As I was working away yesterday evening trying to type out a sermon on
the transfiguration, my computer interrupted what I was listening to, to pay
tribute to Jerome Iginla. Jerome Iginla’s friends and colleagues were paying
tribute to him in a ceremony where the Calgary Flames were retiring his number
12. He was certainly one of the greatest Calgary Flames players and they were
talking about who he was, on and off the Ice.
Our Scripture today pays tribute to Jesus. The Salvation Army doctrines
give us a glimpse of who is Jesus. Doctrine 4 of The Salvation Army says, ‘We
believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and
human natures are united, so that He is truly and properly God and truly and
properly man.’
Luke 9:18
asks directly the question, who is Jesus? And Jesus is paid tribute here by
God, Moses and Elijah in front of his closest friends and colleagues.
Reading
again from Luke 9:27-31:
27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will
not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
28 About eight days
after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto
a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,
and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and
Elijah, [just] appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. 31 They
spoke about his EXODUS, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at
Jerusalem.
Just like
when they are retiring an athlete’s number they bring important people up to
speak about him, here God has chosen a couple of really important people to
speak with Jesus. Do we know who these people were? It says they were Moses and
Elijah; these were two very significant people in the history of Israel. In
hockey they could be like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. From a pro-US view
of their history they could be like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the
winners of their two civil wars. In terms of Canadian society, they could be
compared to our two great law-givers, Sir John A. [MacDonald] who gave us the
Constitutional Act of 1867 and Pierre Eliot [Trudeau] who gave us the
Constitutional Act of 1982. Now I am not meaning to be controversial, I know
that there are many bad things, some of which are true, that can probably said of
each of the people I have listed but I just wanted to give us a little bit of
perspective as to how important Moses and Elijah were to the history and
identity of the Hebrew people. Who it is, from an historical-political
viewpoint, who are standing here with Jesus atop this mountain.
Now there is more to them than this too. Elijah is
famous for a few things (Malachi 4:5; cf. also 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 10; 1
Chronicles 8:27; 2 Chronicles 21:12; Luke 4:25; James 5:15. Among other things,
Elijah is famous for announcing an end to a devastating famine that lasted a
very long time and he is famous for the miracle of producing bread to feed a
widow and her son (1 Kings 17-18). And Jesus, earlier in this very chapter, Verses
10-17 has just miraculously fed 5000+ people himself. (Peter, James and John
who are here with Jesus would instantly make the connection in all probability).
Elijah also raised this very same widow’s son from the dead and Jesus himself
is about to die and be raised from the dead. You can see how Jesus and Elijah
might have a lot to talk about here on this mountain.
We know
who Moses is too. Moses was the great law-giver. Remember the 10 Commandments.
God wrote them by hand and handed them to Moses from atop Mount Horeb/ Mount
Sinai (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5). Moses is the one God used to bring the
people out of the slavery in Egypt. Moses followed God as God led Israel in a
fiery cloud around the desert during their EXODUS towards the Promised Land.
And now Jesus is about to go own His own EXODUS with His crucifixion and
resurrection. You can see how Jesus and Moses might have a bit to speak about
here on this mountain too.
Now
the text doesn’t say what mountain Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are on here but
Moses’ and Elijah’s most famous miracles each happened on Mount Horeb/ Mount
Sinai. And Moses is the Law personified and Elijah is an arch-type of all the
prophets. And we know that Jesus, scriptures says, sums up the Law and the
prophets. You can see how they might have something big to talk about here.
There is
one very important part about this conversation too that I would be remiss if I
didn’t mention it. The Bible says that Jesus is here on this mountain talking
to Moses and Elijah… but Moses and Elijah are dead. They are long dead. They
were gone well before Jesus was ever born. It would be like if you and I after
church headed outside on the street corner and had a conversation with William
Shakespeare, William Tell or William Booth or a deceased relative.
But here
is another interesting bit. Elijah never really did die technically. You’ve
heard of chariots of fire. That’s this guy. Elijah, when it came time for him
to ‘be promoted to Glory’; when it came time to ‘meet his Maker’; instead of
dying God sent him down this taxicab or sorts to pick him up; God sent him this
flaming chariot and horses in a whirlwind to pick him up and take him straight
to heaven or wherever it was God was taking him.
So now
picture this then. Jesus is talking with these two on the mountain and our text
says that Jesus had brought his closest friends and disciples up to the
mountain with him: Peter, James and James’ brother John are there. I don’t know
about you but if I had walked up to hump here with you and all of a sudden I
turned around and saw you talking to some famous dead people and lights were flashing
everywhere, I think you’d have my attention. But it says here that they were
pretty sleepy and Peter at one point even offered to pitch a tent for each of
them: Jesus, Moses and Elijah. But the Bible says also here that Peter didn’t
know what he was talking about.
Now there
are a couple of more interesting things going on as Peter, James, and John are
watching all of this. They know who all of these people are somehow and there
are a few pretty dramatic things going on while they are talking. It says that
Jesus’ clothes all of a sudden became as bright as lightning and these guests
all of a sudden appear and it seems like this radiance is again reminding us
again of Moses. We remember that when Moses received the 10 Commandments from
God it says that his face shone so bright that no one could even look at him;
he had to put a veil on his face.
And the
passage here also speaks about a cloud descending on the mountain. We know that
God shows up in a cloud quite a bit in the Bible. God leads them on the EXODUS
out of Egypt and into the Promised Land in a fiery cloud and God also fills the
original Temple in Jerusalem with in a cloud and shortly Jesus, after he is
killed and comes back to life, Luke will tell us in his next letter, Jesus is
going to go to the Father God in a cloud (cf. also Exodus 13:21, 14:19,
16:10, 19:16; 24:12-18, 40:35; 1 Kings 8:10; Psalm 78:14, 104:3; Nehemiah 9:19;
Acts 1:9, Revelation 14:14-16).
God is
making sure He has their attention and then He says – speaking out of this
cloud – God says to Peter, James, and John, God says, about Jesus, He says,
‘this is my Son whom I have chosen; listen to him!’ and then Moses and Elijah
vanish as quickly as they appeared and Jesus is alone. The disciples kept this
to themselves it says. And then the story continues the next day with them
coming down from this mountain and being met by a large crowd.
Now, my
friends, listen to me. When we are here today it is like we are on that
mountain top. We have had a chance to pray and to sing to God; we have had a
chance to read and look into His scripture. We have been invited, like Peter
James and John, to get to know God better. Do you want to get to know God
better? If so you can always talk to us after church or during the week, you
can read your Bible, pray and come to Bible study, and…
In The
Salvation Army we have these benches here that we call the Mercy Seat. If
anyone ever wants to come and spend some time with God like Jesus’ disciples
encountered Him on the mountain you are invited to come up here and do so; If
you are so willing able during this next song I invite you to come up here and
do just that – come and meet God.
When we
leave this place today we will encounter people and crowds – just like the
disciples in the story did - and they will tell us lots and they will ask of us
much but when we head out the doors today, like Peter, James, and John, we must
–like God said - listen to Jesus; and
then everything – no matter what happens – everything will be alright.
Let us
pray.
[1] Captain Michael Ramsat, ''Luke 9: Don’t Miss the Bus!" (Swift Current, SK: Sheepspeak:28 February 2010). Available online: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/02/luke-9-dont-miss-bus.html
[2] Major Bruce Power, ‘The Transfiguration – Lent: Second Sunday Sermon’ in Journey to the Cross: Seven Lenten Sermon Outlines, Seven Small Group Studies, (The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory, 2009), p. 7.
[3] Cf. D.A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/IV. Book Version: 4.0.2. re: Schweitzer.
[4] Hans F. Bayer, Note on Mark 6:14b-15 in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 1904. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=Mark+6%3A14-15: The list of popular beliefs (see also 8:27–28) about Jesus includes that he is (1) the revived John the Baptist, (2) the expected Elijah (from Mal. 4:5), or (3) one of the prophets. The first belief, held by Herod Antipas (see Mark 6:16), is clearly false. The second opinion reflects the widespread expectation in Judaism (Mal. 3:1–2; 4:5–6) that Elijah, who was caught up to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11), would return at the end of time. Contrary to popular speculation that Jesus might be the expected Elijah, Jesus himself describes John the Baptist as having come “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17; cf. Mark 9:11–13). The third proposal—“a prophet, like one of the prophets of old”—might have arisen from Deut. 18:15, 18. Jesus was far greater than any of these theories, something that Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi will show (cf. Mark 8:27–30).
[5] Cf. for a detailed discussion of this question, Captain Michael Ramsay, ‘Luke 23: Who do you say He is?’ presented to the Community Good Friday Service in Nipawin, Saskatchewan at the Apostolic Church (April 10, 2009). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/04/luke-23-who-do-you-say-he-is.html
[6] Leon Morris Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, (TNTC3: Downers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1988). Disc: Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries (US) (3.0f) version 2009-10-09T22:50:34Z: “The paragraph is rounded off with a mysterious saying. …But there are many ways in which the kingdom comes and there is much also to be said for the view that Jesus is referring to the critical time of the crucifixion, resurrection and the coming of the Spirit. The saying is complex, and without further information it is impossible to be sure of the precise meaning intended.”
[7] Wayne Grudem, see notes on Luke 9:28 and Luke 9:28-36 in ESV Study Bible. (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), p. 1973, available on-line at http://www.esvstudybible.org/search?q=luke+9.
[8] Marvin R. Vincent, ‘Was Altered’ in Word Studies in the New Testament Vol. I, (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2009), pp. 343-344.
[9] Cf. for a good discussion of this, William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 506.
More articles, sermons, and papers at
Luke 9:17-37:
“Truly I tell you,
some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of
God.”
About eight days after Jesus said
this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to
pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes
became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared
in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his exodus, which he
was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were
very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two
men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him,
“Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for
you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
While he was speaking, a cloud
appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A
voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen
to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The
disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what
they had seen.
The next day, when they came down
from the mountain, a large crowd met him.
May the Lord add a blessing to the reading of His Word.
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