[Machine transcription]
In the name of Jesus, amen.
And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.
Having just revealed to his disciples eight days earlier all that had to come to pass—his rejection by the religious authorities, his crucifixion, death, resurrection, and the disciples’ own expectation of their suffering—Jesus leads Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. As they would on the Mount of Olives, the disciples just could not stay awake, so they did not immediately witness what occurred as Jesus prayed. We know that when Jesus prays, something important could happen.
After his baptism, Jesus prayed, and the Holy Spirit descended on him, and God spoke from heaven, “You are my beloved son.” Jesus prayed all night on a mountain before he came down to call the twelve disciples. He prayed before the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, and of course he prayed on the Mount of Olives as he asked for the Father’s will to be done.
Luke’s gospel is sort of unique because of this mention of Jesus praying, praying for a sign to the disciples that it might strengthen their faith. As he prayed, Luke tells us that Jesus’ face was altered and his clothing became dazzling white. Mark’s gospel, which you will hear this coming Sunday when we observe the transfiguration of our Lord, describes his clothing as radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth can bleach them.
As this transfiguration happened, Moses and Elijah appeared, also in a state of radiant glory, and began speaking with Jesus. As with the account of Jesus praying, this is the only gospel passage that mentions what it was that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were saying to one another. The text tells us that Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about his departure and what he would fulfill in Jerusalem.
This departure can be more accurately defined with the Greek word *exodos* or *exodus*. The conversation that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were having had already happened and in fact was ongoing in heaven. Now this earthly conversation between the three shows that Moses and Elijah are fully aware of what Jesus must accomplish through this new exodus, His exodus. Jesus’ exodus will be his crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension. This is an important exposition because it shows us, and should have helped the disciples comprehend, that Christ’s suffering must also come before His glory.
But Peter still does not get it. Awakened by all that was going on, Peter, upon seeing Moses and Elijah departing, pleads with Jesus to let him put up three tents for them. Luke tells us that Peter did this not knowing what he said. Peter does not want this glorious moment to end. He really does not understand the reason for Moses and Elijah’s presence or the purpose of what they said. He does not understand that Moses is there as the one who was given the law, or that Elijah is there as the prophet who prepared the way for the kingdom of God, or that Jesus is there as the completion of the Law and the Prophecy.
Now you can’t see it tonight, but if you look up at the top on the right side of the stained glass in the Exaltation Pane you can see the Transfiguration with Moses holding the Ten Commandments and Elijah holding the book of the Prophecy. Peter’s incomprehension of this is pretty remarkable given his confession of Jesus as the Christ of God only days earlier. He must have shut out the words Jesus said thereafter about his imminent suffering and death. He just does not understand or else he didn’t listen to Jesus.
So God’s gonna intervene and he becomes present over and among the disciples as a cloud. We know this must be a physical presence of God as the Holy Spirit, just as he did at Jesus’ baptism. It certainly explains the disciples’ fear as the clouds surrounded them because they were now in the presence of God. Now in one of the few instances in the Bible where he speaks directly to men, God the Father says words reminiscent of those that Jesus baptized. “This is my son, my chosen one.” But he adds, “Listen to him.”
These words too have been spoken before by none other than Moses when he tells the Israelites that “the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; it is to him you shall listen.” This promise is now fulfilled, and God commands the disciples to pay attention to all that Jesus has to say.
At the end of this text, Luke tells us the disciples kept quiet about this experience, not because Jesus had warned them to, but because they were bewildered about what had happened. Just when it seemed that Peter, through his confession, grasped the reality of Jesus as Messiah and understood all that had been revealed to him, the transfiguration only further clouds his comprehension.
The disciples’ confusion will remain with them throughout the rest of their time with Jesus, only leaving them once they see Him face to face after His resurrection. Can we blame the disciples for being so slow to understand or even deny what Christ must endure? Often we ourselves prefer to think only of Jesus’ glory and would rather block out the shame, humiliation, and pain that he suffered because of us poor, miserable sinners.
Next Wednesday, we’ll receive ashes on our foreheads to remind us of just how dead we are in our sin, that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. Perhaps we’d rather just skip over Lent and get to the celebration of the Easter season, to the glory. Like Peter, we would rather build tents so that we can bask in the moment of glory and not have to think about the suffering Christ endured on the cross.
The lesson of the Transfiguration, both for the disciples and for us today, is that there is everlasting glory on the way in the Resurrection. Peter and the disciples had a momentary glimpse of this. Christ’s Transfiguration was a foretaste of the glory he would receive, has now, and will be ours someday. Peter learned this and would later write, “We have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Let us then be confident in this prophetic word of God, trusting in Him to keep us in faith in the promise of seeing His glory for life eternal.
Amen.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
