Today we will be looking at Luke chapter 9, beginning in verse 27, and we'll read through verse 36, the well-known account of the Transfiguration. And if you have your Bibles, I'd ask you to turn there. And before we read God's Word, go with me in prayer again to Him. Our Heavenly Father, we come to you, we turn to you and your Son and your Spirit unfilled. We turn to you that you would show us your glory, that you would show us the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Father, how desperately we need to see Him who has made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. How desperately we need you to enlarge our hearts and to satisfy us in all that Jesus is for us. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you would be in our midst, even as you promised to be, walking in the midst of the lampstands. We pray that you would exercise your office as prophet, priest, and king for us this morning. We pray these things in your name. Amen. Luke chapter 9, starting in verse 27. Remember, this is God's Word, and He is speaking to us. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death, until they see the kingdom of God. Now about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his clothes became dazzling white. I would say, point out, literally they became like lightning. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting for him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my son, my chosen one, listen to him. And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone and they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. If you're anything like me, when you watch a movie or a television show that may run over a series of time, each episode going into the next, you try to figure out what holds the plot together, what it is that keeps the plot going, what keeps you watching this movie or this television show. And I think my wife and I, it took maybe two or three seasons of watching a particular television show before we really figured out, why do we keep watching this show? What keeps this going? What keeps us interested? And usually it's toward the end of the movie or toward the end of the show that you find out that someone is more important than maybe they appeared. That there's a twist based on the identity of some person in that movie or in that show. And I think it's similar in a much lesser degree of the Gospels and what they have to say about Jesus. As we read through the Gospel of Luke, we see that Jesus is casting out demons, that he's healing the sick, the lame, he's teaching. He's already raised two people from the dead before this account of the transfiguration. But the great question that is always set out there is, who is this? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? The disciples ask this question back in chapter 8, verse 25. After he calms the wind and the waves, they say, who could this be that even winds and waves obey him?" And that's the great question. And Jesus even puts that question to the disciples in this very chapter. He says to the disciples, who do men say that I am? And the answer that they give is some say Elijah, some say John the Baptist, some say one of the other prophets. But then Jesus focuses it on them and says, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter, quickly responding for the other disciples, said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And what we see at the Transfiguration is that we are learning who Jesus really is, even though he's been showing who he is all this time in the Gospels. After Peter's great confession at Caesarea Philippi, we see in the glory that is shown forth and in the voice that comes from God the Father, who Jesus of Nazareth really is. And so this morning we want to look at three things. We want to see the glory of Jesus in his person as it's displayed at the Transfiguration, the glory of Jesus in his work as it is proclaimed at the Transfiguration, and the glory that Jesus has for us at the Transfiguration. The glory that Jesus has in his person is really set forth at the beginning as Luke introduces this. He says, it was after eight days that Jesus went up on a mountain and took Peter and John and James and went up to pray. Now the question we have to ask is after eight days of what? Matthew and Mark tell us that it was six days and the really important thing that we have to see about this is that it was about a week after Jesus had put that question to the disciples, who do men say that I am? Jesus had begun to already disclose what he came to do, that he must suffer at the hands of men, that he must be spit upon and beaten and mocked and insulted and crucified, and the third day he would rise from the dead. And so it was eight days after Jesus began to question his disciples about his identity and tell them what he came to do, that he took them up on this mountain to display his glory to them, to really show them who he was and what he came to do. We're told that it was while Jesus prayed. Interestingly, Luke is the only one that tells us that this happened while Jesus prayed. Matthew and Mark skip right over that, and if you knew the Gospel of Luke fairly well, you would see that Luke really focuses on Jesus' prayer life more than all the other Gospel writers. He focuses on the fact that before Jesus chose the twelve disciples, he prayed all night and then chose them. And here at the Transfiguration, before he shows them his glory, were told that it was as he prayed, his face shone. It was as Jesus of Nazareth stood on that mountain and prayed that his glory was revealed. I think we can fairly well assume that Jesus was praying that his disciples could see that glory. And you know today, as you hear this word preached, Jesus's prayers are being answered. His glory is being shown forth. We are brought to that mountain to see that glory. God the Holy Spirit has recorded this so that we also could see that glory. Well, let's look next place at the nature of this glory. It was a visible display of Jesus's glory. We're told as he was praying the appearance of his face was altered. His clothes became dazzling white. that it was almost like the picture of the risen and resurrected and glorified Jesus in the book of Revelation, where the Apostle John says, I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a robe down to his feet, girded about the waist with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, his eyes like a flame of fire. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. His feet were like bronze, refined in a furnace. His countenance was like the sun, shining in its strength. And here at the Transfiguration, Jesus' countenance is shining like the sun in its strength. It's as if Jesus brought the three disciples into the holy place, removed the veil, and for just a moment showed them his glory. It wasn't the full glory of Jesus Christ. It wasn't the heavenly glory that John would see in the Revelation. Calvin says, Christ clothed himself with heavenly glory for a short time. His transfiguration did not altogether enable his disciples to see him as he now is in heaven, but gave them a taste of the boundless glory such as they were able to comprehend." Jesus gave Peter, James, and John a foretaste of what they would have in heaven. He gave them as much as they could contain, and it was more than any man had ever seen. You'll remember, and this becomes important later on, that Moses up on the mountain had prayed, please show me your glory. And God the Father responded, you cannot see my face. I will proclaim the name of the Lord to you, Jehovah, Jehovah, God gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. But no man could see the glory of God. But here at the Transfiguration, Jesus Christ shows his three chosen disciples his glory for a moment in time so that we might believe, so that that might forever be fixed in our minds as well. We're told that the nature of this glory was a visible display of His glory, that His face shone like the sun, that His clothes became dazzling light, and that this was something so unique and special. Later on, God the Father comes to the mountain, and He comes in a cloud of glory. And Peter, reflecting back on that, says, we heard His voice from the excellent glory. He calls the cloud that God the Father comes in a glory cloud. But if it wasn't enough that Peter and James and John were there, we're told that Moses and Elijah came, that they also appeared in glory. We're told that as they came, they talked with Jesus and they spoke of his literally exodus, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Now, you might ask, why did Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John get to go up on this mountain? Why did two saints come from heaven and three saints come from earth to see what happened on this mountain? I think the easiest solution is found in the Old Testament, where we're told, on the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word is established. Here at the Transfiguration, there are two witnesses from heaven, there are three witnesses from earth, and they are all beholding the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are there to bear witness to us of His glory. Moses and Elijah, you might ask, why would they come back? Why couldn't it have been any other two saints from heaven? Well, Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament until John the Baptist. He was the mediator of the Old Covenant. Gerhardus Vos goes so far as to say that he could even be called the redeemer of the Old Testament in a very typical way, that he showed forth the coming Messiah more than anybody else ever did. Moses acted as prophet, priest, and king for the Israelites. He brought them through the first exodus. He brought them to Mount Sinai to get the commandments of God. He went up on the mountain. He heard the voice of God. He received the Ten Commandments. He took them back. His face was shining from the glory that God had reflected on Moses. And now he comes at the Mount of Transfiguration, not to reflect any glory off himself, but to point to the glory of Jesus Christ, to point to the one who is so much better than Moses, so much better than everyone. Moses represented the law. Elijah came also, we're told. Elijah was that great Old Testament prophet who came to restore what Israel had corrupted. He came to call Israel back to repentance because they had broken God's law. And these two, Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, show up at the Mount of Transfiguration to point us to the One who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. I wonder if you've ever come to realize that, that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of everything. All the Word of God, every prophecy, every demand that the Law set on men was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. I wonder if God has ever opened your eyes to see that, because that's really where the glory of Jesus Christ lay. That's really where his glory rests on what he came to do. Jesus Christ is the glory of God. He comes and fulfills everything for us. We're told that Peter, James, and John were there, chosen to be witnesses of this glory as well. And I wonder if John's not reflecting back on this in the first chapter of John's Gospel where he says, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. You see, this was probably such an overwhelming experience for them, that it was forever etched in their minds that John would write that at the beginning of his gospel account, and Peter at the end of his life would reflect back on that moment at the Mount of Transfiguration, and Peter would say, we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. We haven't told you cunningly devised fables. This is how you can know that Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind. This is how you can know that He is the Savior of the world. And so their witness is a very important fact for us. We're told also by Luke, and I think this is interesting, that Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw His glory. and the two men who stood with him." Now why would Luke tell us this little side note that Peter, James, and John were heavy with sleep, they were tired, they fell asleep, but then all of a sudden they awoke and they saw his glory? Well, I wonder if it's not part of this witness-bearing that what we're being told is that this was not some dream-like vision that they saw. This is not something they fell asleep, they had a dream, they thought they saw Jesus' face shine like the sun, but Luke tells us they were asleep, they woke up, they saw Jesus' glory. And that's there to really confirm to us that this is true, that this actually happened, that this is not some fairy tale, but this is important to us. We're told in the third place, and this is really the most important witness, that God the Father came. You know, it wasn't enough that Peter said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God at Caesarea Philippi. The only thing that really mattered was what God the Father thought. And God the Father appears, and in verse 35 we're told a voice came out of the clouds saying, this is my son, my chosen one. Now, if you read the Gospels carefully, you would see that God the Father only speaks audibly three times in the Gospel accounts. So that's pretty important. If God the Father thinks that he has to use a different means than he had ordinarily means, speaking through prophets and apostles, that he had to come and audibly speak at the baptism of Jesus in John chapter 12 and here at the Transfiguration, it's pretty important. And when God the Father speaks two of the three times, He says, this is my Son, my beloved Son, in whom I have chosen. Listen to Him. The Father's testimony is that Jesus is the Son of God, that He came from the bosom of the Father. The Father declares to us, and even if no man declared to us, it would be sufficient to have God the Father's testimony. He bears witness that Jesus of Nazareth is His Son, whom He had chosen. He gave a visible manifestation of the glory that was being found in Jesus. We're told that a cloud appeared and Peter, reflecting back again, said he called that cloud the excellent glory. Jonathan Edwards makes an interesting point. He says that the same glory that was found in the cloud is the same glory that was found in Jesus Christ. And it was not a reflected glory. It was a glory emanating from the Divine Person. It was a glory that the Father had. It was a glory that Jesus had in their being. It was the same glory. And God the Father comes in that glory cloud. Just as He had come down on the tabernacle in that glory cloud. As He had ministered to Israel, leading them through the wilderness in that glory cloud. The Father now comes down upon Jesus, the true tabernacle, the true temple, and He manifests His glory, and He speaks, and He gives not only a visible manifestation, but an audible manifestation. He tells us. He not only shows us that glory, He tells us the glory of God is found in the face of Jesus Christ, my Son, whom I have chosen. Again, have we seen that glory? Are we sure that we have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? If not, I would urge you to plead with God, as Moses did on Sinai, to show you that glory, that you would cry out to God, if you've never prayed to God, to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus, that you would go home today and you would do that. And He will do that. He will give us a glimpse of that glory, even that glory that Peter, James, and John got to see. He will shine the light of the Gospel into our hearts. We're told that Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John, and God the Father were witnesses to that glory. But secondly, we see the glory of Jesus in his work. And this, I think, is probably the most important element about the Transfiguration. It's often overlooked that Jesus' work is being proclaimed at the Mount. If you were to read Matthew and Mark, you would find that it says, Moses and Elijah came and they talked with him. And many people have said, well, I wish I knew what they talked about. I wish I knew what Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about. That must have been pretty important. Two saints coming back from heaven, appearing on this mountain, talking with Jesus about something. And Luke tells us in verse 31, we don't have to use creative thinking or scheming to understand what they talked about. He says, they spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. I've already pointed out that this word departure is the word exodus, that here Jesus is really bringing the true exodus, that the exodus that Moses brought back out of Egypt into the wilderness, that that was just a type pointing forward to what Jesus would do in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. His departure, his exodus, how he would leave this world, how he would take us with him. That's what the exodus is. And now think of this for a second. If glorified saints in heaven, who are already without sin, already perfect, come back from heaven and they want to talk about the cross, how much should we want to talk about the cross? You know, if we go to the book of Revelation, we find that the theme of the saints in heaven is, you are worthy, for you are slain. You are the lamb that was slain and you are worthy of blessing and honor and glory and power. And throughout all eternity, the saints will sing of the cross work of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all eternity, we will speak of what He did at Calvary. When He was nailed to the tree, when His face didn't shine like the sun, when the sun was darkened, when He was spit upon, when the crown of thorns was pressed upon His head. We will speak of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. And we know that, because that's what Moses and Elijah want to talk about. You know, I think it's also interesting that when Jesus is being crucified and he cries out, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, they say, look, he calls for Elijah. Let Elijah come and save him. But what is Jesus doing? Jesus is saving Elijah. Jesus is dying for Elijah's sins. Elijah and Moses needed a savior just like we do. They were men with a nature like ours. They were men full of sin and corruption, just like us, redeemed by grace, redeemed by the death of Jesus. Notice also that they don't call it his sufferings, but they say his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. This was something that Jesus would do willingly. There is glory in the fact that the Son of God would willingly lay down his life for sinners. There is glory in the fact that no one took his life from him, but that he gave it of himself. This is where the glory of God is manifest. At the other mountain, where there was no visible glory, where God the Father wouldn't even speak to the Son. That's where the glory of God is most fully manifested. We see also that the work of Jesus, the glorious work of Jesus is set forth by the fact that God the Father calls him my chosen one. Some translations say, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The ESV puts it, this is my son, my chosen one, regardless of which way we take it, in whom I am well pleased, my chosen one. All of that points us to the work of Christ at the cross. What was he chosen for? He was chosen to die for his people. He was chosen to redeem a people. Why was he beloved to the Father? Because he would be the redeemer of mankind. Jesus said, for this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. We are told that there was a love that existed between the Father and the Son, yes, in eternity because He was God, but also because He would lay down His life for you. Again, I would ask you, have you seen this glory in His work? Do you look at what Jesus did at Calvary when He was nailed to the tree, and do you see that as a glorious thing, that that was for you and because of your sin? Do you realize the great love that Jesus Christ has given for us, the great love that He has poured out on us in His death at Calvary. This is really what we learn at the Transfiguration. We learn further that His work is so glorious by the faulty things that Peter says. Notice with me what Peter says in verse 33. As Moses and Elijah were going away, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." And Luke adds, not knowing what he said. This was a very foolish statement on Peter's part. Peter was putting the Lord Jesus on the same level as he was putting Moses and Elijah. No doubt the reference to the tabernacle was referencing back to the tabernacle in the wilderness. But what was so interesting was that Peter was being selfish. Peter didn't care about a perishing world that needed Jesus to go and accomplish what Moses and Elijah were talking about. Peter didn't care about the other eight disciples who would be saved. He's there with two of his buddies and he says, hey, let's just stay here. Jonathan Edwards points out that It was really as if Peter was saying, we could just spend the rest of our days here, this is great, let's just stay here, Jesus, you, Moses, Elijah, me, Peter and John, we don't have to worry about anybody else, let's just camp out right here for the rest of our life. But that was a foolish statement because Peter should have known how often Jesus had already been telling him what he came to do. Peter couldn't see the glory. Peter could not see the glory. Charles Spurgeon has a sermon called waking to see his glory. And in this sermon, he points out that Peter and the disciples, they were asleep physically, but they were also asleep spiritually. They missed the point of the transfiguration. I hope that none of us will go from here today missing the point of the transfiguration. I hope that God the Holy Spirit will so illuminate us that we can see that glory, that he will shine that light into our hearts that none of us are sleeping. If anyone's sleeping, Paul says, awake from the dead you who sleep and Christ will shine upon you. That's a call to be converted unto Jesus. That's a call to cry out to see that glory. So I hope that none of you are sleeping spiritually. If you are, there's hope. Peter, James, and John awoke from that, and even though Peter couldn't see it and said something foolish, nevertheless, Jesus condescended to his weakness, and after God the Father spoke, they were left seeing Jesus alone. Jesus remained with them. He bore with them in their weakness. He restored Peter later on in life. He sent Peter out to be one of the greatest builders of the Christian church. And so if you're sleeping there's hope, but you have to awake, you have to cry out for Christ. You have to cry out to see that glory. Well, thirdly and finally, we want to look at the glory that Jesus has for his people. At the Mount of Transfiguration there's a glory. that Jesus has for his people. It's interesting, Eric Alexander pointed this out, that as they're on the Mount of Transfiguration, everybody's in glory. I don't know if you've ever noticed that. That at the Mount of Transfiguration, we're told by Luke, Moses and Elijah, verse 31, appeared in glory. And then we're told that as Peter, James, and John are there looking at Jesus in glory, a bright cloud overshadowed them. They're engulfed in the cloud, the glory cloud that Peter tells us about. So here's Jesus in glory. Here's Moses and Elijah in that reflected glory from Jesus. Here's Peter, James, and John being covered by the cloud of glory. Everyone is in glory. And this is the Bible's testimony, that Jesus will give grace and glory. That if we trust in Him, if we believe on Him, one day we will be transformed from one degree of glory to another, that we will see His glory, that we will for all eternity be enveloped in that glory, just as these men were at the Mount of Transfiguration. The Transfiguration is pointing us forward to the hope that we have to come, both when Jesus comes back and in heaven. It's the hope that we can have that one day we will be given the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He will shine upon us for all eternity. So the questions that we have to ask is, what was the purpose of all this? What was all the glory for? Well, I would say first it was to encourage the disciples throughout the rest of their ministries. You'll notice that if you read Mark's account, he told them, don't tell anyone what you saw until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Peter, James, and John were not even to tell the other disciples what they saw. Now there are several answers that could be given. We could say that maybe it was because they would become jealous that they didn't get to go up on the mountain and see that. Or maybe it was because Jesus knew that it would bring more reproach and scorn and it would make the cross a greater offense. But the fact that he took them up on the mountain was to encourage them in the ministry they would carry out after he had been raised from the dead. It was there for them to look back upon, to be strengthened in faith. And for all of you that are engaged in Christian ministry, it is there for you. It is there for you to look to when you get discouraged, when difficulties come, when people mock, and they insult, and they don't want to hear the gospel. No one can take from you the vision of glory that the Transfiguration gives us. It's there for us to aid us forward in our ministries. I would also point out that it's there to encourage believers in their lives. When you struggle with sin, Do you cry out to God to deliver you? Do you search the Scriptures looking for the glory of Jesus to be set free from the sin that you get entangled with? You know, the writer to Hebrews tells us that. Lay aside every weight and sin that so easily besets us and let us fix our eyes upon Jesus. Let us see Him. Let us look at His glory. Let us come to the Mount of Transfiguration and be strengthened in our faith. That's what it's there for. This is here to build your faith. Thirdly, I would say that it is to establish a further witness of this glory, that as we go out into the community, as you go to your schools, as you talk to your neighbors, as you talk to your lost relatives, as you talk to your friends that don't know Christ, have you ever pointed out to them, you know, men say Jesus is a great prophet, or men say that Jesus is this or that, but has anyone ever told you what Jesus was at the Mount of Transfiguration? Has anyone ever pointed out to you what happened to Jesus up on that mountain? This account is there for us to take out and to be witnesses. I think there were only eight witnesses that Jesus had with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had eleven witnesses to start the church. He had three with him on the Mount of Transfiguration, but now there's a multitude across the face of the earth. There's a multitude in here compared to what they had to take this message of this glory out. We are to take this message out. We are to proclaim the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in His person, in His work, and for His people to the world around us. We are not to be ashamed of this message. Finally, I would point out that This is to exhort us to hope in the future glory that we have, as we've already seen that this glory is yours. You may not feel like a glorious person. You may have days that you're depressed and discouraged, and if you looked in the mirror, you would say, where is the glory? Where is the glory of Jesus in my life? And others may see you at times when you're discouraged, depressed, struggling with sin, and really wonder where that glory is. But know this, if you're trusting Jesus, you may be depressed your whole life, like the hymn writer William Cowper was. But one day, you will have that glory. One day, all that sighing, all the tears will go away and the glory of Jesus will be conferred upon you for eternity. If you know Jesus, that is your certain hope. What happened at the Transfiguration confirms this. God's Word confirms this. Be encouraged that one day you will have that glory. So we've seen that Jesus confers His glory in His person at the Transfiguration. He shows forth and demonstrates who He really was, that He was a divine being. We see His glory in His work, that He had to go to the cross, that that's really where the glory is shown forth. And we've seen finally that that glory is for us, that everything that happened at the Transfiguration is for you. I hope that maybe, if you've never heard these things, you would consider them, that you would really meditate on them this week. I hope that God the Father will bear witness to us of who God the Son really is. I hope that you'll go away encouraged that one day you also will appear in this glory. Let him who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Amen. Let's pray. Father, there is no way that I can adequately audibly proclaim the glory of your Son, Lord, you who are the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness must shine it into our dark hearts. Father, we plead with you to do so. We pray that this week would be a week that we would see the glory of Jesus and hope in that glory that is yet to come and know that he is everything in his person and in his work for us. We thank you, Father, for this testimony and for the Mount of Transfiguration. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.