Four Signs of Jesus:
4-Revealing His Glory
Matthew 17:1-13
by Jim Westmoreland
This week is the fourth message in the series: Four Signs of Jesus. Signs both reveal and point us to understanding Jesus in different ways. The first sign was Baptizing for Ministry. In Jesus baptism he affirmed His ministry to proclaim the Good News to the poor, the oppressed and the weak, and, as His disciples were baptized, they, too, were baptized for ministry, and they were sent to minister to people in Jesus’ name.
The second sign of Jesus was “Come and See” Invitations. Jesus was continually inviting people to “come and see,” to come and learn, taste, experience what Jesus was all about. This attitude should influence how we relate to others and encourage us to also invite people to “come and see” what difference our faith is making in our lives.
Last week, we explored the third sign of Jesus, Calling for Repentance. As He began his ministry He called people to repentance. Before He called the disciples and as he preached to the multitudes, he called them to turn from their sins and turn to God. He still does that today. When we do that, our lives get centered in God. When we do that, the cobwebs and confusion begin to clear as we discern what is important in our lives.
This Sunday is called Transfiguration Sunday, and the fourth sign of Jesus that we will look at today is “Revealing His Glory.” I invite you to turn with me in your bibles or the pew bible to today’s text found in Matthew 17:1-13.
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John 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 dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus, `Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, `This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!' When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, `Get up and do not be afraid.' And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, `Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.' And the disciples asked him, `Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He replied, `Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.”
A brilliant magician was performing on an ocean liner. But every time he did a trick, the Captain's parrot would yell, "It's a trick. He's a phony. That's not magic." Then one evening during a storm, the ship sank while the magician was performing. The parrot and the magician ended up in the same lifeboat. For several days they just glared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Finally the parrot said, "OK, I give up. What did you do with the ship?"
The parrot couldn't explain that last trick! It was too much to comprehend, even for a smart parrot. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Scholars over the years have tried to explain what in the world Peter meant by this suggestion. But, I think trying to find meaning to these words is pointless. Peter was frightened and he just said the first thing that came to him. He simply could not comprehend what was happening.
This story about Jesus going to the mountain with Peter, James and John is found in all four Gospels. Four accounts of the same event suggests the acceptance and significance of this event for the early church. But, it is still hard for us to imagine.
Moments occur in our lives that are incomprehensible. The birth of one's own child is one of those moments. The loss of a loved one is one of those moments. There are mountaintop and valley moments throughout life. We are never ready for them. They arrive unannounced, changing us in irreversible ways. But there is one thing they all have in common. They demand that we be silent and listen. These moments have something to say to us, to teach us.
But too often, our response is like that of Peter, babbling about things that don’t matter because we cannot understand the significance and the meaning of the moment. When Peter does finally quit talking nonsense, a cloud appears, envelopes them, and the voice of God gives this instruction to Peter, James, and John: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!" That's it. Very short. To the point. What Peter said made no sense. What God said had a mountain of meaning.
We struggle with religious language, with finding the right words to express what we are experiencing, to understand the words of others as they describe God. There are both risks and benefits to our common language about God. First, we need to recognize that all human language is limited and inadequate to describe that which is not human, not limited and which is beyond our ability to think or describe. How can we describe God? No wonder Peter had trouble when he started trying to respond on the Mount of Transfiguration.
We commonly use what is called anthropomorphic language to describe God. That means we use humanlike qualities to refer to God. He is referred to as shepherd, king, father and husband. We also refer to His face, His hands, His arms, His breath. Although most references to God use the male images and pronouns, there are also passages in the Old Testament where God's actions and attitudes in relation to Israel are depicted in feminine images. God's mother-love for his child is faithful and unconditional: God knows what it is to carry a child in the womb, to cry out in labor, to give birth. The risk to using this language is 4when we limit God with our words, with our limited understanding. J. B. Phillips writes about this problem in his classic little book, Your God is Too Small. When we do that, we have created a little idol, a little man-made image, a god trapped in the box of our limited understanding.
I believe that the Christian view of God is One who created all that there is, that He created purposefully, that we humans are part of His creation and that we were created uniquely to have a relationship with him. We can use this limited language because it is all that we have. We use our limited experience of relationships to relate to God. We call Him Father, knowing that He is neither male nor female.
How do we describe an experience with the God of all creation? On the mountain one day Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, and “He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white. . . . Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘this is my son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.”
The word for “fear” does not mean like you were afraid of a bully or of heights or the dark. What is meant is awe and reverence. In those days people did not make eye contact with the rulers. God was spoken of a as a Ruler over all rulers. The Transfiguration would have been an overpowering emotional experience. Rational descriptions would have been difficult.
"Girl number twenty unable to define a horse!" says Gradgrind, "Girl number twenty possessed of no facts, in reference to one of the commonest of animals!"
[Even though Sissy's father was a horsebreaker, and she had lived around them all her life, she was a bit perplexed at the demand for a definition and had been speechless. The schoolmaster turns to another student, a boy named Bitzer.]
"Bitzer," said Thomas Gradgrind. "Your definition of a horse."
"Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in the spring; in marshy countries, sheds hoofs, too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth." Bitzer went on with his answer and then finished.
"Now girl number twenty," said Mr. Gradgrind. "You know what a horse is."
This passage from Dickens' Hard Times illustrates beautifully
the spiritual nearsightedness that so often blurs our vision of the
Glory of God. Gradgrind was in the business of facts, empirical
data, and couldn't be bothered with anything else. Of course
Sissy knew what a horse was! She knew better than anyone in
that room, but her knowledge was of a different sort. She was
accustomed to looking past the physical details and beholding
the soul of the thing.
The Transfiguration story tells us who Jesus is, but it is not a physical, theological, scientific or philosophical description of Jesus. It is a sign that points us to the Holy, the Mystery, the Otherness of God. He and the Father are one. He is the Son of God, and we are told to listen to Him. The mystery of the Incarnation is that God came and lived among us in the flesh. He was a human like us, and His name was Jesus. In the Transfiguration the disciples saw the other side of Jesus. The scriptures call this the “glory” of God. In the Old Testament it was also called the shekinah of God and spoken of as brilliant light or radiance. It was an affirmation and witness of God’s presence. It was in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. It was part of a happy marriage relationship. It was at the burning bush when Moses received the Ten Commandments.
This is not just a history or bible lesson. The Transfiguration story is about us. It is about our willingness to go to the mountain and behold the One who is beyond us, who is Holy Other, the Great Mystery, the Ruler of all Rulers. In our faith Journey, is God just a side-kick, a traveling companion, or is He the center of our lives in helping us to know who we are and how we will live our lives?
Ultimately, the Transfiguration is about our sensitivity to sense and be aware of the presence of God in our lives. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote in Aurora Leigh,
“Earth’s crammed with heaven
and every common bush aflame with fire.
But only those who see take off their shoes.
The rest sit around and pick blackberries.”
As you leave here today, remember that one of the signs of Jesus is “Revealing His Glory.” His Glory reminds us that Jesus is God. Did the Transfiguration matter to the disciples? All four gospels included it. In their experience they received power and identity strength of purpose. Let the Glory of Christ change you and guide you this week. Amen.
Century Christian Church, February 3, 2008 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
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