Glory Of God In Christ

Well, thank you, Pastor Jared. This week as I was in a meeting up in Mystown. Anybody ever been to Myerstown, Pennsylvania? About an hour and 15 minutes away, a couple of you have. And I was up there in a meeting and because I don't drive, one of the fellows from the meeting said, hey Paul, I'll give you a ride home. I said, oh great, no big deal. Until I got into the car and I had this encounter in his car because we sat in there and he has a name for his car. So he says some name and. And then he says to the car, he says, car, take us to Grace Community Church, 212 Peach Bottom Road. And from that point on, he never touched the steering wheel, put his foot on the brake or the accelerator. The car drove us and parked us at Grace Community Church, 212 Peach Bottom Road. Hour and 15 minutes. The first 15 minutes I was clinging to the side of the car because I just didn't trust the machine. And after a while I did relax. It was interesting. I've read about cars like this. I just never was in one. I never experienced it. What we just read in Mark chapter nine is something the disciples had read about. Something the disciples wished they could see, wanted to see. But now it had become real. Jesus Christ glorified. This wasn't just an encounter in a car. This is a holy encounter with Jesus Christ. It's one thing to read about Jesus, it's another thing to see and believe that he is real. This weekend we continue in this series through the Gospel of Mark. But we're starting a brand new series called the Unexpected Jesus. Because we've made a turn in the Gospel of Mark, in chapters nine and ten, you're going to notice that there is this sudden shift that happens. Why? Because. Because from a 30,000 foot view, Jesus is now on the move with his disciples and he is asking them to follow him. And where they are going is not necessarily humanly, from our human perspective, a place we'd want to go. I don't know if you recall this. In Mark chapter 8 and verse 29, Jesus asks his disciples a question. He says, who do you say I am? And Peter responds immediately, you are, read this with me. You are the Messiah, that is Christ, that is the anointed One, that is. Hey listen, Jesus, like in modern terms we'd say you're the hero. You're the hero. You're the guy we've read about. You're the guy that we've always wanted to see. Now look at you. You're that guy. Peter is stoked and he is excited. And then as soon as Peter makes this proclamation, Jesus flips the script because he looks at Peter and he says, peter, there's two things you need to know. First, the hero dies in the end. And secondly, if you want to follow the hero, you're going to die. You're going to die. Look what Jesus said to Peter, actually in Mark, chapter eight. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days, rise again. Then he called the crowd to him along with the disciples, and he said, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me forever. Who wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. You've got to understand, Peter, the disciples had no mental category for a hero that dies. They had no mental category for if we follow the hero, we also die. They had no mental space. That was never. That was. That was not an idea in their brains. At this point, Jesus introduces a new thing to them. You see, in their minds, they had this idea that the hero would come. The hero would conquer Rome. The hero then would, Would. Would establish Israel, and Israel would never be defeated. That was what they were thinking, and they had this ingrained in them. And now Jesus flips the script and what he says is, peter, I didn't come to fulfill your vision. I came to fulfill God's plan. I didn't come to fulfill your vision for my life. I came to fulfill God's plan for all humanity. You can imagine it was hard to accept that back then. And for many, it's still hard to accept it. What we read next is that Jesus then, after he had said these things, he then just. What we read in Mark, chapter nine, verse two, is that he does nothing for six days. I mean, just think about this. He makes these two proclamations. The hero's going to die, and if you follow the hero, you're going to die. And then they sit there for six whole days. And then something happens. Now, in the life of Jesus, there's five pivotal moments. His birth, his baptism, his death, his resurrection. And what we're about to look at here, his transfiguration. His transfiguration. Mark, chapter 9. Jesus takes Peter, James and John, and we are read. We are told they go to a high mountain. Now, it's hard to know, but maybe, maybe the guys thought that, okay, Jesus has asked us to go. So this is the moment where he's gonna die and we die, too. Maybe that's what they were thinking. I don't know. But I am trying to think, like, if Jesus came to me after he said, hey, listen, the hero is going to die, and if you follow me, you're going to die, too. I got to be honest with you. It'd be hard for Jesus to get me off the couch at that point. I'm like, I'm not going anywhere with you. But maybe the men were convinced to go because of what he said in chapter nine, verse one, which we didn't read yet this morning, but I want to read it for you now. Jesus said, truly, I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God has come with power. So maybe Peter, James, and John thought, well, we're the sum that he's talking about. And the rest of you disciples, you guys are dead. Sorry. You stay back here. You're going to die. We're going to live. I don't know. But it's enough to motivate Peter, James, and John to get off the couch and follow Jesus. Now, historically, you need to understand, there's only three other people. Historically, whoever saw God on top of a mountain, that'd be Abraham, Moses, and Elijah. So in Mark, chapter nine, we see that Moses and Elijah are there with Jesus. Now, many people have asked, well, Paul, why not Abraham? Listen, I have a whole theory why Abraham wasn't invited to the party. Maybe the invitation got lost in the mail. We can discuss it later. That's what I assume when you have parties and I don't get invited, that it gets lost in the mail. But I. We can talk after the service. I have a whole theory about this. What's so interesting, though, is what we. What we read is that Jesus is there with Moses and Elijah and he's talking to them on the mountain. Now, in Mark's Gospel, we have no idea what they're talking about. It just says, they were talking. They're just talking. Now, you need to know that the transfiguration is recorded not once, not twice, but three times in the Bible. It's recorded in Luke, chapter nine, Matthew, chapter 17, and here, Mark, chapter nine. We do find out, though, in Luke's version of the transfiguration, chapter nine, that they were talking and discussing Jesus's departure, I.e. his exodus from the earth. But Mark doesn't tell us that because Mark is writing from A different perspective. And so let's see how Mark describes The transfiguration. Verses 2 through 4. This is it. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, led them up a high mountain where they were all alone. There he was, say this with me, transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter, along with James and John, are invited to see Jesus in a state that no human being has ever seen him before. They are invited to see Jesus in all his glory. The word here, transfigured, comes from the Greek word metamorpho. And it's interesting. You probably. That probably sounds something similar to your ears. You, metamorphosis. You probably studied about butterflies when you were in school, how the larva becomes a butterfly. You have a caterpillar, it turns into a butterfly. It goes through a process known as metamorphosis, where it changes form and structure and appearance. That's what Mark is trying to describe for us. He says, Jesus changes form and figure and structure and appearance. You get this metamorphosis that is happening. But the reason why we translate it not metamorphosis in English, but transfigured, is because it wasn't just a figuration that happened in Jesus. It's not the figuration of Jesus, it's the transfiguration. It's because, yes, he changes in form and structure and appearance. But you've got to understand there was a transition that happened. When we talk about. Think about this. The word trans is interesting because when we talk about going transcontinental, you're going across land. If we say transatlantic, you're going across the ocean. The word trans here means that Jesus, yes, he changed in form and figure and structure, but he also transitioned in time and space. That's what Mark is getting at, that in this particular moment, Jesus Christ is more than just having a transformation of form. He is transitioning beyond time and space, beyond the death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These guys are getting a glimpse of Jesus, all his glory, as he will appear after the resurrection. It's interesting. In this moment, Peter doesn't fully understand what's happening. Have you ever been there as a parent? You. You look back on an event years later, and you realize how precious it was. And. And sometimes in the moment, you don't fully understand, but years later, you think, maybe, man, we saw something majestic. Well, years later, as an older man, Peter would reflect on the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. And this is what he would write in Second Peter chapter one. He would say, for we did not follow cleverly devised stories. He's talking to an audience. He's saying, listen, we didn't follow fairy tales. Look what he says, for we did not follow cleverly devised stories which when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power. But hear this. We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. What's the majesty Peter's talking about? Well, he explains he received, I.e. jesus, honor and glory from God the Father. When the voice came to him from the majestic glory saying, this is my son, whom I love. With him, I am well pleased. Now listen to what Peter says, because those words are the words that the Father says at the transfiguration. But Peter goes beyond. He says, we ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain years later. Peter says, we didn't just have an encounter. It was a sacred encounter. It was a holy encounter. We were privileged to be there. Peter never forgot this moment. It's interesting that Peter would have this reflection years later, because in the moment after the Father speaks about his Son In Mark, Chapter 9, Mark tells us the disciples didn't know what to say in the moment. Look what he says. Jesus is transfigured. Then, verse 6. He did not know what to say. They were so frightened. Could you imagine being there in Mark, chapter nine to see Jesus Christ glorified, majestic, transfigured in form and space and time, then being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and then hearing the voice of God come from the cloud and saying, this is my son whom I love. Listen to him. The incredible thing is that Jesus let these three guys be witnesses of this. He let them watch it. What the disciples had read about all their life had now become reality. They read about the car, just never drove in it. What they believe was possible has now been confirmed, except for there's one big problem. Do you want to know what it is? I'm going to tell you anyway. The problem is this. How can the transfigured Jesus die? I mean, think about that. You're sitting there thinking, like, look at him. Who's going to kill you? Who's going to come and cause you to suffer? Who's going to put chains on you? Who's going to whip you? Who could? Like, come on. You see, there's something to this story of the transfiguration of Jesus that causes us to have to ask that Question. Another way of asking is this. Why does Jesus want us to believe in a suffering hero? Why does he want us to believe? Not in the transfiguration, it's there, but he wants us to have faith. Have faith in a suffering Messiah. Why does he want us to do that? Well, I think there's two answers. The first is, this faith or belief in this suffering Messiah opens our eyes to see the Son of God. To see the Son of God. Now, many of you know this. I wear contacts, and the contacts have a filter in them that's red. So if you ever come and stare a flashlight at my eyes, you will see that my eyes are red, not brown, because I'm wearing contacts that are red filtered, red tinted. And they help to filter the light so that I don't walk off the stage and embarrass myself and die. Okay? And it's kind of like if you're a little confused, think about like skiers when they're going downhill. Now, I've never skied because, you know, I got kids and a life insurance policy and I don't want that to go up, you know, but they wear these goggles and they're tented. Why? Because if they don't, the white snow and the white sky would blind them. There'd be the white out and they'd run into trees. And so they wear the gauge. Same thing for me. You have this filter so that I can function. Faith is like a filter that allows you to see Jesus Christ for who he is, the Son of God. Now, it's interesting that what happened In Mark, Chapter 8, the ordering of events, matters. In Mark's Gospel, this whole transfiguration got started. Do you remember how it got started? It got started because Peter made a proclamation of faith. He said, jesus, you are the Christ. You're the Messiah. You're the hero that we've read about and we've always wished would come. And then after Peter makes that proclamation, Jesus rewards it by allowing him to see him transfigured. The ordering of events matters. Michael Eaton, in his commentary in the Gospel of Mark, says this. This sequence of events matters. In Mark's Gospel, the transfiguration follows an expression of faith, not the other way around. Jesus honors Peter's confession by allowing Peter to. To see Jesus. That's what faith does. Faith opens our eyes to see the Son of God for who he truly is. Faith expressed is rewarded. There's just one problem. Do you know what blinds our faith? Do you know what blinded the faith of Peter in Mark, chapter nine. It was fear. Peter's initial faith is confirmed when he sees Jesus. But just like the time he walked on water, quickly, Peter starts to sink in. Mark, chapter nine. Because fear sets in and blinds his sight. Look at verses five through eight. Look what happened. Jesus is transfigured. Verses two to four. And then immediately as Jesus transfigured Peter, look what happens next. Peter starts talking and he says, Peter said to Jesus, rabbi, it's good for us to be here. Let us pick up. Let us put up three shelters. One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. Then Mark interludes. And he says he did not know what to say. They were so frightened. Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from heaven. This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him. Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. Did you notice that? Just a few. Just a few days later, six days prior to this, Peter is calling Jesus. What? Christ. But you see what he called him here? Do you see what he called him? In verse five? He says, rabbi, Rabbi. Fear had reduced Jesus, the son of God, to just a teacher. To just a teacher. And then fear moves Peter to what? To want to build shelters. Now, his desire to build these shelters. Shelters, by the way, can be translated booths, tents, or tabernacles. It's so interesting that we don't quite know why Peter wanted to do this. It's kind of perplexing. I don't know about you. Have you ever been so worked up that you didn't really know what to do? You get so worked up, so intense, so. So much anxiety and fear is striking you that you just start, like, I gotta do something. You know, Some people just walk in circles. Some people lose their minds entirely and start dusting. I don't understand that. Never been that afraid. Peter decides he's a fisherman, but he decides, let's start a construction project. Let's start a construction crew. Let's all pick up hammers and nails and start building something. It's like you're a fisherman. What are you doing? Now, scholars have said, and I'm no scholar, that there's possibly four reasons Peter wants to build these tabernacles, these shelters on the mountaintop. And I'll tell you what the four are. Because you love to study the Word first. They were thinking, well, maybe he had in mind that we should practice what is recorded in the book of Exodus and we should celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Maybe that's what he meant. Other scholars have Said, well, you know what? Maybe what Peter wanted to do was this was some kind of, like, you know, saying or, like, ancient battle cry of, like, come on, Israel, pick up your swords. Let's go to war. You know, like. Like, Peter's like, let's build a military headquarters, you know, Fort Pete right here on the mountain, and let's start this thing. Maybe that's what he was doing. Other scholars have said, well, no, no, no, no, no, no. You miss it. Peter just wants to be hospitable. Shelters. Think of it like a tent. He wants to build Moses a tent and Elijah a 10 and Jesus a tent. He just wants the conversation to keep going. He's very like a restaurant owner. You. You know, like, let's just keep talking around food. This is great, guys. Keep it going. I don't know. There's a possibly fourth answer that maybe Peter thought, this is the end. Remember the context. The context is that the hero's gonna die, and if you follow the hero, you're gonna die. And so maybe Peter thought, like, well, this is the end. It's the end. This is what happens, that the Son of Man has to come, and he's come and look at him. He's in his glory. The end of the end times is here. But if you read the rest of Mark, chapter 9, verses 11 through 13, Jesus says, Peter, you don't understand the end. The end only comes after I am raised from the dead. I don't know what was going on in Peter's mind when he said, let's build shelters. I do know what was coming out of his heart. And what was coming out of his heart was fear. He was afraid. He was being motivated by fear. And, friends, fear is a terrible master. Fear will reduce Jesus and take him off his throne to just being a rabbi. And it will blur our vision from seeing who Jesus Christ truly is. This is why immediately in Mark, chapter nine, you notice that there's this voice from the cloud, this voice from heaven that. That breaks through the fear and speaks and says, what? This is my son. And then Moses and Elijah, they fade to the background, and the only person that's left standing is Jesus Christ himself, the Savior of the world. The Father says, fix your eyes on him. Let me ask you a question this morning. Has fear ever caused you to lose sight of Jesus? Has fear ever caused you to lose sight of Jesus? Like fog on your windshield, fear can cause us to struggle to see clearly. And only faith expressed in the Son of God can open our eyes to see the Son of God. This is one of the reasons why we often look people in the eyes and we say to them, you have to make a personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ. It's the not enough just to come to church. It's not enough just to say, I read my Bible. You have to verbally express, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. And I believe that Jesus rewards that kind of faith. There was three men on that mountain. Peter, James, and John. And years later, when John was an older man, he would write this about fear in First John, chapter four. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. John was right. Fear does have to do with punishment. It's the idea that you think something bad is going to happen. And if you don't do something. Peter, being motivated by fear that something bad was going to happen, acts. And then the Father speaks and reminds Peter, you cannot be controlled by fear. There's one Lord, one Savior, one master. His name is Jesus Christ. It's interesting. The Father in verse seven says, this is my Son, whom I love. Before the Son would ever go to the cross, before the Son would ever die, before the Son would ever take on the sufferings and the pain and the eternality of sin itself, the Father said, before he ever does anything, I love him. Let me just tell you this morning, if you're struggling with fear. The Father loved his son. He loved him so much that he sent him to the cross to die for your sins and mine. Why? Because he loved you. The Father loves you. He wants you to know how much he loves you. And so he says, listen to my son. Don't listen to fear. Fear is a terrible master. But faith expressed conquers fear. So why do you and I need to believe in a suffering hero and a suffering Messiah? Why? Because faith helps us to see the Son of God. Secondly, this faith helps to open our eyes to trust the plan of God, to trust the plan of God for the life of Jesus, and to trust the plan of God for your life and for my life. It's interesting that at the transfiguration, you have two historical figures with Jesus, Moses, and, you know, the other guy, Elijah, right? And many people have wondered how these guys make the cut. Why are they there? And so a lot of scholars, people that are smarter than me, they say, well, they're there, Paul, because Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. And I go, do you think that's really what. Why they were there? I mean, that sounds cute. There's several problems with that theory. And there's a reason why I want to get into this. Because faith opens our eyes to be to trust the plan of God. And I think they were there for more than just that. Look at the way that Mark uses these guys, particularly in verse 4. Pay attention to the ordering of words. Here and there appeared before them Elijah and Moses who were talking with Jesus. Now if you know anything about Elijah, he wasn't a writing prophet. Meaning he never wrote a book down, never wrote anything down that we know of. He was just a talker. The other thing that you need to know is Elijah isn't considered the guy who represents the prophets. When, when you think, when you read your Old Testament, you think, well, who really represents the prophets? You would think Moses represents the prophets. Matter of fact, Moses also represents the law. He is the greatest prophet and he is the one who literally wrote the law down. So it's so interesting that people would think, well, Elijah would represent the prophets. I mean, that doesn't even make sense. You would say Moses represents the law and the prophets. And then notice one other thing, notice the ordering here. Mark puts Elijah first. Did you see that? And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, like a slap in the face. How did Elijah get in front of Moses? I mean, Thomas, you wrestled, right? Yeah. We all know you did. Thomas is a four time Pennsylvania State champ. Okay. There's only like, you know, half a dozen people ever have done this. I wrestled too. Okay. This would be the equivalent of saying, Paul, you represent all the wrestlers in the state of Pennsylvania when I'm standing on a stage with Thomas Haynes. No, I don't. You know, like you think, why would you put Paul first and then Thomas? Why would you put Elijah first and then Moses like a slap in the face, the guy that actually represented the law and the prophets. You have to understand what's happening here. I think that Elijah and Moses are there because Elijah and Moses represented something. They represented time. They represented time. And we know this because if you read verses 11 through 13, Jesus says that Elijah will come because he establishes a certain time, his time, his presence is going to start something. Time. So think about what time Moses represented. He represented a time of deliverance for God's people. Deliverance. And yet the problem is he died wishing and praying that a Messiah would come and deliver God's people. And think about what Elijah represented. If you read about his life. He represented a time of redemption for God's people, redeeming God's People. And yet, if you read Two Kings, Elijah never dies. He's one of two guys in the Bible that never died, never tastes death. He was swept up into heaven. We read in Second Kings in a chariot of fire, which just sounds awesome. I got the ride in a Tesla. But a chariot of fire? If Jesus wants to bring that, I'll take that ride too. It's so interesting. Moses represents a time of deliverance. Elijah represents this time of redemption. They represent time, but even beyond time, Moses represents death, but Elijah represents life. And as they fade to the background, who is left standing in the middle? Jesus Christ. Can you see him? He is the Lord of the living and the dead. And so think about how significant this is. If you're there as a disciple and you've just now confessed that Jesus Christ is the Christ, the Messiah, the hero, and then he flips the script on you and says, hey, listen, the hero's gonna die. And if you follow me, you're gonna die too. Think how encouraging that would have been. Jesus, you're lord over the living and the dead, Lord of the living and the dead. You know, Grace Community Church, we love you as pastors, and the last several weeks have been especially hard for us. I'm going to be very vulnerable with you right now. The passing of Javison Flory at 12 years old was not easy. Just last week I sat with a family who lost a 20 week old. We've had numerous people. Who are staring literally death in the face because of a diagnosis, and I'm supposed to be their pastor and it's like, what do you say to them? Have you ever sat with somebody and you thought to yourself, I don't know what to say to you. What do you say? Well, I know what you should be thinking. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the living and the dead, and death has been swallowed up and we do not need to fear it. We do not need to be afraid to walk through that door. The amazing thing about the disciples in this scene is not that they saw the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The amazing thing is that they chose to walk back down the mountain with a messiah who was going to die and said, if you follow me, you'll die too. So what do we say to those who are facing death, who are like lambs led to the slaughter? We remind ourselves of what Paul said In Romans chapter 8, when he pondered the same exact question. And he said these words, one what then shall we say? What do we say? Paul would say, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? And Paul would say, no one can condemn you. He would say, christ Jesus died. More than that. Christ Jesus was raised to life and is at the right hand of God the Father and is interceding for us. And then Paul would remind us, what shall separate us from the love of Christ? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Paul would say, shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or. Or danger or sword? Paul would say, no. For I am convinced, and I pray that you are convinced this morning, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor any present or the future, or any power, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. This is what we say to people who are facing death, who are willing to go back down the mountain. You can trust the plan of God. It's going to be okay. Now, this past week, I. I had that encounter in a car. I'd read about these cars, just never experienced one. For some of you, you've read about Jesus Christ. You've never seen him as real. Peter makes this profession of faith in Jesus Christ and that profession is rewarded. And Jesus is looking at each and every one of us today, and he's saying, I don't know what you are facing. I don't know if it's the bills that you're facing right now in your family and you're tempted at work to steal. I don't know if it's. Your children are out of control and you're being tempted just to abandon them and say, you know what? It's too hard to raise them as Christians. I'm just going to raise them however I feel like it. I don't know if it's hard for you right now to be a Christian in the workplace, because, hey, let me tell you something, It's a lot easier to sometimes not be a Christian in your workplace. I don't know what you are facing, whether if it's. It's a diagnosis that you're just like, oh my gosh, what do I do? I don't know what you're facing. I do know that if you place your confident trust in Jesus Christ, you can go back down the mountain and you can follow him and you can trust him. And you can believe that one day when your life is over, the Father in heaven will look at you and let you see the sun in all of his glory and. And grander and majesty. And he will look at you and he will say, well done. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You had faith, but now let your faith be turned to sight. If you keep clinging on, you will see the Son of God. Keep clinging. Don't give up. Pray. Father, thank you for your marvelous image that is found in the Transfiguration. Thank you for that foresight. But Father, more than that, I pray for my brothers and sisters now because it is easier to just give up. It's easier to give up and to give in and to quit on Christianity. To quit on Christ. To say, I don't want to go back down the mountain. It's too hard. I don't want to face these things. I'd rather just drink and be merry and whatever happens. Yet, Father, I believe this morning you're causing us to lift our chins to look at the sun and to say, I will listen to him. I will obey him. I will follow him all the days of my life because he's worthy. We're trusting, Father, that you will reward that expression of faith. In Jesus name, Amen and Amen. Would you please stand with us and worship the one who is worthy?