Listen to Him!

Good morning, everyone. It's great to gather with you to worship. Please turn with me in your

! Bibles to Matthew chapter 17. If you're visiting, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

! Cambridge Church. It's my great joy and honor to preach God's Word to you this morning. If you don't

have a Bible, you can raise your hand. We'll give you a copy that you can have. We need one over here.

David, thank you for getting that. I was texting with Pastor Kyle Huber, who preached at one of

our retreats a couple years ago. He told me that I think they're not meeting because they're in New

Jersey. They're snowed out and they canceled. He said, you're probably the only Sovereign Grace

Church that's having service this morning east of New Mexico and north of Florida.

But hey, they canceled our rental permit, but we didn't know. We showed up this morning. The

custodian wasn't there. And we called him and he came and opened the door for us. He didn't know

that it was canceled either. So praise God. So he's letting us meet. They changed at last minute

because the first email was saying that only after 1 p.m. permits are canceled, but now everything is

canceled. But here we are. So they're letting us meet graciously. I'm so grateful to God for that.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word. Heavenly Father, we are here

because you have the words of eternal life and there is no one else to whom we can turn.

Lord, we are here because salvation is found in Christ, in Jesus alone. And we are here to behold

him. So Lord, exalt your name and exalt your son. Fix our eyes on him as we pay attention and listen

to your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please stand if you are able to honor God as I read from

Matthew 17, 1 through 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 God's holy and

authoritative word. Please be seated. There's a popular class of YouTube videos that often go viral.

And it's the kind where someone who is very famous and talented in something goes undercover to surprise

people. Do you know the, I mean, sure you know the kind of videos I'm talking about. The all NBA,

all-star point guard, you know, gets professional makeup done to look like an 80-year-old grandpa.

And then he goes to some basketball court in Chicago and then jukes and dunks on all the street

ballers, you know. And a Grammy-winning singer disguises herself as a homey accountant.

And then she goes into a karaoke bar and starts singing all of her own songs to the amazement of

all the people at the bar, you know. Or an elite power lifter who, I was talking about with this

Aubrey the other day, an elite power lifter who goes undercover as a janitor at a gym.

And then, and then proceeds to outlift every hulking gym bro in the gym.

And at the end, there's a great reveal and cheers all around as people stand in awe and get autographs

and take selfies with these people. I think this kind of video appeals to people for a number of

reasons, but a main one certainly is that, that element of surprise and satisfaction that you get

when a celebrity's true talent and identity is recognized in a genuine unscripted encounter.

There's a sense of validation and vindication.

The transfiguration of Jesus we see in Matthew 17 is kind of like that.

Jesus walked this earth as a son of man.

Isaiah 53 said that there is no beauty or majesty to attract us to him in his earthly appearance.

And that wasn't a disguise, of course. Jesus really took on human flesh.

But nonetheless, by emptying himself and taking the form of a servant, being found in human form,

as it says in Philippians 2, Jesus' divine glory was veiled from those around him.

This is why shortly before his death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus prays in John 17, verse 5,

John 17:5

Now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

That eternal glory of the Son of God was veiled during his life and ministry here on earth.

And that's partly why so many people did not recognize him.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

John 1, 10.

In the preceding passage, Jesus declared to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem

and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed,

and on the third day be raised.

And that prediction flew in the face of all Jewish first century messianic expectations.

The Messiah was supposed to come and conquer.

He was supposed to come and judge.

He was supposed to come and rule.

He was supposed to overthrow the Roman oppressors and restore Israel to its dynastic glory.

Trying to get Jesus' disciples to understand this aspect of Christ's mission was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

They couldn't wrap their minds right.

So much so, as we saw in last week's passage that Ed preached on, Peter even rebuked Jesus.

Jesus, stop with this nonsense.

Far be from you.

This will never happen to you.

What are you talking about?

You're the Christ.

You just told me I was right.

You're the Christ, the son of the living God.

How can you go suffer at the hands of the chief priests and the scribes?

And how can you die?

Remember what you told me?

On this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

You and me, that's us.

We're going all the way.

Nothing can stop us.

And then Jesus splashes cold water in Peter's face, proverbially speaking, to wake him up from his Satan-inspired delusions.

Get behind me, Satan.

You are a hindrance to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

This would have caused much confusion and consternation.

How can the glorious son of God suffer and die?

It's impossible.

It's not supposed to happen.

A suffering son of man cannot be the glorious son of God.

Or can he?

As doubt and insecurity creep into the minds of the disciples, God peels back the veil

and reveals the radiance of Christ's divine glory.

And as Christ is transfigured before the eyes of Peter, James, and John,

he is validated and he is vindicated as the son of God.

This is who he is, no matter what happens to him in the coming days.

And that's the main point of this passage.

The suffering son of man is the glorious son of God to whom we should listen.

I'm going to first talk about the glorious son of God in verses 1 to 8.

And then secondly, I'll talk about the suffering son of man in verses 9 to 13.

But I'm going to give most of my time to that first eight verses.

Verse 1 begins,

As Ed noted last week, in all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

the transfiguration of Jesus occurs right on the heels of Peter's confession

and Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death and resurrection.

So the phrase, after six days, intentionally ties the transfiguration

back to that pronouncement by Jesus.

The transfiguration in this way serves as a foretaste of,

foretaste of the fulfillment of the coming of the kingdom of God in power

after Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension.

In Luke 19, 12, Jesus tells a parable that's meant to be a corrective to people

who suppose that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

Jesus says to them,

A noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Jesus speaking of himself.

He's going to go into a far country.

He's going to die.

He's going to be raised.

He's going to ascend to the right hand of the Father.

And he's going to be that son of man in Daniel 7, 13, 14,

approach to God, the ancient of days,

and receive from him eternal dominion and authority and a kingdom.

That's when the son of man comes into his kingdom

and the kingdom comes in power.

And this is why immediately before he is crucified,

Jesus says this in Matthew 26, 64,

from now on you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power

and coming on the clouds of heaven.

So that's the fulfillment,

but the transfiguration is a foretaste and a preview of that coming reality.

It's like a movie trailer.

It's not the full thing,

but it's made up of the real thing.

It's a glimpse of the real thing.

Verse 1 continues,

And after six days,

Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, his brother,

and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

Jesus usually travels everywhere with his 12 apostles,

but there are especially intimate occasions

when he takes only his inner circle of Peter, James, and John.

For example, three occasions are noted in the Synoptic Gospels

when he is raising up Jairus' daughter from the dead.

He only has with him Peter, James, and John.

When he goes into the Garden of Gethsemane

and leaves the rest of the apostles there to go in further

to pray and agonize before God,

he only takes with him Peter, James, and John.

And so likewise, here at the transfiguration,

it's only Peter, James, and John who get to behold this vision.

And why these three in particular?

It doesn't say,

but they are each crucial foundational building blocks

of the church of Christ.

Peter, as we talked about a few weeks ago,

is the leader among the apostles.

He's the tip of the spear.

He's the one, he's the rock on whom Jesus said,

I will build my church.

James is the first of the 12 apostles

to be martyred in Acts chapter 12, verse 1.

Acts 12:1

And John is the beloved disciple

who wrote the last gospel, the gospel of John,

and the last book of the Bible, the Revelation.

He is known as the apostle of love and light

because those themes of love and light

dominate his letters and all of his writings.

And they're prominent themes,

more prominent in John's writings

than any other New Testament authors.

It's these three that go along with Jesus

up a high mountain by themselves.

And I think having three of them is no accident

because according to biblical Old Testament criteria,

a charge may be established only on the testimony

of two or three witnesses, Deuteronomy 17, 6.

So three is in one sense the minimal number

of witnesses that is required

to give credible testimony regarding the transfiguration

of Jesus and his identity as the son of God.

So recounting this event later in 2 Peter 1, 16 to 18,

Peter writes,

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths

when we made known to you the power

and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father

and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory,

this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.

We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven

for we were with him on the holy mountain.

So there needed to be three

to bear witness to who Jesus is, his identity.

And what is this holy mountain

where the transfiguration takes place?

Mountains are often the place of divine revelation,

divine encounter in scripture.

The high mountains function in some ways

as a halfway point, a bridge between heaven and earth.

In fact, you could write and trace

almost the entire redemptive history

from just looking at what happens on mountains in scripture.

The first creation, the Garden of Eden,

was on a mountain.

Genesis doesn't tell us that,

but Ezekiel 28, 13 to 14 does.

It says that Eden, the Garden of God,

was on the holy mountain of God.

And then after humanity's fall

and after their utter depravity,

God judges the earth with a flood covering it.

And after the floodwaters subside

and new creation is born,

and where is that new creation born?

On the mountain,

mountain of Ararat.

And of course, one of the most famous mountains,

Mount Horeb,

which is frequently called the Mountain of God

and known, better known as Mount Sinai,

the two probably just refer to the same.

Sinai might refer to the region

because there is also called Wilderness of Sinai.

And maybe Horeb is the peak in a similar way.

Mount Everest is the peak within the Himalayas.

It was at Horeb that God appeared to Moses

in the burning bush in Exodus 3.

It was in Horeb that God,

that descended in the cloud of smoke

and fire and thunder and lightning and earthquake

in Exodus 19 to 24

to give to Israelites the Ten Commandments.

It was at Horeb that Moses, Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu,

and the 70 elders of Israel

ascended at least partway up Mount Horeb in Exodus

to behold God

and to eat with Him.

It was from Horeb that God declared His name

and passed before Moses

declaiming the Lord, the Lord,

the compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger and abounding

in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Exodus 34.

Similarly, it was at Horeb in 1 Kings 19

when after confronting the prophets of Baal

and defeating them in a spectacular showdown,

Elijah flees Jezebel,

who is trying to kill him.

He ends up at Mount Horeb

where the Lord God meets with Elijah

and speaks to him.

And similar to how Moses took up Aaron,

and Nadab, and Abihu up Mount Horeb

to see God,

here Jesus takes Peter, James, and John

up a high mountain

to behold the divine glory of the Son.

And it says in verse 2

that Jesus was transfigured before them

and His face shone like the sun

and His clothes became white as light.

Only heavenly beings are described

in such a manner.

Only those who are in the presence of God Himself

in His throne room.

At Jesus' resurrection and ascension,

angelic beings appear

and they are described in Matthew 28 verse 3

Matthew 28:3

as having an appearance like lightning

and His clothing white as snow.

This is the glory that prophet Daniel saw

in his vision of the Son of Man.

In Daniel chapter 10 verse 5 to 6,

Daniel 10:5–6

This man was clothed in linen.

His body was like beryl.

His face like the appearance of lightning.

His eyes like flaming torches.

Try to imagine that for a moment.

Jesus is transfigured before your very eyes.

His face shines like the sun.

Imagine that brilliance.

People say that a tiny piece of the sun

the size of a thumbnail

is brighter,

is as bright as a million candles

shining at once.

We can't even stare at the sun

without its brilliant light

burning our retina.

The sun is the brightest thing

people see day after day.

The only thing brighter than the sun

is lightning.

The face of Jesus

when it shines with divine glory

is compared to both the sun

and the lightning

in the scriptures

because they're the brightest things

known to human experience.

And what is this supposed to reveal

about Jesus?

What Peter declared earlier on?

That he is the Christ,

the Son of God.

Because God is described

in Psalm 104 verse 2

Psalms 104:2

as covering himself with light,

as with a garment.

Because as 1 Timothy 6.16 says,

God dwells in unapproachable light.

1 John 1.5,

God is light

and in him is no darkness at all.

These descriptions capture

the perfect holiness

and radiance of God.

In God there is no imperfection,

no blemish,

no evil,

no sin.

Even in the brightest

and sunniest places on earth

in the world

there are lurking shadows.

There are dark,

there's darkness everywhere we go

but in God there is no such thing.

He is the Father of lights

with whom there is no variation

or shadow due to change.

Can you imagine such perfection?

Can you imagine such beauty?

All that is good

and beautiful in this world

are but dim reflections

of the glory of God.

Even the most transcendent

of arts and music

do not attain perfection.

Perfection eludes

all of our human endeavors.

But God is perfection.

What is it like

to behold such beauty?

Jonathan Edwards

reflecting on God's glory

and beauty wrote this.

For as God

is infinitely

the greatest being

so he is allowed

to be infinitely

the most beautiful

and excellent.

And all the beauty

to be found

throughout the whole creation

is but the reflection

of the diffused beams

of that being

who hath an infinite fullness

of brightness and glory.

God is the foundation

and fountain

of all being

and all beauty.

Isn't this our

dearest hope?

Blessed are the pure in heart

for they shall see God.

Now

it says in 1 Corinthians 13

we see in a mirror dimly

but then

face to face

now I know in part

but then

I shall know fully

even as I have

been fully known.

Imagine that.

Knowing God

fully

as you have been

fully known

by God himself.

One day

we shall be

like him

because we shall

see him

as he

is.

It says in

1 John 3

2.

Isn't that

our dearest hope?

Isn't the dearest hope

of the beloved

to behold

the lover?

One thing

have I asked

of the Lord

and this

I will seek

after

to dwell

in the house

of the Lord

all the days

of my life

and to gaze

upon the beauty

of the Lord

and to inquire

in his temple.

Peter,

James,

and John

have the privilege

of beholding

Jesus face

to face

in his

divine glory.

But as they

behold Jesus

they are

distracted

by the presence

of two

prominent

individuals

from the Old Testament.

Moses and Elijah

who are talking

with Jesus.

I think there are

several reasons

why Moses and Elijah

in particular

show up here.

Many people have said

Moses represents

the law.

Elijah represents

the prophets

and that together

the law

and the prophets

and therefore

their coming down

now is a visual

representation

of what Jesus

taught in Matthew

5.17

that he is the one

who fulfills

the law

and the prophets.

That's certainly

possible.

I think there's

maybe even more

immediate reasons

contextually.

First,

both Moses

and Elijah

were closely

associated

with Jewish

messianic

expectations.

We already know

from Matthew 16.14

that the crowds

were speculating

that Jesus

might be Elijah

or he might be

one of the prophets.

Since Malachi 4.5

prophesied

that Elijah

would come

before the coming

of God,

they expected,

they waited

for an Elijah.

Similarly,

Deuteronomy 18.15

prophesied

that God

would raise up

for his people

a prophet

like Moses.

So again,

they were expecting

someone like Moses

to come again.

And the fact

that both

Moses and Elijah

met supernatural

ends

fueled this

messianic

fervor

because Elijah,

as you remember,

did not die.

He was carried

up to heaven

in a whirlwind

in chariots

of fire,

2 Kings 2.11.

And Moses,

likewise,

even though he did

die,

it says in Deuteronomy

34.6,

it says that

God himself

buried him

so that no man

knows where he

was buried.

So it is no

coincidence that

these two figures

in particular

appear in light

of these messianic

expectations.

And secondly,

both Moses

and Elijah

are individuals

in the Old Testament

who came

tantalizingly close

to seeing God

in the Old Testament.

They are the only

two individuals

of whom it is said

in the Old Testament

that the Lord

God personally

passed by

in front of them

to reveal himself.

In Exodus 33-34

at Mount Horeb,

God put Moses

in the cleft

of a rock

and then covered

him so that

he cannot see

his face

lest he die.

And then he

passed before him

so that Moses

could see his back.

And then when

Moses saw

God's back,

he fell face

down on the ground

and worshipped him.

Similarly,

in 1 Kings 19,

again,

at Mount Horeb,

God told Elijah

to stand

on the mount

before the Lord

and then God

proceeded to pass

by him.

But he says repeatedly

that Elijah did not

see God.

He only heard

his voice.

And when he hears

God's voice,

Elijah's response

is similar to Moses.

He wraps his face

with his cloak

so as not to see

God.

God.

And God,

in his grace,

reveals to Moses

and Elijah

in this instance

at the transfiguration

what they did not

get to behold

during their life

on earth.

Again,

on a holy mountain,

they get to behold

the glory of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

Christ.

But Peter,

as he has a tendency

to do,

puts his foot

in his mouth.

Verse 4,

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.

In their accounts

of the transfiguration,

Mark and Luke

explicitly comment

that Peter

did not know

what he was saying.

He's confused.

He says in Mark 9, 6,

he did not know

what to say

for they were terrified.

Awestruck,

flat-footed,

Peter awkwardly tries

to make himself useful.

It's a simple,

hospitable gesture

to extend

the stay of the guests.

Whoa,

some really important

people are here.

How can we extend

this a little longer?

It's good for us

to be here.

Let's linger a little while.

Let's make some tents.

I could do that.

I'm a fisherman,

but I know how to do that.

The import of

what he's saying

escapes him

because the word tent

is the same word

that is translated

in the Greek translation

of the Old Testament

as tabernacle.

So Peter,

Peter's offer,

he recalls

the feast

of the tabernacle,

which recalls

how God's people

dwelled in tents

during their time

in the wilderness

and how they built

for God himself

a tabernacle

to dwell in,

the tent of meeting

where they met

with God.

So Peter is trying

to honor these

esteemed guests

by making three tents.

However,

this well-meaning gesture

is very misguided.

It's so misguided

that while Peter

is still talking,

he says,

in verse five,

God interrupts him.

Hold it.

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.

While Peter

is entertaining

the thought

of honoring

the three esteemed men

with tents,

God the Father

stops him

right in his tracks

and then with his voice

puts a bright

neon sign arrow

pointing to Jesus

only and says,

this is my beloved son

with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

This is reminiscent

of Jesus' baptism

when he was baptized

in chapter three.

The spirit of God

descends upon him

like a dove

and the father

cries out from heaven

saying,

this is my beloved son

with whom I am well pleased.

We saw all three persons

of the Trinity

there at Jesus' baptism

and we see the same thing

in our passage this morning.

God the Father speaks

from the cloud of glory,

his delight over his son.

God the son

is transfigured

to reveal his divine glory

and God the spirit

appears in the form

of this numinous cloud.

Look at how this cloud

is described in verse six.

Behold,

a bright cloud

overshadowed them.

That's a rare word

in the New Testament,

overshadow.

It's used in the gospels

to describe the transfiguration

only with one exception,

Luke 135,

where the angel Gabriel

announces to Mary,

the Holy Spirit

shall come upon you

and the power

of the Most High

will overshadow you.

Therefore,

the child to be born

will be called

the Son of God.

Overshadowing

in the gospels

is what the Holy Spirit does.

It is no surprise

in that the ancient

Greek translation

of Exodus 40, 35,

which describes

the cloud of God's presence,

the glory of God

filling the tabernacle,

the tenth of meeting,

it uses the exact same

Greek word

to say that the cloud

overshadowed the temple,

the tabernacle.

This is what

later Jewish theology

called the Shekinah glory,

the dwelling

of the visible glory of God.

This is the Holy Spirit.

And the Spirit of God

manifests the glory of God

as a bright cloud.

It's the same great cloud

with brightness around it

that Ezekiel saw

in his vision

of the glory of God

in Ezekiel 1, 4.

But if you think about it,

a bright cloud

is an oxymoron.

If you look up

a thesaurus

for the word cloud,

it will suggest

words like darkness,

shadow,

shroud,

not things

that you would describe

as radiant or bright.

When something is clouded,

it is hidden.

But this is a bright,

radiant cloud

that gives forth light.

This paradoxical description

captures

how the incomprehensible,

unknowable God

reveals himself

and makes himself known.

Isaiah 45, 15 says,

truly,

you are a God

who hides himself,

O God of Israel,

the Savior.

There is knowledge of God

that is hidden from us.

We can never fully

wrap our minds

around who God is.

We are too puny for that.

And yet,

throughout history,

we see that God

graciously condescends,

comes down to our level,

to reveal himself

to us time and time again.

And we read earlier

from our call to worship,

it says in Hebrews 1, 1-2,

long ago,

at many times

and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers

by the prophets.

But in these last days,

he has spoken to us

by his Son,

whom he appointed

the heir of all things,

through whom also

he created the world.

He is the radiance

of the glory of God

and the exact imprint

of his nature.

God has revealed

himself to us

in his Son.

No one has seen God.

God,

the only Son

who is at the Father's side,

he has made him known,

John 1, 18.

This is why Jesus can say

in John 14, 9,

whoever has seen me

has seen the Father.

And in John 14,

John 10, 30,

I and the Father are one.

All the fullness of God

is pleased to dwell

in Jesus,

the Son.

So do you see

what's happening here?

The triune God

is revealing himself

in Jesus

in a way

that he has never

revealed himself before.

Here is Jesus Christ,

God's Son,

the radiance of the glory

of God

and the exact imprint

of his nature,

radiating the very

glory of God.

What I would give

to see that.

And one day soon,

we shall all see that,

all those who belong

to Christ.

So God,

the Father,

is rebuking Peter here.

Peter's

poor guy, right?

He just got rebuked

by Jesus.

Now he gets rebuked

by God,

the Father.

No, no,

there is no need

for three tents.

Moses and Elijah

have not appeared

to you,

James and John,

so that you can

gawk at them.

No,

they are fans.

They're here

to see Jesus.

And what they could

not do previously

during their lives

on earth,

their greatest desire

that did not bear fruit

in their life

on earth,

now comes to

glorious fruition

as they behold

Jesus Christ

whom they have

been waiting for.

Listen to him.

Don't worry about

these other guys.

The days of the tabernacle

and the temple

are no more

because John 1, 14

says,

the word became

flesh and dwelt

among us

and we have

seen his glory.

Glory is of the only

son from the father.

And that word,

dwelt among us,

is literally

he pitched a tent

among us.

He tabernacled

among us.

Jesus is himself

the very dwelling

place of God.

He is the new

temple,

it says in John 2,

19 to 20.

And all who are

united to

Jesus Christ

by faith,

God is building

into his dwelling

place.

You all are

the dwelling

place of God.

The house

of his spirit.

You don't need

tents anymore.

You don't need

tabernacles anymore.

Imagine how shocking

this revelation

would have been

for these good Jews,

Peter, James, and John.

John 9, 28 to 29,

a man born blind

from,

a man who was born blind

is healed by Jesus

and he starts to

bear witness to Jesus

and tells people

about Jesus.

I once was blind

but now I see

and then the Pharisees

sneer at him

and they revile him

saying,

you are his disciple

but we are disciples

of Moses.

We know that God

has spoken to Moses

but as for this man,

we do not know

where he comes from.

That's how much

the Jews revered

and trusted in Moses

but in the transfiguration,

God the Father

draws his lines

very, very clearly.

As Hebrews 3,

3 to 6 says,

for Jesus has been counted

worthy of more glory

than Moses.

As much more glory

as the builder

of a house

has more honor

than the house itself.

For every house

is built by someone

but the builder

of all things

is God.

He's saying Jesus

is God.

Now Moses was faithful

in all God's house

as a servant

to testify

to the things

that were to be spoken later

but Christ is faithful

over God's house

as a son.

Moses is merely

a servant.

Christ is God's son.

When Moses came down

from Mount Sinai

after talking with God,

the skin of his face

shone, it says.

But this glory

as we see

in 2 Corinthians 3,

13 and 15

is a fading glory.

It's merely

an external reflection

of the glory of God

that he had just been

in the presence of.

But in the case of Jesus,

his glory

shines from his essence,

from his very being,

from the inside out.

This is an essential glory,

the unveiling

of the divine glory

that Jesus,

earlier we saw from John,

that he said

he had before

with the Father

in eternity past.

Moses' light

was the light

of the moon,

merely reflecting

the light of the sun.

Jesus' light

is the light

of the sun.

So the Father says,

this is my beloved son.

Yeah, sure,

Moses' beloved servant,

great.

Elijah,

this is my beloved son

with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

This is why in verse 8,

I love this,

when they lifted up

their eyes,

they saw no one

but Jesus only.

all three transfiguration accounts

in Matthew,

Mark,

and Luke

emphasize this,

that at the end,

Moses and Elijah

were gone.

No one

but Jesus

only

remained.

Why?

Because

Jesus

only

is the Christ,

the son

of the living God.

Because

Jesus

only,

there's salvation

in no one else,

for there is no other name

under heaven

given to mankind

by which we must be saved,

but the name of Jesus

only.

Because

there is one God

and one mediator

between God and man,

and that's the man,

Christ Jesus.

It says in 1 Timothy 2, 5.

Because

Jesus says

in John 14, 6,

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life,

and no one

comes to the Father

except through me.

because

Jesus

is the only one.

So no,

I don't mean

to be rude,

but Jesus

and Moses

and Elijah

are not in the same category.

No civic

or religious leader,

no wise man

or guru

or monk

or prophet

in all of human history

is in the same category

as Jesus.

Jesus

we're talking about this

in our CG.

It upsets me

that his name

gets mentioned

alongside all these people

as if he's just one of them.

One of many.

He's not one of many.

There's only one.

I pray,

this is my prayer for you

that whenever you come

to worship here,

you gather

with Trinity Cambridge Church

that you leave

with an eye full

of Jesus

only.

No one

but Jesus

only.

It's quite the privilege

for Peter,

James,

and John,

isn't it?

But this glorious vision

is predictably

terrifying

for the disciples.

It says in verse 6,

when the disciples

heard this,

heard the Father speak,

they fell on their faces

and were terrified.

This was the response

of Moses

when he fell upon his face

on the ground

and worshiped God.

This is what Elijah did

when he wrapped his face

to cover himself

from the presence of God.

This is what Isaiah did

when he was called

and saw,

Woe is me,

for I am lost,

for I am a man

of unclean lips

and I dwell in the midst

of a people

of unclean lips,

for my eyes

have seen the King,

the Lord of hosts.

This is how

every sinful human being

reacts

when they are faced

with the light

of the glory of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

He is pure light

and there is no darkness

in him at all.

God,

it says,

is of purer eyes

than to see evil.

So,

in Habakkuk 1.13,

so holy is he

that the priests

and the Levites

were allowed

to enter the tabernacle,

only the priests

and the Levites,

so that it says

in Numbers 18,

21 to 22,

the people of Israel

do not come near

the tent of meeting

lest they bear sin

and die.

How can a sinful man

like me

with overweening pride

self-sufficient arrogance

and self-focused insecurity

and selfish impatience

and sinful anger?

How can a man like me

enter into the cloud

of divine glory

and behold the face of God?

I will bear my sin and die.

My sinfulness alone

is disqualifying enough,

but to make this point

even clearer,

when he gives the requirements

for the priests

in Leviticus 21,

16 to 21,

he says,

it's not enough

that you're a descendant

of Aaron,

of the priestly class.

No,

any,

any Levite

that has any blemish

is not allowed

in the presence of God.

And these so-called blemishes

get quite specific.

No hunchback

or a dwarf

or a man

with a defect

in his sight

or an itching disease

or scabs

to list just a few.

This is not because

God is an,

what do you call it,

an ableist

or whatever.

Is that right?

But because,

it's not because

that because he's,

it's because he's trying

to teach us

that God is holy.

Approaching the living God

is no casual thing.

It is a fearful thing.

And no man

with any blemish,

any sin,

any imperfection

can approach him.

I'm not a hunchback

or a dwarf,

but I do have

ugly hunched shoulders.

I'm diminutive

in stature.

And I have all kinds

of scabs

and scars

and blemishes

that only Hannah

has ever seen.

Right?

How am I supposed

to approach God?

Soon our city

is going to be

blanketed with snow,

pristine snow,

if the weather

focus is right.

And I love

that part

of our city,

our area.

I would miss

seeing the snow

if I were to move

away from here

to a place

that has no snow.

It's so beautiful.

Pure.

But soon thereafter,

probably within hours,

the white snow

is going to be

soiled

by our muddy shoes,

blue salt,

and dog urine

and feces.

Have you ever felt

hesitant

to step on

virgin snow?

Wake up early

in the morning,

go out to Gore Park,

which I've done

in the past,

not a single footstep

on the field.

Like,

you feel hesitant.

I don't want to be

the first person

to ruin that.

Have you ever wished

that snow could stay

unsullied

like they are

when they first

freshly fall?

What sinner

dares to approach

the pure

and holy God

with their

dirty hands

and unclean lips

and impure hearts?

What sinner

dares to do that?

We must be cleansed.

We must be purified.

But how?

This is why

the glorious

Son of God

must be,

it is necessary

that he be

the suffering

Son of Man.

Jesus must die

as the atoning

sacrifice for sin

to cleanse us

of all unrighteousness.

This is why

Jesus again

returns to this

unpopular topic

of his impending death

in verses 10 to 13.

He tells them

the prophesied

Elijah already

has come.

That was John the Baptist.

He's already prepared

the way.

And these Jewish leaders

and these Gentiles

did to him

whatever they wanted.

They beheaded him

and killed him.

And you know what?

The Son of Man

is going to suffer

in the same way.

This is why

Jesus commands them

in verse 9,

tell no one the vision

until the Son of Man

is raised from the dead.

Because if the other

disciples find out

about what happened

on the mountain

and what the

transfiguration

that took place,

it will hinder

his mission

to seek and save

the lost

by dying on the cross

for their sin.

They will not allow it.

No, no, no.

You are the glorious

Son of God.

That's not the path

for you.

But Jesus knew

that was the path

for him.

Notice how

this whole experience

was intended

to prepare

Peter,

James,

and John

as witnesses

in verse 2.

It says,

He was transfigured

before them.

Verse 3,

Behold,

there appeared

to them

Moses and Elijah

talking with Jesus.

Verse 5,

Behold,

a bright cloud

overshadowed them

and God the Father

speaks to them

saying,

listen to him.

This whole experience

is designed

to help Peter,

James,

and John

to see

and never forget

that Jesus

is the glorious

Son of God

because their faith

will be tested.

They will see

this glorious

Son of God

get flogged

and sped on

and stripped naked

and crucified

as a suffering

Son of Man.

But they must

remember this vision

that the death

and the resurrection

of the Messiah

is God's salvation

plan after all.

Just because

Jesus was born

of Mary,

just because

he was a baby

like us

we all once were,

just because

Jesus walked

the dusty roads

of the Middle East

like millions

before him

and since,

just because

Jesus died

a shameful

death on the cross,

do not be tempted

to disbelieve

that he is

the glorious

Son of God.

Jesus needed

to die

on the cross.

It is there

he dies

and he spills

his blood

because blood

is what atones

for sin

and as the glorious

Son of God

his blood

is sufficient

to atone

for all of our sins

so that when we

put our trust

in Jesus

and when we

confess our sins

and all of our

soiled snow

and repent of it,

as Brittany read

from Isaiah

1.18

this morning

in her prophecy,

though your sins

are as red

as scarlet,

it shall be

as white

as snow.

When I was

giving you guys

earlier

a biblical

theology

of mountains,

I left out

one very,

very important

mountain,

perhaps the most

important mountain,

it's Mount Zion

where Solomon

builds his temple

where atoning

sacrifices

for sin

are made

and that mountain

has another name,

we find this out

in 2 Chronicles 3.1

this mountain,

Mount Zion

is also called

in earlier era

Mount Moriah

where Abraham

first offered

his only son,

his beloved son,

Isaac,

as a sacrifice

and God

provided a substitute,

a ram,

to die

in the place

of his son

so that he might

live

do you think

God's been

planning this

all along?

Yeah.

From Mount Moriah,

the place

of sacrifice

that's substitute

to Mount Zion

where sacrifices

offered,

lamb is offered

on the day

of atonement

and then

to the

Mount

of crucifixion

where we all

deserve to die

and God

gives instead

his only son.

If Mount Horeb

is the place

where we receive

God's law,

Mount Zion,

Mount Moriah

is where we receive

the mercy

and grace

of God.

So,

all you,

my brothers and sisters

who long

for that

Mount

of Transfiguration,

remember,

that path

to Mount

Transfiguration

leads through

the Mount

of crucifixion.

It is when we

behold

the light

of the knowledge

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

the glory of God

revealed in the face

of Jesus Christ

who died for us

on that cross.

that's when we

are redeemed,

forgiven,

united with Christ

and

sanctified

to be more

and more like him.

And this is why

Jesus gives

that main

exhortion,

anyone who would

come after me

must carry his

cross and follow me.

yes,

we long

for that

glory,

the divine glory

of the Son of God

and we will see it

one day.

We will be

transported

into heavenly

eternal ecstasy

and when we

behold that

beatific vision,

that blessed

vision of God

seeing him

face to face

and we long

for it

and we wait

for it,

we pine for it

but as we do that

we live this life

knowing that

we must carry

our cross

through the

mount of

crucifixion

and then

we will get

there.

Let's pray

together.

Heavenly

Father,

please,

please

enlarge our

vision of

your Son

Jesus Christ.

oh,

Father,

if we could

see

his beauty,

oh,

all these

trifling

temptations

of this world

would lose

all their

luster.

open up

the eyes

of our

hearts

so that

by eyes

of faith,

Lord,

we might

behold

Jesus

more clearly

today than

we ever

have before.

In his

precious name

we pray.

Amen.