Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord - Mt 17:1-11

 

Transfiguration

                                                                                                         Mt 17:1-9                                                                                                               1/25/26

 

 

          Each Sunday our Gospel lesson is a chunk of text that has been set before us.  It is a pericope – a word that comes from the Greek, meaning “to cut around.” It is a portion of text that has been cut out from the whole and has been placed before us for our consideration on that Sunday.

          Now of course, our focus is going to be on what is in that text.  But one of the most helpful things I learned at the seminary about reading the Gospels is that the meaning – the message – is not only found in what the text itself says. Instead, it often includes what comes before and the text. Quite often, the meaning of what we are reading is shaped by what has just happened or been said.

          That is certainly the case this morning. And in our text, Matthew goes out of his way to signal this to us as he begins by saying, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” Now Matthew almost never gives us a time reference. The fact that he does so here should lead us to ask: “Six days after what?”

          The answer to this question takes us back into chapter sixteen where Matthew tells us, “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  Our Lord asked what people were saying about him. And disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  The people were saying that Jesus was some kind of prophetic figure.

          But then Jesus asked the really important question. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  He confessed that Jesus was not just a prophet. Instead, he was the Christ, the Son of God. And then Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

          Peter was exactly right. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus made it clear that Peter had not figured this out on his own. Instead, God the Father had revealed it to him. We see here yet one more evidence for why the Small Catechism’s explanation to the third article of the Creed says: “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel.” Faith in Jesus – that he is the Christ, the Son of God – can only be given by the Father through the work of the Spirit. Fallen sinners can never arrive at this on their own.

          This was great stuff. Peter had clearly confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He was the Savior for whom Israel had hoped. But then Matthew tells us: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”  Jesus confirmed, that yes indeed, he was the Christ, the Son of God. And then he began to explain to the disciples that he was going to suffer and die.

          This is not what first century Jews expected about the Christ. It is certainly not what Peter expected. In fact, Matthew tells us that Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” He tried to tell Jesus how things were supposed to work.

          But Jesus shut him down. He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Our Lord said that Peter’s ideas did not come from God. Instead, they came from Satan.

          Two weeks ago we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  There when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. God the Father spoke words that were based on Isaiah chapter 42 as he said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” We saw that in this event the Father designated Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. He identified him as the One who took our sins as if they were his own in order to be the suffering Servant – the One who was pierced for our transgressions and was crushed for our iniquities.

          The devil was determined to do everything he could to derail Jesus’ mission. We will see during Lent that this was his purpose when he tempted Christ. It is the devil’s will that is heard in Peter’s words as he denies suffering and death for Jesus.

          Jesus rebuked Peter’s denial of suffering and death for the Christ. And then he went one step further. He added that those who followed Jesus would also experience suffering and death. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

          Our Lord had said that he would suffer and die. He said that those who follow him must expect to take up the cross – that they too would experience suffering and death. But he had also said that he would be raised on the third day. And then he added, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Christ announced that he would come in glory to judge. He even said that some of those standing there would not die before seeing Christ in glory.

          In our Gospel lesson we learn that six days after these events, Jesus took three of his disciples – Peter, James, and John – with him up onto a high mountain by themselves. Matthew reports: “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”

          At Christmas we rejoiced in the mystery of the incarnation. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary as the One who is true God and true man.  Jesus lived as a man in this world. But he never ceased to be God. And in this moment he openly revealed his divinity to the disciples as his face shown with the brightness of the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

          Matthew tells us that this was not all. He adds: “And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.” Moses and Elijah were two of the greatest figures in the Old Testament. Both of them had encountered Yahweh at Mt Sinai, and had spoken with him. Now they were present there with Jesus on the mountain as he shown with the glory of God and they talked with our Lord.

          Peter was rarely at a loss for words, and once again he had something to say. He said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Jesus had just spoken about suffering and death. But now Peter was in the presence of this glorious scene, and it was so much better. He suggested that they set up things to stay there. His proposal about building shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah seemed to place all three on the same level.

          Yet while he was still speaking a bright cloud overshadowed them. This was an indication of God’s presence as a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” God the Father spoke the same words that he had spoken about Jesus as his baptism.  They were words that identified Jesus as the Servant of the Lord – the suffering Servant who bears the sins of all in death. Yet now the Father speaks them about Jesus as he shines in divine glory.

          Just before the transfiguration, Peter had confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Then Jesus had told the disciples that he was going to suffer and die. To Peter this seemed to be an impossible contradiction, and he rebuked Jesus because of this.

          Now we see Jesus shine with the revelation of his divine glory, as God the Father speaks the exact same words as at his baptism. They are words that identify Jesus as the suffering Servant, but they are spoken about the One who stands before them in glory as the Son of God. And God says, “Listen to him.”  To what are they to listen? It is what Jesus has just said - that is he is going to suffer and die, and then be raised on the third day.

The transfiguration of Jesus demonstrates that in God’s plan suffering, death, and glory are not contradictions. Jesus Christ took our sins as if they were his own in order die on the cross. He went to the cross to receive God’s condemnation against sin in our place. The just God justly condemned our sin in the flesh of Christ. He did so as Christ died in the shame, weakness, and humiliation of the cross.

On Good Friday, the death of Christ on the cross appeared to be the pointless death of a pathetic figure.  But in the Gospel we learn that the cross was God acting in a saving way for us. It was God acting powerfully in his love to reconcile us to himself by giving us atonement – by removing the sin that stood as a barrier to fellowship with the holy God.

We now know this because on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead. Easter was the proof that the cross had been God at work for us. In the glory of the Lord’s resurrected body we see that for God suffering, death, and glory are not contradictory.  God’s glorious saving action had occurred through suffering and death. And now, in the resurrection of Jesus death has been defeated and the glory of the resurrection that will be ours has begun in Christ.

Matthew tells us that when God the Father spoke, the disciples fell on their faces and were terrified. But then Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” Then we learn that when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

In the account of the transfiguration, we hear the Lord saying the same thing to us. We learn that for us too, suffering, death, and glory are not contradictions. Christ, the One who passed through suffering and death into the glory of the resurrection, says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Being a Christian means that we are willing to accept the cross in our own life. Thankfully we don’t live in a place like Nigeria, Sudan, or Syria where there is the real possibility that someone will kill you because you believe in Jesus Christ. But the cross of suffering occurs in other ways.

Confessing that you believe in Jesus Christ will bring contempt and disdain from our culture which will dismiss you as being “religious.”  Abstaining from sex outside of marriage and refusing to live together before marriage makes dating more difficult because it means you need to find a person who shares these beliefs.  Saying that homosexuality and abortion are sinful will bring the world’s condemnation.  Setting aside Sunday morning as the time when you attend the Divine Service will mean saying no to world’s view that Sunday is just another Saturday.

Following Jesus Christ does mean that we will have to take up the cross.  Paul told the Philippians, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” But we do so in the confidence that the cross is not a contradiction of the glory that is already ours in Christ. Baptized into Christ the risen Lord we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. We are the sons and daughters of God because of Jesus.

We have been born again of water and the Spirit, and now the Spirit of Christ is at work in us.  It is the Holy Spirit who enables us live in joy, hope, and peace no matter what the circumstances may be. As Paul told the Romans, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

We are able to take up the cross and follow Jesus because we know that the glory he has as the risen Lord will be ours as well.  Christ passed through the death of the cross and then rose from the dead on Easter.  Because he did, we will too.  He is the firstborn of the dead. On the Last Day he will return in glory and raise up our bodies as we share in his resurrection.

The transfiguration of our Lord shows us that suffering, death, and glory are not contradictions for our Gospel God. Six days earlier Jesus Christ had announced his suffering and death. But now on the mountain he reveals his divine glory to Peter, James, and John. Jesus stands in glory as the Father again identifies him as the servant of the Lord – the suffering Servant.  The suffering and death of Christ was the means of God’s saving action for us. And then in Jesus’ resurrection he began the glorious bodily life that will be ours as well.