Pastor Slaughter
February 27, 2022
Transfiguration
Luke 9:18-36
Glory that is hidden is most on display
Today is the last Sunday in the Church season called Epiphany, a Greek word that means “to appear.” Salvation has appeared to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We need that Salvation to be revealed to us. We need God to appear to us and make himself known to us. Why? Because God is beyond our understanding. His ways are contrary to mankind’s natural thoughts or assumptions about him.
Doesn’t that make sense though? Have you ever wondered why God would willingly choose to suffer and die? Have you thought, why would God make man in the first place if he knew they would fall? Have you ever shouted to God in frustration in a world filled with sin, God why don’t you show yourself to the world, then people would believe in you? Or maybe your shouts are more on a personal level when someone near and dear to you is sick and in pain or suffered and died, when the doctor tells you “You have cancer” or when everything that can go wrong does go wrong, don’t you just wish that Jesus would appear before you and tell you everything will be ok? Why is it that Jesus’ glory is hidden? Wouldn’t it be better if his glory was on display?
Isn’t that what Peter thought? There they were Peter, James, and John. Fast asleep. When they woke up they saw Jesus glory. The Bible describes the scene, “While he (Jesus) was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white.” And when Peter, James and John woke up, they saw his glory.
How different this scene is then what transpired eight days earlier. Peter gave that beautiful confession of who Jesus is, “The Christ of God.” But when Jesus told him what the Christ would do, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law. He must be killed and be raised on the third day.” (Luke 9:22). In the gospels of Mathew and Mark, we hear how Peter objected to Jesus words. The Messiah, the Christ, the holy one of God is going to suffer and die? Where is the glory in that? People should be praising him, not shouting insults. People should be serving him and not lifting him on a cross. Where is the glory in suffering and dying?
For a moment it seems like Jesus took Peter’s advice. There, on the mountain, Jesus’ glory was revealed. So, Peter says, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” This vision isn’t what Jesus presented to the disciples earlier. Peter didn’t want Jesus to suffer. Peter didn’t want Jesus to die. He wanted Jesus to stay. And now Peter is seeing Jesus in his glory and Peter just wanted to stay in that glory. It would be better if we could just stay here where we can see your glory.
Wouldn’t it be better if… wouldn’t it be better if we were on that mountain top? Wouldn’t it be better if we could see Jesus’ glory like Peter, James, and John did? Wouldn’t it be better if he showed us his glory? But instead, his glory seems to be hidden. Hidden among the pain and sorrow in this world. Hidden by the suffering seen all around us and suffering in our own lives. It’s like we almost want to shout out at God “where is your glory?!” The verbally abused spouse being yelled at again shouts to God, “Where is your glory?” The aged Christian whose spouse recently died in the middle of tears, “Where is your glory?” The Christian who was recently diagnosed with cancer, “Where is gory?” The Christian whose heart aches for their family member that has fallen away from the faith, “Can’t you just show them your glory?”
Where is God’s glory? Did he leave it up there on the mountain? It’s like we want to make that tent and stay up there on the mountain. “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Luke adds an interesting commentary to what Peter said. “He did not realize what he was saying.” When we shout out to God, do we too, not realize what we are saying?
That glory that Peter, James, and John saw on that mountain top disappeared as quickly as it came. Jesus’ appearance was normal. His clothing was no longer dazzling white. He made his way down the mountain. He started to make his way to Jerusalem to to do the thing that was the most unglorious glorious thing ever seen. He was betrayed. Arrested. Sentenced. Beaten. Ridiculed. Mocked. He was nailed to cross. “Jesus, where is your glory now? Where was your glory in among your suffering?”
It’s like Jesus answers, “My child, it was there on the cross. It had to be hidden so that you, a sinful human being can see my glory and instead of turning away in fear (fear of my judgement), you can stare and marvel at it. See the sins I paid for. Hear me tell you that your sins are forgiven. Look at what I have secured for you, eternal life. My child, you want to see my glory? It is found in the words I have given you. Look at my gospel”
“In order for Jesus’ glory to be put on full display, it needed to be hidden, not so that the could win us the best possible life until death, not so that he could win us a life that avoided death, but so that he could win us a life on that other side of death” (Commentary on proper).
If we want to see God’s glory, in the midst of pain, and sorrow, loneliness, frustration, anger, where do look? We look at the very words that Jesus gave to us. We look to his Gospel. When Peter was saying he should build some shelters. God the Father came. A cloud overshadowed them. The Luke says, “They were afraid as they went into the cloud.” God spoke from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
God the Father’s encouragement…Listen to Jesus. When we want to stay on that mountain top, when we want Jesus’ glory to be displayed in a different way, when say to him, “wouldn’t it better if…” isn’t it like we are telling God “Listen to me!”? A little while I was receiving some counseling from another pastor. He did his classic encouragement thing, “God has equipped you and placed you there to handle that situation.” I sarcastically said to him, “God doesn’t know what he is doing.” With sarcasm there is a grain of truth. I knew what I said was wrong and yet that is how I was feeling at the time.
Sometimes there is that grain which we wish God would do something different, which we think we know better than God, and instead of listening to what God’s says, we are telling God to listen to us.
God’s encouragement/command… Listen to Jesus. And what do hear when we do? We hear his gospel. And what do we see as we hear that gospel? His glory. It is interesting when we look at our lesson, We see Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. Topic of conversation? Jesus’ departure or literally his exodus. It was like they were serving as an encouragement for Jesus. The exodus that was going to take place wasn’t from slavery in Egypt but in Jerusalem by way of cross which freed us from the captivity of our sin and leads to a heavenly glory.
When we want to see Jesus’ glory, we need to listen to him. Turn to the gospel and see the lengths your savior went to rescue from sin, to lead you to eternal life. In the middle of the suffering that Jesus went when his glory seems most hidden, it really is most on display because that, my family, is what secured your salvation.