SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for that beautiful singing this morning.
SPEAKER_00: As you're being seated and settling into your comfortable little pew there, if you would take out your copy of God's word and join me back in the Gospel of Mark this morning, we find ourselves in Mark chapter 9 today.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't want on your phone, or if you don't have a Bible itself, uh we'd love for you to use the one that is in the pew back in front of you.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't own a Bible, take that one.
SPEAKER_00: It is our gift to you.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 9, we're going to be on page 905 in that pew Bible this morning.
SPEAKER_00: One of Jesus' closest disciples, a young man by the name of John, who was called the beloved disciple, wrote a gospel, and in his gospel he starts it this way: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
SPEAKER_00: He's describing Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And then when you get down to verse 14, it says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
SPEAKER_00: As John wrote those words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was introducing us to something known as the incarnation.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ being both divine and human, meaning in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: It means that God left heaven in the form of Jesus and he came to earth and he took on flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians chapter two, verse nine says that the fullness of God, the fullness of deity dwelt in his body.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews chapter one says he is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of the characteristics of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is both God and he is man.
SPEAKER_00: He is both divine and he is human.
SPEAKER_00: He has always been and he always will be.
SPEAKER_00: He has always been God, but he became man.
SPEAKER_00: He took on flesh.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible teaches that Jesus was both human and divine.
SPEAKER_00: It teaches us over and over again about his human characteristics, who needed parents to help raise him.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that Jesus grew weary.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that he grew tired.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that he grew hungry and thirsty.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that he had emotions, that he was sorrowful and he wept.
SPEAKER_00: It tells us that he was beaten and he bled and he died.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible is clear that Jesus was human.
SPEAKER_00: He took on flesh, but the Bible is also clear that Jesus is God.
SPEAKER_00: He did things that only God could do.
SPEAKER_00: He caused the lame to walk, he caused the blind to see, he caused the deaf to hear.
SPEAKER_00: He cast out demons.
SPEAKER_00: He healed diseases.
SPEAKER_00: He calmed storms with the word of his voice.
SPEAKER_00: He raised people back to life who had been dead.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, three days after his own crucifixion, Jesus Christ Himself came back to life.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is both God and man.
SPEAKER_00: He is God veiled in flesh.
SPEAKER_00: This is the doctrine of the incarnation.
SPEAKER_00: And it is vitally important.
SPEAKER_00: It is not an unimportant doctrine to believe that Jesus is both God and man.
SPEAKER_00: You see, well, I think it's important that we believe that he's a man.
SPEAKER_00: And some say, oh, I believe it's important we believe he's God.
SPEAKER_00: No, it's important that you completely understand and comprehend and believe that he is both God and man.
SPEAKER_00: He had to be in order to fulfill his mission.
SPEAKER_00: He had to be man in order to take the punishment for man's sin, to drink the wrath of God's cup against man's sin.
SPEAKER_00: But he had to be God to be the perfect once-for-all sacrifice to take our sin away.
SPEAKER_00: We come to Mark chapter 9 this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We come to a transition in Mark's gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Everything in the pre-ing up to this section, and from this point on, we are headed directly to the cross of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He transitions here in chapter 9.
SPEAKER_00: From leading up to this great confession that we saw a couple weeks ago when Jesus asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am?
SPEAKER_00: And they gave various opinions, and Jesus said, Fine, who do you say that I am?
SPEAKER_00: And it was Simon Peter who said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
SPEAKER_00: He said, After two years, Jesus, I finally figured it out.
SPEAKER_00: You are the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: You are the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, for flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: And upon this rock I will build my church.
SPEAKER_00: There was that great confession.
SPEAKER_00: You are God in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: You are the Christ.
SPEAKER_00: But you will remember that there was also confusion because Jesus immediately after that great confession began to describe what was going to take place, rejected by his own people, that he would suffer many things, that he would be killed, and then he would be resurrected.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter said, No, Lord, God forbid that should ever happen.
SPEAKER_00: I won't let that happen.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, Get behind me, Satan, for you don't have in mind the things of God, but only the things of man.
SPEAKER_00: Peter understood that Jesus was the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: He just didn't understand all the ramifications of what that meant.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't understand the type of Messiah that he was.
SPEAKER_00: Peter expected him to overthrow governments, and Jesus didn't come to overthrow governments, Jesus came to overthrow Satan.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus then began to tell his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: You must deny yourself, and you must pick up your cross and follow me.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to be my follower, you have to stop trying to earn your own salvation.
SPEAKER_00: You have to stop and you have to die to self and live for me.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples had to be confused over this.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples had to be confused over a Messiah who would go to a cross.
SPEAKER_00: They had to be confused over a God who took on flesh, who would lay down his life, and then call on his own disciples to do the same.
SPEAKER_00: Regardless of what anyone might tell you, being a Christ follower is not easy.
SPEAKER_00: Being a genuine follower of Christ is not all Skittles and rainbows.
SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's difficult to deny ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: It's difficult to pick up our cross and follow him.
SPEAKER_00: It's difficult to live for the kingdom of God and not the things of this world.
SPEAKER_00: It is hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's hard not to back up when people say things about us for being Christians.
SPEAKER_00: It's up for truth and for what is right when the world around us tries to conform us into their image.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus has told us don't be conformed by the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus knew that what he was asking his disciples and what they were about to experience was going to be more than they could handle.
SPEAKER_00: And he was about to give them an experience that would steady their souls, that would strengthen their hands, and that would give them confidence moving forward.
SPEAKER_00: We come to Mark chapter 9, and in it we come to a familiar passage called the Transfiguration.
SPEAKER_00: A unique story in the life of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is about to say something very controversial.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, very confusing for those of us looking back at it, trying to figure out exactly what he was saying.
SPEAKER_00: If you're willing and able, would you stand with me in his word this morning?
SPEAKER_00: As we consider this unique story in Jesus' life.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 9, beginning in verse 1, and Jesus was saying to the disciples, Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come in power.
SPEAKER_00: Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
SPEAKER_00: Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.
SPEAKER_00: Let us make three tabernacles, three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: For he did not know what to answer, for they became terrified.
SPEAKER_00: Then a cloud formed, overshadowed him out of the cloud.
SPEAKER_00: This is my beloved son.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: All at once they looked around and saw no one with them any more, except Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.
SPEAKER_00: They asked him, saying, Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Elijah does first come and restore all things.
SPEAKER_00: And yet, how is it written that the Son of Man, that he will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
SPEAKER_00: But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come.
SPEAKER_00: And they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we pray that you would bless the reading of your word, that you would open our hearts and our minds to understand the truth of it.
SPEAKER_00: Father, this unique story of Jesus revealing his glory, Lord, help us to understand why it's here.
SPEAKER_00: It's been protected and what the message is for us today.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, transform us into your image, we pray, through your word.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 1 of chapter 9 is a transitional verse.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is moving the conversation towards the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Mark, as he's writing his gospel, is led up to this great confession, and now he's leading us to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Jesus said these things to his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: He said, There are some of those who are standing here who will not see death until after the kingdom of God has come with power.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the most controversial texts in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: People have tried to figure out what in the world is Jesus referring to here.
SPEAKER_00: Some people say this is a problem in the text, but others have pointed and said, well, clearly Jesus is talking about the resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: That not all the disciples would pose from the grave and we see the power of God and the glory of God in the resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: Certainly that could be true.
SPEAKER_00: Others point to the Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit fell out of heaven and empowered the church in Acts.
SPEAKER_00: Others point to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 and say that is what the power was all about.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that it refers to the resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that it refers to Pentecost.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that it refers to the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
SPEAKER_00: I think the context tells us that it refers to what immediately happens right afterwards.
SPEAKER_00: I think it points to the time when Jesus took three disciples up on a mountain and did something he never did at any other point in his ministry.
SPEAKER_00: At any other point in his human life.
SPEAKER_00: He peeled back the curtain and let them glimpse at his eternal glory.
SPEAKER_00: I think that is what Jesus is referring to in verse one, which now Mark describes for us.
SPEAKER_00: Some people are better than others at using the human language to describe things.
SPEAKER_00: But there are still times, even with those that are most gifted with the English language, where words fail to describe what we can see with our eyes.
SPEAKER_00: If you've ever tried to describe the brilliance or the vibrance of a sunset, you know that words are almost fruitless to do so.
SPEAKER_00: Trying to describe the beauty of your bride as the doors open at the back of the sanctuary and she makes her way down the aisle to you on your wedding day, words fail to describe the beauty there.
SPEAKER_00: Trying to use words to illustrate what a newborn baby looks like and brings joy.
SPEAKER_00: There are just some circumstances where words just fail us when we try to describe the beauty that we see.
SPEAKER_00: Now imagine trying to use words to describe the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine, even under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describe, I saw God in his glory, and this is what it looks like.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we face with Mark.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, we find it also in Matthew chapter 17 and in Luke chapter 9.
SPEAKER_00: This same story, all three gospel writers trying to help us to understand that Jesus is revealing his glory.
SPEAKER_00: It is a unique story in the life of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing like it happens at any other point that we have recorded in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: This is the one and only time that Jesus allows people to see him for who he truly is, peeling back the flesh, radiating the glory of God so that they might know who he is.
SPEAKER_00: Apart from the resurrection, this may be the greatest miracle that Jesus performs.
SPEAKER_00: Simply letting people see who he is.
SPEAKER_00: Mark describes transformation.
SPEAKER_00: He then describes a visitation, a hesitation, and an explanation.
SPEAKER_00: That's where we're headed, okay?
SPEAKER_00: He describes a transformation.
SPEAKER_00: He describes for us a visitation, a hesitation, and an explanation.
SPEAKER_00: I promise it won't take long to get through all of those.
SPEAKER_00: I scared you, you outline takers.
SPEAKER_00: First we see a transformation.
SPEAKER_00: Mark tells us that he took with him six days later three disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Six days later, Luke records it's eight days later.
SPEAKER_00: What they're trying to say is about a week after the events that just happened in chapter 8, when they are in Caesarea Philippi, and Simon Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, You got it right, but I'm going to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to follow me, you have to pick up your cross and follow me.
SPEAKER_00: About a week after that, Jesus takes three of his disciples, Simon Peter, James, and John's disciples.
SPEAKER_00: These are the leaders amongst the other nine disciples.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus takes them up on a high mountain.
SPEAKER_00: Now, neither of the none of the gospel writers record for us which mountain it is, but if they are in Caesarea Philippi, the only logical mountain would be Mount Hermon, which towered over this region and was often snow capped.
SPEAKER_00: He takes these three.
SPEAKER_00: He often would go to mountains.
SPEAKER_00: Luke records for us that he went there to pray.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus would often take Simon Peter, James, and John with him, pull away from the crowds, go into a mountain and pray.
SPEAKER_00: He went to the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified.
SPEAKER_00: He took all of his disciples, but he took three in further.
SPEAKER_00: You remember which three he took in further?
SPEAKER_00: Simon, Peter, James, and John.
SPEAKER_00: He wanted these three to experience something that the others would not experience.
SPEAKER_00: While they are praying, Mark, in his economy of words, says Jesus was transformed before them.
SPEAKER_00: Describe it for you.
SPEAKER_00: I have no words to describe the brilliance for it, so I'm just going to tell you what happened.
SPEAKER_00: He was transformed before them.
SPEAKER_00: Mark, I need more.
SPEAKER_00: Mark, tell me, what does that look like?
SPEAKER_00: Mark, what in the world?
SPEAKER_00: What was that like?
SPEAKER_00: He is transformed before them.
SPEAKER_00: The word we are familiar with.
SPEAKER_00: If you were here last Sunday, we looked at Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and verse 2, where Jesus tells us not to be conformed to the world, not to be pressured and molded from the outside, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
SPEAKER_00: And I told you last week that word is metamorphosis.
SPEAKER_00: It means a change from the inside out.
SPEAKER_00: And what happens here is Jesus is just letting them see on the outside what he was on the inside.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel writers record for us that several things happen.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, Mark tells us that his clothes began to dazzle and brilliant.
SPEAKER_00: He says it was so white, the clothes became so white that there's not a launderer on earth, there's not a dry cleaner on earth who can make your whites look so white.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what laundry detergent is proud of making things white, but they could not make this that white.
SPEAKER_00: The point is, this was not earthly, this was heavenly.
SPEAKER_00: And then it tells us that his face began to shine.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew and Luke both record that his face began to shine with brilliance.
SPEAKER_00: In the incarnation, something changed.
SPEAKER_00: In the incarnation, a change took place.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus took on flesh, but in the transformation, nothing changed.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus just simply revealed what he always was.
SPEAKER_00: He revealed his divinity.
SPEAKER_00: He revealed his true nature.
SPEAKER_00: And he allowed the disciples to get a glimpse.
SPEAKER_00: In the Old Testament, Jesus, or God is often, when he reveals himself, it is in a fire or in a bright light.
SPEAKER_00: He also reveals himself in a cloud at times.
SPEAKER_00: And his face began to shine.
SPEAKER_00: Can you think of a time in the Old Testament when somebody else's face was shining, such that they had to wear a veil?
SPEAKER_00: Can anybody remember a time?
SPEAKER_00: Who was that that happened to?
SPEAKER_00: Moses.
SPEAKER_00: And what had Moses just been doing?
SPEAKER_00: He had been up on Mount Sinai with God, receiving the Ten Commandments in the presence of God, and his face was shining.
SPEAKER_00: The only difference here is Moses' face was reflecting the light that he saw.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' face is the source of the light.
SPEAKER_00: But he is shining.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is letting them see who he is.
SPEAKER_00: He's giving them a glimpse, a glimpse backwards to see his eternal deity, his eternal glory, that he has always been God.
SPEAKER_00: He's just taken on flesh and veiled it.
SPEAKER_00: And he's giving them a glimpse into the future of what it will one day look like when all things are set right and when he returns in his glory.
SPEAKER_00: It is a preview of things to come.
SPEAKER_00: But why?
SPEAKER_00: What's the point?
SPEAKER_00: Why does Jesus do this?
SPEAKER_00: Why does he take these three men up on the mountain and peel back the The curtain and let them see his glory.
SPEAKER_00: What's the purpose in this?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus know he will be heading towards Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: He will be rejected.
SPEAKER_00: He will be arrested.
SPEAKER_00: He will be beaten.
SPEAKER_00: He will be crucified.
SPEAKER_00: He will take the wrath of God upon his sinless soldiers' shoulders so that you and I might be made right with God and he will be resurrected.
SPEAKER_00: He knows exactly where he's headed when they come down off of Mount Hermon.
SPEAKER_00: And he knows what he's about to ask his disciples to do.
SPEAKER_00: He knows that suffering is going to come before glory.
SPEAKER_00: And he knows what he's asking his disciples to do and following him to the cross and then telling others about his resurrection when he rises again.
SPEAKER_00: And he knows that they need their faith strengthened.
SPEAKER_00: They need certainty.
SPEAKER_00: And so he peels back.
SPEAKER_00: It's just been a week since he jolted them with the truth that the cross is coming.
SPEAKER_00: They are still reeling, trying to figure out.
SPEAKER_00: And imagine the conversations taking place amongst the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: What does he mean?
SPEAKER_00: I can imagine for a week the conversations that Jesus was having with them.
SPEAKER_00: And so there's a transformation that takes place.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus reveals his glory, but there's also a visitation in verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: It says, while Jesus is praying and he's transformed, that they looked, and there were two Old Testament figures there.
SPEAKER_00: There were two men from the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: Two Old Testament heroes.
SPEAKER_00: Moses, who was the lawgiver.
SPEAKER_00: Moses who went up on Mount Sinai and received the law.
SPEAKER_00: Moses who had delivered the nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: Moses is standing before them.
SPEAKER_00: Elijah, the first great prophet, the prophet who went up on Mount Carmel and fought against the prophets of Baal and Asher and all the false gods.
SPEAKER_00: There he was.
SPEAKER_00: These two men, these two heroes, the law, Elijah representing the prophets.
SPEAKER_00: Moses, who, by the way, when he died, God let no one know where he was buried.
SPEAKER_00: God alone buried him.
SPEAKER_00: And Elijah never died.
SPEAKER_00: He was taken up into heaven on a fiery chariot in a whirlwind.
SPEAKER_00: And these two men are standing there, having a conversation with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: This is a conversation I would like to hear.
SPEAKER_00: This is a conversation when Moses and Elijah show up and talk to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I want to hear that conversation.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew, Mark don't tell us anything about the conversation, but Luke does.
SPEAKER_00: Luke chapter 9, verse 31 tells us that they were talking to Jesus about his departure from Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: The word departure there, anybody want to take a wild guess what that word is?
SPEAKER_00: Exodus.
SPEAKER_00: They were talking to him about his exodus.
SPEAKER_00: They were talking to him about the cross.
SPEAKER_00: They were talking to him about his mission and how when he got to Jerusalem, he would deliver the people who were in bondage to sin.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine Moses, who is the forerunner?
SPEAKER_00: Moses, who is the type, Moses, who is the one who points us to the true deliverer, is standing there talking to the true deliverer about an Exodus.
SPEAKER_00: I think from a human standpoint, these men were there to embolden Jesus on his mission.
SPEAKER_00: To talk to him about what he had come to do.
SPEAKER_00: That before glory came, the cross would come.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine Peter or James or John seeing the glory of God revealed?
SPEAKER_00: And that's not enough.
SPEAKER_00: Not only that, but there are Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus about how he's going to deliver people from their sin.
SPEAKER_00: But then there's a hesitation we see in verses five and six.
SPEAKER_00: How do you respond to this?
SPEAKER_00: All three gospel writers tell us that the men on that mountain were dumbfounded.
SPEAKER_00: They could not speak, they could not act.
SPEAKER_00: They did not know what to say.
SPEAKER_00: They didn't know how to handle the situation.
SPEAKER_00: They struggled for words.
SPEAKER_00: But somehow our good friend Simon Peter came up with a way to get something out.
SPEAKER_00: And if you know anything about Simon Peter, he often let his mouth move before engaging his brain.
SPEAKER_00: And he does it once again here.
SPEAKER_00: He somehow comes up with this, and you just want to say, no, stop.
SPEAKER_00: Just be quiet.
SPEAKER_00: Just soak it in, brother.
SPEAKER_00: Just be quiet.
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: He says, hey, Rabbi, master, it is good that we are here.
SPEAKER_00: It is so good.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, why don't we build three tents?
SPEAKER_00: One for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: And let's just hang out right here on the mountain for a little while.
SPEAKER_00: It is good that we are here.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Jesus, this is more like it.
SPEAKER_00: This is more of what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_00: When you said you were the Messiah and you asked me to come follow you, this is the kind of cool stuff I was looking forward to.
SPEAKER_00: The glory of God, Old Testament guys coming back.
SPEAKER_00: Power, this is cool.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, by the way, this is what you need to be blasting out on social media.
SPEAKER_00: Stop with the cross stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Stop with the suffering stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants to hear that.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants to follow that.
SPEAKER_00: This is good.
SPEAKER_00: This is the good.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's so good.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, this is the month of the Feast of Tabernacles.
SPEAKER_00: This is the month when that nation would celebrate the Feast of Booze or Tabernacles.
SPEAKER_00: Some of our ladies are going through a study called the Seven Feasts of the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: And I think one of your studies, I'm confident one of your studies, will be the Feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles.
SPEAKER_00: It recognized this: that there was a time in the nation of Israel's history when God delivered them out of bondage and slavery and took them through a wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: And while they were in the wilderness, God provided everything they needed.
SPEAKER_00: And every year the nation of Israel commemorated that God delivers us and provides for us by leaving their homes and living in tents and lean twos for eight days.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Man, let's just hang out right here.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, we'll build tents for everybody.
SPEAKER_00: It'll be great.
SPEAKER_00: Forget about the people at the bottom of the mountain.
SPEAKER_00: The other nine, they're fine.
SPEAKER_00: They'll figure it out, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We're good right here.
SPEAKER_00: I think this was probably a sincere offer, but a foolish offer from Simon Peter's standpoint.
SPEAKER_00: Because once again, he understood that Jesus was the Messiah, but he was failing to understand his mission.
SPEAKER_00: He did not understand that Jesus didn't come for the Mount of Transfiguration.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't come for the Mount Sinai.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't come for Mount Carmel.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came for a mountain outside the city of Jerusalem called Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus had to go there.
SPEAKER_00: In his own way, Simon Peter accidentally put Jesus on par with Moses and Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: He lowered him, he demoted him.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is so unique.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus isn't like anybody.
SPEAKER_00: Even the two greatest men in the Old Testament fail in comparison to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Acts chapter 4, verse 12 says, There is salvation and no other name, for there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved.
SPEAKER_00: Hey Jesus, this is awesome.
SPEAKER_00: This is the good stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Let's stay right here.
SPEAKER_00: We'll build three tents.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does not respond.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't respond because he didn't have to.
SPEAKER_00: Because somebody else responded for him.
SPEAKER_00: As he's saying those words, a cloud begins to move in.
SPEAKER_00: A massive cloud that overwhelms them, encompasses them.
SPEAKER_00: And from that cloud, a voice thunders out, this is my son, in whom I'm well pleased.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: Three times in the New Testament, the Bible records God speaking audibly.
SPEAKER_00: All three times is to say, This is my son, in whom I'm well pleased.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, Simon Peter.
SPEAKER_00: Be quiet.
SPEAKER_00: I know you have plans.
SPEAKER_00: He's just revealed to you he is God in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: You might want to pay attention to what he has to say.
SPEAKER_00: You might want to listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: When God appears in the Old Testament, He appears as fire or he appears as light, burning bush.
SPEAKER_00: Moses' face shining.
SPEAKER_00: He appears as a cloud sometimes.
SPEAKER_00: A cloud that engulfed the tabernacle as God's presence came into that tabernacle.
SPEAKER_00: A cloud that engulfed the temple as God's presence came into the temple.
SPEAKER_00: A cloud, a pillar of cloud by day to guide the people, and a pillar of fire by night.
SPEAKER_00: God moves in on the scene.
SPEAKER_00: And if it wasn't enough, if they weren't fearful enough, the gospel writers record that at this point they fell on their faces in terror.
SPEAKER_00: It's not enough that Jesus reveals that Moses and Elijah are standing there talking to Jesus about the sacrifice he'll make.
SPEAKER_00: Now the very voice of God is talking to them.
SPEAKER_00: And that leads us to our question.
SPEAKER_00: Because as that cloud lifts and they lift their faces from the ground, what do they see?
SPEAKER_00: Moses is gone, Elijah is gone, the cloud is gone, the radiance of God's glory is gone.
SPEAKER_00: The only thing standing, they only saw Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing else was there except Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: What a wonderful phrase.
SPEAKER_00: What a wonderful sentiment.
SPEAKER_00: Except Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: He is all we need.
SPEAKER_00: He is the fulfillment of the law.
SPEAKER_00: He is the fulfillment of the prophets.
SPEAKER_00: He has completed all.
SPEAKER_00: He is everything that we need.
SPEAKER_00: And so when he speaks, we should listen.
SPEAKER_00: When he talks, we should pay attention.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly, we should listen.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus said, No man comes unto the Father but by me, we should listen.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus says, Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest, we should listen.
SPEAKER_00: As they came down the mountain, two things happened.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, number one, told him, Don't tell anybody.
SPEAKER_00: And they obeyed him.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine?
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever been asked to keep a secret?
SPEAKER_00: I've been asked to keep the secret of the name of my grandson who's going to be born.
SPEAKER_00: I know it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to tell you because I'm a good grandfather.
SPEAKER_00: But that stinks having a promise that you can't, or having a secret that you can't tell anybody.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine Simon, Peter, James, and John coming down off the mountain, the other nine going, hey, what happened?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was just praying.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine keeping the secret?
SPEAKER_00: Why did Jesus ask him to keep it quiet?
SPEAKER_00: Because they still yet did not fully understand.
SPEAKER_00: Because this was just the type of stuff that would have built up that messianic fervor amongst people.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, they're not ready for it yet, just keep it quiet.
SPEAKER_00: And then they began to ask questions.
SPEAKER_00: They asked questions amongst themselves.
SPEAKER_00: What is this resurrection that he's talking about, rising from the dead?
SPEAKER_00: The Jews believed in a resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: They just didn't know that the Messiah was going to die and resurrect.
SPEAKER_00: So they're asking themselves questions.
SPEAKER_00: They don't ask Jesus that question, but they do ask Jesus one question.
SPEAKER_00: They say, Hey, Jesus, we know you're the Messiah, but it's been told to us that the Elijah is going to return before the Messiah comes.
SPEAKER_00: We're confused.
SPEAKER_00: You're the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: Where's Elijah?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, guys, stop worrying about that stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Know where we're headed.
SPEAKER_00: But if you really need to know, and they've already mistreated him.
SPEAKER_00: See, John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: The voice of one calling in the wilderness makes straight the paths, preparing people's hearts to receive the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: John the Baptist has already come.
SPEAKER_00: It's time to go to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: John begins his gospel.
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
SPEAKER_00: In doing so, he introduces us to the concept that Jesus of Nazareth is both God and man, the incarnation.
SPEAKER_00: God took on flesh.
SPEAKER_00: It's a vitally important doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: It's a vitally important belief because without him being God, he couldn't be the perfect sacrifice, and without him being man, he could not be the sacrifice who take on what man deserves.
SPEAKER_00: And as he's heading towards the cross, he wants his disciples to know who he is.
SPEAKER_00: I believe that the purpose of this transformation was to reveal his true nature so that he might fortify the faith of his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: So that as they faced persecution, as they faced suffering, they would be anchored in the confidence that they served the living God.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe that God calls upon us still to serve him today.
SPEAKER_00: Even in the face of that which goes wrong in this world and evil in this world and suffering in this world, we need to do so with confidence that we serve the one true God.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we face suffering in this world simply because we live in a fallen world, because sin has taken over, because we live amongst sinful people, and sometimes we suffer because we've done stupid things and done sinful things ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: But other times we suffer simply for standing up for the name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And God wants you to know there may be suffering now.
SPEAKER_00: But let me give you a glimpse.
SPEAKER_00: Let me just give you a peek into what's going to happen in the future.
SPEAKER_00: And you say, God's not taking me up on a mountain.
SPEAKER_00: I've not been able to see Jesus do this.
SPEAKER_00: Well, the disciples didn't have the word of God, the disciples didn't have the Holy Spirit indwelling in them.
SPEAKER_00: We do.
SPEAKER_00: And we need to have our faith confident in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He is the fulfillment of the law.
SPEAKER_00: He is the fulfulment of the prophets.
SPEAKER_00: And he is God in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Accept Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: That's all they saw.
SPEAKER_00: That's all they needed.