It Is Good To Be Here – Mt 17: 1 - 9
Intro: Have you ever been to a concert or a performance that was so exceptional that you didn’t want to leave. – Mountaintop experiences. This story is in 3 gospels (Mt, Mk & Lk)
I. Verses 2 Don’t know about you, but I think I would have been scared to death. Word “metamorphoomai” = to undergo and metamorphosis.
A. Verse 3 How did they know it was Moses & Elijah? Were they wearing nametags? Lawgiver and prophet. – 2 greatest men of faith.
B. Verse 4 – Why was it “good to be there?” It was a mountaintop experience. Peter didn’t want it to end.
C. Perhaps confirmation of their faith in Jesus.
II. Verse 5 – The disciples also experience a metamorphoomai, a change – they are changed from happiness to fear.
A. What caused the change? – Verse 5b – “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
B. If we put an emphasis on the word HIM, it might indicate that God wasn’t so pleased with Peter, James and John. – Is this why they were afraid?
C. When we come to this place of worship, we may say, “It is good for us to be here.” But when God speaks are we afraid?
III. We just turn a deaf ear, pretend we didn’t hear or say I’ve done my share, it’s time for someone else to do.
A. Would we want to stay here – like Peter we want to stay on the mountaintop, continue on our religious high and not go down to the valley.
B. Verse 7 – “Get up.” – “Don’t be afraid” – If we do as God commands, we will “listen to Jesus”, get up and not be afraid.
C. We tend to read verse 9 like this, “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone…’”
Conclu: Peter, James and John descended the mountain with Jesus. They were changed, transformed, changed from doubt to certainty. Changed from inactivity to service. --- It IS good for us to be here; but, what about when we get beyond the church doors?
