Scripture: Luke 9:28-36; Exodus 34:29-35 and Ps. 99
Theme: Christ's Transfiguration
Proposition: Luke shares with us the importance of 1. Prayer 2. Christ's Mission and 3. Our Call to Discipleship
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son who came to take away the sin of the world!
Today is Transfiguration Sunday and the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany. Beginning this Wednesday night with Ash Wednesday we enter into the season of Lent. Then in just a few short weeks we will once again be celebrating Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
Passages like the one we find in Luke 9:28-36 can be rather difficult to preach. It's a very familiar passage for most of us and yet, one that is difficult to bring into our contemporary setting. After all, how many of our prayer meetings have ended with a transfiguration? How many of our prayer meetings have experienced a visit by Moses and Elijah? How many of them have experienced Jesus in His full glory and heard the voice of His Heavenly Father? What Luke writes here is otherworldly. It's a passage that is full of awe, wonder and worship.
That does not mean however, that we cannot glean some deep spiritual truths from this passage and others like it.1 By no means. Nor should we avoid them. It just means that we must "hold them ... in their full extraordinariness rather than reduce them to fit the contours of our experiences."2
With that in mind, let's look at this passage for some spiritual truths that it does share.
I. The Transfiguration Story shares with us the Primacy of Prayer
St. Luke was a prayer warrior. He believed in prayer and wrote a great deal about prayer. He wanted to teach his readers how to pray. He wanted them to understand the importance of the spiritual discipline of prayer in their individual and corporate lives. He takes great care in sharing with us the importance of prayer in the life of Jesus. Luke was a man of prayer and it shows through his writings.
So, we should not be surprised at the importance that prayer plays in our passage. The whole reason for Jesus inviting Peter, James and John to go up with him to the top of the mountain was to experience a spiritual prayer retreat. They made that incredible journey lasting at least six days to spend time in prayer. In Jesus' day it would have taken about three days of hard mountain climbing to get to pinnacle of Mt. Hermon ( 9, 232 feet). More than likely it was at least a 13 mile walk up the mountain and a 13 mile walk back down the mountain.3 This was no leisurely walk in the park and it was all for a prayer meeting.4
Their goal was to spend some quality time alone with God in both corporate and individual prayer. For Jesus, prayer was a love language he enjoyed with His Heavenly Father. St. Augustine said that "True, whole prayer is nothing but love." Richard Foster speaks of prayer being God's invitation for us to come home. Foster shares that for "Far too long we have been in a far country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country of climb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation." 5 God calls us to come away and spend time with Him. .
Genesis chapters one and two reveal to us that humanity was created to pray; to talk with the LORD. Adam and Eve enjoyed "cool of the day" fellowship with the LORD in which they would "pray"; that is , have deep conversations with the LORD about their day, their adventures, their lives, their dreams and hopes. For Adam and Eve, prayer was as natural as breathing. It still can be in our lives.
Both individual and corporate prayer is highlighted in this passage. Had Jesus simply wanted to get alone with His Heavenly Father, He would not have invited Peter, James and John. Jesus invited them because Jesus wanted them to understand the importance of corporate prayer and experience the power of corporate prayer.
It is true that we are all called to spend time with the LORD alone. It is also true that we are called to spend time with the LORD together as a group of brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is not by accident that the Lord's Prayer begins with "OUR FATHER" rather than "My Father". By its very nature the Lord's prayer is a corporate prayer. It is not by accident that Jesus tells us that God's House is a house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7; Luke 19:46). It is God's intention that when we come together we pray together. It is not by accident that the 120 were praying together in one accord on the day of Pentecost.
Individual prayer is a privilege and a necessity. Corporate prayer is a privilege and a necessity. Corporate prayer does not require a big gathering. In our passage the prayer meeting consisted of Jesus, Peter, James and John. All too often we focus on numbers thinking that if we have great numbers we will see great results. Or that we need great numbers in order to pray. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20 "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Jesus understood that at times there would not be tens or hundreds or thousands of people who would gather to pray together. The focus should never be on the number that gather for prayer but instead on the unity and power that corporate prayer can bring.
We cheat ourselves by not gathering together for corporate prayer. It is true that we can all choose to prayer in our individual homes and during our individual times with God, but this passage teaches us the vital importance of corporate prayer times. We should all be challenged to be a part of a prayer team. Most prayer teams are somewhere between four to seven people who gather together for a time of prayer.
II. Jesus' transfiguration teaches us the True Nature of Jesus' Mission
As Jesus and His disciples traveled up that mountain they went by more than twenty different temple sites dedicated to all kinds of gods and goddesses. There were shrines dedicated to the old Egyptian and Canaanite gods along with the more recent gods and goddesses of the Romans and Greeks. Mt. Hermon was viewed as a sacred site in which one could encounter one of the gods or goddesses. Scholars tell us that this might have been why Peter felt so impressed to add three new sites that would be dedicated to Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
However, to build those sites would have gotten off the track of who and what Jesus was all about. Jesus' mission was not to build a shrine in his honor or to the honor of Moses and/or Elijah. Jesus' true mission was take away the sin of the world.
The conversation that was going on between Jesus, Moses and Elijah was about Jesus' true mission. It was about the finality of Jesus. It was about Jesus as the Son of God enduring the suffering and eventual death on the Cross of Calvary. It was about the subject of sin, death and hell. It was about Jesus being obedient to the point of death, even death on the Cross of Calvary. And I am sure it was about the resurrection and the joy of salvation that would be open to all mankind.
At times when we read this passage we forget these truths. We tend to focus on the brightness of Jesus' face and the brilliant splendor of his clothing. We focus on the presence of the Lawgiver Moses and the Prophet Elijah. But, we need to focus on what they were talking about and that was the true mission of Jesus.
They confirmed to Jesus that His true mission was the way of the Cross. For it would be by the Cross that Jesus would secure man's salvation, redemption, renewal and restoration. It would be by the Cross of Jesus that mankind will be brought back into harmony with God. "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10 ESV).
Jesus knew that mission and was committed to that mission - For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). Jesus came to our earth to die so that you and I may life. Jesus came as the Good Shepherd who would lay down his life for His Sheep. Praise His Name!
Mel Gibson's movie, PASSION OF THE CHRIST, is raw and unsettling. If you have seen it you know what I mean. You can't watch it without being offended about what happened to Jesus. The agony He suffered in body, mind and spirit. The torture he endured for you and me this morning. I don't see how anyone could watch it and not be convicted of their own sinfulness. The movie is so unsettling that you want to turn away and say that it didn't really happen that way.
Many people want a more sanitized version of the atonement. Many want a Jesus who goes to the cross without any bloodshed, without any pain and suffering. Many want an Easter Morning without a Good Friday. In fact, in many places congregations no longer celebrate either Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. They simply go from the high of Palm Sunday to the high of Resurrection Sunday. But to do so is dishonest or at least dubious at best to the mission of Jesus. There is no Resurrection Sunday without Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. There is no salvation outside of the passion of the Christ; without the pain, the suffering and the death on the cross.
Our salvation came at a great cost. God gave Himself for you and me. It cost God the Son everything He had to save humanity. This morning, we are so thankful for His love for all of us. We praise Him as Savoir and Lord of our lives for "... at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10 - 11)
III. Jesus' Transfiguration reminds us that as Christ-Disciples Jesus is our Soul/Sole Focus
Our passage in Luke focuses on prayer (both individual and corporate), it focuses on Jesus' mission (the Cross) and it ends by focusing on the true journey of discipleship.
While Peter was making his case to create three shrines, one for Jesus, another for Moses and still another for Elijah, God the Father stepped in and engulfed everyone into a cloud of His Shekinah Glory. Everyone and everything is surrounded by the holiness of Heaven.
Out of that cloud comes the voice of our Heavenly Father. It is a voice of singularity with a single message - "THIS IS MY SON, MY CHOSEN ONE, LISTEN TO HIM!"
"LISTEN TO HIM"
Recently, I saw a statistic suggesting that as high as 85 percent of what we know we have learned through listening.6 That is an astounding statistic. The same article also stated that we spend less than half our time listening and that we comprehend less that 25% of what we hear at any given time. Therefore, it is imperative that we become good listeners if we are going to learn.
However, we live in a world of noise. We have millions of voices that are attempting to get our full attention. This afternoon the Denver Broncos will be playing the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. During that game there will be all kinds of products being advertized. This year CBS was able to as much as five million dollars for a mere 30 second commercial. Added all together, in TV ads alone, CBS will be bringing in millions and millions of dollars regardless of who wins the game or how great a game is played (estimated to be over 300 million in ad revenue alone). Approx. 41 different companies have signed up to pitch their products. 41 different companies doing their best to get our attention. That is a lot of noise.
Notice, what God the Father does here on Mt. Hermon. What God does for those disciples, we must learn to do for ourselves. First, of all we know that the Father surrounded everyone by a cloud. Now, why does He do that? I believe it was to isolate Peter, James and John, to protect them from any noise and/or distraction. He wanted to get their full and undivided attention.
Inside that cloud, Peter, James and John couldn't see anything but could only hear the Father's voice. That voice made it clear that Jesus was to be the center of attention. The disciples were to focus solely on Jesus. They were to listen to Jesus. They were to obey Jesus. To punctuate that message, the Father simply removed Elijah and Moses from the Mountain. They had become a distraction. When the clouds disappeared, the disciples only saw Jesus. Jesus was all they needed.
Francois Fenelon writes: "Be silent, and listen to God. Let your heart be in such a state of preparation that his Spirit may impress upon you such virtues as will please him. Let all within you listen to him. This silence of all outward and earthly affections and of human thoughts within us in essential if we are to hear his voice."
In C. S. Lewis' little book, The Screwtape Letters6 we read a story that takes on the form of a series of letters from a senior Demon named Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a Junior Tempter. Screwtape has been given the task of teaching Wormwood how to be a good demon and stop the progress of the Kingdom of God on earth. Wormwood is to learn how to tempt people into rebelling against the LORD. Screwtape boasts to Wormwood of the progress that Satan has made in the area of noise. It is Satan's plan that one day all the noise pollution of the earth will finally drown out the melodies and silences of heaven. Satan knows that when we humans listen to all the noise around us we become deaf to the voice of the LORD. And Satan knows that when we become deaf to the voice of the Lord then we become enslaved to him.
To combat that temptation of listening to all the noise around us, we must become disciplined in the area of listening and solitude. We must get away from all the noise and all the confusion of our world and of our lives. We must push back all the needless noise and confusion that exists around us. For without silence we will never be able to hear the voice of Jesus. Without times of silence we will never grow in our spiritual walk. Without times of silence we will never enter into a deep relationship with our LORD.
Jesus tells us that His sheep will be able to hear HIs voice (John 10). Jesus will speak so that they may hear His words, understand them and obey them. But His sheep will only hear Jesus' voice if they are able to discern His voice among all the other voices. In order to do that they must passionately learn how to focus in on Jesus' voice.
One of the dogs that share our living space is a border collie named Alli. Alli is an amazing dog. When we are outside and she really desires to hear us, she is able to move one of her ears and focus it intently toward our voices. Her body language tells you that she is ready to hear, listen and obey what you are getting ready to say. Nothing is more important to her at that moment than to listen to the words of her master.
We need a border collie mentality when it comes to the LORD and our life of discipleship We need a border collie like mentality when it comes to worship. For if we are not careful, we can physically be in the House of the LORD and yet, miss His voice. If, for example during the reading of Scripture, the singing of the songs and the listening to the music we are busy talking to someone else or using our smart phones then we will miss an opportunity to hear the LORD. Our focus will be taken off of the LORD and onto something else. There is plenty of time to for us to have personal conversations, look at our smart phones and do other things before worship and after worship. We should make our worship time a sacred time when we have our border collie ears focused intently on the LORD.
For it is imperative in our time for us to hear what the LORD is saying to us through His Holy Spirit. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." We desperately need to hear how Jesus wants us to live as His disciples. "LISTEN TO HIM" is the only way to be a true disciple. We must listen so that we can know how to receive salvation. We must listen so that we know how to be filled with His Holy Spirit. We must listen so that we know how to love Him and one another. We must listen so that we can reach out to others who need salvation and healing in their lives.
Why is it important to listen so that we can put into practice Jesus words? I will let Jesus tell you why in His own words:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”[Matthew 7:24-27]
This morning, Luke shares with us these three wonderful truths:
a. The importance of prayer - The Primacy of Prayer - both individual and corporate
b. The true mission of Jesus - Jesus came to save all mankind. Jesus came to give His life for mankind. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world.
c. The true way of discipleship is to focus solely on Jesus. The true way of discipleship is "LISTEN TO HIM"
This morning, our hymn of invitation is "I SURRENDER ALL"
1Passages like Abraham and his son on Mt. Moriah, Isaiah at the Temple and Jesus at His baptism.
2Interpretation - A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching - Luke - Fred B. Craddock - page 132
3Based on the information we have concerning a similar mountain -Pike's Peak - http://www.pikes-peak.com/hiking-pikes-peak/
4For a more detailed look at this passage see "I WILL FOLLOW YOU" by Ernie L. Arnold at amazon.com - Chapter Five - THE POWER OF THREE
http://www.amazon.com/Yes-I-Will-Follow-You- ebook/dp/B017ADOQ4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454506566&sr=8- 1&keywords=Ernie+L.+Arnold
5Richard Foster - PRAYER - page 1
6https://www.mapc.com/worship/sermons/2011/03/06/listen-to-him
6"Music and silence--how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell--though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express--no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise--Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile--Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples, and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the Earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. But I admit we are not yet loud enough, or anything like it. Research is in progress. C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, Letter XXII (Collier Books, 1982), 102-103
“Many of the great movements of God can be traced to a small group of people He called together to begin praying.”
― Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
