It happened back then, it seems.

But then imagine this.

All of a sudden,

there's this bright light

shining in your eyes,

and you open them wider,

and you're sort of

remembering where you are

and what's going on

after you nodded off.

And whoa,

Peter,

look,

Jesus is shining.

You can bet

that the drowsiness

just sort of disappeared

at that moment.

This was something

they had never seen before.

Luke says

that the appearance

of Jesus' face

changed.

Matthew,

who was one of the twelve

in his gospel,

goes into a little more detail.

In Matthew 17, verse 2,

Matthew 17:2

he says that

Jesus' face

shone

like the sun.

Think back to one

of those moments

where you've tried

to look right at the sun.

It's so bright,

you just can't

look at it directly

for very long.

That's what Jesus' face

was like

in this moment.

Shining so bright,

it was like the sun.

And Luke says

Jesus' clothes

became as bright

as a flash of lightning.

Matthew says

his clothes

became as white

as the light.

Mark,

in his gospel,

says his clothes

became dazzling white,

whiter than anyone

in the world

could bleach them.

It's hard to even

imagine this,

a sort of

radiant

and even

blinding

whiteness

to his clothes.

Like,

what's going on here?

Luke says

after this

in verse

32,

and this is probably

the best summary

of it,

when they became

fully awake,

they saw

his glory.

All this light,

this radiance,

this transformation

of Jesus

is them seeing

the glory

of Jesus.

It's them seeing

that Jesus

is more

than just a man.

It's like a glimpse

of his divine nature.

Now,

they probably

weren't thinking

about all

these questions

that I have

in this moment,

but I imagine

them wondering

about these things

soon after.

Like,

Jesus,

can you explain

what just happened

to you?

What is this?

What was that

all about?

Did you know

that you were

shining like

a blinding light?

Or is that

just something

that we were

seeing?

Did you do

that to yourself?

Or did that

just happen

to you?

Can you

control it?

Is this

something that

often happens

when you're

alone with

the Father?

I mean,

it must have

just utterly

flabbergasted

them in those

moments.

They believed

that he was

the Son of God

before this.

We just heard

Peter's confession,

you are the

Christ,

you are God's

Messiah,

the Son of

the Living God.

But that was

a statement

of faith

based on

the things

that they

had seen

Jesus do

and the

things they

had heard

him say.

Outwardly,

he was

otherwise,

he looked

and acted

like a normal

man.

he gets

tired,

he sleeps,

he gets

hungry,

he eats.

There was

that time

that he

walked on

the water,

but,

you know,

here it's

like they get

a glimpse

beneath the

surface of

what the

Son of God

really looks

like.

they see

something of

his divine

nature,

his glory,

a glimpse

of his

radiance,

a glimpse

of who

he really

is,

even before

he became

a man.

It reminds

me of what

John,

one of the

three who

witnessed this,

wrote in his

gospel at the

beginning.

In John

John 1:14

chapter 1

verse 14,

John wrote

this,

he said,

the word

became flesh

and made

his dwelling

among us.

We have

seen his

glory,

the glory

of the one

and only

Son who

came from

the Father,

full of

grace and

truth.

I wonder

if John

had this

moment in

his mind

as he wrote

those words.

How do you

think you

would have

reacted in

this moment

if you

had been

there?

You open

your eyes

and all

of a

sudden

you see

Jesus

shining

like the

sun.

What would

your response

have been?

This isn't

even half

of it yet.

We're just

getting started

here.

Not only

did they

see this

glorious

transformation

of Jesus,

suddenly

there's two

others with

Jesus.

Guys who

didn't hike

up the

mountain

with them

are there.

Bam!

And they

too, Luke

tells us,

had this

glorious

appearance.

They appeared

in glorious

splendor.

Luke says

they were

talking with

Jesus.

And they

are Moses

and Elijah.

I don't

know how

they figured

that out.

It doesn't

say.

Did they

overhear

Jesus

saying their

names?

Whatever the

case, they

figured out

at some

point that

this is

Moses and

Elijah.

Like Moses,

the prophet

that God

used to

lead the

Israelites

out of

slavery in

Egypt

almost 1500

years earlier.

That's him

right there.

The guy who

went up

Mount Sinai

and brought

the Ten

Commandments

down is

there talking

with Jesus.

And Elijah,

one of the

greatest

prophets in

Israel's

history.

The one

who lived

in the

days of

the wicked

king Ahab

and queen

Jezebel.

The one

who called

on God

and there

was drought

in the

land.

And then

who had

that showdown

with the

prophets of

Baal and

called on

God and

God answered

with fire.

The same

Elijah who

did all

kinds of

wonderful

miracles and

then was

taken up

to heaven

in a

chariot of

fire 900

years-ish

prior to

this moment.

There he

was with

Jesus.

Luke tells

us that

Jesus is

discussing

with them

about his

departure

which he

was about

to bring

to fulfillment

at Jerusalem.

this was

absolutely

wild and

amazing.

I mean

there's all

kinds of

things that

we could

talk about

here.

For

starters

we see

that

Moses

a man

who lived

over a

millennium

prior to

Jesus

coming

is alive.

we read

in the

Old Testament

about how

he died

before

the

Israelites

entered the

promised land

but here

he is

he is

alive

and he

exists in

some sort

of glorious

state

where he

can simply

appear

and talk

to Jesus

and then

disappear.

this is a

glimpse for

Peter,

James and

John of

someone

actually

having

life

after

death.

It's

another

confirmation

that Jesus

isn't making

things up

when he

says to

the Sadducees

later on

that God

is still

the God

of Abraham

Isaac

and Jacob

because he's

not the God

of the dead

he's the God

of the living.

there really

is a life

with God

after this

one

for those

who have

faith in

him.

Even

before Jesus

came

God

kept

those

who had

faith

in him.

And then

of course

there's the

questions

that we

have about

this.

You know

why?

Why does

Moses and

Elijah just

show up

and talk

to him?

Why do

they talk

to Jesus

now?

Is this

a sign

mainly for

Peter and

James and

John?

for their

benefit?

Or is

this some

kind of

special gift

of grace

given to

Moses and

Elijah to

talk with

Jesus one

last time

before his

departure?

And what

is this

departure

that's about

to be fulfilled

at Jerusalem?

Is it his

departure from

his body

by his

spirit when

he dies?

Or is it

his ascension

to heaven

afterwards?

After he

rises from

the dead?

Or is it

all of

that just

kind of

combined in

one big

moment?

Moses and

Elijah talk

with Jesus

and then

they leave.

But as

they're about

to leave,

Peter interrupts.

Verse 33,

As the men

were leaving

Jesus,

Peter said

to him,

Master,

it's good

for us to

be here.

Let's put

up three

shelters,

one for

you,

one for

Moses,

and one

for Elijah.

He did

not know

what he

was saying.

There's a

sort of

mixture of

confusion

and fright

in this

moment,

and of

course,

we just

don't know

what Peter

was thinking

here.

Like,

was he not

wanting this

moment to

end?

Was he not

wanting them

to leave?

You know,

maybe you

can stay a

little longer.

Let's put

up some

tents and

let's continue

the conference

tomorrow.

One for

each of you.

We'll get

a tent for

each of you.

But wait

a second,

I mean,

do Moses

and Elijah

even need

tents?

Or could

they just

reappear tomorrow

morning if

this is going

to go on?

Are they

even present

in bodily

form?

We don't

know what

Peter was

thinking.

Luke says

even Peter

didn't know

himself what

he was

saying.

And then

things get

even more

spectacular.

While Peter's

still going on

about putting

up the

shelters,

a cloud

appeared

and covered

them.

And they

were afraid

as they

entered

the cloud.

This is

fascinating.

Let's start

with that word

covered.

The cloud

covered them.

The word

used here

means to

darken

something.

Like by

getting in

the way

of the

light.

To

darken

something.

To

cover.

usually

that's

what

happens

when a

cloud

comes

between

the sun

and you.

Casts a

shadow.

It darkens

everything

under it.

But there

wasn't a

darkening

from this

cloud.

Because as we

read in

Matthew,

in his

gospel,

he tells us

this was no

typical cloud.

He says

this was a

bright cloud.

While he was

still speaking,

a bright

cloud

covered

them.

The word

there means

shining or

radiant.

And it

seems to

envelop

Peter and

James and

John and

Jesus

on the

mountain.

And then all

of a sudden

they hear a

voice come

from the

cloud.

A voice

came from

the cloud

saying,

this is

my son

whom I

have

chosen.

Listen to

him.

This is

my son

whom I

have

chosen.

Listen to

him.

Now there

were some

other words

there.

If we look

at the

other accounts,

Matthew and

Mark,

God also

in this

moment says

that Jesus

is his

beloved son

and that

he's

pleased

with him.

Luke doesn't

have those

words.

He has

something that

the other

two don't

have.

That he

is God's

chosen

one.

this is

my son

whom I

have

chosen.

This is

really

important.

It

reminds us

of the

words of

Isaiah

spoken

long

before

this.

Isaiah

Isaiah 42:1

42

verse 1.

Here

is my

servant

whom I

uphold,

my

chosen

one

in whom

I

delight.

I

will

put

my

spirit

on

him

and

he

will

bring

justice

to

the

nations.

So

God is

making it

crystal

clear.

Yes,

this

is

my

son.

Do

not

take

his

words

lightly.

Listen

to

him.

When

the voice

had spoken,

they

found that

Jesus

was

alone.

So

just as

suddenly

as they

awoke to

all of

this,

it was

over.

It was

just

Jesus

and

them

again.

No

sign of

Moses,

no

sign of

Elijah.

Matthew

gives us

the most

detail in

his

gospel of

how this

thing

ended.

When

they hear

the voice

of God

speak,

Matthew

says,

when the

disciples

heard this,

they fell

face down

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.

What an

awesome

moment this

must have

been.

I mean,

can you

imagine

this?

They're

afraid as

this bright

cloud covers

them.

They hear

God speak

to them

from the

cloud.

They hit

the ground

face down,

terrified,

and then the

next thing

they feel

is Jesus'

hand,

and they

hear his

words of

assurance.

They look

up and

they see

no one

except

Jesus,

probably

returned to

his normal

appearance.

What just

happened?

imagine

them.

John,

did you

just see,

did you

hear what

I heard?

Where did

Moses and

Elijah go?

What an

awesome thing

to have

witnessed,

right from

the beginning

to the

end.

Matthew

tells us

that Jesus

forbids them

to tell this

to anyone.

that would

be a hard

one.

Don't tell

anyone what

you have

seen until

the Son of

Man has

been raised

from the

dead.

Mark

tells us

that these

three men

later discuss,

well what does

that even

mean, to

rise from

the dead?

They didn't

understand what

was going to

happen.

And Luke

concludes the

whole story

with this.

The disciples

kept this to

themselves and

did not

tell anyone

at that

time or

in those

days what

they had

seen.

Well

eventually

Jesus did

rise from

the dead.

And Peter

did have

opportunity to

speak and

to say what

he saw.

And he

actually wrote

down a

little testimony

of what he

saw that day

in one of

his letters,

2 Peter 1

2 Peter 1:16–18

verses 16

to 18.

This is how

Peter describes

that moment

in his own

words.

He says,

For we did

not follow

cleverly devised

stories when

we told you

about the

coming of

our Lord

Jesus Christ

in power,

but we

were eyewitnesses

of his

majesty.

He received

honor and

glory from

God the

Father when

the voice

came to

him from

the majestic

glory,

saying,

this is

my son

whom I

love.

With him

I am

well pleased.

We

ourselves

heard this

voice that

came from

heaven when

we were

with him

on the

sacred

mountain.

That's how

Peter describes

this moment

with Jesus.

We were

eyewitnesses

of his

majesty.

How does

God want

us to

respond to

all this

today?

Well, I

think the

first thing

that comes

to my

mind is

that Jesus

is worthy

of worship.

He is

the radiant,

glorious,

divine Son

of God.

And what

Peter and

James and

John saw

that day,

when he

was

transformed

and

shone,

that's

what we're

going to

see when

we next

see him.

That's how

he will

appear.

We will

fall to

our faces

before him.

Once we

find the

words to

say,

we will

praise him,

we will

proclaim his

majesty and

his glory,

just like

Peter did.

And we'll

do that like

never before.

But then

I got

thinking,

we don't

have to

wait until

that day

to worship

him like

that.

Because right

now,

he has

that glory.

He is

seated on

heaven's

throne in

glory.

We can

worship him

like that

every day.

especially

when we

gather together

like this.

We can

sing to

him,

we can

praise him

as if

that's who

he is

because that

is who

he is.

He is

the

glorious

son of

God.

I also

got thinking

about Moses

and Elijah.

There really

is life

after death.

death is

not the

end.

They were

there with

him.

1500 and

900 years

after they

walked the

earth.

They were

there.

We can

have life

with Jesus

too.

After we

die.

That's his

promise.

If we

repent and

believe in

him.

finally,

what did

God say

to Peter

and James

and John

about Jesus?

Specifically,

what did he

want them

to do in

response to

all of

this?

I think

God would

have us

respond in

the same

way.

This is

my son

whom I

have chosen.

Listen

to him.

if there's

only one

thing that

we do,

this one

thing will

put us on

the right

path.

To listen

closely and

carefully to

Jesus,

to everything

he said,

to take

his words

deep into

our hearts.

This is

God's

will for

us,

for our

lives,

to listen

to his

son.

So,

four things.

We can

worship

Jesus.

He is

the radiant

and glorious

divine

son of

God.

And we

don't have

to wait

until heaven

to do

it.

We can

do it

now.

He has

that glory

they saw

right now.

And

we can

rejoice in

the reality

that death

is not

the end

for all

of us

who have

faith in

him.

And most

of all,

God's

will for

us is

that we

listen to

Jesus.

That we

take his

words in

deeply,

that we

build our

lives on

his words.

And one

day soon,

we read in

the Bible

that he

will bust

through the

clouds with

that same

glory.

And are

we living

in light

of that

day?

let's

pray.

Father in

heaven,

I pray

that we

would all

be deeply

stirred by

this

moment on

the mountain.

Even though

we weren't

there,

may we

trust the

account that

we have

that you've

given us

of what

happened.

May we

stand in

awe

of your

glory.

May it

reorient

our hearts

and our

minds.

May it

change our

priorities.

May we

truly live

in worship

of you.

For you

are worthy

and your

son,

for he

is worthy.

Capture

our hearts,

we pray.

Amen.