2-23-20 Benson Vail Sermon

Matthew 17:1-9 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke

Transfiguration Sunday, February 23, 2020 “Do Not Be Afraid of God’s Glory”

“It is good to be here.” That’s what Peter said when he first saw the amazing thing that happened on the special mountain, the event that we call the Transfiguration. And he was absolutely right. It was good for him and for James and for John to be there and to witness what happened. Peter would write about it years later in his second epistle, as we heard in our Second Lesson today (2 Peter 1:16-21). He never forgot what he witnessed on that mountain. It was good for him to be there with Jesus, and Peter said it himself.

But just moments later, it wasn’t Peter speaking anymore. At that point, Peter couldn’t speak. He couldn’t stand. He was face to the ground in absolute terror, and so it was Jesus who had to speak. And Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

So how did Peter get from “It is good to be here” to needing to be reassured that he should not be afraid?

Those are two extreme reactions for Peter and for the other disciples in our verses from Matthew’s Gospel. They are thrilled and excited on the one hand and terrified and afraid on the other. We’re going to look closer at what took place and how this all happened, and we’re going to consider how Jesus is always the answer for us, whether we feel overjoyed or terrified, whether we feel afraid or ecstatic. We are going to listen and hear Jesus telling us, “Don’t be afraid.” We’re going to gaze on his glory as revealed on that special mountain. We’re going to consider our reaction and take to heart this lesson: “Do not be afraid of God’s glory.”

God’s glory is exactly what the disciples were privileged to see on the mount of Transfiguration. There were a few times in Jesus’ ministry where he took those particular three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and allowed them to see or experience something no one else did. In this case, he brought them up by themselves, just the four of them together, to a remote mountain. And there things changed. The Greek word used to describe what happened is the same word that gives us our word metamorphosis, used to describe a caterpillar changing into a butterfly or a tadpole changing into a frog. But it was Jesus who was changed. He looked like any normal human being until his face was shining and his clothing became dazzling white. Matthew compares the change to the light of the sun.

The disciples saw the change. They saw the bright light, the dazzling glory. They saw even more. Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus. Heaven itself was peeking out on earth at that special place.

And it alerted the disciples to this: The glory of God belongs to Jesus. The bright and shining glory was showing them who he really is. He is God himself, even though for so much of his earthly life and ministry he was keeping that hidden. He didn’t normally look this bright and shining. Only on relatively rare occasions was he healing the sick in miraculous ways and raising the dead and feeding thousands with a single small lunch.

But this is who he really is! He is the one with the power to create and to sustain, to heal and to make alive. He is the one who has the glory that shines brighter than any earthly thing. He is the one and only true God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. And it was good for the disciples to see it, to get a glimpse of it. It was good because that glory would fade. Jesus would look again like any other man. He would make his way to Jerusalem, just as he had told them before, and he would be beaten and killed. He would look like a criminal and would die like a criminal. But he gave them this glimpse so that through it all they could remember who he really is and that he must have been doing all that he did for them—out of love for them—because of course he had the power to stop it. It was good for the disciples to see the shining glory of God in Jesus.

But then there was another change. Even as Peter was still speaking, a cloud came over them. But it wasn’t a dark cloud, it was a bright cloud, a cloud of Glory, and appearance of God. And the Father spoke from the cloud, announcing just as he had at Jesus’ baptism, that he was well-pleased with Jesus. And Peter, James, and John were terrified. Face-to-the-ground, don’t-move-a-muscle, don’t-say-a-word terrified. Why?

It wasn’t just the words that shook them so greatly. It was the whole scene. It was the glory of God becoming so overwhelming that it left them terrified of their own sinfulness. The brightness of God’s glory illuminated the dark corners of their hearts and minds and laid them bare in such a way that they could not even stand it. Did they have specific sins that troubled them greatly? Perhaps. Did they just feel that they were so low and unworthy in the face of an overwhelming sense of glory and awe? That’s the way I read what happened to them. It was simply too much.

And that’s exactly how they should have felt, and it’s exactly how we should feel. In the early parts of our service today, we confessed our sins. We said that we had disobeyed God. We sang, “Lord have mercy on us.” But was that really the cry of your heart, or were those just words on a page? Do you know in your head that you are a sinner because God says so, or do you feel it in your soul? Did you say those words without giving them a second thought, or did you think about the awe and the power and the majesty and the bright and shining glory of the one to whom you said it? And if you really did, if you really thought about those words and if you really thought about your life, and if you really thought about what God says about sin and how he feels about it, you would have felt like falling to the ground in absolute terror.

That’s what God’s glory should make us feel. That’s what it should be like for sinners to stand before a holy, just, almighty God. But there is an answer for that fear. There is an antidote to that terror, and his name is Jesus. He reaches out to his disciples and touches them and says, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

In the account of the Transfiguration we are told that the disciples opened their eyes and saw no one but Jesus alone. And that is exactly what happened. There was no more shining glory, no more cloud, no more Moses and Elijah, no more booming voice. There was just Jesus. All they saw was the one who had left his glorious throne to come to the world in which they lived and to live like they did and to die like they would one day die. All they saw was the one who loved them so much that he was ready to walk to Jerusalem knowing that he would be tortured and killed when he got there. All they saw was the lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world.

And that is your answer to fear, and your answer to sin. See Jesus alone. Because God’s glory is his glory, and he hid that glory in order to demonstrate his great love for you. He is not here to punish and frighten.

He is here to reassure you with his tender mercy. He is here to wash your sins clean in the waters of baptism and to feed you with the heavenly food of Holy Communion. He is here to bring you to be with him one day in glory. One day you will get to see Moses and Elijah and all the others who have finished the race. One day you will get to see the bright and shining glory of God and not panic or turn away but rejoice!

But first, we have this life to live and this world to walk through. We have people to serve and to love.

Yes, there are times when God will bless us with joys and happiness, but there are also times when this world is dark and troubling. There are times when we face trials and difficulties, sadness and sorrows.

We live our lives not on the mountaintop of Transfiguration where we see the bright glory of heaven, but down from the mountain. That’s where the disciples headed with Jesus.

And he gave them that interesting command not to tell anyone what they had seen. Why? Didn’t he want the word to get out about who he is and what he had come to do? Of course he did, but he also knew that the time had not yet come. He knew that the people would want something from him other than his death on a cross. Many were looking for a Messiah of their own choosing, one who could give them what they wanted in this world. But Jesus came to suffer and to die to give blessings that last forever. He came for something even greater than most were expecting, and he was going to accomplish it.

And so his instructions not to tell anyone included an “until.” Don’t talk about what happened here until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. The glory of Jesus would be seen not only in the brightness of the mountaintop, but also and especially in his work completed and his lifeless body raised to live again. That’s the glory of God. That’s what we rely on. That’s what gives us every reason to rejoice and no reason to be afraid.

The Text: Matthew 17:1-9 (EHV) Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James; and he led them up onto a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured in front of them. His face was shining like the sun. His clothing became as white as the light. 3 Just then, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

4

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them. Just then, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

6

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down and were terrified. 7 Jesus approached and as he touched them, he said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they opened their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”