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In the name of Jesus. Amen. There he was. Standing on that high place with many of the people that he had been sent to serve, gathered below him. The end was drawing near, even though it felt like the next step would be in loneliness. God promised him that he would always be with him. Then there were those moments of encouragement as he was reminded of the words spoken by the individuals of the past for the purpose of strengthening him in the present with the ability to live faithfully all the way to the conclusion of his mission in that place.
Even though he was not to continue in that same state, he had the promises of God that were given to him, given to him for his future and for the people that he had served. So as Moses stood on the summit of Pisgah on Mount Nebo, there on one side of him was the plains of Moab, where the people gathered as they were waiting for the next chapter of their journey to begin. And then on the other side was the Jordan River, the city of Jericho, and the land as far as his eyes could see. He had heard about it all of his life, and now it was before him. Maybe he could smell the water of the Jordan. Maybe he could see the leaves rustling on the trees lining the opposite bank. Maybe he heard the voices of the people living around Jericho. It was so close.
And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to your offspring.” Amen. Moses’ ancestors and his descendants mentioned in the same sentence with him between. Then God said to him, “I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not go over there.” Eighty years—80 years of preparation and training in Egypt and in the Sinai Peninsula—the Lord God would use Moses. He would use him to free the people from the bondage of Egypt, those oppressors, and to lead them through the wilderness of Sinai.
During those 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness, God was working. God was working to draw the people closer to himself through the words and through miracles, all for the purpose of them seeing themselves as his chosen people, as he would work through them to provide the way of salvation for the world. God had set Moses apart. Moses was God’s mouthpiece. When he descended from Mount Sinai after being in God’s presence, the people looked at Moses and they saw that he was different. His face was shining to the point that they were afraid of him.
After Moses proclaimed God’s word to them, he would drape a veil across his face to conceal this radiance of God’s glory given to him, but it was not permanent. Moses was not the source, but he would receive it and reflect it for a time. For the Apostle Paul states in his second letter to the church in Corinth, “Moses would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.” Moses was God’s servant, standing on the mount. Amen.
Moses knew that his life was not his own. It was not about him. It was not about his wants, but it was about God’s plan. It was about God’s people. Moses knew that he had sinned against God during his lifetime, and that where there is repentance and faith, there is the forgiveness of sins. He also knew that he did right in the sight of God as he walked by faith in God’s words. As God worked through him, he gave faith and God the glory. Matter of fact, in today’s epistle lesson, it is stated not once, but twice, that Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
Through all God’s commands, through those word pictures of the Old Testament, inspired by God, Moses recorded the Ten Commandments, the tabernacle of God and its purpose, the details of the sacrificial system, the structure and the function of the priesthood, and so on and on in such a way that they pointed the people to the one who is to come to bring salvation. Moses was looking forward to that day, but not on this mount. Now, but on this day, still full of life, health, and energy at the age of 120 years, Moses would die and the Lord would bury him in a place unknown to man.
But it was not the end for Moses. During Moses’ ministry, God was preparing and training Joshua, who would receive Moses’ mantle. He was on the mountain when Moses received the Ten Commandments. He was the one who saw everything that God was doing for and through Moses. After the time of mourning for the loss of Moses, God would lead Joshua as he would lead the people of Israel across the Jordan River on dry ground the same way that Moses did through the Red Sea. God was with him.
With the miracle of God collapsing the walls of Jericho, the people would conquer and settle the land, and they would wait. They would wait. They would wait for God to fulfill his plan to send the Messiah, the anointed one, the Savior of the world. Now, with me, fast forward. Fast forward, 1,400 years to our gospel lesson. There we see Jesus. He is standing on a mount as his own public ministry is drawing to an end. He went up to this high place to pray to commune with his father.
In that moment, Jesus’ appearance changed. His face had shone like the sun. His clothes became white as light. Where Moses veiled his radiance given to him that was only temporary, Jesus revealed this light of glory that is eternal. This is the point in our epistle lesson, for Jesus has become counted worthy of more glory than Moses. And the question is how much? It continues, “as much more glory as a builder of the house has more honor than the house itself.” In other words, in comparison, these are not even in the same ballpark. Jesus was not reflecting some sort of light. He is the source of this glorious light and power. Jesus is the generator. Jesus is God.
And he was on a mission sent by his father to go into the world, where Moses was faithful in all of God’s house as a servant, as a witness to testify to God’s present and future victories, both temporal and eternal. Jesus is the Christ who is faithful over God’s house as a son, the only son of the father. Where Moses stood in God’s presence before his death, Jesus had the company of Moses and Elijah. Moses represented the law of God, and Elijah represented the prophets of God, and they were talking with Jesus about his departure, about his exodus, his upcoming death on the cross in Jerusalem, where he would defeat sin, death, and the power of the devil and secure the forgiveness of sins and salvation and eternal life that will be dispensed by means of grace to those who receive the gift of faith to believe that they are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, as revealed in the sacred scriptures alone.
Think about it. Process it. During Jesus’ time, and then, it was thinking and processing all the things that were going to happen to him by the hands of man in the near future. Where do we find Jesus? What’s Jesus doing? He is hearing God’s Word, delivered by the authors themselves that reveals the life and activities of the Messiah. The law and the prophets, they pointed to his upcoming trials and tribulations. But more so, don’t forget all the victories that he would achieve through his words and actions for you and for me.
Moses and Elijah came to encourage him with the word of God. Where Moses died on Mount Nebo, Jesus would not die on this mount. Instead, he would shed his blood and give his life hanging on a cross, suspended between heaven and earth, on a small mount called Calvary outside the walls of Jerusalem. Where Moses was in the parade of God’s people, who would be the instruments of pointing to the Savior to come, Jesus was also preparing, and he was also training those, his disciples, God’s people, who would point to him and proclaim him to be the promised Messiah, the Christ, the one who fulfilled all the prophecies recorded in the sacred scriptures.
They would be his witnesses to proclaim that he is the Savior of the world and to tell all the world the story of how he accomplished that salvation. On this mount with Jesus, there were the three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Jesus allowed them to have a glimpse of his divine glory revealed. To put it all into perspective, the cloud, they heard the words, “This is my son, my chosen one, listen to him.” Jesus achieved all his goals upon this particular mount, so it was time for him to begin his descent, to join with the other disciples and all those that were gathered at the bottom of the mount.
Yes. And as they were walking down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” After a few interactions at the base of the mountain in a brief period of time, the sacred scriptures tell us in Luke 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus did all this, from the incarnation to his death and resurrection for you, for each of you, and for all the world to provide for you the way of salvation.
And Peter added a piece of Jesus’ story for all to hear in his second letter, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory, ‘This is my beloved son. With him, I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven, and we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in the dark.”
For this was the light which Jesus spoke. This was the light which Jesus spoke to those that were connected to him by faith when he says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” God has transferred you from the prison of the devil into his kingdom where there is peace and comfort with him. That light and dark imagery that we see here is that metaphor of spiritual life and spiritual death. This is why Jesus says, “You, you, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand, and it will give light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.”
This light, these words, these actions are not yours; you are only an instrument. You are no different than Moses. God has redeemed you. He has brought you into his ark, the church. He is equipping you and he is sending you. For Peter said of you, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” And why? He continues by saying that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Like Moses, you know that you are a forgiven sinner, saved from eternal dark death and darkness through God’s grace and mercy. And for a time, you understand that he is leading you through this wilderness as he provides for both your body and soul. By the power of His Word and the working of the Holy Spirit, you recognize that you are different. You’re different from those in the world. For the Lord has set you apart so that you are living in the world, but you are not of this world.
And the Lord has provided the means for this light given to you, not only to maintain its brightness, but to grow it, to become more convicted of the divine truth that has been revealed to you. He calls you to the high place often, to gather to receive his word and his sacrament, to receive the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith, to be in his word in worship, and then be sent into the world as his witnesses of the truth given to you through your vocations. You are not engaged in these activities so that you can earn your salvation, so that you can be saved. You are saved now, and these activities flow through you as the Holy Spirit works through you to God’s glory and for the good of others.
And one day in the future, each of you, one day in the future, like Moses, you will stand on that high place at a time set by God. This world will be behind you and you will be at a place where the land stops and a crossing will need to occur. Like Moses, you realize that this life is not about you and your wants in this world, but it is about God’s plan and how he has worked and is working for his people, for you and for me. Your fear of God has been replaced with the peace of God through the blood of Jesus.
On that day, with the Lord standing with you, he will call you from this life into the eternal kingdom where you will bask in the glory of the Lamb of God who sits upon his throne forever and ever. But for now, we live. We live with hope given to us and in the confidence of the things to come, which God has promised to each and every one of us through the blood of Jesus. Amen. The peace which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
