The Transfiguration of our Lord
The Transfiguration of Our Lord (C)
February 18, 2007
Text: Luke 9:28-36
The account of the Transfiguration of our Lord is puzzling to say the least. What do these events mean, and what should we learn from them? The fact is, these events were puzzling for Peter, John, and James as well, at least at first. Even these faithful disciples are left scratching their heads. They’re along with Jesus on another trip to a secluded place for prayer. Here we find them as we’ll find them once again the night Jesus is betrayed: while He is praying, they are sleeping. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Their Old Adam gets the best of them and their eyes are too heavy.
But then something extraordinary happens. They awake to see Jesus transfigured before them. What’s that supposed to mean? Well, Luke tells us. His face and His countenance are changed. Jesus’ Divine glory is shining through His humanity. His face is as bright as the sun and He is clothed with light like the flashing of lightening. And two men are with Him, Moses and Elijah, the author of the Torah and the first among the prophets, discussing Jesus departure, or as the Greek says, His exodus, which He is about to accomplish in Jerusalem. It’s so much to take in. Peter doesn’t even know what he’s saying when he suggests that the disciples build three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He wants to preserve the moment. He recognizes that heaven and earth have come together on the mountain, but he has no clue what it means. He just knows that it’s good for them to be there, and of course, he’s right. But they can’t stay. Not now. Not yet. The cross still lies ahead of them, and they must follow the way of the cross before they can stay in glory.
But they are there now, basking in the glory of Jesus. And this happens for a reason. But that reason is not clear, and it’s about to get even more confusing. A great cloud envelopes them all and the voice of God the Father speaks, taking us back to Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan where we began this Epiphany season, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35; ESV). Then all at once the cloud is gone, along with Moses and Elijah, and the disciples see Jesus alone. What is all of this supposed to mean? It’s no wonder the disciples didn’t tell anyone about what they had seen until after the resurrection.
This is a lot for us to take in, too, and it would be so easy for us to remain silent about it as well. There is so much going on here that it is overwhelming. Where should we even begin in our consideration of these things?
First of all, the Transfiguration is an epiphany, a manifestation or revelation, and indeed it is the granddaddy of them all! Here Jesus is once again revealed as God in the flesh. He lets His divinity shine through His assumed human nature. That’s where all the light comes from. And it’s no wonder the disciples are dumbfounded. Remember, up to this point, even though they had witnessed Jesus perform many miracles, they had never witnessed Him in His Divine majesty. To them, Jesus looked like any other Joe Schmoe one might meet on the street. But now there was no denying it. Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity. And it is this Son of God who has made His dwelling among us in the flesh, so that “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:19). He is not only true God, but also true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He is the God-Man, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.
But what to make of the appearance of Moses and Elijah? They represent the whole content of the Old Testament, the Law and the prophets. In this epiphany we learn that Jesus is the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. It all points to Him. He is the culmination of the Scriptures. Jesus Himself once said, “You search the Scriptures (meaning the Old Testament) because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). Christ is in every passage. Moses is the author of the Law, the Ten Commandments, which drive us to Jesus Christ for help and salvation. And Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of every prophecy uttered by Elijah and Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah and all the others. It was Moses himself through whom the Lord spoke saying, “I will raise up a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18). Jesus of Nazareth, God in the flesh, is the prophet like unto Moses who also supersedes Moses, for He does what Moses could not do. Moses led the people of Israel in an exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, but Moses was not allowed to finish the job. He was shown the Promised Land from afar, but on account of his sin he was not allowed to enter. He died on the other side of the Jordan, and the Lord buried him in a place that is unknown to this day. But Jesus has led His Israel, the Church, in exodus from her bondage to the slavery of sin, death, and the devil, into the Promised Land of salvation, heaven, and the resurrection from the dead.
It was this exodus of which Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus on the mountain. It was the exodus that would be brought to completion by Jesus in Jerusalem not many days hence. This is the whole purpose for which the Son of God came in the flesh. This is what He would do with the Divinity He had just displayed. Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus about His suffering and death and resurrection and ascension. That is the exodus. That is the journey. And it must be in that order. Suffering and death must come first. It is the only way. That is what Peter and his compatriots do not understand. They want to stay on the mountain and bask in the glory of the transfigured Jesus and the company of the heroes of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah. They don’t understand that Jesus’ true glory is in His suffering and death, for that is the payment for our sin. That is the ransom price. That is what it will take to appease God’s righteous wrath. That is what it will take to make us holy.
Jesus is glorified on the cross of Calvary where He pays for the sins of the whole world; for Peter’s sin, and for John’s and James’ sin, and for your sin and my sin. He pays for the sin of sleepiness and laziness. He pays for all the times we take His Word and the gift of prayer for granted, neglecting them because our eyes are too heavy. He pays for the Old Adam which constantly drags us down. And the Father accepts the sacrifice of His beloved Son, the Chosen One. It cost the Son of God His life, but the price is paid in full so that we may cross that River Jordan into the Promised Land. Our sins can no longer hinder us, as they hindered Moses. The journey, the exodus, is complete when Jesus rises from the dead, the conqueror of death and sin and Satan, and ascends into heaven where He reigns at the right hand of God, intercedes for us, His saints, and is constantly present with us in Word and Sacrament.
This exodus is the topic of all heavenly discussion. We witness a little sampling of it in the account of the Transfiguration as Moses and Elijah are speaking with Jesus. Jesus’ exodus is always on the mind of His people, for the disciples follow their Lord in this exodus. And this is where the account of the Transfiguration takes on significance for our everyday lives. Our own exodus as the Baptized is patterned after Jesus’ exodus. Our footsteps follow in the way Jesus trod. We, too, must proceed through suffering and the cross to the resurrection. There is no other way. Like Peter, we want to stay on the glorious mountaintop, but we cannot. We must go the way of the cross. But our Lord is with us. We follow Him. He provides for us. He sustains us with His Word and Supper. And we have the privilege of speaking with Him on the way. We do so again today. “Pilgrims on that path are privileged to lift up their hearts and enter into that heavenly conversation with Moses and Elijah and all the saints about the Lamb who was slain and raised again. This they do, when ‘with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven,’ they sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy... Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. …’ and ‘O Christ, the Lamb of God. …’”[1] Here Jesus is present with us in His risen and glorified body. He nourishes us with that body and with His precious, sin-atoning blood. As on the mount of Transfiguration, heaven and earth come together for us and we are once more commanded by the Father to hear Jesus. We want to hear Him, for His Word is life to us. It is good for us to be here. But unlike the disciples, Peter, John, and James, we are not silent about what we hear and see. We confess Jesus, God in the flesh, to the world. We have the prophetic Word made more sure (2 Peter 1:19), for we have the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit who has opened our minds and hearts by the power of the Word, so that we, too, see Jesus alone, Jesus only, Jesus, God in the flesh, come to save His people. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Arthur A. Just, Jr., Concordia Commentary: Luke 1:1-9:50 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1996) p. 404.
February 18, 2007
Text: Luke 9:28-36
The account of the Transfiguration of our Lord is puzzling to say the least. What do these events mean, and what should we learn from them? The fact is, these events were puzzling for Peter, John, and James as well, at least at first. Even these faithful disciples are left scratching their heads. They’re along with Jesus on another trip to a secluded place for prayer. Here we find them as we’ll find them once again the night Jesus is betrayed: while He is praying, they are sleeping. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Their Old Adam gets the best of them and their eyes are too heavy.
But then something extraordinary happens. They awake to see Jesus transfigured before them. What’s that supposed to mean? Well, Luke tells us. His face and His countenance are changed. Jesus’ Divine glory is shining through His humanity. His face is as bright as the sun and He is clothed with light like the flashing of lightening. And two men are with Him, Moses and Elijah, the author of the Torah and the first among the prophets, discussing Jesus departure, or as the Greek says, His exodus, which He is about to accomplish in Jerusalem. It’s so much to take in. Peter doesn’t even know what he’s saying when he suggests that the disciples build three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He wants to preserve the moment. He recognizes that heaven and earth have come together on the mountain, but he has no clue what it means. He just knows that it’s good for them to be there, and of course, he’s right. But they can’t stay. Not now. Not yet. The cross still lies ahead of them, and they must follow the way of the cross before they can stay in glory.
But they are there now, basking in the glory of Jesus. And this happens for a reason. But that reason is not clear, and it’s about to get even more confusing. A great cloud envelopes them all and the voice of God the Father speaks, taking us back to Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan where we began this Epiphany season, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35; ESV). Then all at once the cloud is gone, along with Moses and Elijah, and the disciples see Jesus alone. What is all of this supposed to mean? It’s no wonder the disciples didn’t tell anyone about what they had seen until after the resurrection.
This is a lot for us to take in, too, and it would be so easy for us to remain silent about it as well. There is so much going on here that it is overwhelming. Where should we even begin in our consideration of these things?
First of all, the Transfiguration is an epiphany, a manifestation or revelation, and indeed it is the granddaddy of them all! Here Jesus is once again revealed as God in the flesh. He lets His divinity shine through His assumed human nature. That’s where all the light comes from. And it’s no wonder the disciples are dumbfounded. Remember, up to this point, even though they had witnessed Jesus perform many miracles, they had never witnessed Him in His Divine majesty. To them, Jesus looked like any other Joe Schmoe one might meet on the street. But now there was no denying it. Jesus is true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity. And it is this Son of God who has made His dwelling among us in the flesh, so that “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:19). He is not only true God, but also true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He is the God-Man, God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.
But what to make of the appearance of Moses and Elijah? They represent the whole content of the Old Testament, the Law and the prophets. In this epiphany we learn that Jesus is the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. It all points to Him. He is the culmination of the Scriptures. Jesus Himself once said, “You search the Scriptures (meaning the Old Testament) because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). Christ is in every passage. Moses is the author of the Law, the Ten Commandments, which drive us to Jesus Christ for help and salvation. And Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of every prophecy uttered by Elijah and Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah and all the others. It was Moses himself through whom the Lord spoke saying, “I will raise up a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18). Jesus of Nazareth, God in the flesh, is the prophet like unto Moses who also supersedes Moses, for He does what Moses could not do. Moses led the people of Israel in an exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, but Moses was not allowed to finish the job. He was shown the Promised Land from afar, but on account of his sin he was not allowed to enter. He died on the other side of the Jordan, and the Lord buried him in a place that is unknown to this day. But Jesus has led His Israel, the Church, in exodus from her bondage to the slavery of sin, death, and the devil, into the Promised Land of salvation, heaven, and the resurrection from the dead.
It was this exodus of which Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus on the mountain. It was the exodus that would be brought to completion by Jesus in Jerusalem not many days hence. This is the whole purpose for which the Son of God came in the flesh. This is what He would do with the Divinity He had just displayed. Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus about His suffering and death and resurrection and ascension. That is the exodus. That is the journey. And it must be in that order. Suffering and death must come first. It is the only way. That is what Peter and his compatriots do not understand. They want to stay on the mountain and bask in the glory of the transfigured Jesus and the company of the heroes of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah. They don’t understand that Jesus’ true glory is in His suffering and death, for that is the payment for our sin. That is the ransom price. That is what it will take to appease God’s righteous wrath. That is what it will take to make us holy.
Jesus is glorified on the cross of Calvary where He pays for the sins of the whole world; for Peter’s sin, and for John’s and James’ sin, and for your sin and my sin. He pays for the sin of sleepiness and laziness. He pays for all the times we take His Word and the gift of prayer for granted, neglecting them because our eyes are too heavy. He pays for the Old Adam which constantly drags us down. And the Father accepts the sacrifice of His beloved Son, the Chosen One. It cost the Son of God His life, but the price is paid in full so that we may cross that River Jordan into the Promised Land. Our sins can no longer hinder us, as they hindered Moses. The journey, the exodus, is complete when Jesus rises from the dead, the conqueror of death and sin and Satan, and ascends into heaven where He reigns at the right hand of God, intercedes for us, His saints, and is constantly present with us in Word and Sacrament.
This exodus is the topic of all heavenly discussion. We witness a little sampling of it in the account of the Transfiguration as Moses and Elijah are speaking with Jesus. Jesus’ exodus is always on the mind of His people, for the disciples follow their Lord in this exodus. And this is where the account of the Transfiguration takes on significance for our everyday lives. Our own exodus as the Baptized is patterned after Jesus’ exodus. Our footsteps follow in the way Jesus trod. We, too, must proceed through suffering and the cross to the resurrection. There is no other way. Like Peter, we want to stay on the glorious mountaintop, but we cannot. We must go the way of the cross. But our Lord is with us. We follow Him. He provides for us. He sustains us with His Word and Supper. And we have the privilege of speaking with Him on the way. We do so again today. “Pilgrims on that path are privileged to lift up their hearts and enter into that heavenly conversation with Moses and Elijah and all the saints about the Lamb who was slain and raised again. This they do, when ‘with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven,’ they sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy... Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. …’ and ‘O Christ, the Lamb of God. …’”[1] Here Jesus is present with us in His risen and glorified body. He nourishes us with that body and with His precious, sin-atoning blood. As on the mount of Transfiguration, heaven and earth come together for us and we are once more commanded by the Father to hear Jesus. We want to hear Him, for His Word is life to us. It is good for us to be here. But unlike the disciples, Peter, John, and James, we are not silent about what we hear and see. We confess Jesus, God in the flesh, to the world. We have the prophetic Word made more sure (2 Peter 1:19), for we have the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit who has opened our minds and hearts by the power of the Word, so that we, too, see Jesus alone, Jesus only, Jesus, God in the flesh, come to save His people. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] Arthur A. Just, Jr., Concordia Commentary: Luke 1:1-9:50 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1996) p. 404.
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