Were not told, but it seems that maybe the true image of God, the image of the Son, the spittin image of the Son who was his Father all over againmaybe this is what shone through in a way the disciples managed to miss seeing most days. WebMatthew 17:1-8. Luke 9:28-36 Commentary. There may be another connection with Moses at this point. This is more a theological than a geographical statement. 9:30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. Now, in todays Gospel lesson, we have the most authoritative answer to the question, Who is this? God says, This is my beloved Son. And that brings us to our fourth possible reason for the Transfiguration: To me its hard to imagine seeing these two ancient biblical heroes from centuries past. Certainly, their faith has waned more often than it has waxed. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!. I am come unto Mine own and Mine own receive Me not; I am become a stranger unto My brethren, an alien to My mother's children: Consider Mine enemies, for they are many, and they hate Me with cruel hatred. Jesus understands our suffering because he suffered greatly in his days on the earth. Now he selects an inner circle of disciples to go with him, thus signaling the importance of the journey up the mountain. An event like this has only a few parallels. Peter wanted to build three booths, but Jesus said no. (6) So that his disciples do not stumble at his debasing himself in his flesh, he teaches them that it is voluntary, showing in addition for a moment the brightness of his glory. Peter never forgot this moment when he had a brief glimpse of the coming glory of Jesus Christ. When Jesus commanded them to feed a great crowd, they responded, We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people (9:13). But theres more to it than this. 39Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. First, how in the world did the disciples come close to sleeping through this thing? They promise us health, wealth, and happiness, but seldom live up to their promises and often lead people toward ruin. Web9:28-36 Christ's transfiguration was a specimen of that glory in which he will come to judge the world; and was an encouragement to his disciples to suffer for him. Shortly before the Transfiguration, Jesus revealed to the disciples that The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up (9:22). It took me a while to pick up on his pattern, and when I did, I asked his wife what was going on. Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things? He sought to see him (vv. But how could anyone be drowsy, even briefly, when such a spectacle was right in front of them? they saw his glory and heard the voice of God. Luke says that this epiphany on the mountaintop took place eight days after Peters famous confession of Jesus as the Christ. This is at the heart of our Christian faith. All three of the Synoptics place the Transfiguration immediately after Jesus first passion pronouncement, emphasizing that the one who willbe killed, and on the third day be raised up (v. 22) is not a random victim of violence, but is the Son of God carrying out Gods plan (v. 35). No such account appears in the Gospel of John, in which one might say that Jesus is somewhat transfigured as the transcendent Son of God on earth all the way through! No restraint! That chapter is all about the resurrection. Anybody who manages to radiate the energy and light of a lightning bolt is mighty powerful and mighty bright. Prayer is a transfiguring, transforming duty, which makes the face to shine. And his resurrected guarantees our resurrection. See Mark 9:14-29 and Matthew 17:14-20 for parallels. To see Gods glory provokes an intense response. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father (v. 42b). Yes, Jesus is going to suffer and die. Commentary on Luke 9:28-36 [37-43] In preparation for the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Year C, one has to make an obvious decision. The prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Web36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. Test of true discipleship (Matthew 16:24-28; Mark 8:34-1; Luke 9:23-27) Immediately after telling his disciples of his coming suffering and death, Jesus told them they had to be prepared for similar treatment. Amen. They went up onto the mountain to pray (v. 28c). An analogy might be coming into contact with a live high-voltage electrical line. He says something that seems to make no sense: Let us set up tents for you, Moses and Elijah., Why did he say this? Let me offer a few thoughts. In the preceding section, Jesus was with the larger group of disciples. Herod's terror at the growing greatness of our Lord Jesus, ver. We see that yet today. A GLIMPSE OF GLORY Luke 9:28-36 From some aspects this was the highest point in our Savior's Jesus himself metamorphosed into some radically different. The model for this encounter is Moses at Sinai (Exodus 19-32). It took a bit, apparently, before they even fully woke up (and then saw something so odd they must have wondered if they were not, in fact, still asleep and seeing a dream). That exodus can only happen in accord with what Jesus himself had predicted when he said, just prior to this story, that he must suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day (9:22). We listen to so many voices today, all of which seem wise and attractivepundits, columnists, commentators, political analysts, religious gurus, celebrities, tempters, seducers. 1. Biblical writers, attempting to describe Gods glory using human words, portrayed it as like devouring fire (Exodus 24:17). So it is possible that this little detail on the timing of the Transfiguration could be a hint pointing toward Easter and the glory that awaited Jesus also then. If there was any question as to who Jesus was, there was no mystery about it now: He is the Christ, the only begotten son of God. It commemorates Gods protection during the wilderness wanderings (Leviticus 23:39-43). The Gospel of John in particular speaks of the cross as Christs glorification (John 12:23; 13:31-32). The moderator of the committee told me later, It was as if someone turned on the lights. Luke 9:28-36 The Transfiguration: The Coming Glory Metamorphosis. It is as if they have been presented, suddenly and without warning, with their final Examtheir Really Final Exam. Jesus came to set people free from sin. In any case, its clear from the Gospel accounts by Matthew, Mark, and Luke that the disciples were terrified at what was happening. In the Transfiguration, the earthly Jesus shares for a moment the company of two great and worthy residents of heaven, Moses and Elijah. As we might expect, the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11). But other times he swings at the pitch, completely whiffs, and strikes out. My Name Is _____ stick-on name badges. But on a different note: its always been a mystery to me how the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah. 4. This passage is traditionally know as the Transfiguration, from the Greek term used by both Mark and Matthew to describe what happened to Jesus (metemorphotha, Mk 9:2-8, Mt 17:1-8).Since this term as adopted into English often carries connotations of a permanent and radical alteration, as in the (See on [1610]Mt 16:13). What we are about to read is an unusual story. Yet in the Bible events like these sometimes play out rather differently than we think. Rev., the mountain. This Voice from the cloud seems to be articulating these very words, making the point that this long-awaited Prophetthe Messiah is here. Let us proclaim our faith in Jesus. Consider the wider context of Luke here. The voice from the clouds echoes the voice from heaven at Jesus baptismYou are my beloved Son. This is my beloved Son. WebLuke 9:28-36, (37-43a) 9:28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. Jesus went up the mountain to pray (9:29), perhaps to commune with God concerning his destiny. WebChrist shares Gods glory. Incarnation and Transfiguration are antiphonal. Or they respond to Jesus talk about sacrifice and humility by incarnating its opposite in a wrangling over and jockeying for power and privilege in Jesus coming kingdom (see Luke 9:46-50). And we get a lot of positive reinforcement for being responsible, predictable and easy to get a hold of. Achtemeier, Paul J. and Elizabeth R., Proclamation, Epiphany, Series C (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973), Barclay, William, The Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Luke (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1953), Bock, Darrell L., The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Luke, Vol. And if it seems odd to hear God the Father follow up this visual display with advice that has to do with listening and not looking, maybe thats because we, too, are often overly fixated on outward fame and power and glory as the world defines all those things and maybe that gets in the way of our truly listening to what Jesus says about humility and sacrifice and being servants of the lowest of the low in also our societies yet today. On one side of the bookshelf weve got Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah (v. 30). He is glorious in power and light and majesty and holiness. The contrast between the mountaintop and the base of the mountain could not be sharper. All of this provides important background, for Luke himself says that the transfiguration took place after these sayings., Some of the major features of Lukes account, over against Marks, are the following. At a time when anyone else would sit in stunned silence, Peter says, Lets make three tents! None of the Gospels tells us why he wants to build three tents: Perhaps he wants to prolong the mountaintop experienceto keep Jesus safe on the mountain rather than seeing him exposed to suffering, rejection, and death (v. 22). Scripture says they were heavy with sleep butwere fully awake.(9:32) Another way of saying it is that they were in a stupor. Like my elder years ago, wed likely come back refreshed and renewed and revived in the Spirit. The cloud was the symbol of the presence of God at Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16; 34:5), and it symbolizes Gods presence for these three disciples. The glorification? God the Father and his Son and even the angels have a glory about them. This was a real and astonishing moment in history. This is my Son, my Chosen One. Though this story in Luke 9 is quite unusual, even strange, it is a story that builds hope in us. But it also reminds us that the way to Easter is through the cross. I admired him for that, and wished I could be a little more like him to break away periodically, disappear, go up on a mountain and spend time alone with God in prayer. Moses and Elijah spoke of (Jesus) departure (Greek: exodon), which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (v. 31). And yet, wed all do well to spend a little time on a mountaintop every once in a while. An action-man needs to act! However, these words are directed to the disciples rather than Jesus (as at the baptism). The apostles are sent to preach and heal. His brilliance and majesty is so beyond us that we wont know what to do when confronted with him, and we will fall apart. Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothersit is to him you shall listen. The demon makes a desperate last attempt to control the boy. ; Cana : Jean 2 :1-11 inclut les Noces de Cana comme le premier miracle accompli par Jsus [21], [22]. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. They want to camp out with him on the mountain. He was not making up stories about Christ. He had talked previously about his forthcoming suffering and death. He places great hope in Jesus. For all of us, let us seek to know the glory of God that we might experience the wonder and awe and fear of knowing him. They know the mind and will of God. The glory of the Lord was revealed at his birth (Luke 2:9). It builds faith, that all weve been taught is absolutely true. Paul says that at the resurrection, we who know Jesus will be changed: 1 Corinthians 15:4244 ESV So is it with the resurrection of the dead. Undoubtedly, they spoke with Jesus of the events in the next few months of Jesus death, resurrection, and probably his ascension into heaven. 3233 Burton St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546, All written content on this site, unless labelled otherwise, is the copyright property of the center for excellence in preaching / respective content author(s), The Center for Excellence in Preaching is a resource from Calvin Theological Seminary. We know from Matthews and Marks Gospels Jesus told them to tell no one until after the resurrection. Luke 9:28-36. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment . Childrens Sermons More importantly, it marked a renewal of Gods covenant with Israel. Christ has transformed more lives than we can count. Since this part of my sermon commentary is about Questions, Ill just ask a few of the ones that come to my mind in this startlingly odd passage. Luke 9:28-36 These events in Luke 9 take place about six months before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2 Now a centurion had a servant 1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. They are left with Jesus and silence. In the Transfiguration, the human shares in divine glory. Ancient leaders of Israel appearing before their very eyes. Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, and there God spoke to him in a sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:12, NRSV; RSV: a still small voice). The family lineage depends on this child. 3 (Downers Grove, Illinois, Intervarsity Press, 1994), Cousar, Charles B.; Gaventa, Beverly R.; McCann, J. Clinton; and Newsome, James D., Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSVYear C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation: Luke (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holliday, Carl R.; and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, C (Valley Forge: Trinity Press, 1994), Culpepper, R. Alan, The New Interpreters Bible, Volume IX. The event takes place about eight days later (9:28), rather than after six (Mark 9:2; Matt 17:1); there appears to be no particular significance for the change. You shall listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15). Each of the Synoptic Gospels contains an account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9//Mark 9:2-10 //Luke 9:28-36). Have you ever known anyone like that? These three disciples were present at the healing of Jairus daughter (8:51). 2 Peter 1:1618 ESV 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. He is a royalty but He suffered a lot for our sins. 37It happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met him. To be glorified here on the mountain, and to talk about his coming suffering in Jerusalem may have given the Lord Jesus strength for his days ahead strength facing this unimaginable human suffering. We lead busy lives. Hope that Jesus is who he claims to be. A SUBSCRIBER SAYS: Dear Dick, I would just like to say how much I appreciate your ministry. This is the only Gospel to tell us what Moses and Elijah discuss with Jesus. The booths recall the Feast of Booths, one of the three major festivals of the Jewish faith. Probably, he just wants to do something. 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