Old Testament: Exodus 24:12-18
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Epistle: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Today is Transfiguration
Sunday! Each year, on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we celebrate the
Transfiguration in the life of Christ. The Lectionary and the Christian
Calendar, as I have said before, revolve around the major events in the life of
Christ. I think we are all familiar with the events of the Transfiguration.
Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up to a high (unnamed and thus
unidentified) mountain. This event in itself may not have been unusual since we
know that Jesus often escaped the crowd, sometimes to a mountain, to pray and
be alone. We also know that Peter, James, and John were a part of Jesus'
"inner circle" and sometimes were able to interact with Jesus in ways
the other nine disciples did not. But something unique and unexpected happened
this time when they went up on the mountain.
The text says that Jesus was "transfigured" before their eyes. The Greek word here, μετεμορφώθη, or metamorphoo, is also translated "transformed." It is used 4 times in the New Testament: twice in the Transfiguration narrative, (Matt. 17 and Mark 9, but interestingly Luke does not use it in his account in Luke 9) and then Paul uses the verb twice, once to encourage his readers to be transformed into acceptable sacrifices. (Rom. 12: 2) The second example is interesting because it seems almost that Paul is referencing the Transfiguration itself. (2 Cor. 3:18) It is an opaque reference, like much in Paul, but perhaps he has this episode of Christ's life in mind.
So that is a little background on the word in use here. But what exactly is going on in this episode? There are a couple of things here. First, this episode was foreshadowed in the Old Testament and the return of Elijah was expected. Malachi prophesied, "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." (4:5) Elijah also represented the Prophets as one the first prophets in the time of the Kings. Moses himself was also a pivotal figure in the formation of Israel and he represented the Law. So in these two figures, Elijah and Moses, the history of Israel is represented and Jesus stands above even these two great figures.
The second aspect of the Transfiguration is that it mirrors Jesus’ baptism and these two events bookend Jesus' ministry. In both cases, a voice from heaven cries out, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased" (3:17, 17:5) But here at the Transfiguration, toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, the voice adds, "listen to Him!" Both of these events reveal Jesus be the messenger and mouthpiece of God and the fact that he is actually carrying out this task faithfully. God is pleased with who Jesus is and what he was doing.
The text says that Jesus was "transfigured" before their eyes. The Greek word here, μετεμορφώθη, or metamorphoo, is also translated "transformed." It is used 4 times in the New Testament: twice in the Transfiguration narrative, (Matt. 17 and Mark 9, but interestingly Luke does not use it in his account in Luke 9) and then Paul uses the verb twice, once to encourage his readers to be transformed into acceptable sacrifices. (Rom. 12: 2) The second example is interesting because it seems almost that Paul is referencing the Transfiguration itself. (2 Cor. 3:18) It is an opaque reference, like much in Paul, but perhaps he has this episode of Christ's life in mind.
So that is a little background on the word in use here. But what exactly is going on in this episode? There are a couple of things here. First, this episode was foreshadowed in the Old Testament and the return of Elijah was expected. Malachi prophesied, "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." (4:5) Elijah also represented the Prophets as one the first prophets in the time of the Kings. Moses himself was also a pivotal figure in the formation of Israel and he represented the Law. So in these two figures, Elijah and Moses, the history of Israel is represented and Jesus stands above even these two great figures.
The second aspect of the Transfiguration is that it mirrors Jesus’ baptism and these two events bookend Jesus' ministry. In both cases, a voice from heaven cries out, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased" (3:17, 17:5) But here at the Transfiguration, toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, the voice adds, "listen to Him!" Both of these events reveal Jesus be the messenger and mouthpiece of God and the fact that he is actually carrying out this task faithfully. God is pleased with who Jesus is and what he was doing.
The final point I will focus on is that in the Transfiguration heaven and earth meet and Peter, James, and John are let in on a heavenly vision. It is as if a curtain is rolled back and they are able to see reality as it is really is. The get a glimpse of the spiritual reality and not just the physical reality we can observe with our senses. I am reminded of the title of Pastor Steve Rodeheaver's book, Snapshots of the Kingdom. That is exactly what they were getting, and are let i on by reading the Gospel. We get to see a little glimpse, a snapshot if you will, of the heavenly or Kingdom reality.
And this is what we pray to see more of. Like Peter, James, and John we want to see with heavenly vision. We want to know what Jesus is up to and where he is working. Unfortunately, like Peter, we often get things wrong and don't know quite how to partner with Jesus. Sometimes we even want to take the credit for ourselves. Yet Jesus is still patient with us, like his disciples, and still can work through us.
This week, I want to end with a Song. Of course if this was in-person we could just sing it together, but I am sure you can find a recording online pretty easily. This was a song we used to sing at my church quite a bit with our previous worship leader. These words capture the sentiment of what I am talking about. My prayer is that we would find a vision for what God is doing in this world. That we would see heaven come down. And that we would partner with the work God is doing.
This week, I want to end with a Song. Of course if this was in-person we could just sing it together, but I am sure you can find a recording online pretty easily. This was a song we used to sing at my church quite a bit with our previous worship leader. These words capture the sentiment of what I am talking about. My prayer is that we would find a vision for what God is doing in this world. That we would see heaven come down. And that we would partner with the work God is doing.
Grace and Peace.
Heaven Fall Down
by Phil Wickham
Open our eyes, Lord, let us see
All that You are, all that You mean
Open our ears, Lord, let us hear
All that You are, be loud and clear
Please be near
As our praises rise
May Your presence fall
Heaven, Heaven fall down
Spirit, Spirit pour out
On us all now
Heaven fall down
Come Jesus come, come like the wind
Fill up this place, we welcome You in
Come Jesus come, come like the rain
Open the sky; show us Your face
Oh, Lord, we wait
As our praises rise
May Your presence fall
Heaven, Heaven fall down
Spirit, Spirit pour out
On us all now
Heaven fall down
We're crying out in desperation
Waiting now in expectation
We're crying out in desperation
For You
We're crying out in desperation
Waiting now in expectation
We're crying out in desperation
For You
Heaven, Heaven fall down
Spirit, Spirit pour out
Heaven, Heaven fall down
Spirit, Spirit pour out
On us all now
Heaven fall down
No comments:
Post a Comment