The King Revealed

Mark 9: 2-13

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Come to take away the sins of the people. The tension is ever building, the stakes are getting ever higher. And the undertone present through this passage that we've been going through these past few weeks is that spiritual blindness. Are you seeing the king clearly? Is the king to you who he truly is? And that's the Son of God. And that's a question we're going to be asked even further this morning. Because the disciples are slowly beginning to see who Jesus is. Now they're still pretty hard-headed, right? As we are. They're still pretty obtuse at times. But they're starting to latch on that there's something happening here that maybe what Jesus is saying is true, but not just true, but man, he has a plan that I don't understand. And this morning we're going to walk through a passage where three of the disciples and us are going to get a very clear picture of who Jesus is. So if you will stand with me, we're going to be starting in verse 2, and we're going to be reading about the transfiguration of Jesus. Chapter 9, verse 2, and it says, And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshad a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud. Listen to him. And suddenly looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them, but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? And he said, Elijah does come first to restore all things, and how it is written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt. But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of them. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning, Lord. First and foremost, for your son Jesus. Lord, and the salvation that we have in him. God, we just want to lift up everyone here this morning. Lord, if there is anyone here that does not know you as Savior, Lord, I pray today is the day of salvation. We also just want to thank you for the mothers in our lives, God. The mothers that we have, the mothers that we may have had and they have passed on, but Lord, we thank you for just the role of mother, God, and what that means and what that does in our lives. And Lord, I am just so thankful for how you have created us, how you have organized our lives, and where mothers fit into that. And we're just so appreciative of that. And we thank you. We praise you, and it's your name we pray. Amen. Alright, you can have a seat. Alright, so before we unpack what's happening here, because there, oh man, it is. I need you to get excited this morning. The transfiguration of Jesus is happening, right? Now, this is a passage that I think we can often skirt by. I know that I have. I think that you can kind of take it at face value and go, cool, Jesus went up on a mountain, he glowed, that was really cool. Uh they went down the mountain, right? It's it. It's easy to take these big moments in scripture and compartmentalize them, right? Put them to the side and say, okay, that happened. And then we just brush them off. And when you sit in this moment, when you truly put yourself in the position, when you rest in it, oh my gosh, that God is doing something amazing here. He's doing something unspeakable here. That this isn't just a transfiguration. This is a mic drop on the top of a mountain to the entire world, both now and forever. And I want us to put ourselves in the position of the disciples. I want us to put ourselves in their thinking a little bit. Because imagine the mental space that the disciples are occupying here. You have to remember that for an Israelite, when you heard the term Messiah, I mean you thought, oh man, ushering in a kingdom, right? That he is gonna come and he is gonna lay down his kingdom like that. That we are gonna overthrow Rome, we are gonna establish the powers to be, we are going to win, right? For an Israelite, you always thought like you were the underdog, I imagine. And you're gonna be like, it's it's my time's coming. And this idea that, oh my gosh, he's he's gonna come with power, and the tensions and the pressures are growing, the religious leaders are getting more and more volatile. John the Baptist has been killed, right? So now this isn't just a fun little game, but but lives are being taken for what Jesus is teaching, that the stakes are getting higher. And for the disciples, they're thinking, Jesus, what are we gonna do? Right? Uh man, Jesus has got this, he's gonna figure it out. And then Jesus comes and says, Who do you think I am? Right? And what does Peter say? You're the Christ. Right? The vision's starting to get a little clearer. But then what does Jesus say? He goes, Well, the Son of Man will be killed. What? Whoa, Jesus, you're talking crazy right now. You're gonna you're gonna die. You're gonna think, these guys have given up their whole life for this. Peter's like, I gave up fishing for this. I gave up my income for this. I I gave up everything for you, Jesus. And you're gonna tell me that you're just gonna die? That you're you're just gonna give up? What does that mean? And not only that, but you're telling me I'm gonna suffer? That was not what you told me at the beach, Jesus. Right? I mean, think of where you would be in this moment. I mean, all the things are swirling in your head. And what is and what does Peter do? I love Peter. Peter is half-cocked, he's ready to go, he's trigger-happy. I think the church could use more Peter's, honestly. But he comes in and he goes, Jesus, you're talking crazy. You can't say stuff like that. And what does Jesus say? Get behind me, Satan. That the idea of Jesus not going to the cross is satanic. And Peter is figuring this out. And while they're walking with Jesus, they're listening to Jesus, they're hearing Jesus, but they still can't help but put Jesus in a box. They still can't help but put Jesus in this in this framework that they understand that they can manage instead of letting Jesus be Jesus and trusting him. And I think that's something that we often want to do ourselves. We want to reframe Jesus in the way we want him to be. And here they find themselves listening to Jesus explain that he's going to die. And last week we see that there's a cost, and that can leave you feeling troubled. Like, I'm gonna have to suffer for this. I'm gonna have to lose things for this, I'm gonna be uncomfortable for this. But I can tell you that the cost makes a lot more sense when you see who it is you're following. And that is what Jesus is doing, not just for us, but for his disciples here in this moment. He says, I'm telling you to cost something for you, that this is going to be difficult for you. Let me reveal to you who you're following. And now, after six days, we find ourselves with Jesus ascending a high mountain, with him James, John, and Peter. And so our first question is, why these three? Why James, John, and Peter? I think one is practically, right? In this time period, a legitimate testimony would be that of two and three witnesses. So Jesus is like, all right, I'm gonna bring you three, so that way you can tell everybody after the Son of Man is risen that this happened and there's legitimacy to it. But also we know that these three were a bit of Jesus' inner circle, right? They were there with the healing of Jairus' daughter in chapter 5. They'll be with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, right, as before the crucifixion. I personally like to think that these three men, Peter and the Sons of Thunder, were a bit of troublemakers and a little bit of a liability, and I think Jesus just likes to keep a close tab on them. So he's like, you know, we're gonna go up the mountain. I'm not gonna leave you at the bottom of the mountain, I'm gonna let you come up to the mountain so that way I can know what you're doing. He's like, I can trust Matthew. Matthew's gonna be fine, he's gonna keep everybody in check, but you three, I don't know. But as they ascend this mountain, we see something happen that's really hard to describe. It really even put words to. Mark tries, but it's hard. And in this passage, if you're taking notes this morning, we're gonna be jumping around, but there are three movements that are happening in this passage. Three big movements, and with each movement, it's gonna reveal to us a truth about Jesus. So three movements and three truths. And with that comes our first point this morning and our first movement, and that is the glimpse on the mountain. Like I said, we see Jesus ascend the mountain. It's a high mountain with his three disciples. And as we're reading this, you may have a couple light bulbs already popping off a little bit from what you might have read in the Old Testament. All throughout the Bible, we often see God revealing his glory, particularly on high mountains.

unknown 9:13

Right?

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Take it with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham takes Isaac to the top of the mountain. We see it with Elijah going to the top of the mountain many times in Scripture, and one particularly that maybe stick out the most is Moses. He goes to the top of the mountain. Now, Moses, as we know, is from Exodus, right? He is born in Egypt. He leads his people out of Egypt, out of slavery, right? Parts the Red Sea, takes them to the Mount Sinai, right, where he receives the Ten Commandments. But I love in Exodus 3, this is where it really started. We see that Moses is on Mount Horeb, right, with his father-in-law, and then comes a burning bush. And God comes to Moses. And in that chapter, God says, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. And we see Moses lead his people out of Israel. He leads the Exodus out of Israel through the parting of the Red Sea. And in Exodus 19, we see them camped at this mountain. And I want you to hear that just the imagery, just put yourself in this position. In Exodus 19, verse 16. On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain, and very loud trumpet blasts, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in fire that trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. I mean, picture this moment. You are at this giant mountain, thunder, clouds, storm is a brewing, and not only are you trembling, but the mountain itself is trembling. That even the presence of God makes the earth quake. That is what's happening. And in just one chapter later, in chapter 20, we get the Ten Commandments, right? And Moses is so mad that he sees the people of God already worshiping false outdies that he breaks the Ten Commandments. I mean, picture that. You come down the mountain, the mountain that trembled in the presence of God, and you break the one thing that God gave you. I don't know. I would be a little worried. And then we fast forward to Exodus 24, right? Moses goes up on the mountain and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And then fast forward to Exodus 34. Like I said, we're jumping around, but it's so good. Exodus 34, verse 29, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with two tablets of the testimony in his hand. This is the second rendition. As he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of the face shone because he had been talking with God, reflecting God's glory as he comes back down the mountain. So now that we see this context of just Moses, let's jump back to Mark 9. And here we find after six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. I mean, you're already seeing the symbolism happening. God is good. The Bible is awesome. And the text says that Jesus was transfigured. The Greek term for transfigured here is metamorpho. That's where we get our English term metamorphosis or transformation. And what we are seeing here in this moment is a glimpse of Jesus' true nature. And that reveals to us, well, like I said, our movement is the glimpse. Now what is revealed to us is that Jesus' true nature reveals that He is the glory of God. Hear me on this. Jesus is not becoming glorious on the mountain. He has always been glorious. Amen? What changes on the mountain is not Jesus. What changes on the mountain is the veil. A change on the outside that is produced by something that is existing on the inside. I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon. He says, For Christ to be glorious was almost a less matter than for him to restrain or hide his glory. It is forever his glory that he concealed his glory, and that though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor. Think about that. The miracle on the mountain isn't so much that Jesus is glorious, he's already glorious. The miracle is that he's hidden his glorious so well for so long. That he goes up on the mountain and he pulls the restraint back and he says, This is who I am. This is who I've always been. And for Peter and James and John, they're sitting here thinking, This is Jesus. This is who we serve, this is who we follow. It is not that Jesus reached his final form on the mountain. It is that Jesus revealed his true form finally on the mountain. Hebrews 1:3 says, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. The eternal Son of God, by whom all things were made, walks the dusty roads of Galilee with glory hidden underneath. How incredible. And on one moment, on this mountain, the restraint lifts, and we see Jesus. I love that Mark even describes it. He says, His clothes became radiant, right? That Jesus' glory was intensely white, as no one could even bleach them. He says it was it was something that nothing on earth could create, nothing that that anyone in this planet could could perform, it is the glory of God. And there's no description other than what my feeble words could even muster up. Where Moses' face reflected the glory of God, Jesus projects the glory of God because he is God. Again, the imagery, guys. I mean, this is incredible. Where Moses was just a mere reflection, and the people were afraid of Moses, but Jesus is the production of God's glory because he is God's glory. John 1 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And if that wasn't enough, if Jesus completely glorified on the mountain was not enough, we get Moses and Elijah too. I mean, if you're like a Bible nerd, you're like, oh my gosh, these are the OGs. This is Moses and Elijah. Right? I mean, just imagine the visual of this. That you're up there and you're rubbing your eyes, right? You're coming out of sleep and you're going, whoa, that's Jesus, and they go, that's Moses. That's Elijah. And they're chatting it up. And if anything, that confirms to us that there is a world beyond here, guys. There is a life beyond this life, that we get so consumed by what we can do here on this carnal earth, but man, there is eternity for you. An eternity where we exist with Jesus and we're chatting it up. And not only this, but the symbolism. Moses represents the law, Elijah representing the prophets, and they're standing here affirming the Son. The Old Testament prophets are not visiting Jesus as peers, right? They're not chatting as three guys who've made it through life. They are bearing witness to him who is the one. The Old Testament prophets are here saying, This is what my life was culminating to. This is everything that was for me, is now is on this mountain in this moment. Jesus is not a prophet greater than Elijah. He is the son to whom Elijah was pointing. Jesus is not a lawgiver greater than Moses. He is the Lord whose word is law. That is Jesus. And so the question that we see first and foremost is as we get the glimpse on the mountain, do you see Jesus for who he is? Is he the Son of God? Christ incarnate, glory to be revealed to you, Christian. Is that who he is this morning? And not only is he the glory of God, he is worthy of every area of your life, regardless of the cost. And here we are, right, in this amazing moment. I mean, I can't imagine it. And then enters Peter. Come on, Peter. And this brings us to our next movement, the voice over the mountain. I want to ask, have you ever been in a moment so intense, right? So focused, like, you man, you're so locked in. Like this is just such an amazing moment that it is just enveloping every aspect of your attention, and then somebody says something and just completely ruins it. Well, here enters Peter, right? Leave it to Peter here in this moment that is hard to put in words, and then he decides to chime in. I can't imagine James and John standing there just being like, oh my god. Like, Peter, dude, shut up, Peter. Right? And what does Peter say? I mean, I love Peter. Mainly because I see myself in Peter, right? And we can give Peter a hard time, but he's just being human. But he, out of fear, he says, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. No duh, Peter. But then, and then he goes to say, Well, let's build three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, and we can be here. Right? And at first glance, you're like, that was kind of a weird thing to say, Peter, but all right. But again, Peter's just being human, and he's trying to do two things. First, he's trying to understand it. How many times do we just try to understand Jesus? And by understanding Jesus, instead of truly understanding who he is, we just try to put him in some vein of understanding that we can muster up in that moment. Right? He says, Man, this is good that we are here. Uh let's build three tents, three tabernacles. This must be the Feast of Tabernacles. I mean, I'm sure from the Old Testament, here we go. Like, oh, the God's God's gonna dwell. Here we go. He's trying to just muster up whatever theology that he can put his mind around, and in this moment, he puts his foot in his mouth. Second, I think, not only does he try to understand it, he tries to manage it. He doesn't make a request for clarification, right? He doesn't ask a question. Instead, he tries to take action. He's trying to build something. He's trying to freeze a moment in place, to stay on the mountain and establish this moment. And we do the same, don't we? When we experience God in our lives, when we walk with the Lord, so often we meet something that we don't quite comprehend. And instead of trusting in the Lord, resting in the Lord, seeking the Lord, we say, you know what? I think this is what you're meaning, God, and I'm gonna go ahead and just start doing this over here. I'm gonna go ahead and try to take it ten leagues down the road. I'm gonna go ahead and help you out, God, and get ahead of this. You'll probably appreciate that. And what do we end up doing but putting our foot in our mouth? And where Peter makes a mistake here is not just because I think he puts Jesus and Moses and Elijah on the same playing field, right? I think that's a dangerous thing to do. That's saying, oh, well, we'll build three tents, three equal tents, Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. And Jesus is like, Do you not see me? I'm glowing. I'm pretty radiant here, Peter. That Moses and Elijah are submitting to me, that I am the Son of God. I think the real issue with this statement is the theological weight behind it. That Peter wants God to dwell with his people. That's not a bad thing. Where Peter often makes his mistake is that he is trying to usher in something before it's time. That he is thinking this is the moment. The Messiah is glorified, the law and the prophets are present, the kingdom has come. Let's set up permanent residence here on this mountain. And then let's not leave it. I want to be on this mountain now. I want this now. But it's through the cross that this will be established, not on the mountain. And then what happens? A cloud overshadows them. A cloud, the same as an Exodus. With the thunder and with the lightning. The presence of the Lord descends on the mountain. The same cloud that filled the tabernacle, the same cloud that filled the house of the Lord, the same cloud that led them in the wilderness now descends on this mountain. And here we see immediately after Peter's comments, God the Father descends to chime in. And that is our voice over the mountain. If you weren't already afraid, I mean, I don't know if you were ever in school and you said something just off the cuff, and you're like, I didn't really think about that before that came out, and then the teacher immediately chimes in and kind of corrects you. That's nothing compared to Peter on the mountain before the glorified Jesus, and God the Father descends on the mountain. I mean, I feel for Peter right now. Peter's going through it. But then we get our second truth because what does God the Father say? He says that he sends and he says, This is my beloved Son. Listen to him. Listen to him. Our second truth is revealed. The voice over the mountain reveals that Jesus is the Son of God, Christian, without a shadow of the doubt. That it has been alluded to, it has been referenced to, it has been talked about. It is now unmistakably clear. You cannot deny it. Jesus is Son of God in the flesh. An immediate echo back to Mark chapter 1, right? Let's fast forward or rewind here to the beginning of this sermon series. We see in Mark 1, Jesus is baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, and what happens? But God descends and said, This is my son for who I am well pleased. God affirms Jesus in his ministry. He is affirming Jesus in his sacrifice here on the mountain. As Abraham took Isaac up the mountain as a sacrifice before God, and there the Lord provided him a ram in the thicket. I mean, as a father to take my son up a mountain, the faith that that requires, to say, I'm going to sacrifice my only son, because God has called me to do so. First, God's grace, that there's a ram in the thicket. And what does Abraham say out of praise, on the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided? That's what Abraham says in that moment. And here we are on the mountain, and God is offering up his beloved son and saying that he is the sacrifice. It's Jesus. And here he is, and he is my beloved son. You will listen to him. Take heart, Christian. The Lord our God is in control, and he has made a way. And then the only command given in this whole passage, the command is not build, the command is not stay, the command is listen. Listen to Jesus. And the cloud lifts, Moses is gone, Elijah is gone, but Jesus remains. Out of all the intensity happening, God tells them one thing: listen to my son. And I ask us this: how many of us need that this morning? How many of us need the idea, the understanding that are you seeing the king clearly? But are you listening to him? How many of us need to stop building and stop controlling and trying to muster up some understanding of this kingdom instead of resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ? And just listening to him. And resting in him and abiding in him and obeying him. When Jesus says something, we do it. What would that life be like? Put your trust in the one who is glorified over all things, a Christian. And here we see Jesus, the Son of God, revealed in all of his glory. And what should our response be every day? We listen. We obey. We rest. And then what happens next? They descend the mountain. What a shift, right? All of this tumultuous things are happening on the mountain. You're seeing the most amazing thing you have ever experienced in your life, by far. And then you gotta leave the mountain. I don't even know what that's like. But this leads us to our last movement in this text, and it is the departure from the mountain. I mean, imagine the walk back to camp. Like I don't know what you really do on the walk back from Jesus' transfiguration. Specifically for Peter. I cannot imagine how awkward that was for Peter. He's walking around, he's like, Jesus, ah. What I said back there was a little crazy. Like I was just joking. You know, like I just can't imagine Peter, dude. Like, poor Peter. I don't know. I imagine James and John are just like, dude, Peter, just quit, man. Like you're you're so far behind. Now, some accounts may end the scene with Jesus on the mountain, and I think that would be appropriate, but I love that Mark keeps going as we get a view of the descent. And as they descend, Jesus immediately charges them, something that he's done before, but he charges them to not say anything until what? That's specifically, not until the Son of Man has risen. He says, you will keep this to yourself until it is finished. Why does Jesus say this? Ultimately, I think that it's because Jesus wanted to, and we trust Jesus. But I like to think that also the mountain really does not make sense unless it's in the light of an empty tomb. The mountain doesn't have the full picture unless there is a tomb that still remains empty to this day. If we preach the transfiguration without the cross, you have glory without the gospel. You need the gospel. Because what glory is it that is the glory that redeemed and rose Jesus from the grave? And yet the disciples still see in part. You gotta love the disciples. They are human. They're walking down the mountain and they're questioning. They're just trying to put it all together, and I would be the same. As they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what does the rising from the dead mean, Jesus? Like, what is that? What is he even talking about? And then the thing they ask Jesus isn't, okay, well, tell okay, tell us who you are. Okay, tell us whether it was like well, isn't Elijah supposed to come first? That's what the disciples say. They come from the transfiguration of Jesus, and they're like, well, but wait a minute. I thought Elijah was supposed to come first. Dude, the disciples. But I love Jesus in his grace. He meets them where they're at. Right? He doesn't chastise them, he doesn't beat them down. He affirms them. He says, Elijah does come first to restore all things. He says, You're right. But then he doubles down on himself. Right? What does he say? And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? He says, You have searched the scriptures for Elijah, good for you. I love that. But do you seek also to understand the Son of Man? Just because thus there are scriptures that promised the coming of Elijah, so are scriptures that promised a suffering servant. Our servant king. And that leads us to our final truth this morning: that the departure from the mountain reveals that Jesus is our suffering servant. And he finishes and says, But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written of him. And we see in the Synoptic Gospels, he was talking of John the Baptist, right? We've mentioned this before that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who came to prepare the way, he came in the spirit of Elijah. But here he says, Elijah has come, but there is one who is still here and is going, and that is me, the Son of Man, the suffering servant. I'm going to die for you, Peter. I'm going to die for you, James and John. Something that Isaiah knew hundreds of years before this moment. Isaiah 53, 3 through 5, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and was esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Jesus is our suffering servant. Let's rewind back to Jesus with Moses and Elijah, right? They're standing there. Hear Jesus in his glory, and they're talking. And man, at first glance in Mark, you're man, man, what are they talking about? I wonder what they are talking about. Well, praise God, we don't have to question that. Because in Luke 9, as his account of the transfiguration, he tells us, and behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of this departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. He spoke of a departure that was about to be accomplished at Jerusalem. What would that departure be? But the cross. Not just the departure off the mountain, which would lead to a valley where there would come to a boy of an unclean spirit, but it was a departure with Jesus knowing that a road would lead to a cross. And a cross for you, Christian. And if you want to even know even more something incredible, what is the Greek word for departure in this passage of Luke? Exodus. Exodus. Jesus is performing his Exodus, and that is ushering his people into the kingdom. Whereas Moses prepared a way through the Red Sea to get to Mount Sinai, on the mount where he saw the glory of God, Jesus has prepared a way, the greater Moses, the perfect Moses. And he has prepared a way on the mountain here as the glory of God has been revealed. And now he descends the mountain to go to the cross. In all his glory, fully God, who has some humbled himself and suffers for his people, our servant King, the same Christ whose face shines like the sun on the mountain is the same Christ who will be beaten and hung on a cross. The same Christ who is honored by Moses and Elijah, and he will be hung on a cross between two thieves. Christ who has made a way for his people. Where Moses made a way for his people out of physical slavery, Jesus makes a way for his people out of spiritual slavery, and that is sin. You have been freed this morning, Christian. If you sit here and think you are not loved, get over yourself. You are loved deeply this morning. Because you have a God in heaven who has given his only beloved, precious Son, who is standing on a mountain, glorified. God in flesh, who humbled himself to the dirty roads of Galilee, and he departed that mountain. He had every authority to stay on the mountain and continue to be glorified in worships. You would have to go to the mountain to see him. Good. You should have to go to the mountain to see him. He deserves that. He deserves the hike up. He deserves the kneeling at his feet. But he went down the mountain. He went to the cross. He suffered for you so that you may have everlasting life. This is the servant king that we serve. This is our suffering servant. As we close this morning, I'm going to invite the band back up. Six days before, Jesus told his disciples something challenging. The Son of Man must suffer. The Son of Man must be killed. And I think when you see Jesus and His glory, when we see Jesus and who He is, man, what the weight of that. But what Jesus was trying to make the disciples understand is that the road to glory goes through the cross. And here Jesus pulls the veil back and reveals to his disciples and us who he has been the whole time. The glory of God, his beloved Son, our suffering servant. Jesus knew his disciples would be facing challenges. And what grace that he shows them this glimpse right now. Because Jesus knew, I mean, look at Peter. What would happen to Peter? He'd be imprisoned, he'd be crucified upside down. What would happen to James? James would be beheaded like John the Baptist. What would happen to John, but exiled to an island where he would ultimately receive the revelation of Jesus? Jesus knew that they were going to be on a long, suffering road. But what better to sustain them than his glory? That you don't walk alone, Christian. Take heart this morning that you do not walk down the mountain by yourself. That you may be on a mountain and God is good and he is great, but you will descend the mountain to a valley. In the valley he will be there. In the valley of the shadows of death, I will fear no evil. In his glory, that sustains us. But not only his glory, your glory, Christian. Do you understand that what happened to Jesus on that mountain, the transfiguration, his glory being revealed is the same glory that is awaiting you in heaven with him? The word metamorphos, right, is only used four times in the Greek New Testament. Only four times. One of them being here in Mark, another one in Matthew 17, which is his account of this same instance. But there's two others, and we see them in Romans and in 2 Corinthians, and they pertain to the believer. Romans 12, 2, do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 2 Corinthians 3.18, and above all, or and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of God, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. There will come a day when we are glorified in heaven with Christ, and what a day that will be. Amen. That is the North Star we fix our eyes on. You can suffer anything, Christian. It doesn't matter what you go through. Because there's a glory waiting for you in heaven with your Savior. And that glory is happening now. That He is conforming you to the image of the Son from one degree of glory to another. You may not see it clearly now, we may only see in part, but God is faithful that he will get us through. And we know this with Peter. We can see ourselves in Peter. So many times, Peter is struggling to understand. He's putting maybe one foot too far forward than the other. And here in this moment, Jesus is seeing the transfigured Christ. And even going down the mountain, he's struggling. He's I don't understand. And then what happens to Peter? But he denies Jesus three times. The transfigured who he saw, and in the weight of pressure says, I don't know him. I don't know Jesus. I don't know who that guy is. And what did he do? But he left sorrowful, broken and weeping, saying, I rejected the one. I rejected the living God. And what does Jesus do with Peter? He forgives him. Then he asks him three times, Do you love me? He says, I love you, Lord. And then what does Jesus tell him to do? Follow me. Just follow me. Listen to me. And Peter listened so much so that he gave his life for Jesus. And I love that we don't have to question Peter's maturity. We get to see it unfold in the Bible. If you fast forward to 2 Peter 1, this is the Peter that we saw in the transfiguration, struggling to understand, and this is what he says. For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this very voice from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. That's Peter, right? And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Until the dawn, the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Jesus has come, Jesus has died, Jesus has risen, and Peter knows it. And Peter is standing here saying, I can say to you with full affirmation, with full assurance that Jesus is the Son of God, not just because of who he is, but because I saw it. I was on the mountain. I was there in that moment. And I'm telling you now, he is worth following. That he is worth listening to. We serve an amazing God, Christian. One who is with you and loves you. The cost is real, but so is the glory. The suffering is present, but guess what? So is his grace. And eternity with our Savior has been promised to each of us. I'm going to have you bow your head this morning as we close. And for the person here that may not know Christ, right here he is. In all his glory, in all his praise, he deserves your life. I'm telling you that now. Because he is so worthy of it. And to live a life without him, it's bleak. You may have some comforts here, but I promise you, this is not the only life there is. There is an eternity and an eternity apart from him. It's not one I want to live. And I plead with you, don't leave this place without knowing Jesus. Don't leave this place without seeing Jesus for who he is. And for the Christian this morning, this is the God you serve. This is your Jesus. He is King, reigning forever in all of his glory. Our great shepherd who will lead us through the valley. And see, we are at home with him. The thing is, we don't stay on the mountain. We walk down the mountain too. There's work to be done. There is a valley to go through. And there are people in need, just like that boy with the unclean spirit. And we are called to reflect Jesus. We are called to embody Jesus. We are called to love Jesus and listen to him. So I ask you this morning: where in your life does that need to happen? Where in your life does that need to change to where Jesus has full authority in that area? We're going to close with this song and take this time as long as you need. This is a place where we can just be with our Savior. This altar is open. If you need me, I'll be in the back. If you again do not know Jesus, I just encourage you to not leave here without Him.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

Shall all pass away, no more tears, and one day you'll make sense of it all. Jesus, one day every question resolved, and every anxious thought left behind no more fear.